Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

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Biology and robotics enter into an unholy union to bring forth nightmare creatures from the very depths of hell

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The worlds of biology and robotics are increasingly merging and the end result will inevitably be the creation of hellish creatures that will be called “androids”, “cyborgs” or even simply “robots”. 

And with the growing capabilities of additive manufacturing or 3D printing which use sophisticated materials and techniques, the knowledge and the tools will be more widely available to create these creatures more easily than ever before.

In a recent development, a brand new, combined biomedical engineering and robotics centre was opened in Australia.  [Read more…] about Biology and robotics enter into an unholy union to bring forth nightmare creatures from the very depths of hell

Autodesk uses Lego method to develop modular assembly system for real factories

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Software maker Autodesk is using machine learning and lessons learned from Lego to develop robotic systems for modular assembly in the real world. 

Lego, as most people will know, is the company which makes small toy bricks and other objects which can be connected to each other in simple ways to create complex structures, such as toy houses, cars and so on.

Most adults will have played with Lego at some point in their lives, and the companies toys are still popular with today’s kids.

The Lego world has always interested other companies, some of which have copied the to create modular systems in many areas, including large-scale real building construction.  [Read more…] about Autodesk uses Lego method to develop modular assembly system for real factories

Robot treasure hunter finds $17 billion worth of booty at the bottom of the ocean

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A Kongsberg-made robot has discovered a 300-year-old Spanish shipwreck in the Caribbean Sea which could be worth $17 billion. 

This made us wonder whether such autonomous underwater vessels could help more light on the ancient world, of more than 3,000 or even 30,000 years ago.

Deep sea divers and archaeologists have found literally hundreds of complex architectural structures in the world’s oceans, hundreds of feet below the surface of the water. [Read more…] about Robot treasure hunter finds $17 billion worth of booty at the bottom of the ocean

Apple releases new ‘fastest, most powerful’ MacBook Pro

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Apple has updated MacBook Pro with faster performance and new pro features, making it the most advanced Mac notebook ever.

Apple is, by some accounts, the world’s largest manufacturing company, certainly by such measures as market capitalization and perhaps revenues.

The company is continually launching new products and updating its existing ones, which often means changing of suppliers.  [Read more…] about Apple releases new ‘fastest, most powerful’ MacBook Pro

You too can become a robot and live forever

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According to a futurologist, by 2050, humans will be able to integrate their brain or mind data into computers which can be encased in a humanoid robot and, thereby, live forever. 

Writing about “immortality” on his website, Dr ID Pearson talks about adding external computing capability to human brains.

This additional capability will keep increasing so that, “by around 2050, 99 per cent of your mind is running on external IT rather than in the meat-ware in your head”.  [Read more…] about You too can become a robot and live forever

Smart manufacturing platforms: Industrial giants face diverse competition

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Whether you call them IIoT platforms or smart manufacturing platforms, large industrial companies are finding themselves competing with each other but also new companies from different markets, specifically the computer tech world

Every factory is different. It’s in a different location, makes different things, and uses different methods and systems. 

However, every factory shares some aspects of its operation with every other factory.

At the base level, it obviously requires a building. That building needs to have power and other utilities supplied to it. The machinery – whether it includes robotics and automation equipment or not – these days, are more than likely connected to computing devices and the internet.  [Read more…] about Smart manufacturing platforms: Industrial giants face diverse competition

World’s fastest supercomputers: US takes the lead again in high-performance computing

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The US has again taken the lead in the global supercomputing sector because of a large investment by the Department of Energy, which made $260 million available to fund the development of the Summit supercomputer, located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

According to the Top500.org, which measures these things, the Summit supercomputing system is capable of 122,300 teraflops a second.

A teraflop is a trillion floating point operations. A petaflop is 1,000 times a teraflop, or a quadrillion flops.  [Read more…] about World’s fastest supercomputers: US takes the lead again in high-performance computing

Artificial intelligence: The power and poise of deep learning

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There is so much talk about artificial intelligence that many people who aren’t even programmers understand some of the principles of the technology. 

At the very least, most people who have an interest in these subjects have very likely heard of two of the branches of AI, namely machine learning and deep learning.

But some people, like us, might not fully understand the difference between machine learning and deep learning.  [Read more…] about Artificial intelligence: The power and poise of deep learning

Kollmorgen servo motors used with virtual reality on rollercoaster

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Nowadays servo motors are used not only in industry and mechanical engineering, but also in innovative areas such as virtual reality.

In this context, word of Kollmorgen’s high-performance motor and drive technology has spread as far as India. Kollmorgen helped to drive the three degrees of freedom platforms for a high-tech virtual reality application for Smaaash in India.

Kollmorgen servo-geared motors and drives support the thrill of a roller coaster simulator. Passengers taking the seat in this simulator get an undeniable adrenaline rush as the roller coaster tears up and down through steep curves at breakneck speed.  [Read more…] about Kollmorgen servo motors used with virtual reality on rollercoaster

Automakers’ own predictions on when driverless cars will arrive

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New study by BDO shows when driverless cars will arrive – but does that matter?

Car companies, ride-hailing services and car industry technology suppliers each have their own prediction for when driverless cars will be ready to take to highways and city streets.

Audit and accounting company BDO carried out an analysis of the predictions and found that driverless cars will arrive: in early 2021.

There are some differences though. Averaging out the predictions, car companies think that driverless technology will be ready around 2 am on June 11th, 2021.

Ride-hailing services and technology suppliers are a bit more optimistic. They predict that driverless car technology will be ready by midnight, March 14th, 2020.  [Read more…] about Automakers’ own predictions on when driverless cars will arrive