Where Innovation Meets Imagination
Organisers of the Winter Olympics in South Korea provided a showcase for robotic skiing skills.
The robots that took part may not be quite as good as their human counterparts but were impressive nonetheless.
Billed at the world’s first robot ski tournament, the event was hosted in the ski resort of Hoengseong, on the sidelines of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. [Read more…] about South Korea provides skiing competition for robots at Winter Olympics
There’s something nasty at the heart of Westworld, but then, you probably already knew that.
The massively popular, much-discussed US television science fiction drama series is being scheduled for a second run, starting in April, with a trailer already released (see video below).
In preparation, we thought we’d dust off the box set of the first series and watch all 10 episodes in one go so we can tell you something about it. [Read more…] about Westworld set to return for second series as trailer is released
Two brand-new barcode readers from Omron Microscan are being released to the market this month.
Omron, a manufacturer of industrial code readers and machine vision technology, will host a live webinar on February 22nd to outline the benefits and key features of the HS-360X, an ultra-rugged DPM handheld, and the MicroHawk ID-45, a new addition to the MicroHawk family that boasts new and improved lighting configurations.
Both readers are optimized to capture the most challenging Direct Part Marks on all sorts of surfaces. [Read more…] about Omron launches two new barcode readers
Young people today. What do they know?
Not much, obviously. For example, they don’t know what a camera looks like. An actual camera, not a camera “app” on their smartphones.
It’s one of the reasons why Instagram decided to change its logo. The photo-sharing app and website previously used an attractive image of a camera, as shown below, on the left.
It was an elegant design, and made you want one of those cameras. Someone should probably manufacture a camera of that design – it might find a lot of buyers. [Read more…] about Do you know what a camera looks like? Do you know what a watch looks like? If you’re under 30, you probably don’t
Twenty years ago, an engineer called Michael Prokopp co-developed a new concept for an electric motor, which was supposed to be far superior to the traditional motor.
The synchronous torque motor should achieve a much higher torque at low speeds and thus be more efficient than traditional motors.
If the best German manufacturer in this industry achieves an efficiency of 76 percent, then the EMF Motor is 94 percent – “a quantum leap” – said Prokopp confidently. [Read more…] about The quantum leap with EMF Motor
Novotechnik has released its TFD-4000 series short-stroke touchless transducer.
The company says the new transducers are “an ideal and economic solution” where minimal size, high environmental protection, extremely long life and high reliability are key factors for medium to high-volume OEM position control applications.
Available from Variohm EuroSensor, they feature single or optionally redundant ratiometric output; a typical repeatability of +/- 0.1 % FS; a measurement range of 5 to 50 mm; and 12-bit resolution. [Read more…] about Novotechnik releases new touchless transducer
Coming soon… More articles about robotics and automation in art and culture. Watch this space.
Sensor Readings magazine is back as a monthly publication, free to subscribers of Robotics and Automation News.
In this taster issue, we have included some of the most popular features from the website in recent weeks.
Future issues will include content exclusive to the magazine as well as articles that will appear in the magazine first and then subsequently on the website.
So, as always, we thank you for your support in bringing us this far, and with your continued backing, we aim to print some editions of the magazine by the end of the year.
And if you haven’t already subscribed, please do so – especially now when we’re giving away tickets to Hannover Messe worth $100 each when you subscribe to either our $10 a month package or our $100 a year package.
Enjoy reading, and let us know if you would like to see specific features in the magazine, and, of course, if you would like to support us through advertising your business.
After selling 3 million robots in various markets, the people behind Sphero have launched a new business, Misty Robotics.
In this exclusive interview, Robotics and Automation News speaks to the CEO of Misty Robotics, Tim Enwall, whose background includes senior jobs at Apple and Nest Labs.
Launching the Misty I Developer Edition, Enwall says the company’s masterstroke is its decision to adopt Javascript as the robot’s programming language, instantly opening up a market of millions of coders who otherwise would not have thought they had the skills to program a robot. [Read more…] about Play Misty for me: Exclusive interview with Misty Robotics CEO
Fleet, a startup online marketplace that simplifies international freight shipping, today announced it has completed a $10 million Series A round of financing.
Lufthansa Cargo led the investment round with participation from existing and new investors including Hunt Technology Ventures, UPS, UP2398, 1517 Fund, among other previous investors.
Led by 21-year-old Max Lock, Fleet has raised a total of $14 million since its launch in 2014.
[Read more…] about Lufthansa Cargo invests in Fleet’s freight shipping tool
