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Honeywell control room technology ‘transforms efficiency’ of Finnish recycling plant

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Control room technology provided by Honeywell Process Solutions has helped a waste-to-energy plant become more efficient, according to the company.

Honeywell says the “Experion Orion Console” has helped boost safety, productivity and environmental compliance at flagship incineration site in Finland.

Honeywell says Riikinvoima, a leading Finnish provider of sustainable energy, has “transformed the operational efficiency” of its flagship waste incineration plant in Leppävirta, Finland, with Honeywell Experion Orion control room technology.  [Read more…] about Honeywell control room technology ‘transforms efficiency’ of Finnish recycling plant

Rockwell Automation claims its new ‘Micro’ computer can reduce complexity of large machines

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Rockwell Automation claims its new “Micro” computer can reduce the complexity of large, standalone machines.

The new Allen-Bradley Micro870 PLC, the new flagship of the company’s Micro800 family, can be used in place of multiple micro PLCs, adds Rockwell.

The company says machine designers can use the new micro programmable logic controller to help optimize the control architecture in large standalone machines or systems.  [Read more…] about Rockwell Automation claims its new ‘Micro’ computer can reduce complexity of large machines

Carsharing startup Ridecell closes $30 million new funding round

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Ridecell, the platform for carsharing, ridesharing, and autonomous fleet operators, has closed its Series B funding round of $28.61 million.

The investment round was led by Cox Automotive, with participation from return investor Initialized Capital.

Additional funding came from industry partners across the mobility ecosystem, including Denso, Penske, Deutsche Bahn and Mitsui.  [Read more…] about Carsharing startup Ridecell closes $30 million new funding round

OhmniLabs launches ‘first’ open telepresence robotics platform

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OhmniLabs, a Silicon Valley-based robotics company, has launched what it claims is “the first open telepresence robotics platform”. 

Called the Ohmni DevKit, the tools are designed to enable faster, cheaper, and easier development of custom robotics applications built on top of telepresence.

The new Ohmni DevKit is based on the affordable, production-grade Ohmni telepresence robot and is designed for maximum hardware and software extensibility.  [Read more…] about OhmniLabs launches ‘first’ open telepresence robotics platform

Plus One Robotics exits stealth mode, launches picking system and enters funding round

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Plus One Robotics, a 3D vision and controls developer for robotic automation in the logistics and e-commerce markets, has exited stealth to announce the commercial release of the PickOne Perception system, an integrated 3D vision solution for imaging parcels and generating robot pick points.

Plus One Robotics has partnered with leaders in robot manufacturing, system integration, and e-commerce to develop this technology for the order fulfillment and parcel shipping markets.

Rising consumer demand for shorter delivery times has increased the need for improved efficiency in sortation, induction, and singulation of the millions of packages which must be handled each day.  [Read more…] about Plus One Robotics exits stealth mode, launches picking system and enters funding round

Plex launches mobile app for manufacturing management

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Plex Systems, a provider of cloud enterprise resource planning and manufacturing execution system software for manufacturing, has released Plex Mobile, a new, native mobile app which the company says is “purpose-built to address the needs of manufacturing professionals”.

The app works as a seamless extension of the Plex Manufacturing Cloud, enabling a manufacturer’s workforce to handle key business-critical shop floor and administrative responsibilities, and access and share relevant information real-time from mobile devices.

Plex Mobile will be available for download through the Apple Store, Google Play and Windows Marketplace in July 2018.  [Read more…] about Plex launches mobile app for manufacturing management

Opinion: How artificial intelligence can help the food industry

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By Stephanie Duvault-Alexandre, consultant at software provider FuturMaster

There’s a lot of talk about artificial intelligence as the best thing since sliced bread. But what does AI really mean for the food industry and what are the implications?

According to a report by Accenture, 85 per cent of organisations have planned to adopt digital or AI technologies in their supply chains during the last year. It’s clearly becoming big business across industries. The value of AI is estimated to be worth $36.8 billion globally by 2025 predicts US market intelligence firm Tractica.

AI is not necessarily a concept that’s all that new. Various names refer to more or less the same thing. For example, machine learning is used to steer self-driving cars. AI is proving instrumental in healthcare for identifying and diagnosing complicated ailments.  [Read more…] about Opinion: How artificial intelligence can help the food industry

IEC claims it has established the ‘first’ international AI standards committee for the entire universe

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By Antoinette Price, International Electrotechnical Commission

Information technology has become an integral part of our lives whether it be in the consumer, industrial or commercial aspects. It is hard to imagine life, work or entertainment without it. And artificial intelligence presents the next digital frontier of the IT evolution.

It is capturing the world’s attention and involves many stakeholders including research, academia, industry, practitioners, policymakers and ethics advocates. AI is expected to be one of the most crucial enabling technologies in our lifetime.  [Read more…] about IEC claims it has established the ‘first’ international AI standards committee for the entire universe

NXP and JD.com partner to develop internet of things and artificial intelligence in China

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NXP Semiconductors has reached a strategic agreement with Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com to collaborate on the development of internet of things and artificial intelligence solutions, products and services.

The joint effort will leverage and combine JD.com’s expertise and capabilities in e-commerce and data analysis as well as operations in finance, logistics and marketing, with innovative technologies from NXP in the field of security, IoT, AI and edge computing to establish an integrated IoT ecosystem of products, services and operations for the China market and beyond.

In recent years, with the rapid advancement of technology and the growing market demand, the IoT industry has developed rapidly.  [Read more…] about NXP and JD.com partner to develop internet of things and artificial intelligence in China

Artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics startup UBTech raises $820 million in latest funding round

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UBTech Robotics, a developer of intelligent humanoid robots, announced today the completion of its Series C investment totaling $820 million with a market valuation of $5 billion, the single largest funding round ever for an artificial intelligence company.

The investment was led by Tencent, and also includes funding from ICBC, Haier, Minsheng Securities, Telstra, Easyhome Furnishings, Chia Tai Group, China Minsheng Bank, China Film and TV Capital, CGN, Sichuan Railway Investment Group, Green Pine Capital Partners, Whale Capital, and Shenzhen JinFuZi Network Technology.

The lead investor of UBTech’s Series B funding, CDH Investments, also participated.  [Read more…] about Artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics startup UBTech raises $820 million in latest funding round