Where Innovation Meets Imagination
By Abdul Montaqim
Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that the tech giant is working on software for self-driving cars, according to Bloomberg.
Cook calls the development effort “the mother of all AI projects”.
Apple has been rumoured to be working on building a driverless car for some time, but the company has never directly confirmed anything. [Read more…] about Apple confirms it’s developing autonomous car technology
By Alwyn Scott, Reuters
Boeing is looking ahead to a brave new world where jetliners fly without pilots and aims to test some of the technology next year, the world’s biggest plane maker said in a briefing ahead of the Paris Airshow.
The idea may seem far-fetched but with self-flying drones available for less than $1,000, “the basic building blocks of the technology clearly are available”, said Mike Sinnett, Boeing’s vice president of product development.
Jetliners can already take off, cruise and land using their onboard flight computers and the number of pilots on a standard passenger plane has dropped to two from three over the years. [Read more…] about Boeing to test self-flying plane technology next year
So the rumours were true about the home automation device. Some of the other rumours ahead of the ongoing Apple Worldwide Developers Conference were also true, but then there have been some surprises as well.
First, the home automation device. Apple has launched what it calls HomePod – a voice assistant much like Amazon Alexa-enabled Echo and Google Home – within which Siri will live.
The question with such voice devices is always, how good are they at conversation with humans? In general, natural language processing technology is not yet able to understand human speech well enough to make such devices easy to use. [Read more…] about Apple unveils home automation device and the most expensive desktop computer ever
It’s not one of the most famous exhibitions in the world, and not the biggest, but that’s probably appropriate for EPHJ, because it’s all about small things, or – more accurately – what’s called the “microtechnology” sector.
Microtechnology includes such things as watchmaking, jewellery making, and precision instrumentation for medicine, all of which are relatively large business sectors in Switzerland, where EPHJ is being held, on 20-23 June 2017 – Geneva, to be exact.
Now in its 16th year, the event is described as “an unmissable event for high-precision manufacturers, with exhibitors from the worlds of watchmaking and jewellery, microtechnology and medtech”. [Read more…] about Microtechnology exhibition to showcase innovations in watchmaking and medicine
By Tim Hepher, Reuters
Russia’s new jetliner, which conducted its maiden flight on Sunday, may have a hard time challenging the sales duopoly of Boeing and Airbus, but it does point the way to radical changes in how they could be building jets in the future.
The MS-21, a new single aisle airliner produced by Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation, and its associate company Irkut, is the first passenger plane borne aloft by lightweight carbon-composite wings built without a costly pressurised oven called an autoclave.
The manufacturing process provides a test for a technology already being assessed by Western rivals, who are looking for cheaper and faster ways to build some of their aircraft with composites, according to aerospace executives and suppliers. [Read more…] about New Russian plane looking for room in global market dominated by Boeing and Airbus
In Germany alone, over 10 million tonnes of potatoes are harvested each year. Worldwide, the total even exceeds 341 million tonnes.
More than 80 years ago, Grimme developed the first potato harvesting machine. A great deal has happened since that time, and now Grimme is said to be the world market leader in potato harvesting technology.
Besides the actual harvesting, efficient storage technology is equally important to ensure that potatoes remain available in top quality to meet demand. [Read more…] about Grimme marks 80 years since first automated potato harvesting machine
The sheer speed with which driverless cars have gone from a fanciful notion to soon-to-be real-world, mainstream standard technology might be bewildering to some and slightly worrying to others.
But for proponents and supporters of the technology – of which there are many, both inside the industry as well as in society at large – the driverless car was always clearly on the horizon, and it’s imminent arrival is not a moment too soon.
Colorado has become the latest state to pass a law which allows the development of autonomous cars as long as the developers observe existing laws of the road. [Read more…] about Driverless cars set to take to the roads much faster than anticipated as Colorado passes first law regulating the technology
ATI Industrial Automation will hold its Annual Technology Fair on August 10, 2017 at its Orion Township, Michigan facility.
The one-day educational event will focus on “Applications Advancing Automation”, providing attendees the opportunity to learn more about ATI’s products and hear from the industry-leading experts that use them every day.
The event will feature educational seminars hosted by ATI’s distinguished customers, as well as live robotic demonstrations of ATI’s tool changers, multi-axis force/torque sensors, robotic collision sensors and robotic deburring tools. [Read more…] about ATI Industrial Automation to hold technology fair in Michigan
One of the first industrial automation companies in the world, Stäubli, is investing in the next generation of technology for the future.
In an exclusive interview with Robotics and Automation News (video above), Stäubli Robotics group division manager Gerald Vogt says the company is “investing and developing in the software side”.
However, he added that hardware remains fundamental to the company’s business. “I think mechanics will still be the basis on which software is built, meaning that if you don’t have good mechanics, the software will not help.”
Vogt says this is an exciting time for the robotics and automation sector because “we have the technology” to see what the applications of Industry 4.0 technologies are going to be.
The world’s largest industrial robot manufacturer could build a facility in space.
In a wide-ranging interview with RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com, recorded at Hannover Messe, Neil Dueweke – who was competing to be heard over a loud musical band in the background – says the company has big ambitions. (See video below.)
“Anywhere there’s robotics involved, Fanuc will be there,” says Dueweke. “Space robotics? Why not?”
As far-fetched as it might sound, there are many projects involving robots in space – that’s in addition to the robotic rovers which are already widely known.
In one project, the European Space Agency is building a robot holiday resort on the Moon.
And Nasa has a large number of projects involving robots in space, and has even installed an outer space additive manufacturing facility which targets the alien market. [Read more…] about Video: Fanuc open to building manufacturing plant in outer space
