Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

visible

BlueBotics takes indoor robots outside

by

Swiss autonomous robot navigation company BlueBotics has launched ANT everywhere, a new product extension for its ANT navigation products that widen the scope of AGV and AMR operations by enabling outdoor operations.

Outdoor use has traditionally been a challenge for producers of automated vehicles. This is because there are typically few permanent “features” visible outdoors, which are required for modern mobile robots to calculate their exact position.

Up to now, vehicle producers have addressed this challenge either by using ad-hoc navigation add-ons, such as patching a GPS system on top of an existing navigation product or by adding additional outdoor infrastructure, such as custom poles featuring reflectors. [Read more…] about BlueBotics takes indoor robots outside

Michigan university scientists’ new solar panels could eventually lead to self-powering skyscrapers

by

Imagine if all the glass we see on the sides of skyscrapers and other buildings were actually solar cells in disguise, collecting energy from the sun and helping to power the building and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. 

That is the dream of many scientists who are working on the technology. Essentially, they want to replace the silicon material that glass is made out of with material that is more suitable for capturing solar energy.

While green energy has made great strides in recent years – with Germans as a nation recently using more electricity from alternative sources than traditional gas- and oil-based power – there’s still a long way to go. [Read more…] about Michigan university scientists’ new solar panels could eventually lead to self-powering skyscrapers