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The rise of the Robot Operating System

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Nearly 55 percent of total commercial robots shipped in 2024 will have at least one Robot Operating System package installed, according to ABI Research

The Robot Operating System, or ROS, is a flexible and collaborative open-source framework for building operating systems for robotics.

As its adoption continues to grow, ROS is aiming to become the industry standard for robotics middleware.

According to ABI Research, a market research company, nearly 55 percent of total commercial robots shipped in 2024 – over 915,000 units – will have at least one ROS package installed, creating a large installed base of ROS-enabled robots.

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Electrified Mercedes EQC goes into production

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The Mercedes-Benz of electric vehicles is ready for launch. The EQC is produced at the company’s Bremen plant and can be ordered now.

The first EQC will roll off the production line at the company’s plant in Bremen. There it is being produced on the same line as the C-Class Saloon and Estate as well as the GLC and GLC Coupé.

Production of vehicles with various drive systems can be adapted variably and efficiently in line with market demand. This approach ensures the best use of capacity at the plant.

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Eclipse Foundation launches openMobility group to plan future of autonomous cars

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The Eclipse Foundation has launched the openMobility Working Group, which will focus on open and shared collaboration around one of the major issues in urban planning around autonomous vehicles and future transportation requirements – traffic simulation and modelling.

The Eclipse Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit corporation that acts as a steward of the Eclipse open source software development community.

Based on the cutting-edge Eclipse Simulation of Urban Mobility project that originated at the German Aerospace Center, the openMobility Working Group brings together researchers and industry to create a common simulation platform for urban areas in a shared collaboration, open source environment.

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Mitsubishi Electric takes a stake in Realtime Robotics

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Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has taken an equity stake in Realtime Robotics, Inc. a U.S. technology startup that develops and commercialises motion-planning technologies.

Motion planning is the process of calculating and determining the optimised path that a robot should take to reach a goal without colliding with any obstacle. Realtime Robotics’ motion path planning solution performs the necessary calculations in real time.

Funding by Mitsubishi Electric is expected to accelerate the development of industrial robot systems offering enhanced safety and performance.

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Sick launches ‘first ever’ outdoor safety laser scanner

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Sensors manufacturer Sick is launching its newest safety laser scanner, outdoorScan3.

The company says outdoorScan3 is the first safety laser scanner certified to IEC 62998 for use in outdoor applications.

The outdoorScan3 allows automated guided vehicle systems to navigate safely through outdoor industrial environments.

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Epson Robots signs Smith Power Systems as distributor in south central US

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Epson Robots has signed Smith Power Systems, provider of selling services for its manufacturing partners, as an official distributor for the full line of Epson Robots automation products for the Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas territories.

This includes Epson SCARA, 6-Axis and Linear Module robots as well as integrated solutions such as the IntelliFlex Feeding System, Vision Guide, Force Guide and many other industrial automation products offered by Epson Robots.

Gregg Smith, president, Smith Power Systems, says: “Our partnership with Epson gives us a solid footprint in the factory automation, assembly and robotics field in our territory.

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Nidec to build $500 million facility in China to make motors for electric vehicles

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Industrial motors giant Nidec is planning to build a $500 million facility in China, according to a report on Nikkei.

The factory will specialize in manufacturing motors for electric vehicles, a growing market in China and the rest of the world.

The proposed location is said to be the Jinpu New Area in the port city of Dalian, north-east China, about 500 km east of Beijing.

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Top 25 vertical farming companies

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The phrase “vertical farming” probably doesn’t need to be explained even though it’s quite new. But anyway, vertical farming refers to the practice of producing fruits and vegetables vertically, in stacked layers, perhaps on many floors inside a building, using artificial lights instead of the sun, and a whole range of relatively new technologies.

There are two main reasons why this type of farming – which is also known as indoor or urban farming – is a much-discussed topic now:

  1. there are a number of startup companies emerging in the sector and attracting tens of millions of dollars in investment; and
  2. more people live in cities than do in rural areas, a global trend which seems irreversible, and this means that the demand for fresh produce will increase in urban areas, and bringing the production closer to the consumer would make sense.

The third thing we could have added is that there is the range of new technologies available now that make vertical farming in urban areas cost-effective and possibly profitable. But we already mentioned that.

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New solder paste enables further miniaturisation in automotive electronics

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For the production of miniaturised electrical systems, such as those used in the automotive industry, solder material must meet extremely high requirements.

In response, Heraeus Electronics has developed its new solder paste Microbond SMT650, which it says guarantees consistently high surface resistance.

The combination of the new F650 flux system with the Innolot metal alloy increases reliability and prevents electrochemical migration even under the most extreme environmental conditions.

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Australian university focuses on future food systems

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Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers will play a key part in developing smart logistics to link growers with their markets and high-tech methods of growing customised food, with the announcement of the Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre.

The Future Food Systems CRC will involve more than 50 commercial and research partners, with the Federal Government injecting AUS$35 million in funding over 10 years along with almost AUS$150 million in support from the research centre’s educational and commercial participants.

QUT’s involvement in the CRC is spread across the centre’s three research and development programs of planning and logistics in linking growers to their markets, developing smart automated indoor cropping and creating nutrient-dense foods and hybrid food and medical goods tailored to growing domestic and export markets.

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