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Summer Berry Company partners with Tortuga AgTech

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Cibus Capital says one of its portfolio companies, UK berry grower The Summer Berry Company (TSBCo), has extended its partnership with Tortuga AgTech, a provider of commercial harvesting robot fleet.

TSBCo has deployed 52 Tortuga robots in its 26 ha of glasshouses and 140 ha of polytunnels in Southwest England to harvest strawberries, provide forecasting on yields, plant health as well as providing support to their agronomists in fighting pests via UV light application.

Cibus Capital advises on investments that support sustainable agricultural production and the incorporation of disruptive technologies into its portfolio companies is pivotal to its mission. [Read more…] about Summer Berry Company partners with Tortuga AgTech

Exotec manufactures milestone 5,000th robot in record time

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Exotec, a warehouse robotics provider, has manufactured its 5,000th robot, just three months after the production of its 4,000th robot.

The company claims this is the “shortest time yet” between manufacturing milestones, signifying an increasing business momentum driven by the growing demand for warehouse automation.

The completion of the 5,000th robot, which will be named “Monu” (short for “Monumental”), is a landmark moment for the industrial unicorn, which has seen considerable growth across the UK, Europe and internationally. [Read more…] about Exotec manufactures milestone 5,000th robot in record time

SEKO Logistics partners with GreyOrange to scale up warehouse operations

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SEKO Logistics, a global logistics provider, is today announcing a strategic partnership with GreyOrange, a global leader in automated robotic fulfilment and inventory optimization software, to help scale-up its warehouse operations.

The partnership, which will involve SEKO using a fleet of GreyOrange’s Ranger Assist Bots and GreyMatter fulfilment orchestration platform, will enable the company to both increase available capacity and throughput across its warehouse while also reducing operating costs.

GreyOrange’s solution will empower SEKO to scale its warehouse operations to meet changing demand without having to source additional labour. [Read more…] about SEKO Logistics partners with GreyOrange to scale up warehouse operations

Smith+Nephew launches handheld robotic-assisted surgical system

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Smith+Nephew, the global medical technology business, has launched its CORI handheld surgical robot, an advanced robotic system for both total and partial knee arthroplasties.

The CORI system is a compact and fully mobile solution incorporating a 3-D intra-operative imaging system with an advanced robotic sculpting tool. The robotic system allows surgeons to measure, plan, and perform a knee surgery which is personalised to the patient’s individual anatomy in theatre.

The Smith+Nephew system is considerably more compact than alternative robotic systems, has minimal set up time, and is so portable it can be moved from theatre to theatre to optimise flow of patients through surgical units. [Read more…] about Smith+Nephew launches handheld robotic-assisted surgical system

What Barriers Still Impede Electric Vehicles?

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Electric vehicles have been with us for a long time.

It’s only recently that they’re being touted as a serious replacement for the internal combustion engine and a (partial) answer to our climate crisis.

The UK government says that it’ll ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 – and you can reasonably expect any Labour government to be at least as ambitious, given their slightly greener voter-base.

By then, electric cars will need to be fairly ubiquitous. So what’s stopping this from happening right now? [Read more…] about What Barriers Still Impede Electric Vehicles?

Spacetime Labs and Small Robot Company to develop swarm robotics for agri-business in Latin America

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SpaceTime Labs and Small Robot Company are partnering to co-develop swarms of fourth generation autonomous aerial and terrestrial robots to “transform” Latin American agriculture with “per plant farming solutions”.

The strategic partnership will focus on co-developing an on the ground, end-to-end “per plant” planting, weeds, pests and disease management and nutrition management “farming as a service” value propositions delivered through an integrated delivery “sense-predict-act” value chain for all key commercial crops in Latin America.

The companies will work with leading Brazilian and Argentinian farmers to prototype, test and scale Per Plant Farming – maximising yields whilst reducing the impact on the environment. [Read more…] about Spacetime Labs and Small Robot Company to develop swarm robotics for agri-business in Latin America

Manufacturing industry ‘optimistic’ about post-pandemic recovery

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More than 60 percent of professionals in the UK manufacturing industry expect the sector to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and return to business as usual by mid-2021, according to a new survey by SteelScout.

However, they highlighted issues in the wider supply chain which might impact the recovery, with almost 30 percent unable to access the materials they need and 36 percent adding that it is taking longer just to receive a “winning quote”.

One key driver behind the confidence in recovery is that 62 percent of respondents reported having orders waiting to be fulfilled once lockdown rules have eased. [Read more…] about Manufacturing industry ‘optimistic’ about post-pandemic recovery

Opinion: Radical rethink of automotive R&D investment required in 2020

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Continued disruption, restructuring and re-shaping of the automotive industry will be required to make increasing levels of R&D affordable whilst simultaneously representing a major growth opportunity in the year ahead, according to engineering consultancy Horiba Mira.

The proliferation of electrification and connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technologies will continue to be amongst the top automotive trends in 2020 which will continue to push up the already soaring costs of research and development.

Indeed, latest figures show European auto manufacturers spent a record £33.3 billion on R&D – 35 per cent more than the £24.6 billion spent in 2014/15. [Read more…] about Opinion: Radical rethink of automotive R&D investment required in 2020

Mazak showcases machining centre with ‘world’s fastest CNC’

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Mazak has demonstrated a new machining centre which it says has the “world’s fastest CNC”.

Mazak says its Integrex i-400S Multi-Tasking machining centre at the upcoming Autosport Engineering and Southern Manufacturing 2019 exhibitions.

The i-400S features a large 1500mm machining bed with a completely new design offering higher performance machining and greater workpiece capacity than any other multi-tasking machines in its size range. [Read more…] about Mazak showcases machining centre with ‘world’s fastest CNC’

IBM joins the Mayflower autonomous ship project

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IBM has joined a global consortium of partners, led by marine research organization ProMare, that are building an unmanned, fully-autonomous ship that will cross the Atlantic in September 2020, on the fourth centenary of the original Mayflower voyage 400 years ago.

The Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) will use IBM’s Power servers, AI, cloud and edge computing technologies to navigate autonomously and avoid ocean hazards as it makes its way from Plymouth, England to Plymouth, Massachusetts.

If successful, it will be one of the first self-navigating, full-sized vessels to cross the Atlantic Ocean and will open the door on a new era of autonomous research ships. [Read more…] about IBM joins the Mayflower autonomous ship project