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KVH Industries: Providing the Expertise and Precision that Autonomous Platforms Need for Accurate, Safe Navigation

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The expansion and acceptance of vehicle autonomy will look a bit different from what futurists had predicted as recently as ten years ago.

People movers such as shuttles and buses are on track to become the first practical and widely accepted application of autonomous vehicles.

Getting to this point has been a long journey following decades of research and development into making autonomous technology safe and successful. [Read more…] about KVH Industries: Providing the Expertise and Precision that Autonomous Platforms Need for Accurate, Safe Navigation

Comau designs ‘highly automated, high-volume’ battery manufacturing line

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Comau, an industrial robotics and automation specialist, has designed and developed a “high-volume module manufacturing line” to produce new generation lithium-ion batteries for Leclanché, a provider of energy storage solutions for the heavy transportation, naval and railway industries.

Comau says the “state-of-the-art, highly automated line” is the result of a simultaneous engineering process and combines industrial robots, vision systems, laser welding, and the automated in-line validation of joints via artificial intelligence. Priority was given to ensuring multi-module configurability, full traceability and the highest level of safety.

The line includes the latest quality and process control technologies, thus setting the foundation for the transition towards Industry 4.0 principles. It will also allow Leclanché to produce up to six times the company’s current capacity, reaching an output of more than 60,000 modules per year. The solution is also expected to reduce costs by up to 20 percent, support 50 different product configurations and save Leclanché valuable time when introducing new formats into the manufacturing line.  [Read more…] about Comau designs ‘highly automated, high-volume’ battery manufacturing line

Ambi Robotics selects DWFritz to manufacture its robotic systems for logistics

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Ambi Robotics, an artificial intelligence and robotics company that develops advanced supply chain solutions based on simulation-to-reality AI to power highly-dexterous robots, and DWFritz Automation, a provider of high-precision automation and metrology solutions, are partnering to build custom robotic solutions for Ambi Robotics’ supply chain customers.

Jim Liefer, CEO of Ambi Robotics, says: “We are excited to work with DWFritz as we scale deployments of AI-powered sorting systems.

“DWFritz’s engineer-to-order and build-to-print capabilities complement Ambi’s ability to configure solutions that meet the needs of each customer, which will reduce implementation costs for our customers as we rapidly deploy the AmbiSort solution for ecommerce and parcel sortation.” [Read more…] about Ambi Robotics selects DWFritz to manufacture its robotic systems for logistics

Siemens expands Simcenter with AI-driven generative engineering for systems architectures

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Siemens Digital Industries Software has released Simcenter Studio software, a web application dedicated to discovering better system architectures, faster.

Simcenter Studio offers a unique competitive advantage for designing products by finding the best possible system architectures in a shorter amount of time, searching through thousands of possibilities using artificial intelligence and system simulation.

These results are automatically generated to meet the user’s design requirements and deliver specific systems architectures faster than ever before. This AI-based generation of system architectures is the latest addition to Simcenter software within Siemens‘ Xcelerator portfolio. [Read more…] about Siemens expands Simcenter with AI-driven generative engineering for systems architectures

BVN and UTS invent robotic 3D-printed air cooling system

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BVN Architecture and the University of Technology Sydney have teamed up to design what they say is “the world’s first robotically 3D-printed air-diffusion system”, called “Systems Reef 2”, or SR2.

SR2 reinvents air distribution: replacing steel with recycled plastic, square corners with aerodynamic curves, and large vents with fine pores.

The building sector is responsible for nearly 40 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions and SR2 tackles this problem head on. [Read more…] about BVN and UTS invent robotic 3D-printed air cooling system

Emerson unveils new ‘MTP’ process technology to speed up manufacturing

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Emerson has unveiled the integration of the emerging MTP process automation standard into its control systems, as part of a continued effort to help manufacturers increase speed-to-market and reduce project and operations costs.

Emerson is among the first automation vendors to support the User Association of Automation Technology in Process Industries’ (NAMUR) Module Type Package (MTP) standard for both distributed control systems (DCS) and programmable logic controllers (PLCs).

A key challenge for the process industries, particularly life sciences and chemical, is the time it takes to bring products to market or change operations to accommodate new products. [Read more…] about Emerson unveils new ‘MTP’ process technology to speed up manufacturing

SICK and Vention partner to bring enhanced robot guidance systems to manufacturers

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SICK is partnering with Vention, a next-generation manufacturing automation platform.

This partnership combines SICK’s PLB and PLOC2D systems with Vention’s manufacturing automation platform to accelerate the design and deployment of applications custom-built for robot guidance systems.

Vention’s cloud-based platform allows customers to design, automate, and deploy SICK robot guidance systems with 2D and 3D vision solutions for use in automated bin picking applications. [Read more…] about SICK and Vention partner to bring enhanced robot guidance systems to manufacturers

RoboDK and Wilder Systems unveil robotic ‘drive-through’ aircraft washing system

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Automation solutions provider Wilder Systems has developed a unique robotic “drive-through” washing system for aircraft. The system reduces the task time by 95 percent and eliminates manual washing.

By using the RoboDK programming software, aerospace manufacturers can program the task without previous robotic experience.

Regular washing is a critical task in aerospace manufacturing. It helps to reduce corrosion, improving the life and safety of the aircraft. However, manual washing is a dangerous and labor-intensive task. [Read more…] about RoboDK and Wilder Systems unveil robotic ‘drive-through’ aircraft washing system

On the way to a climate-neutral company: IDS introduces holistic climate protection

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Energy and resource efficiency are the focus of the industrial camera manufacturer IDS Imaging Development Systems.

As a globally active technology company, sustainability is an essential part of the corporate strategy.

Jan Hartmann, managing director of the Obersulm-based camera manufacturer, says: “Technological progress and responsible entrepreneurship go hand in hand for us. [Read more…] about On the way to a climate-neutral company: IDS introduces holistic climate protection

Emerson’s unveils new industrial edge-computing software for manufacturers

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Emerson has unveiled the PACEdge industrial edge platform designed to help manufacturers accelerate digital transformation projects by enabling users to quickly create and scale up performance-improving applications.

Emerson says the PACEdge platform simplifies application development by bringing together today’s leading open-source tools into a flexible, integrated and secure platform for utilising machine data and analytics.

The PACEdge release coincides with the launch of Emerson’s new PACSystems RXi2-BP edge computer, a small form-factor industrial PC that enables high-performance analytics to be run close to the machine. [Read more…] about Emerson’s unveils new industrial edge-computing software for manufacturers