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Rethink Robotics signs exclusive distribution deal with Hunan Cothink in China

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Hunan Cothink will distribute Sawyer and Baxter robots throughout the country

Rethink Robotics has reached an exclusive agreement with collaborative robotics provider Hunan Cothink Robotics Technology Company to distribute its robots to the entire Chinese manufacturing community.

Rethink Robotics and Hunan Cothink originally announced a partnership in February of this year that awarded Hunan Cothink distribution rights in northern and southern China, but the success of the relationship and the demand for Rethink Robotics’ smart, collaborative robots has led to a new, exclusive deal that covers the entire Chinese geography.

Earlier this year, Hunan Cothink was formed as a separate division with a new sales and support organization that is designed to bring Rethink’s robots to the Chinese market and help Chinese manufacturers build smarter factories. Hunan Cothink also distributes Rethink Robotics’ Baxter robot worldwide.  [Read more…] about Rethink Robotics signs exclusive distribution deal with Hunan Cothink in China

Investing in robotics: Will ‘makers’ make a difference in the established industry?

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In this part of our series of articles about investing in robotics and automation, Brian Gahsman, managing partner and chief investment officer at GBSfunds, gives his view of how new inventors can change the market and what his company, Gahsman Branton, is interested in investing in 

Check out realtime stock prices for companies in the robotics, automation and relating computing sectors

Robotics and Automation News: More “maker” and startup companies seem able to produce robotics and automation technology. How will this affect the market? 

Brian Gahsman: We are barely on the cusp of seeing the flood of startups that will enter this space. Now that the technology is at a point of cost effectiveness many who for decades were only hobbyists now have the ability to bring their creations to the market.

As that trend increases so will the rate of M&A activity which we are already seeing with companies like Kuka as well as the recent acquisition of SLM Solutions and Arcam by GE in attempt to corner the market in metal based additive 3D printing.  [Read more…] about Investing in robotics: Will ‘makers’ make a difference in the established industry?

Massachusetts robotics companies employed 4,700 workers and generated $1.6 billion in revenue

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Massachusetts Robotics Cluster report identifies “world-class companies and research centers driving innovation”, outlines opportunities for future growth

New research released today by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative cites 122 companies that now comprise the Commonwealth’s robotics cluster and that these firms employed over 4,700 workers and generated over $1.6 billion in revenue in 2015 alone.

The report also identified 33 new robotics startups that were created in Massachusetts over the past five years, an increase of 31 percent.

In addition to an assessment of the current state of the industry, the Massachusetts Robotics Cluster Report also outlines the key robotics sub-sectors where the Commonwealth is taking a global leadership role, including marine robotics, ecommerce logistics technologies, and collaborative robotics.  [Read more…] about Massachusetts robotics companies employed 4,700 workers and generated $1.6 billion in revenue

Chinese energy company employs Sawyer industrial robot from Rethink Robotics

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Five Sawyer robots power flexible production in smart metering, power distribution and energy management 

Wasion Group, a provider of integrated solutions in smart metering, smart power distribution and energy management in China and international markets, has deployed Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer industrial robot on its assembly line for manufacturing single-phase energy meters.

Wasion is moving forward with smart manufacturing initiatives by leveraging smart, collaborative Sawyer robots that are easy to deploy and can meet the precision specifications for the companies’ factories.

Wasion is said to produce 35 million units of various smart metering, power and energy management equipment annually. With a diversified product portfolio, Wasion’s production lines need to accommodate a variety of products in lower volumes.  [Read more…] about Chinese energy company employs Sawyer industrial robot from Rethink Robotics

Yamaha develops its own ‘Advanced Robotics Automation’ internet of things platform to connect its new industrial robots

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Yamaha Motor says its internet of things automation system enables integrated control of multiple robot products with one controller

Yamaha has developed a new Advanced Robotics Automation platform – essentially an internet of things system for connecting machines together. 

This integrated control robot system enables building advanced automated production lines at low cost, in short time frames, and provides a “remarkable increase in compatibility with IoT”, says Yamaha.

The company adds that the newly-developed integrated controller delivers comprehensive coordination and synchronous control of an entire automated system, including transport of pieces, handling, image recognition, and control of peripheral devices.  [Read more…] about Yamaha develops its own ‘Advanced Robotics Automation’ internet of things platform to connect its new industrial robots

Yamaha launches new SCARA robot and ‘advanced’ robotics automation platform

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Company claims its robot has the industry’s fastest motion performance of a 0.28 seconds standard cycle time, and it targets unit sales of 2,800 at an open price

Yamaha has introduced a “new full model change” SCARA Robot YKX Series, which is compatible with its own “Advanced Robotics Automation Platform” – essentially an internet of things platform for its machines. 

Yamaha will formally launch the new YKX series of SCARA robots and its the newly-developed Advanced Robotics Automation Platform integrated control robot system on December 1, 2016.

With this “full model change”, as Yamaha calls it, the YKX series has achieved even higher rigidity and high-speed motion through drive system upgrades and Yamaha Motor’s “unique” motor-reduction gear direct connection structure – a completely beltless structure, says the company.  [Read more…] about Yamaha launches new SCARA robot and ‘advanced’ robotics automation platform

Collaborative robot: Human-machine harmony

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An illustration of CanisDrive, a new range of compact hollow shaft servo actuators launched by Harmonic Drive

Richard Hurst, product manager at Harmonic Drive looks at the latest technological advancements, such as high precision gears, that are allowing these trends to move from the periphery of the industry into the mainstream

The biggest trends in the robotics industry include collaborative robots (CoBots), a move towards high precision applications and the rise of the Internet of Robot Things (IoRT). 

Between 2010 and 2014, robot sales reached 171,000 units globally, a rise of 48 per cent on the previous four years and representing a compound annual growth rate of 17 per cent.

This is according to research by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), which also identified China as the world’s biggest buyer of industrial robots with a 25 per cent share of the worldwide market.  [Read more…] about Collaborative robot: Human-machine harmony

Lucas presents Comau to France

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Robotics and automation distributor Lucas is presenting Comau robots to its French market at an event this week.

Lucas signed a deal with Comau as an official distributor of its robots in France. Lucas, is a long-established French company based in Bazas, and has been active for over 50 years in manufacturing and supplying linear axis and Cartesian robots.

Lucas organized an open house October 12 and 13 in order to present the new partnership with Comau, and a series of products and active robot cells to the market and French media.  [Read more…] about Lucas presents Comau to France

Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer signs deal with Korean company TPC Mechatronics

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Rethink Robotics has reached a deal with a South Korean pneumatic equipment manufacturer and distributor. 

TPC Mechatronics will utilise Sawyer collaborative robots from Rethink Robotics in its own facility, as well as the facilities of its customers, in “an effort to move the entire industry toward smarter factories”, according to the companies.

The exclusive distribution partner of Rethink Robotics in Korea, TPC Mechatronics’ core customer base consists of a wide range of industrial manufacturers.  [Read more…] about Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer signs deal with Korean company TPC Mechatronics

Logistics robots: The way you move

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As Joni Mitchell once sang, and Janet Jackson reiterated, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone”.

So it was when Amazon bought Kiva Systems in 2012 for a chart-topping $775 million.

Now one of the world’s largest online retailers, Amazon is also growing its logistics business, with 30,000 Kiva robots working away at its warehouses all over the world. [Read more…] about Logistics robots: The way you move