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Advice for Going Through Digital Transformation

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Digital transformation is something that all businesses need to go through. Essentially, this involves integrating digital technologies into the business operation to change the way in which the company operates.

Although this can be challenging and disruptive, you will find that there are many benefits to doing this, and it could help to boost the overall success of the business.

So, what can you do during digital transformation to overcome the challenges and reap the rewards? This article will look at a few tips for businesses going through a digital transformation that should be useful and help you to find success with yours if you happen to be going through the process. [Read more…] about Advice for Going Through Digital Transformation

RC Mowers introduces new autonomous mowing robot for landscaping industry

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RC Mowers, a manufacturer of robotic mowers, has launched a new autonomous mowing robot line to “help landscaping contractors reduce labor needs and scale their businesses to manage fewer employees while improving mowing profitability”.

Tim Kubista, vice president of sales and marketing for RC Mowers, says: “RC Mowers’ Autonomous Mowing Robot is a revolutionary product that directly addresses the labor availability problems in the landscaping industry.

“With our autonomous mowers, landscape contractors can reduce the number of employees needed to handle mowing jobs. Our AMR’s allow one operator to generate the same revenue as a crew of three. [Read more…] about RC Mowers introduces new autonomous mowing robot for landscaping industry

Galen Robotics closes oversubscribed $15 Million Series A funding round

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Galen Robotics, which describes itself as a “digital-surgery-as-a-service pioneer”, has completed the first close for an oversubscribed Series A round with $15 million in funding, including investment from Ambix Healthcare Partners, from Menlo Park, California.

Galen Robotics has submitted a new collaborative soft tissue surgical robot, intended to address unmet needs in the market, to FDA for consideration.

Galen plans to level the surgical playing field by erasing large capital expenditures associated with today’s surgical robots. Galen Robotics will be the first surgical robotics company to launch as “as-a-service” using the per-usage disposable model. [Read more…] about Galen Robotics closes oversubscribed $15 Million Series A funding round

Addverb Technologies expands US presence with R&D center in Silicon Valley

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Addverb Technologies, an automation solutions provider for warehouses and distribution centers, has opened a new Center of Excellence for Advanced Robotics Research and Development in Fremont, California.

The center, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, will focus on developing state-of-the-art platforms for autonomous mobile robotics and automated guided vehicles, as well as advanced algorithms for human-machine collaboration and biomedical robotics.

Overseeing the center’s operation is Tapan Pattnayak, who was named director of system architecture at Addverb in April 2022. [Read more…] about Addverb Technologies expands US presence with R&D center in Silicon Valley

Automotive Cells chooses Comau to build battery production lines

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Comau has been selected by Automotive Cells Company – or ACC, a joint venture between Stellantis, TotalEnergies/Saft and Mercedes-Benz – to design and develop a “highly integrated” battery module production line for its future Gigafactory in Billy-Bercalu Douvrain, in the north of France.

With the projected capacity to ultimately ramp up to 40 GWh, ACC is set to become a European leader in enabling cleaner, efficient mobility for all. Under the terms of the agreement, Comau will supply ACC with the expertise and equipment needed to automate manufacturing of the next-generation EV batteries.

Featuring the inherent flexibility to handle both 8- and 16-cell modules, the Comau-designed lines will allow ACC to produce up to 8 Gigawatt hours (GWh) annually by the end of 2024. [Read more…] about Automotive Cells chooses Comau to build battery production lines

Columbia/Okura celebrates shipping 1,000th palletizing system

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Columbia/Okura marked the milestone of shipping its 1,000th robotic palletizer. We’ve designed and commissioned many successful palletizing systems, handling a massive range of products across dozens of industries worldwide.

From bag palletizing systems in abusive and harsh environments to high-speed, multi-robot, multi-picking case applications, Columbia/Okura has handled almost any type of product packaging in virtually any application.

To celebrate the occasion and thank employees for their hard work, Columbia/Okura supplied lunch from Smokin’ Oak, a local barbeque restaurant in Vancouver, Canada. [Read more…] about Columbia/Okura celebrates shipping 1,000th palletizing system

NCKU researchers develop ‘first’ dual-mode piezotronics-based force sensor

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With the rise of Internet of Things and Industry 4.0, piezoelectrics, or materials that generate electric charge when a strain is applied to them, are becoming extremely useful as compact and energy-efficient force sensors.

Accordingly, piezotronics has emerged as a new technological frontier with applications in structural health monitoring in civil engineering and human-machine interface devices.

Piezotronic force sensors are typically governed by either a strain-induced “Schottky barrier height (SBH) modulation” or by a “piezo-gating effect” that redistributes the charge carriers in an induced piezoelectric field. [Read more…] about NCKU researchers develop ‘first’ dual-mode piezotronics-based force sensor

Amazon to acquire iRobot for $1.7 billion

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Amazon and iRobot have entered into a “definitive merger agreement” under which Amazon will acquire iRobot.

iRobot is the well known maker of innovative cleaning products for the home, including the Roomba vacuum cleaning robot.

iRobot says it has continued to innovate with every product generation, solving hard problems to help give customers valuable time back in their day. [Read more…] about Amazon to acquire iRobot for $1.7 billion

Ottonomy closes $3.3 million seed funding round

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Ottonomy has closed its seed funding round of $3.3 million, bringing its total funding to date to $4.9 million.

The funding is planned to support the scale of Ottobots for fully autonomous airport, retail and restaurant deliveries with its robots.

The funding round is led by Pi Ventures who back deep tech startups. Connetic Ventures and Branded Hospitality Ventures and the Founder & CEO of Addverb Technologies, Sangeet Kumar, also joined this round; making the group a dynamic mix from retail, food and robotics industry investors for Ottonomy’s seed round. [Read more…] about Ottonomy closes $3.3 million seed funding round

Washington university develops 3D-printed robotic gripper that can pick up anything, no matter what its geometry

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At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, car manufacturing companies such as Ford quickly shifted their production focus from automobiles to masks and ventilators.

To make this switch possible, these companies relied on people working on an assembly line. It would have been too challenging for a robot to make this transition because robots are tied to their usual tasks.

Theoretically, a robot could pick up almost anything if its grippers could be swapped out for each task. To keep costs down, these grippers could be passive, meaning grippers pick up objects without changing shape, similar to how the tongs on a forklift work. [Read more…] about Washington university develops 3D-printed robotic gripper that can pick up anything, no matter what its geometry