Yanfeng Automotive Interiors is a global leader in automotive interiors. With more than 30,000 employees in 113 facilities worldwide, Yanfeng produces parts found in one in every three cars in the world. After deploying two collaborative robots in its Monroe, Mich., facility, the company has improved two production processes while freeing up employees to be used at positions where they can add more value. This is the company’s first wave of implementing collaborative robots (Rethink Robotics), which began in its Grand Rapids, Mich., facility and is spreading throughout North America. The deployment of two collaborative robots at the Monroe facility…
The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) has offered a preview of Automate 2017, North America’s biennial event devoted to leading-edge technology and business innovation to be held at Chicago’s McCormick Place April 3-6. This year’s show is more than 40% larger than the last show in 2015 and features more than 400 exhibitors showing their latest technologies for the entire spectrum of the automation industry. More than 20,000 attendees are expected to attend Automate 2017 from across the United States and more than 70 countries. Registration is free for attendees walking the show floor. The Automate 2017 show and conference…
Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) has signed an agreement to acquire Vanderlande, a global market leader for value-added logistic process automation at airports, warehouses and the parcel market, from the company’s current owner NPM Capital. The acquisition has been fully approved and supported by Vanderlande’s Supervisory and Management Boards, and Works Council. Vanderlande will retain its name and corporate identity, as well as continue its operations as a standalone entity from the same locations worldwide. According to a release, the transaction signifies TICO’s strategic ambition to increase its presence in automated material handling. It follows the recently announced expansion in North…
As reported by Jalopnik, Uber’s year hasn’t gone well. But it could get much worse, if it ends up on the losing side of a case filed by Google’s self-driving car project, Waymo. And the case, which alleges Uber’s autonomous driving system designs were created as the result of brazen theft by a former Waymo employee, doesn’t look good for Uber at all. Uber’s been roiled by one controversy after another - from allegations of sexual harassment, to video evidence of its CEO acting like a jerk, to the alleged use of a tool in the ride-hailing company’s app specifically…
Intel and Mobileye announced on March 13 that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Intel will acquire Mobileye. Under the terms of the agreement, a subsidiary of Intel will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Mobileye for $63.54 per share in cash, representing a fully-diluted equity value of approximately $15.3 billion and an enterprise value of $14.7 billion. The acquisition will couple the best-in-class technologies from both companies, including Intel’s high-performance computing and connectivity expertise and Mobileye’s leading computer vision expertise to create automated driving solutions from…
Intelligrated, a leading North American-based automated material handling solutions provider, announces the election of Matt Wicks, vice president, product development, manufacturing systems, to the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) board of directors. Wicks’ two-year term began following the board’s January meeting. The RIA board is comprised of members across supplier, educator and researcher, integrator and user categories. Wicks was elected for his background in systems integration and robotic applications in high-growth logistics markets, including experience with warehousing, distribution and e-commerce fulfillment operations. “I’m happy to be working with this esteemed group of new and returning board members to plan the strategic…
California-based Starsky Robotics has a solution to on- and off-highway deliveries by self-driving trucks, including the “last mile” issue for how a driverless vehicle will deliver cargo at its final destination. In an interview, Starsky founder and Chief Executive Stefan Seltz-Axmacher said the company's goal is to employ robotics, sensors and software to “make trucks completely driverless.” The trucking industry is keenly following efforts to automate various aspects of big trucks, in part to address highway safety concerns as well as the growing shortage of skilled drivers. As with self-driving cars, federal and state regulators have not finalized new rules…
A 50-pound flying robot can be lethal. As drones swarm the U.S., regulators need convincing before they give Amazon, Google, and others permission for expanded use. Bloomberg Technology has a fascinating article titled “Crashing Drones Into Test Dummies for Safety” which clearly identifies how the small- and medium-sized drones flooding the U.S. market can seriously injure or even kill someone. Researchers at Virginia Tech - home to both a Federal Aviation Administration-designated test site for unmanned aircraft systems and a world-renowned injury biomechanics group - are developing methods to evaluate the risk posed by small unmanned aircraft to anyone on…
