Robotics & Automation News

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Ascent Aerospace opens engineering center of excellence

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Ascent Aerospace, a provider of tooling systems, factory automation and assembly line integration services, has announced plans to reorganize and expand the company’s engineering resources.

Ascent is consolidating the engineering teams from its longstanding Michigan businesses, Global Tooling Systems, Odyssey Industries, Brown Aerospace and Ascent Integration – North America into an engineering center of excellence at its Macomb campus.

This consolidated team will build on the existing strength of each organizations engineering and design capability and bring it together under one roof for improved collaboration, process standardization, and manufacturing support.

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MassRobotics receives grant to expand in Boston

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Independent, non-profit organization MassRobotics has received a $2.5 million MassWorks grant to help it expand its operations.

MassRobotics has a mission to create and grow the next generation of robotics and smart connected device companies in Massachusetts, USA. It provides entrepreneurs and innovators the facilities and resources they need to develop, prototype, test, challenge and nurture early ideas.

MassRobotics opened 15,000 sq.ft. of shared workspace in Boston’s Marine Industrial Park in February 2017. Since then, it has grown to house more than 30 companies and organizations, including startups, mature robotics companies and university teams, with more than 70 people working in the space.

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GreyOrange to showcase expanded AI-powered Butler range at LogiMat 2018

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Robotics and supply chain automation company GreyOrange will launch its new goods-to-person Butler XL at LogiMat 2018.

The Butler XL can handle a payload of 1600 kgs (3500 lbs) including pallets, drums and sacks. Designed to work in tandem with the current Butler system, this makes it easy to add its new capabilities to existing operations.

The new robotics system will support multi-floor operations with the integration of an elevator. This provides greater flexibility to optimize handling of inventory across a facility.

[Read more…] about GreyOrange to showcase expanded AI-powered Butler range at LogiMat 2018

New EIU report forecasts impact of machine learning to 2030

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A new study released today by The Economist Intelligence Unit ran three econometric scenarios to 2030 on five countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan—and developing Asia as a whole.

In Risks and rewards: Scenarios around the economic impact of machine learning, commissioned by Google, two scenarios assumed greater human productivity through upskilling and greater investment in technology and access to open source data, while the third assumed insufficient policy support for structural changes in the economy.

The results showed that, although the fears of those pessimistic about the impact of machine learning, and artificial intelligence in general, may be overblown, the optimists’ claims are not entirely supported, either.

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Cobots set to become fastest growing robotics sector

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ABI Research, a market-foresight advisory firm providing guidance on the most transformative technologies, has identified collaborative robotics as one of the fastest growing segments of robotic systems.

Small-to-medium sized businesses are driving the increased demand for collaborative robots, as cobots provide solutions that allow for a more flexible kind of manufacturing that makes no assumptions as to volume levels or types of products being manufactured.

From 2016 to 2025, the global revenue of collaborative robotics shipments is set to enjoy a compound average growth rate of 49.8 per cent, compared to 12.1 per cent for Industrial robots and 23.2 per cent for commercial robotics.

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Pratt & Whitney ups production at advanced factory in Singapore

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Pratt & Whitney is increasing production at its first advanced manufacturing facility in Singapore, operated by P&W NGPF Manufacturing Company Singapore Pte Ltd, a joint venture with Hanwha Techwin Co., Ltd.

Using adaptive machining and cutting-edge automated inspection systems, as well as the latest in advanced manufacturing tools and processes, the facility’s production of fan blades and turbine disks has steadily increased since its official opening in 2016.

The facility operates two manufacturing lines delivering fan blades and high-pressure turbine disks for GTF engines. Full production capacity for the plant is expected to be achieved by early 2019.

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Red Lion Controls integrates to Ignition SCADA IoT platform

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Red Lion Controls, a communication, monitoring and control company for industrial automation and networking, has released firmware 4.28 for its family of RAM industrial routers and cellular RTUs, increasing the number of IIoT platforms available for integration.

The upgrade features connectivity to Ignition by Inductive Automation, an industrial application platform for SCADA and IIoT solutions, via the industry-standard Sparkplug MQTT profile, as well as enhancements to RAMQTT, Red Lion’s MQTT client.

RAMQTT simplifies implementations with pre-configured profiles for AT&T M2X, Amazon AWS IoT, Cumulocity, Microsoft Azure, Nokia Impact, and Telenor Connexion. [Read more…] about Red Lion Controls integrates to Ignition SCADA IoT platform

Toyota Research Institute backs Open Source Robotics Foundation with further $1m

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Toyota Research Institute (TRI) continues its commitment to open source robotics software by renewing its charitable contribution to the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF).

For the second consecutive year, TRI is donating $1 million to OSRF which offers the global robotics community access to open source robotics software and development tools.

“Our support of the open source research community has been a huge asset in our robotics work as well as our automated vehicle development,” said James Kuffner, Chief Technology Officer at TRI.

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Alstom to supply traction and signalling systems for driverless metro line in China

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Alstom and its joint-venture companies in China, SATEE and CASCO, are to supply traction systems for 200 metro cars and the CBTC signalling system for the Chengdu metro line 9 phase one, the Chinese city’s first driverless metro line.

The line, expected to go into service by the end of 2020, will be 22km long and have 11 stations. It will connect the city’s business area in the southwest with the West Railway station in the northwest.

Alstom will be supplying its OptONIX metro traction system, specifically designed and developed for the Chinese market, and its Urbalis signalling system, a service-proven solution already ordered by 54 metro lines in China, 32 of which are in operation.

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Framos presents logistics automation solutions at Logimat

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Image processing is one of the key technologies in automation and digitization. With the focus on dimensioning, classification and sorting intelligence, imaging specialist Framos will exhibit its range of logistics technologies and products at Logimat trade fair this March in Stuttgart, Germany.

Framos will showcase a new generation of cognitive systems powered by Intel®’s RealSense™ Technology, which adds human like sensing and intelligence to devices and machines.

The technology enables a complete new generation of logistics applications in the growing fields of drones, robots, virtual and augmented reality, mobile products and other segments.

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