Robotics & Automation News

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Logistics

Deliver: Growth of e-commerce providing opportunities for robotics and automation companies

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“Deliver” is a series of industry events in Europe aimed at “e-logistics”, an obvious play on the term “e-commerce”. 

E-commerce can, obviously, refer to either online retail or wholesale, or any sales and purchasing activity that occurs in an electronic environment, on electronic devices.

And, in the aggregate, e-commerce is such a big activity now that it is driving growth in many related business sectors such as supply chain and logistics. Hence, e-logistics.  [Read more…] about Deliver: Growth of e-commerce providing opportunities for robotics and automation companies

Belt & Road: Much more than a revival of the ancient Silk Road

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A huge amount has been written already about the so-called Belt and Road initiative or project, but it looks like this is just the beginning. 

On the face of it, the Belt and Road refers to a plan to create a logistics network that brings together Europe and Asia with road, rail, and sea routes.

It’s an idea China came up with, and its leaders have made enthusiastic pronouncements about it, even though the project will cost an estimated $1 trillion over the next decade or two. But it’s an open-ended, complex project, so such estimates could just be Communist Chinese propaganda.  [Read more…] about Belt & Road: Much more than a revival of the ancient Silk Road

Daimler Trucks to open automated truck R&D center in Portland, Oregon

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Daimler Trucks says it will establish an automated truck research and development center in the US.

The facility will be located at Daimler Trucks North America headquarters on Swan Island in Portland, Oregon, where DTNA already has a significant research and development presence, including a full-scale heavy-duty truck wind tunnel on Swan Island and the High Desert Proving Grounds nearby in Madras, Oregon.

The center will be dedicated to further developing automated driving technology and understanding its impact on society and benefits for customers. [Read more…] about Daimler Trucks to open automated truck R&D center in Portland, Oregon

Belt and Road: Siemens partners with Chinese companies on giant Eurasian transportation network

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Siemens has entered into more than 10 agreements with Chinese partners relating to opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative, which is a plan to build a giant transport network linking Asia to Europe.

A recent conference called the Belt and Road International Summit, held by Siemens, brought together more than 1,000 leaders and executive representatives from governments, enterprises, investors, financing institutions and think tanks from more than 30 countries and regions.  [Read more…] about Belt and Road: Siemens partners with Chinese companies on giant Eurasian transportation network

Alibaba unveils unmanned logistics vehicle featuring lidar

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Alibaba, the world’s largest e-commerce company, has unveiled a new unmanned logistics vehicle.

The “G Plus” was built in co-operation with Alibaba’s logistics business unit, Cainiao, and RoboSense, a developer of robotic technology.

The G Plus is said to be the world’s first autonomous logistics vehicle to use solid-state light detection and ranging (lidar) technology.  [Read more…] about Alibaba unveils unmanned logistics vehicle featuring lidar

GreyOrange to showcase its logistics automation solutions at India Warehousing Show

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GreyOrange is planning to showcase its solutions for supply chain automation at the 8th India Warehousing Show.

GreyOrange is a multinational robotics and supply chain automation company and offers one of the most well-known solutions on the market.

Vivek Anand, country manager, India & SAARC, GreyOrange, said: ”We are proud to be a partner for the India Warehousing Show, a premier event for the logistics and supply chain industry.  [Read more…] about GreyOrange to showcase its logistics automation solutions at India Warehousing Show

AGV maker Kivnon agrees logistics partnership with CLS

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Automated guided vehicle manufacturer Kivnon has reached a partnership agreement with logistics solutions provider CLS. 

The companies announced the new collaboration while having a joint conference at the Intralogistica Italia event.

The Intralogistica Italia event takes places in Milan, and is said to be Italy’s most relevant trade fair dedicated to the most innovative solutions and integrated systems for materials handling, warehouse management, materials storage and picking.  [Read more…] about AGV maker Kivnon agrees logistics partnership with CLS

Suning unveils self-driving heavy-duty truck

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Suning Logistics has completed driving tests for its autonomous heavy-duty truck, which the company calls “Strolling Dragon”, in Shanghai, China.

The company says the completion marks another milestone in its plan to offer fully-automated logistics solutions.

Strolling Dragon is the largest unmanned truck in Suning Logistics’ automated fleet, boasting Level-4 self-driving capabilities; it is highly automated, and is able to operate without human input within pre-programmed parameters.  [Read more…] about Suning unveils self-driving heavy-duty truck

ZF launches essentially driverless forklift truck

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Automotive technology developer ZF Friedrichshafen has launched a forklift truck which is basically driverless.

The company calls the vehicle a “highly automated forklift” which can “see, think and act”.

ZF says it transferred expertise from different departments from across the company to the industrial technology division in order to develop the new forklift.  [Read more…] about ZF launches essentially driverless forklift truck

Rakuten Super Logistics partners with inVia Robotics to integrate autonomous mobile robots into US warehouses

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inVia’s robotics-as-a-service platform and picker robots to support Rakuten Super Logistics e-commerce fulfillment and warehouse productivity

inVia Robotics, a provider of warehouse automation solutions for e-commerce fulfillment centers, says that Rakuten Super Logistics has deployed inVia’s autonomous warehouse robotics technology within its Nevada operations.

Using the inVia Picker robots and cloud-based robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) management system, the company expects to increase its e-commerce fulfillment and warehouse productivity by more than 300 percent as the solution scales with data collection and optimization.

Rakuten Super Logistics is a leading national e-commerce order fulfillment company that has been on the forefront of order fulfillment technology since 2001.  [Read more…] about Rakuten Super Logistics partners with inVia Robotics to integrate autonomous mobile robots into US warehouses