Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

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Savioke says hotels turning to its room service robot

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An increasing number of hotels are making enquiries to Savioke about its room service robots, according to the company.

As the hospitality industry struggles to adapt to changing consumer behavior during the coronavirus pandemic, many hotels are turning to room service robots to help wary travelers feel more at ease.

David Wang, director of sales and marketing at the Crowne Plaza San Jose – Silicon Valley hotel, in Milpitas, says: “Guests now think of it as a perk to not have a person come to their room. [Read more…] about Savioke says hotels turning to its room service robot

How robotics is helping those with disabilities

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Government statistics show that 14.1 million people reported a disability in the UK in 2018-19 – a figure that equates to 21% of the population. Of course, disabilities can range in severity and further data from the authorities reveals 4.1 million disabled people are in work.

Although that represents almost 30% of all disabled people, Scope’s 2019 disability price tag study found that on average, those with a disability face extra living costs of nearly £600 per month.

The encouraging news is that plenty is being done to improve the quality of life for disabled people, to help them enjoy the sense of freedom and independence that more able members of the population may take for granted. [Read more…] about How robotics is helping those with disabilities

Gerald Vogt appointed new CEO of Stäubli Group

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Stäubli is starting the new year with a new chief executive officer – and it’s someone this website has interviewed before. (See video below.)

Gerald Vogt, previously responsible for the global business of the Robotics Division, will take over as CEO from retiring Rolf Strebel on January 1, 2021.

With Gerald Vogt, an experienced manager from within the company’s own ranks will take over the management of the diversified and growing family-owned company. [Read more…] about Gerald Vogt appointed new CEO of Stäubli Group

Universal Robots sells 50,000 collaborative robots

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Collaborative robot manufacturer Universal Robots is celebrating “unprecedented sales” with the delivery of its 50,000th unit to German company VEMA.

Collaborative robots – or cobots – remain the fastest growing segment of industrial automation, projected to grow at an annual growth rate of 30.37 percent during 2020–2025.

Cobot market pioneer Universal Robots solidified its frontrunner position today by selling its 50,000th cobot, which was purchased by a German manufacturer to enable higher productivity and better employee safety. [Read more…] about Universal Robots sells 50,000 collaborative robots

Automation association CLPA celebrates 20 years

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November 2020 marks a significant milestone for the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA), as the organization will celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Over the past two decades, the CLPA has been supporting automation vendors and end users worldwide to create converged Smart Factories by providing open network solutions that leverage the latest, most promising technologies, such as Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN).

Since its foundation, the CLPA has actively contributed to advancing manufacturing, such as supporting the current focus on Industry 4.0. [Read more…] about Automation association CLPA celebrates 20 years

Robotics and Automation News Awards 2021

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Vote for your favourite companies using this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1c6DppSIyB8vSMo4fUWC1nGlXH5cmWTN4oS0EBSYS0ag/edit

After five years of publication, Robotics and Automation News is launching an awards competition to highlight and honour some of the many companies in the sector that we cover on a daily basis and which have done particularly well in terms of their technical innovations and their success in their respective markets. 

As a website and media outlet, and a group of people putting it together, we are honoured to be in this position.

Over the past few years, we have seen the website grow from literally nothing to one of the most influential websites in the market today, and we have some very strong, well-established competition to compare ourselves and aspire to.

For these awards, we have chosen categories based on popular articles we have published over the past few years. These include:

1. 3D printing: Top 10 3D printer manufacturers
2. Agriculture: 30 farm automation technologies
3. Agriculture: Top 25 vertical farming companies
4. Computing: Top 25 AI chip companies
5. Energy: Top 20 electric vehicle charging station companies
6. Industrial control: Top 20 programmable logic controller manufacturers
7. Industrial design: Top 10 industrial design software applications by install base
8. Industrial robots: Top 30 robotic arm makers
9. Logistics: 30 robotic solutions for warehouses (autonomous mobile robots, automated guided vehicles, and automated storage and retrieval systems)
10. Logistics: Top 20 autonomous delivery robots
11. Software: Top 10 product lifecycle management applications by install base
12. Transportation: Top 25 autonomous shuttle manufacturers (driverless minibuses)
13. Networks: Industrial cloud providers
14. Various: Robotics and automation software and other companies
15. Systems: End effectors, peripherals, sensors and embedded technologies

Although the above lists include up to 30 companies, we will whittle them down to a shortlist of three to five in each category, and some of the categories themselves are likely to be removed because 12 may be too many. We’ll just have to see how much interest there is – we may omit some categories if not enough people vote in them.

You can vote for a maximum of three companies in each category using the online form, or nominate a judge to us by email. We encourage you to take part in any way you can so we can make this project as broadly representative of the audience’s opinions as possible.

Initially, we can open up voting to readers through an online form. These votes will be counted towards the “readers’ awards”.

We will have separate “judges’ awards”, and the judges will be chosen from a variety of different technical backgrounds or companies.

Closing date for voting is 30th June 2021. Main picture is just for illustrative purposes, and shows MX3D’s innovative robotic arm section.

China has more industrial robots than next four countries combined

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China has more industrial robots than next four countries put together, according to a new report. 

Data presented by Buy Shares indicates that China, Japan, and the United States cumulatively control about 58.71 percent of the global industrial robot installations.

As of September 2020, there were 381,000 units of industrial robots globally. [Read more…] about China has more industrial robots than next four countries combined

Trends in Robotics to Look Out for This Year

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Do you know much about the robotics industry and the common trends within this? Find out more about these trends here in this article as we discuss.

The robotics industry is one that has been evolving and growing over recent years. New developments in the industry have allowed both individuals and larger corporations to perform certain tasks in a much more efficient way.

As the robotics industry continues to evolve, we are looking toward the future and the trends that we expect to see. Read on to hear what we think you should look out for in this industry this year. [Read more…] about Trends in Robotics to Look Out for This Year

Carbon fiber reinforced plastics market set to grow to $64 billion by 2030

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Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are a critical class of performance materials, but disruptions from Covid-19 have made the future of the industry uncertain.

In a new report, The Future of Carbon Fiber Composites, Lux Research outlines major challenges and opportunities carbon fibers and CFRPs face and how standardization and recycling are enabling the CFRP market to grow to a $64 billion industry by 2030.

The carbon fiber industry is facing three major challenges: weakness in underlying markets, fiber standardization, and recycling. [Read more…] about Carbon fiber reinforced plastics market set to grow to $64 billion by 2030

SkyDrive launches ‘world’s smallest flying car’

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A Japanese startup company called SkyDrive has unveiled what it claims is the world’s smallest flying car. (See video below.)

Designed to carry one person, the vehicle could be said to be the aerial equivalent of a motorcycle.

SkyDrive says it can put the what we’ll call the “airbike” into mass production in just two years’ time, by which time there should be more regulations about aerial vehicles. [Read more…] about SkyDrive launches ‘world’s smallest flying car’