Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

News

Lowe’s store bosses hire Fellow robot workers

by

LoweBot, a NAVii autonomous retail service robot by Fellow Robots

Lowe’s, the home improvement and hradware store chain, has hired a robot shop assistant it developed with Fellow Robots. The company says LoweBot will enhance the shopping experience for customers.

LoweBot was developed through a partnership between Fellow Robots and Lowe’s Innovation Labs, and the companies say it explores how intelligent help can meet the needs of customers and employees.

Lowe’s will introduce LoweBot in fall, later this year.

LoweBot is part of the Navii autonomous retail service robot series by Fellow Robots, and will be in 11 Lowe’s stores throughout the San Francisco Bay area.  [Read more…] about Lowe’s store bosses hire Fellow robot workers

Nasa selects ideas for space robotics, 3D printing and alien technologies

by

Nasa has selected 21 research and technology proposals from American small businesses and research institutions that will enable Nasa’s future missions into the solar system and alien worlds further out in space. 

The agency says its selections also consider America’s technology-driven economy here on Earth.

The Phase II selectees of Nasa’s Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program are permitted to enter negotiations for possible contract awards worth a combined total of approximately $15.8 million.

The program selected 21 innovative technology and projects from 41 US firms and research institutions in 20 different states.  [Read more…] about Nasa selects ideas for space robotics, 3D printing and alien technologies

Husqvarna launches virtual reality game for lumberjacks

by

husqvarna limberjack

Husqvarna, which makes robotic lawn mowers and demolition robots among other things, has launched a virtual reality game for lumberjacks.

Probably intended to test the market for future products such as smart glasses featuring augmented reality, aimed perhaps at the forestry and logging industry, the game is called Limberjack and is available through Steam.

The company says the game is aimed at anyone who wants to test their chainsaw skills or, to be precise, “limbing” skills. Limbing is the process of removing branches from the stem of a fallen tree.  [Read more…] about Husqvarna launches virtual reality game for lumberjacks

Be part of our new publication: Industrial Internet

by

iot

Contribute articles and advertise in our new digital publication

Robotics and Automation News is planning a new ebook with the working title Industrial Internet.

The digital publication will be distributed through Apple and Amazon stores. Moreover, advertisers and commercial partners will have their content featured on the RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com website and Sensor Data, the accompanying newsletter.

The publication is planned to contain features about the following subjects:

  • Industrial Internet of Things
  • Machine-to-Machine Networks
  • Industrial Networks
  • Wireless Networks
  • Industrial Computers
  • Human Machine Interface
  • Control Systems
  • Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
  • Ethernet
  • Programmable Logic Controllers
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Deep Learning
  • Machine Learning
  • Manufacturing
  • Smart Factories
  • Transportation
  • Logistics
  • Cyber Security
  • Data Management

These are the subjects which are planned. However, it partly depends on you. If you are interested in other subjects we have not listed, contact us and let us know.

If you would like to be featured within any of the features listed or any new ones we develop in co-operation with you, we can agree a structure for a commercial partnership.

An example of a typical partnership would be: Article and Advertising package – from $500.

For more information, contact us: sales[at]roboticsandautomationnews.com

 

Don’t forget our new ebook – Robotics and Automation Industry Thought Leaders – is out now

by

robotics and automation industry thought leaders

Our new ebook, Robotics and Automation Industry Thought Leaders, is out now.

Featuring a selection of the best interviews from RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com, the epublication makes the perfect gift for your entire social network.

Now available in digital form on Apple iBooks Store, Amazon, and all good online outlets.

Exclusive: ‘The future of artificial intelligence is here’, says Infosys big data boss

by

Abdul Razack, SVP of platforms, big data and analytics at Infosys
Abdul Razack, SVP of platforms, big data and analytics at Infosys

By Abdul Razack, SVP and head of platforms, big data and analytics at Infosys

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the business and consumer landscape, but has it reached its full potential?

With the wide adoption of automation and machine learning among organisations, we’re closer than ever before. And in 2016, we will continue this momentum and see artificial intelligence redefine the future of work, deliver on the promise of big data, and even transform consumers’ lives.

Artificial intelligence will define the future of work

The pace at which large-scale organisations more widely adopt artificial intelligence to replace manual, repetitive tasks will rapidly increase.  [Read more…] about Exclusive: ‘The future of artificial intelligence is here’, says Infosys big data boss

Exclusive: Seiko Epson boss looks to robots for 70 per cent growth within 10 years

by

Minoru Usui, president, Seiko Epson
Minoru Usui, president, Seiko Epson

Exclusive interview with Seiko Epson president Minoru Usui 

The president of Seiko Epson says he wants to increase the company’s total annual revenues by 70 per cent within 10 years, and believes industrial robots will be one of the fastest-growing business units, with a 500 per cent hike in that time.

In an exclusive interview with Robotics and Automation News, Minoru Usui says Seiko Epson is hoping to achieve a dramatic expansion of its robotics division in the next decade, and “take the company from being a 1-trillion-yen-a-year business to being a 1.7-trillion-yen-a-year business”.

Epson Robots is one of the top industrial robot manufacturers in the world, and Usui is keen to build on this success.

In its annual report, the company lists robots in the “sensing and industrial solutions” business segment, which accounts for approximately $2 billion revenue a year. Seiko Epson’s total revenue is approximately $10 billion a year. [Read more…] about Exclusive: Seiko Epson boss looks to robots for 70 per cent growth within 10 years

Exclusive: Daimler ‘totally committed’ to winning driverless car race

by

Company has ‘no intention of stepping aside’ and letting tech companies take over the car market of the future, says Daimler’s autonomous driving lead engineer 

Mercedes of course has the longest history of any automaker in the world, having built the first ever car in 1879, when Carl Benz created the “Motorwagen”.

It might look like a fancy tricycle, but the Motorwagen was the first wheeled vehicle to feature a gasoline engine – a one-cylinder two-stroke unit which generated 0.75 horsepower, or 0.55 of a kilowatt.  [Read more…] about Exclusive: Daimler ‘totally committed’ to winning driverless car race

Industrial robots: Fanuc sells record-breaking 400,000 robots worldwide

by

FANUC 35iA, collaborative robot
The Fanuc CR-35iA is the industry’s first 35 kg payload force limited collaborative robot

Fanuc has set a new world record for production of over 400,000 robots.

“Over the last several years, there’s been an increasing global demand to implement the latest technologies in factories,” said Mike Cicco, vice president, Fanuc America.

“This demand has stimulated production of industrial robots in general, and has played a major role in Fanuc achieving this milestone, and maintaining our position as the world’s number one supplier of factory automation and industrial robots.” [Read more…] about Industrial robots: Fanuc sells record-breaking 400,000 robots worldwide

Marine robots: AMS ‘Datamarans’ set to provide unprecedented insights into the world’s oceans

by

 

The total surface of Planet Earth spans some 510 million square kilometres, and the ocean accounts for more than 70 per cent. If there’s one man who would be familiar with these kind of numbers it’s Eamon Carrig, co-founder and chief roboticist at Autonomous Marine Systems (AMS), a US robotics startup which could scarcely have more compelling origins. (See video below.)

AMS was started by three aerospace engineers – Carrig, T.J. Edwards, and Walter Holemans, although Holemans has since left the company.

“We had all been working together on spacecraft mechanisms – TJ and Walt mostly mechanical, me mostly electrical and software – since 2006,” says Carrig in an exclusive interview with RoboticsandAutomationNews.com.

“Specifically we worked on satellite separation systems, which are the last systems that have to work to get a satellite on orbit. In my career as a sep system engineer, we produced about 15 systems for flight. I would have bet my life on every single system we delivered.” [Read more…] about Marine robots: AMS ‘Datamarans’ set to provide unprecedented insights into the world’s oceans