Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

vehicles

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

by Leave a Comment

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

Opinion: How will people respond when automation changes their roles?

by Leave a Comment

Dr Paul Rivers, CEO, Guidance Automation

There has been much written about the benefits that automation can unlock for businesses, but too often businesses think they need to jump in at the deep end and deploy automation technology straight away, hoping it will solve the problems they are experiencing.

But how will a process optimised for a manual workforce perform with automation – such as an automated guided vehicle (AGV)? How will people respond when their day-to-day roles change?

If the aim is to improve efficiency and productivity, technology is just one part of the overall solution. [Read more…] about Opinion: How will people respond when automation changes their roles?

NXP launches new chip with ‘10 times more processing power’ to support autonomous cars

by Leave a Comment

NXP Semiconductors has launched a new processor with “10 times more processing power” to support autonomous driving functions.

NXP is believed to be the world’s largest supplier of automotive semiconductors.

The company says the new S32G vehicle network processors mark a “significant turning point” in the way vehicle architectures are designed and implemented.

As the latest offering from NXP’s S32 family of processors, the S32G processors enable the automotive industry shift to high performance domain-based vehicle architectures and provide reduced software complexity and enhanced security and safety. [Read more…] about NXP launches new chip with ‘10 times more processing power’ to support autonomous cars

BlueBotics signs up South Korean distributor

by Leave a Comment

BlueBotics, the global reference in natural feature navigation for automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), has further strengthened its footprint in Asia by announcing a new distribution agreement with South Korean motion and control pioneer MacPion.

BlueBotics’ Autonomous Navigation Technology (ANT) is being integrated by an ever-growing number of industrial vehicle original equipment manufacturers and system integrators across the globe, having been applied across a wide range of applications – from shop floors to warehouses, clean rooms, hospitals and more – over the past decade.

Nicola Tomatis, the CEO of BlueBotics, says: “Our ANT technology is fast becoming the localization and navigation solution of choice for Asia’s autonomous vehicle producers. [Read more…] about BlueBotics signs up South Korean distributor

Autonomous buses and shuttles reflect ‘strong societal trends’, says report

by Leave a Comment

Autonomous buses and robotic shuttles reflect “strong societal trends”, such as ageing populations who are less mobile and the record numbers of people moving to cities, according to a new report.

These are among the findings of a study by IDTechEx, Robot Shuttles and Autonomous Buses 2020-2040, said to be the first in-depth report on the subject.

Robot shuttles are an important new, reconfigurable form of transportation for goods and people that may even function as mobile offices, workshops, restaurants and more. [Read more…] about Autonomous buses and shuttles reflect ‘strong societal trends’, says report

Emerging trends in the world of autonomous vehicles

by Leave a Comment

By Swamini Kulkarni

The last few years have been favorable for the autonomous vehicle technology. Developing a driverless car has been a shared dream for Google, Apple, Tesla, Uber, and Lyft.

For Uber and Lyft, autonomous cars are one of the means of cutting costs. However, saving big bucks are not the only benefits of autonomous cars.

Factors such as lowering fuel consumption, reduce CO2 emission, and reduction in congestion are some of the major benefits of autonomous vehicles. [Read more…] about Emerging trends in the world of autonomous vehicles

BMW invests €400 million in Dingolfing plant for BMW iNEXT

by Leave a Comment

The BMW Group is investing around €400 million in its Dingolfing vehicle plant for production of the BMW iNEXT.

In doing this, it is preparing for the manufacture of pure battery-electric and highly automated BMW cars at its largest European production location.

With the launch of the BMW iNEXT in 2021, Plant Dingolfing will be capable of producing the right mix of fully-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and models with combustion engines to suit demand on a single assembly line. [Read more…] about BMW invests €400 million in Dingolfing plant for BMW iNEXT

BMW claims it has ‘half a million’ electric vehicles on the road

by Leave a Comment

BMW claims it has “half a million” electric vehicles on the road, and is looking to double that number to reach 1 million by the end of 2021.

To mark the reaching of this milestone, Sebastian Mackensen, BMW Group senior vice president market Germany, handed over the keys to a very special BMW 330e to its future owner at BMW Welt today.

Oliver Zipse, chairman of BMW, says: “Half a million vehicles is the best proof: Our broad range of electrified vehicles is meeting exact customer needs. [Read more…] about BMW claims it has ‘half a million’ electric vehicles on the road

Nvidia launches ‘world’s most advanced’ chip for robotics and autonomous driving

by Leave a Comment

Nvidia has launched what it describes as the “world’s most advanced” chip for robotics and autonomous driving.

The Nvidia Drive AGX Orin is said to be a highly advanced software-defined platform, powered by a new system-on-a-chip called Orin.

The new chip consists of 17 billion transistors and is the result of four years of research and development investment. [Read more…] about Nvidia launches ‘world’s most advanced’ chip for robotics and autonomous driving

Bosch and Mercedes-Benz start automated ride-hailing service in San José

by Leave a Comment

Bosch and Mercedes-Benz’s joint project to develop urban automated driving has now entered a new stage.

Their pilot project for an app-based ride-hailing service using automated Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicles has now been launched in the Silicon Valley city of San José.

Monitored by a safety driver, the self-driving cars shuttle between West San José and downtown, along the San Carlos Street and Stevens Creek Boulevard thoroughfares. [Read more…] about Bosch and Mercedes-Benz start automated ride-hailing service in San José