British online retailer Ocado is part of the SoMa consortium, which is researching soft manipulation and robotic end effectors. The Horizon 2020 project involves organizations across Europe.
Gita Delivery Robot Carries Your Belongings
Gita is an autonomous delivery robot from Piaggio Fast Forward that can carry up to 40 lbs. Gita can follow behind you or travel on its own to a pre-mapped destination.
Where do cartesian XYZ robot and printer configurations fit vs formats like delta, articulated, and SCARA?
It used to be that motion control was X, Y, and Z, and then there was the evolution of articulated and SCARA robots to go ahead and achieve, cost effectively, anywhere from three to seven axes of motion. Then there started to be the delta format robots that you would see on packaging lines, that […]
Deciding what NOT to do is as important as deciding what TO do
Business maturity is what startups often need when they ask for an 'adult' to come and manage their company. That was certainly the case with Danish startup Universal Robots as they sought funds and a new CEO in 2008. Universal Robots Esben Østergaard (pictured), Kasper Støy and Kristian Kassow, two young PhD's and a civil…
Quarterback Drones Show Off Passing Skills at NFL Pro Bowl
Watch DJI Inspire 1 drones show of their passing skills at the NFL Pro Bowl Skills Competition in Orlando.
Reptile Robots Spy on Wild Animals in Africa
EPFL scientists built a robot crocodile and lizard to get up close and personal with wild animals in Africa. The robots are featured in an episode of the BBC’s “Spy in the Wild.”
Medrobotics raises $20m for Flex system
Medrobotics, which developed the Flex robot-assisted surgery platform, said in a regulatory filing today that it raised some $20 million in an equity round. The Raynham, Mass.-based company won expanded CE Mark approval in the European Union last October for Flex for performing colorectal procedures. The system won 510(k) clearance from the FDA for transoral procedures in July…
Verb Surgical debuts robot-assisted surgery prototype
Verb Surgical, Johnson & Johnson‘s (NYSE:JNJ) joint venture with Google parent Alphabet‘s (NSDQ:GOOGL) Verily Life Sciences, said today that it debuted its 1st digital surgery prototype to its collaboration partners at Ethicon Endo-Surgery and J&J. Robotic surgery, a fast growing field dominated by Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) and its da Vinci system, isn’t using robots yet, according to Verily CEO Andrew Conrad. In…
Babies Helping Robots Get a Grip
The Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute thinks robots can learn a thing or two about manipulation from babies. Google has donated $1.5 million to the cause to test this concept on dozens of robots.
Pepper Robot Lands Job at Oakland International Airport
Pepper, the humanoid robot from Softbank, will greet and engage with guests at HMSHost’s Pyramid Ale Taproom in Terminal 2, offering assistance, menu recommendations and directions to travelers.
Refreshed Mobile Robot Line Shows Omron Adept’s Strengths
After acquiring Adept Technologies, Omron first focused on its fixed-robot line before re-engineering the Lynx mobile robot. The Mobile Robot LD combined with Omron Adept’s sales channel could spell success.
Intuitive Surgical expects slowdown in da Vinci sales growth
Intuitive Surgical beat Wall Street expectations with its fourth quarter results, but company officials expect a slowdown in sales growth this year for da Vinci surgical robots. Intuitive Surgical earned $204 million, or $5.13 per share, off $386 million in sales during the three months ended Dec. 31, 2016, the company reported Tuesday evening. The fourth…
Delivery Robots Knocking at Your Door
The CES 2017 Robotics Conference brought together delivery robot experts to discuss industry trends, the need for continued testing, and how to overcome regulatory and technical challenges. Hear from Steve Cousins, CEO & Founder, Savioke, Ahti Heinla, Co-Founder, CEO, CTO, Starship Technologies, and Helen Greiner, Founder and CTO, CyPhy Works.
CBS News shows how using robots created 140 jobs
By investing $6 million in robots, Bicycle Corporation of America (BCA) was able to take back 10% of their manufacturing from China and place it into a new factory in Manning, South Carolina employing 140 new workers. BCA has been an American business since 1905 but has manufactured most of its bicycles offshore in China. Recently,…
Professor Einstein Robot Launches on Kickstarter
Hanson Robotics’ Professor Einstein is a 14.5-inch-tall, Wi-Fi-connected edutainment robot that walks, talks, and acts as your friend and personal science tutor.
Hospi Delivery Robot Being Tested at Airport, Hotel
Panasonic’s Hospi delivery robot will move around a hotel lobby offering drinks to guests and collect dirty dishes at an airport lounge.
Collaborative robot arm makes visual inspections in the blink of an eye
Using a robot arm for lightbox visual inspections has simplified production for one visual inspection systems manufacturer. Highlighted at PackExpo last November, Universal Robots’ collaborative robot—or cobot— is automating parts inspection for one of its preferred system integrators, HNJ Solutions. Its Automated Cosmetic Inspection system integrates automated pick-and-place with quality inspection of high volume production. […]
Tesla Crashes Down 40% with Autopilot, Feds Say
The US government exonerates Tesla for the May 2016 fatal accident that killed Joshua Brown. In fact, the NHTSA crash report found Tesla’s crash rate has dropped 40 percent after the company installed its semi-autonomous Autopilot software.
Robotics in motion: Quadrupled production capacity with collaborative robots
Robotic platforms abound in Cartesian setups, delta subtypes, and six-axis selective-compliance-articulated robot arms (SCARAs). They’re more common than ever for machining, packaging, palleting, machine tending, welding, and assembly. But no matter the application, the robot morphology must match the task at hand. Case study: Quadrupled production capacity with collaborative robots Contract manufacturer Dynamic Group had […]
FIPA gripper system for protective film removal delivers cost and labor-savings for sheet metal handling
FIPA Inc. a leading manufacturer of advanced vacuum technology, gripper systems, air nippers, tube lifters, and End-of-Arm-Tooling (EOAT), recently created a custom EOAT solution that facilitates the removal of protective film from sheet metal with a cost- and labor-saving automated process. Developed for Foilpuller GmbH, a stainless steel sheet metal processing company based in Bobingen, Germany, FIPA’s […]
One vise for all workpieces with jaw support for ID and OD clamping
The SCHUNK KONTEC KSC centric clamping multifaceted vise has optimal jaw support for I.D. and O.D. clamping with long base jaw guidance. It can be easily adapted for conventional clamping, short clamping depths for 5-sided machining, mould parts, plates or saw cuts. This innovative vice has already set itself apart on the market because of […]
Universal hydraulic toolholder now with extended lengths
With the TENDO E compact, SCHUNK has started a new era in tool clamping with this universal toolholder that is suitable for applications such as milling, drilling, and reaming. SCHUNK now offers new extended lengths in CAT 40 (4“) and CAT 50 (6“). Both are great for long reach applications and in multi-axis machines. For […]