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Digital manufacturing needs Time-Sensitive Networking

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Thomas Burke, Global Strategic Advisor at the CC-Link Partner Association, looks at why TSN is the future of industrial communications

Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is a game-changing technology that can substantially reshape industrial communications and factory operations.

By enhancing the capabilities of conventional industrial Ethernet and providing new functionalities, TSN can truly support futureproof digital manufacturing. Because of this disruptive potential, businesses should implement TSN now.

TSN is an innovative technology defined by IEEE 802.1 standards that resides at the Layer 2 (Data Link) of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) reference model for communications. It ultimately makes Ethernet deterministic by design, thus improving data transfer accuracy and reliability. [Read more…] about Digital manufacturing needs Time-Sensitive Networking

Motional invests in its Las Vegas operations with expanded testing and R&D capabilities

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Autonomous vehicle technology developer Motional has further invested in its Las Vegas operations with expanded testing and research and development capabilities.

Las Vegas has played an important role in Motional’s growth as a global driverless technology leader. It’s home to the company’s public robotaxi fleet, a service that has safely conducted over 100,000 public rides, and is also an important hub for its testing and research.

Motional is now significantly expanding its Las Vegas footprint as it continues to scale up ahead of its 2023 commercial robotaxi deployment. The company is tripling the size of its Las Vegas closed-course testing facility, doubling its operations center, and growing its Las Vegas team by over 100 new employees. This represents Motional’s largest operations investment in the Las Vegas area to date. [Read more…] about Motional invests in its Las Vegas operations with expanded testing and R&D capabilities

Honeywell introduces new robotic technology to ‘help warehouses boost productivity, reduce injuries’

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Honeywell has unveiled its latest innovation in robotic technology designed to help warehouses and distribution centers automate the manual process of unloading pallets, reducing the operational risks of potential injuries and labor shortages.

Driven by sophisticated machine learning and advances in perception and gripping technologies, Honeywell’s Smart Flexible Depalletizer minimizes the need for manual labor to break down pallet loads – roles that carry risk of injury to labor, experience high turnover and are currently difficult to staff.

Driven by sophisticated machine learning and advances in perception and gripping technologies, Honeywell’s Smart Flexible Depalletizer minimizes the need for manual labor to break down pallet loads – roles that carry risk of injury to labor, experience high turnover and are currently difficult to staff. [Read more…] about Honeywell introduces new robotic technology to ‘help warehouses boost productivity, reduce injuries’

Rolls-Royce and Sea Machines partner to develop smart ship and autonomous ship control solutions

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Rolls-Royce and Sea Machines Robotics have agreed a collaboration that they say will deliver “comprehensive remote command, autonomous control and intelligent crew support systems to the marine market” and complement Rolls-Royce’s mtu NautIQ marine automation portfolio.

The companies say the plan is to provide customers with “complete automation solutions from a single trusted source”.

As part of this agreement, Rolls-Royce business unit Power Systems and Sea Machines, the leading developer of remote-vessel command and autonomous control systems, will join forces on the development and sale of fully and semi-autonomous vessel control systems. [Read more…] about Rolls-Royce and Sea Machines partner to develop smart ship and autonomous ship control solutions

Estée Lauder invests in robotics from Inther Group

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Inther Group, international system integrator headquartered in Venray, the Netherlands, has signed an agreement with cosmetics giant Estée Lauder to implement the Gantry Robotic Intelligent Piece Picker (GRIPP).

This fully automated, compact, gantry robot picking technology developed by Inther has now made its first entry into the intralogistics market place.

Estée Lauder and Inther Group
Estée Lauder was founded in 1946 and has worldwide sales in the skin care, make-up and fragrance markets. The company has built a reputation for elegance, luxury and superior quality. [Read more…] about Estée Lauder invests in robotics from Inther Group

Advanced Farm Technologies completes $25 million Series B funding round

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Advanced Farm Technologies, developers of robotic technology for farmers, has completed a series B investment round raising $25 million to support the company’s growth in strawberry harvesting and the adaptation of its technology to apple harvesting.

The Series B funding round was led by Catapult Ventures and included all the Series A investors Kubota Corporation, Yamaha Motor Corporation, and Impact Ventures.

Kyle Cobb, president, and co-founder of Advanced Farm Technologies, says: “It is gratifying to have the ongoing support and commitment from our early investors in this funding round. It reflects all of our team’s hard work to develop and bring our TX Strawberry Harvester to the market. [Read more…] about Advanced Farm Technologies completes $25 million Series B funding round

Sea Machines embarks on ‘world’s first’ autonomous, remotely commanded voyage by an ocean tugboat

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In a milestone moment slated to prove that the world’s waterways are primed and ready for autonomous technology, Sea Machines will circumnavigate Denmark on a multi-week 1,000 nautical mile remotely commanded commercial voyage.

Sea Machines Robotics, a developer of autonomous command and control systems for the maritime industry, says it will embark on a 1,000 nautical mile autonomous and remotely commanded journey around Denmark later this month.

Aptly named “The Machine Odyssey”, the voyage marks a landmark moment for autonomous transportation and is slated to prove that the world’s waterways are primed and ready for long-range autonomy.

The Machine Odyssey will depart from Hamburg, Germany, on September 30, with full onboard vessel control managed by autonomous technology, while operating under the authority of commanding officers located in the United States. [Read more…] about Sea Machines embarks on ‘world’s first’ autonomous, remotely commanded voyage by an ocean tugboat

Baidu DeepWay unveils autonomous truck

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DeepWay, a Baidu-backed company, has unveiled Xingtu, a smart new energy heavy-duty truck with a computing power of more than 500 teraflops per second and ultra-long-distance sensing capabilities of more than 1 kilometer.

This launch marks Baidu’s entry into the multi-trillion dollar global freight market.

Powered by Baidu’s globally recognized AI technology stack and the Baidu Apollo autonomous driving platform, Xingtu is a prime example of the next generation vehicles we will see in the smart driving era. [Read more…] about Baidu DeepWay unveils autonomous truck

Nasa awards Geisel Software grant to develop multi-robot perception

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Geisel Software, a Massachusetts-based custom software development firm, has partnered with Fayetteville State University to perform research funded by NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project Space Technology Artemis Research grant.

The grant will fund Active and On-demand Multi Robot Perception research designed to develop multi-robot perception, a technology that utilizes highly specialized image sensors, to support NASA’s use of autonomous multi-robot systems performing scouting missions on the surface of the Moon or other planets. [Read more…] about Nasa awards Geisel Software grant to develop multi-robot perception

GXO pilots customised robotic arm for fashion e-commerce logistics

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GXO Logistics, which claims to be the world’s largest pure-play contract logistics provider, has launched an “industry-first pilot” of intelligent automation at its fashion e-commerce warehouse in Tilburg, the Netherlands.

GXO’s pilot of the Pick-it-Easy Robot station is tailored for one of its key global customers, in collaboration with value chain tech provider Knapp.

The pilot is the first application of Knapp’s Pick-it-Easy Robot technology for automated pocket induction in the sector for apparel logistics. [Read more…] about GXO pilots customised robotic arm for fashion e-commerce logistics