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Universal Robots launches in Sri Lanka

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The pristine island of Sri Lanka with its serene Buddhist culture will make way for a technology pit-stop for one of the world leaders in the concept of collaborative robotics.

Universal Robots, which claims to have pioneered collaborative robots or “cobots” as they are sometimes called, has launched its machines into the Sri Lankan market and talked about the availability of this technology to various industries.

The event was attended by the key stakeholders that define this technology, including the general manager of the company in the India and Sri Lanka region, and a host of other dignitaries representing the government and customers.  [Read more…] about Universal Robots launches in Sri Lanka

Denso invests in deep learning and vision processing startup Thinci

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Robotics and automation giant Denso says it’s become the lead investor in Thinci

Denso says its investment in startup will help accelerate next-generation automotive technology, using innovative deep learning and vision processing silicon and software. 

The company adds that its investment will lead to advancements in driver assistance and autonomous driving, improve the efficiency of thermal systems, and optimize the productivity of the vehicle’s powertrain.

Tony Cannestra, Denso International America’s director of corporate ventures, says: “Denso has been researching new developments in the area of computer vision processing. We strongly believe that Thinci’s technology will soon become a key component of next generation autonomous driving systems that require advanced computing techniques combined with deep learning capabilities.  [Read more…] about Denso invests in deep learning and vision processing startup Thinci

Logistics robots: The way you move

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As Joni Mitchell once sang, and Janet Jackson reiterated, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone”.

So it was when Amazon bought Kiva Systems in 2012 for a chart-topping $775 million.

Now one of the world’s largest online retailers, Amazon is also growing its logistics business, with 30,000 Kiva robots working away at its warehouses all over the world. [Read more…] about Logistics robots: The way you move

Sewbots prepare to take millions of jobs off humans in clothes manufacturing sector

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More and more companies in the textiles, clothing and footwear business are turning to advanced manufacturing technologies – robotic sewing machines and connected systems – to reduce the number of humans in their factories, along with the financial and social costs of employing them.

One of the largest apparel manufacturers in India, Raymond, which employs 30,000 human workers, says it plans to replace 10,000 of them with robots over the next three years. [Read more…] about Sewbots prepare to take millions of jobs off humans in clothes manufacturing sector

Boulting claims to be one of the ‘guardians of industrial networks galaxy’

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Boulting Technology has launched what it says is a comprehensive and dedicated industrial network service, which includes consultancy, feasibility testing, network design, implementation, commissioning and ongoing maintenance.

Boulting Technology specialises in performance-driven, secure, customised industrial network solutions in the operation technology space that facilitate migration from legacy systems and seamless integration into the IT space.

Boulting claims to be one of the guardians of industrial networks galaxy, adding that it has a strong portfolio of industrial network solutions projects in the utilities, transport and manufacturing sectors, which has delivered innovative, customer-led, business enabling solutions for over 10 years.  [Read more…] about Boulting claims to be one of the ‘guardians of industrial networks galaxy’

nuTonomy and Grab partner to expand public trials of self-driving cars

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Uber rival Grab signs deal with driverless car developer nuTonomy

nuTonomy, a developer of software for self-driving cars, and Grab, which claims to be Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing app, have entered a partnership to expand nuTonomy’s ongoing public trial of self-driving cars in Singapore, believed to be the first such public trial anywhere in the world.

The trial will give select Grab users a chance to experience the full end-to-end experience of e-hailing and riding in a nuTonomy self-driving vehicle.

Combining nuTonomy’s autonomous vehicle software and technology system with Grab’s fleet routing technology and mapping in its app will enable both companies to study the end-to-end user experience of on-demand hailing of driverless vehicles.  [Read more…] about nuTonomy and Grab partner to expand public trials of self-driving cars

Startup company Sea Machines developing self-driving technology for which can be added to traditional boats

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Boston-based startup Sea Machines is developing autonomous technologies that will enable traditional boats to become self-driving vessels. 

The company says its development heralds a smarter, safer and more efficient era of marine operations brought forward through self-aware and self-driving boats and ships.

With autonomy readily making its way into many traditional land-based and airborne sectors, the massive marine domain is even better suited for autonomous systems with fewer barriers to entry, a high risk operating environment, and an accommodating regulatory space.

More than 20 million vessels are plying the world’s waters including 15 million recreational boats and 100,000 cargo ships; Sea Machines foresees autonomy disrupting this largely manual sector and rapidly developing into a $60 billion space.  [Read more…] about Startup company Sea Machines developing self-driving technology for which can be added to traditional boats

Caterpillar, GE and Microsoft invest in Sarcos Robotics exoskeleton

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Sarcos Robotics says its Guardian exoskeleton (pictured) will be capable of lifting hundreds of pounds when it is commercially available

Sarcos Robotics, a developer of dexterous industrial robots for use in unstructured environments, has secured $10.5 million in funding from a group of top-tier strategic investors including Caterpillar Ventures, GE Ventures, and Microsoft.

Additionally, Cottonwood Technology Fund and two other private investment firms, together with the company’s three co-founders, Ben Wolff, Dr Fraser Smith and Dr Marc Olivier, invested in the financing round.

The company says the infusion of capital will be used to expand the Sarcos team and to accelerate the production and deployment of Sarcos’ Guardian line of robots that are significantly reducing the risk of injury and the cost of performing many of the world’s most dangerous and difficult tasks.  [Read more…] about Caterpillar, GE and Microsoft invest in Sarcos Robotics exoskeleton

Advanced driver assistance systems trump driverless cars by stealth

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While everyone seems fascinated by driverless cars brought to us via Silicon Valley, established suppliers of advanced driver assistance systems are quietly doing a roaring trade 

The automotive industry is going through some fundamental changes, mostly because of computer technology. 

The changes include higher levels of computer processing, fully driverless vehicles, greater levels of autonomy, internet connectivity, and the switch from petrol-powered combustion engines to electric.

It’s probably inevitable that the combustion engine will be gone from most mass-manufactured cars within a couple of decades, and will eventually only be seen in antique cars and supercars, although even some supercars are going electric.

Which means the road-going vehicle of the near-future will essentially be computers with wheels, connected to the cloud, and largely autonomous – or, in other words, a robot. In fact, this is what is already happening because of advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS.  [Read more…] about Advanced driver assistance systems trump driverless cars by stealth

Yaskawa Motoman reveals MotoSight 3D CanonVision, says it can sort out random parts

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Yaskawa Motoman has launched MotoSight 3D CanonVision which it says provides single-step recognition, picking of randomly placed parts. 

The robot-manufacturing giant says its MotoSight 3D CanonVision is an easy-to-use hardware-and-software solution that utilizes a single 3D machine vision head to quickly and easily recognize and pick parts that are randomly placed in bins.

Plus, 3D CAD matching provides simplified, accurate part registration, allowing even complicated parts to be identified.  [Read more…] about Yaskawa Motoman reveals MotoSight 3D CanonVision, says it can sort out random parts