Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

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Berkshire Grey launches ‘Robotic Shuttle Put Wall’

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Berkshire Grey, a provider of robotics and automation systems for supply chain processes, has launched its AI-powered Robotic Shuttle Put Wall (RSPW) solution for e-commerce order fulfillment.

The RSPW is an automated put wall that increases capacity and throughput with robotic automation, which the company says is “more important than ever”, given today’s heightened customer expectations for fast and efficient fulfillment and the parallel industry pressure of labor scarcity.

Kevin Prouty, analyst at IDC, says: “Businesses will continue to see e-commerce orders rise as global e-commerce sales expect to approach $5 trillion by the end of 2021. [Read more…] about Berkshire Grey launches ‘Robotic Shuttle Put Wall’

Truly gigantic farm robot as big as a football field being tested in Arizona desert

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A colossally humungous robot that looks at least as big as a football field has been unveiled by a group of scientists who clearly understand scale. (See video below.)

Called the “Field Scanalyzer”, shown in dazzling pictures and video on the Wall Street Journal website, the totally titanic machine is described as “an automated robotic field phenotyping platform for detailed crop monitoring”.

Phenotyping is the process of predicting a crop’s phenotype – the observable physical properties of an organism – using only genetic information collected from genotyping or DNA sequencing. [Read more…] about Truly gigantic farm robot as big as a football field being tested in Arizona desert

Math experts use drones to show it’s possible to ‘see’ perfectly using sound

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The discovery’s potential applications include self-driving cars, smartphones that can guide the visually impaired and drones that can help firefighters at night

As the industry for self-driving cars, robots and other unmanned vehicles quickly evolves – and engineers work to overcome the limitations of sensors that use visual, infrared or thermal information – math experts at Purdue University and the Technical University of Munich have proven there’s another, equally viable solution: using sound. 

Mireille “Mimi” Boutin, associate professor of mathematics at Purdue University, and Gregor Kemper, professor of algorithmic algebra at Technical University, found that a drone equipped with four microphones and a loudspeaker can precisely reconstruct the wall configuration of a room by listening to echoes, similar to how bats use echolocation to orient themselves.

Their work is significant because it demonstrates the feasibility of using sound for navigation in unmanned systems, leading to many potential applications such as cars, drones, underwater vehicles or even devices that people can carry, such as a smartphone.  [Read more…] about Math experts use drones to show it’s possible to ‘see’ perfectly using sound

House built using robotic and digital technologies claimed to be ‘world’s first’

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House built using robots and 3D printing technologies claimed to be a first

ETH university in Zurich, in partnership with industrial companies, has built what is claimed to be “the world’s first” inhabited house to be digitally planned and digitally built with the help of robots and 3D printers. (See video below.)

Called the “DFAB House” (main picture), the construction is part of a project that involves the Empa materials science and technology project and Eawag, an aquatic research company. [Read more…] about House built using robotic and digital technologies claimed to be ‘world’s first’

How do DC/DC converters work in hybrid and electric cars?

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Within every electric vehicle is a battery that outputs a certain voltage.

Given that this voltage might not be appropriate for the various devices being driven, we need to install another device along the signal path.

This device is known as a DC/DC converter, and without it, the modern electric car wouldn’t be possible. [Read more…] about How do DC/DC converters work in hybrid and electric cars?

ABB puts YuMi collaborative industrial robot to work making wall sockets at its factory in Holland

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The dual-armed ABB YuMi robots shown at the company’s plant in Ede, the Netherlands

ABB has installed three YuMi robots on a new production line at its electrification products plant in Ede, the Netherlands.

Designed for use in small parts assembly, the three YuMi robots will assemble a new cavity wall socket called HW52-F.

ABB says that, due to its “inherently safe” design, the YuMi collaborative dual arm robot solution will ensure the safety of those around it and elevate the nature of work at the plant by performing repetitive tasks to perfection.  [Read more…] about ABB puts YuMi collaborative industrial robot to work making wall sockets at its factory in Holland

Qualcomm unveils first communications chip for connected cars

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qualcomm at ces

Chip giant Qualcomm has revealed its first communications chip for connected cars, a market in which it is soon to be dominant after its acquisition of NXP Semiconductor goes through. 

Presenting the new chip at CES, Patrick Little, Qualcomm’s senior vice president of automotive, said the chip can handle cellular signals at speeds measured in gigabits per second, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

“No longer will you be cranking windows and pushing buttons,” WSJ quoted Little as saying. “You’ll walk into your car and it will feel like a very seamless transition with your handset.”

Full report on Wall Street Journal