Labor shortages have affected large parts of the world and various industries, including security. Ascento Robotics yesterday announced pre-seed funding of $4.3 million and the launch of its Ascento Guard autonomous robot for outdoor patrols. “The global security industry is facing mounting challenges,” said Allesandro Morra, co-founder and CEO of Ascento. “Labor shortages mean a lack of qualified personnel available to do the work, which involves long shifts during anti-social hours or in bad weather.” “To compound matters, there is high staff turnover in the industry—as much as 47% annually,” he asserted in a release. “By providing a robotics-as-a-service [RaaS]…
Align Production Systems, a leading innovator in material handling systems, has announced a strategic partnership with Kollmorgen, which is known for its vehicle control products. The companies said the collaboration will “revolutionize” automated guided vehicles, or AGVs. “Our partnership with Kollmorgen marks a pivotal moment in the AGV technology for heavy industry,” stated Jason Stoecker, CEO of Align Production Systems (APS). “As a premier provider of heavy industrial solutions partnered with a pioneer in AGV technologies, APS will help lead heavy industry into the autonomous age.” St. Louis, Mo.-based Align Production Systems said it is committed to enhancing efficiency, safety,…
At FABTECH in Chicago this week, Vention Inc. announced its Coordinated Motion technology, which it developed with Universal Robots A/S to synchronize motion control across six robot joints and a single external linear axis. This enables precise tool center point, or TCP, trajectory execution through multiple waypoints at specific times across a robot workspace, said the Montreal-based company. “It is a great achievement to show at FABTECH the new Coordinated Motion software developed in collaboration with Universal Robots,” said Anik Roy Trudel, vice president of product line management at Vention, in a release. “This new innovation exemplifies Vention's and Universal…
ABB today announced that it is investing $280 million to expand its manufacturing footprint in Europe and build a new ABB Robotics European Campus in Västerås, Sweden. It will serve as the European hub for the company offerings, including artificial intelligence-enabled collaborative and industrial robots. The campus will also provide digital solutions to support flexible automation as part of the ABB’s “local for local” production strategy. The new campus will replace existing robotics facilities at the site, and the company said it expects to open it in late 2026. “The investment in our new campus is driven by customer demand…
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Machina Labs yesterday announced the commercial availability of the Machina Deployable System, a portable robotic system that digitally forms and cuts custom composite and metal parts. It is making its debut at FABTECH this week in Chicago. “Machina Labs has a mission to develop manufacturing solutions that give businesses the ability to make changes with ease, and iterate and produce rapidly,” said Edward Mehr, co-founder and CEO of Machina Labs, in a release. “Our portable Deployable System is a game-changer in the manufacturing world,” he asserted. “By providing manufacturers with a portable solution that combines flexibility, precision, and speed, we…
While there are plenty of robotics conferences and trade shows, there are relatively few that involve both commercial technologies and the general public. MassRobotics yesterday announced that it will host RoboBoston in the Boston Seaport neighborhood on Friday, Sept. 29, and Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. The organization claimed that it is “one of the world's largest celebrations of robots and robotics,” with more than 50 companies, several universities, and student robotics teams. They will showcase cutting-edge robotics and technology in a series of professional and family-oriented STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) events. “Massachusetts has long been a leading area…
The supply chain industry needs automation that is easy to deploy to become more resilient and efficient, according to Big Joe Forklifts. The company is showing its latest Big Joe Pallet Mover at Booth N-10028 at PACK EXPO this week in Las Vegas. “The global pandemic accelerated the need and uptake of autonomous vehicles, paving the way for the material handling industry to become educated on how simple, yet effective solutions could be every day, not just to solve its pain points during a crisis,” said Brendan Brett, the new director of strategic partnerships at Big Joe's Autonomous Division. “I…
A.P. Moller - Maersk and Get Fabric Inc. today announced a new 38,000-sq.-ft. warehouse in Dallas. The facility includes e-commerce fulfillment automation driven by artificial intelligence, said the partners. They added that Fabric's robots and software maximizes productivity while minimizing urban space requirements. “The growth of e-commerce continues to reshape the retail landscape,” stated Erez Agmoni, global head of innovation for logistics and services at Maersk. “As we look to help our customers streamline their supply chains end to end, we see Fabric’s automated fulfillment solution as one that is highly capable of meeting the demand for efficient warehousing and…
ASTM International’s F45 committee on robotics, automation, and autonomous systems is seeking participation in the development of proposed standards for testing and recording assembly capabilities of robot systems. The proposed standards—WK87213 and WK87214—will provide a reliable and repeatable means for testing assembly capabilities of robot systems, according to ASTM committee member Kenny Kimble, a mechanical engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The proposed standards also include a practice for recording the testing setup and configuration so that users can create and compare test results across the robotics community. “The proposed standards will be most useful to…
All robotic arms need a quality cable management system if they’re to avoid frequent downtime. This usually boils down to two options: corrugated tubing and multi-axis cable carriers. Learn more about the differences between the two & the advantages of choosing triflex multi-axis cable carriers.
