Robotics & Automation News

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Sarcos Robotics exoskeleton included in Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2020 list

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Sarcos Robotics, a maker of robots that augment humans to enhance productivity and safety, says that its Guardian XO industrial exoskeleton has been chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Best Inventions of 2020.

Sarcos says its exoskeleton is “the world’s first full-body, battery-powered wearable industrial robot designed to increase strength and endurance”.

The Guardian XO exoskeleton was selected for this prestigious annual list in the Productivity category, among three other products designed to streamline the way we work. [Read more…] about Sarcos Robotics exoskeleton included in Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2020 list

Our Cyborg Future: 16-nation study finds support for human augmentation

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Research says most of us would change something about ourselves if we could. But many fear human augmentation could be reserved for the rich – and that our bodies could even be the target for cybercriminals.

New research released today has uncovered widespread enthusiasm for human augmentation – the process of augmenting or improving the human body with technology.

The research – commissioned by security firm Kaspersky – found that 92 percent of us would change a physical aspect of ourselves if we could while nearly two thirds (63 percent) of us would consider augmenting our bodies with technology to improve them – either permanently or temporarily. [Read more…] about Our Cyborg Future: 16-nation study finds support for human augmentation

iRobot launches ‘Genius’ robotic floor cleaners

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iRobot, maker of robotic floor cleaners for the home, is unveiling new ways to clean with the launch of its iRobot Genius Home Intelligence. (See video below.)

The company describes the new system as a “powerful new robot platform” that unlocks an expansive range of digital features and experiences for the company’s line of Wi-Fi connected products, including the Roomba robot vacuum and Braava jet robot mop.

iRobot Genius gives users an “unmatched level of personalization and control over their cleaning robots”, accounting for their unique homes, schedules, cleaning preferences and smart home integrations, says the company. [Read more…] about iRobot launches ‘Genius’ robotic floor cleaners

Promobot puts its humanoid robot to work as a civil servant

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Russian robotics company Promobot has put a humanoid robot the company has developed into an office to work as a civil servant.

The office in question is the Multi-Function Center, located in Perm, Russia and generally provides citizens with information about their rights and the services available to them.

Promobot’s humanoid sits at a desk, much like a human employee would, and talks to people who have appointments and need advice. It processes inquiries and automatically transfers them to the MFC Civil Service Office IT systems. [Read more…] about Promobot puts its humanoid robot to work as a civil servant

Commercial cleaning robots using Brain OS log 2 million hours of autonomous operation

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Commercial cleaning robots which run Brain Corp’s operating system have racked up 2 million hours of autonomous operation.

Brain Corp, an artificial intelligence company which provides its “Brain OS” software to commercial cleaning robots, says it now powers “the world’s largest fleet of autonomous commercial mobile robots operating in public indoor spaces”, estimated to be more than 10,000.

The milestone was achieved earlier this month due in part to a recent surge in activity by retailers who are maximizing their use of Brain OS-powered cleaning robots in the wake of the Covid-19 health crisis. [Read more…] about Commercial cleaning robots using Brain OS log 2 million hours of autonomous operation

Omron partners with Techmetics Robotics to launch UVC disinfection robot

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The Asia-Pacific division of industrial automation giant Omron has forayed into UVC disinfection with the launch of its robot – LD UVC.

The robot is a co-creation with Techmetics Robotics, a provider of autonomous service robots, to “enable organisations fight the spread of infectious diseases effectively and conveniently”, says Omron.

The UVC light has been proven to be effective in breaking down the pathogens’ DNA and RNA beyond recovery, stopping them from replicating. [Read more…] about Omron partners with Techmetics Robotics to launch UVC disinfection robot

Fetch Robotics and Piedmont to launch autonomous disinfecting robot

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Fetch Robotics, a warehouse and cloud robotics company, and automated packaging solutions supplier Piedmont National are to launch the SmartGuardUV disinfecting autonomous mobile robot (AMR).

Purpose built to autonomously disinfect high-traffic areas such as warehouse facilities, retail stores, office spaces and hospital rooms, SmartGuardUV combines the safety and flexibility of the Fetch Robotics cloud robotics platform, the strength of PURO Lighting pulsed Xenon UV lamp technology, and the advanced disinfecting reporting of the Piedmont 4Site cloud analytics platform.

The result is a completely autonomous, broad spectrum UV disinfection robot that eliminates up to 99.9 percent of viruses and bacteria with UV-C, UV-B, and UV-A as well as reports on the results of the disinfection. [Read more…] about Fetch Robotics and Piedmont to launch autonomous disinfecting robot

Robotic lawn mowers market to grow to $1.3 billion this year

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The global market for robotic lawn mowers is expected to reach $1.3 billion in 2020, growing at an annual rate of more than 12 percent during the period 2019-2025.

The is according to a study by Research and Markets called Insights on the Robotic Lawn Mowers Global Market to 2025.

The year-on-year growth of robotic lawnmowers will be in the double-digit due to the high demand from Europe, North America, and APAC, coupled with the rise in awareness of these devices in developing countries. [Read more…] about Robotic lawn mowers market to grow to $1.3 billion this year

Robotic surgery: Catheter navigation proving to be the fastest growing sector

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IDTechEx reports that the robotic surgery market will reach over $12 billion by 2030. Within this industry, catheter navigation is an emerging, but lesser known application, that is rapidly gaining traction.

IDTechEx’s findings are detailed in the recently published report Innovations in Robotic Surgery 2020-2030: Technologies, Players & Markets.

Catheters are widely used to conduct an intervention within the blood vessels or airways. Traditional catheter ablation procedures have a success rate of approximately 60 percent and can be very long – sometimes several hours. [Read more…] about Robotic surgery: Catheter navigation proving to be the fastest growing sector

Comau exoskeleton ‘first’ to be awarded EAWS certification

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Comau Robotics & Automation claims its “MATE” exoskeleton is the first on the market to receive the Ergonomic Assessment Work-Sheet certification.

The company says the certification provides clear evidence of its exoskeleton’s effectiveness in reducing the “risk of biomechanical overload” of the upper limbs.

Based on the evaluation system promoted by Ergo Foundation, Italy’s reference for the organization and measurement of work and ergonomics, the successful recognition studied workers who used MATE to perform daily tasks requiring flexion-extension of the arms. [Read more…] about Comau exoskeleton ‘first’ to be awarded EAWS certification