Landscaping crews operate on the principle of efficiency. But monotonous mowing tasks take away from time that they can spend performing detail tasks, such as edging and trimming or managing planters. Scythe Robotics developed its autonomous commercial mower, the M.52, to help landscapers improve their operational efficiency. With support from Scythe’s engineers, implementation team, and customer support services, landscapers can automate mowing large areas, gaining back time to complete detail work. From machine testing to customer deployment training Kali Hamilton, field robotics engineer at Scythe, said field service is primarily focused on the mechanical and electrical health of M.52 robots,…
Robot arms equipped with the right safety features can operate in close proximity to people. But not all collaborative robots are built for constant work alongside humans. The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) defines four major types of collaborative robots recognized by the ISO. Some primarily move autonomously, abiding by visual sensors telling the robots to slow down or stop if people get too close. Others are built with collision sensors that stop robot arms when they contact obstacles. And others still are guided by hand, either in operation or during programming. Yaskawa America Inc. Motoman Robotics Division (Yaskawa Motoman)…
When people think of cobots, they usually picture people and robots working side by side in a shared space. But collaborative robotics also includes the fields of supervised autonomy and teleoperation. Plus One Robotics creates machine vision and AI computing systems for parcel picking applications. In addition to its AI platform PickOne, the company provides its customers with a remote supervision service called Yonder. Plus One describes Yonder as a human-in-the-loop automation software suite for robotic applications. Through its Yonder robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) offering, Plus One’s crew chiefs serve as remote supervisors who can step in 24/7 when automated systems need…
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Peerless Media is seeking speakers and session abstracts for the 2024 Robotics Applications Conference, presented by Robotics 24/7. The third-annual virtual event will be held on September 18 and represents an opportunity for end users to share perspectives on how to overcome operational challenges by evaluating, deploying and managing robots and automation across a variety of industrial mediums. “I am very excited to take part in my first Robotics Application Conference and speak with end users and integrators,” said Tim Culverhouse, editorial director of Robotics 24/7. “As RAC continues to grow, I look forward to sharing more…
Returns processing is a necessary, tedious and time consuming operation. Hence why it's it a prime candidate for robotic systems. In 2023, $743 billion in retail merchandise was returned - about 14.5% of sales - according to a National Retail Federation (NRF) and Appriss Retail report. The NRF also reported a full-year retail sales increase of 3.6% from 2022 to 2023. These hefty dollar amounts showcase just how necessary reverse-logistics operations remain as part of an organization's customer service process. Bedford, MA-based Berkshire Grey develops robotic sortation systems for retail and e-commerce distributors. In its “2022 State of Retail &…
Consumer cleaning robot manufacturer iRobot and e-commerce retailer Amazon recently announced they mutually agreed to forgo Amazon’s planned acquisition of iRobot. In a release, the companies announced they signed a termination agreement that resolves all outstanding transactional matters, including Amazon paying iRobot a previously agreed upon $94 million termination fee. The original $1.7 billion acquisition proposal was announced in August 2022. “Amazon and iRobot were excited to see what our teams could build together, and we're deeply grateful to everyone who worked tirelessly to try and make this collaboration a reality,” said David Zapolsky, Amazon SVP and general counsel. “This…
