Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.18
March 26, 2021
…AIA (Advanced Vision + Imaging), the Motion Control & Motor Association (MCMA), and A3 Mexico, will be uniting under the Association for Advancing Automation. The new www.automate.org website will be live on April 14. Why are the associations consolidating, and why now? “We've been talking about it for about five years,” replied Burnstein. “We originally launched as the RIA and added other associations along the way. But that's not how those in industry do things. They just want to solve problems with technologies, and as they converged, the associations realized, 'Why make this complicated? It's not intuitive between our sites…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.16
June 08, 2017
…pick-to-light (PTL) workstations, notes Jim Bast, vice president and general manager of Matthews Automation’s Lightning Pick brand, which offers order picking solutions. “We see much of the advantage from mobile robots as coming from the flexibility of movement it allows for human operators,” says Bast. “When you start adding lots of automation to a DC, it can start looking like an expressway interchange in Southern California.” Fixed but modular While “fixed” automation like conveyor systems are seen as less flexible to change, flexibility is a relative thing. “Before flexible and scalable become an industry norm, we’d been using it as…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.14
April 17, 2022
…Justin Vranic, Adam Dmytriw, and Aman Patel at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Marcin Balicki of Philips Research North America. Tilt and twist for endovascular surgery Endovascular surgery is a specialized, minimally invasive procedure that involves carefully twisting and guiding a thin medical wire through the body's arteries and vessels to a target location, in a way that avoids damaging vessel walls. The procedure typically requires years of training for a surgeon to master. Robotic systems are being explored as assistive technologies in endovascular surgery. These systems mainly involve motor drives that advance and retract a wire while twisting it…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.72
July 28, 2023
…this week received a gold award in the actuators, motors, and drives category in Plant Engineering's 2023 “Product of the Year” program. Robotics 24/7 spoke with Martin Buena-Franco, product marketing manager of automation at Raymond, about the company's lift trucks, telematics, and service strategy. Areas of customer interest This past spring, there were plenty of trade shows—what products received the most interest? Buena-Franco: A big portion of our space at ProMat 2023 was AGVs [automated guided vehicles], which we're very excited about. We've had a pallet truck for some time, but it's enhanced. It's now faster and able to do…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.63
March 30, 2021
…electronics industry. Once we manage a broader diffusion into general industries, the picture can quickly change—to the benefits of those economies being most successful in this process. We already see that economies that invest in their automation infrastructure are more successful. Does the IFR have any projections on how much robotics will grow this year in verticals other than manufacturing, such as agriculture, construction, healthcare, or food and beverage? Guerry: With the uncertainty remaining, predictions could be a little difficult. If we look at the success in 2020 in North America, the 3.5% growth in 2020 reported by A3 [the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.25
July 09, 2021
…example, the automotive industry has been using robotics since General Motors installed its first pick-and-place robot on the line in 1961. That’s 60 years of robotics utilization. The materials handling industry is just now piloting, and in some case rolling out, piece-picking robots, typically in small pilots. Anecdotal reasons for the reluctance to embrace automation The cost and availability of labor: Manufacturers grappled with high wages, especially in unionized industries. For them, automation was easier to justify. Meanwhile, labor in distribution facilities was plentiful and comparatively cheap. Throwing more bodies at the problem was a viable solution. Land was available…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.94
July 01, 2019
…the network perform certain fundamental and universal tasks, which general-purpose, single-processing architectures can handle. The catch is that the IoT now requires chips that can perform specialized tasks, such as machine learning, voice or gesture recognition and security. These demands have caused designers to turn to a growing and evolving class of accelerators. Market forces further complicate the designer’s task of demanding shorter development cycles and reduced development costs, making the processor selection process even more critical. Single-Purpose vs. Multi-Function Processors One of the first decisions an IoT device designer must make is whether to create a system using a…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.84
June 22, 2023
…to want to fix a problem,” said Duncan Turner, general partner at pre-seed venture capital firm SOSV. “Frustrated founders with the ability to fix are what you want,” added Oliver Mitchell, partner at ff Venture Capital. He cited the example of a startup that pivoted from servicing solar farms with drones to doing it with mobile robots. Investors are looking for founders with a “penchant for commercialization,” explained Sarah Liu, a partner at Fifth Wall. “In the past, there were too many solutions coming out of academia looking for problems,” she said. “Have you been on a construction site?” asked…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.47
July 15, 2022
…of more than 2,000 people, according to TechCrunch. Ford Motor Co. and others have invested in Argo AI, which last year launched self-driving deliveries with Walmart Inc. in Miami; Austin, Texas; and Washington, D.C. The company this week said it will shut down its operations in Washington, D.C. Chowbotics Inc.—DoorDash Inc. acquired Hayward, Calif.-based Chowbotics in 2021 but last week said it is shutting down the salad-making robot startup. While DoorDash has launched its own robotics division and has filed a patent around autonomous delivery vehicles, reported Restaurant Dive, it's not yet clear what will happen to Chowbotics' staff or…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.45
May 05, 2017
…improves. According to Leonard, formerly a technology executive with General Motors, as sensors on trucks and trailers are becoming more numerous, they’re getting smarter and more capable of monitoring different conditions. Additionally, governments in places such as Ohio with its Smart Mobility Corridor program are embedding fiber optic cable and sensors right into roads to create “smart roads” that can help pinpoint congestion or weather trends. Final-mile evolution: Nebraska Furniture Mart shares “final-mile” visibility with customers Routing and scheduling for final-mile delivery of goods, along with real-time insight into delivery progress, can help retailers save on fuel costs and fleet…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.44
September 29, 2023
…Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) Jim Lawton, vice president and general manager for robotics automation at Zebra Technologies Joe Oliaro, vice president of sales and chief real estate officer at Wagner Logistics Kait Peterson, senior director of product marketing at Locus Robotics John Santagate, vice president of robotics at Körber Supply Chain Suppliers harness data for continuous improvement How have mobile robots evolved in the past year? We've seen a mix of larger models, higher reaches, and more sophisticated software. Kait Peterson, Locus Robotics Peterson: Locus is continually improving our robots' hardware and software capabilities based on customer needs, use cases,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.35
December 02, 2019
…also come with various hardware choices, e.g., number of motor-controlled wheels, payload size and compartment design, battery size, etc. Almost all have HD cameras around the robot to give tele-operators the ability to intervene All also have IMUs and GPS and most have ultrasound sensors for near-field sensing. A critical choice is whether to use LIDAR-only, stereo-vision-only, or hybrid. LIDAR can give excellent 360deg ranging information with spatial resolution and a dense point cloud which enables good signal processing. LIDARs however have are expensive and can have near-field (a few cm) blind spot. The first could jeopardize the business model…
