A lightweight micro gripper —the MGR5 micro-gripper from SMAC — is for small and fragile part assembly. The MGR brings operation force 10 gram or less capability into range. Light moving mass reduces impact force during small product placement. MGR5 Specs: Compact and lightweight Light force capability 10g or less Soft-Land capability for pick and place of delicate and […]
SoftBank invests $5 billion into Didi Chuxing and $4 billion more in Nvidia
SoftBank, the giant telecom company, is venturing out into the world of robotics and transportation services. DealStreet Asia said that SoftBank is trying to transform itself into the 'Berkshire Hathaway of the tech industry' with the recent launch of a $100 billion technology fund. UPDATED 5/24/17: Adds SoftBank's acquisition of 4.9% of the oustanding shares of Nvidia…
Transportation as a service (TaaS): a look ahead
SoftBank just invested $5 billion in Didi Chuxing, China's biggest ride-sharing service. Last year Uber sold their China business to Didi resolving (by giving up) all the legal and antitrust investigations it was undergoing in China. In other news, Chris Urmson, long time CTO of Google's self-driving car program, left to start a new company; and Waymo…
Self-Driving Cars Approved for Public Tests in Germany
Germany passed a law that allows self-driving car tests on public roads. A human driver needs to be behind the wheel at all times, and the cars need to have a black box that tracks data in case of accidents.
Smart Exoskeleton Prevents Elderly Falls
The Active Pelvis Orthosis is a smart exoskeleton that recognizes in just 350 milliseconds a person has lost their balance. The exoskeleton then applies force to the hips to counterbalance the slip and prevent a fall.
Parker Hannifin Corp. launches Parker Automation Manager 1.3
Parker’s Electromechanical and Drives Division – North America is pleased to announce the release of Parker Automation Manager (PAM) 1.3. This update significantly expands the Parker Automation Controller (PAC) features and functionality, allowing users to integrate complex robotics into their machine controller in an easy-to-use, graphical environment. While the PAC is Parker’s all-in-one machine controls […]
OMEGA Engineering sponsors Simsbury High School’s robotics team at FIRST National Championships
OMEGA Engineering-sponsored Sim-City robotics team from Simsbury High School who ranked 19 out of the 68 teams in their division at the 4-day FIRST Robotics National Championship in St. Louis, Missouri from April 26 through April 29. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) runs the largest and oldest student robotics competition in […]
Medrobotics wins Australian nod for colorectal procedures with Flex platform
Medrobotics said today it won Australian TGA regulatory clearance for its Flex robot-assisted surgery platform, with indications for colorectal procedures. The Raynham, Mass.-based company won indications for colorectal procedures from the FDA earlier this month, and won similar expanded CE Mark approval in the European Union last October. The system won 510(k) clearance from the FDA for transoral procedures in July…
EduExo DIY Kit Lets You Build Exoskeletons
EduExo is a 3D-printable, Arduino-powered kit for students, hobbyists and educators that teaches how to build exoskeletons.
TransEnterix inks $17m term loan deal, misses consensus with Q1 earnings
TransEnterix (NYSE:TRXC) said yesterday that it took out a $17 million term loan with an affiliate of Innovatus Capital Partners that it plans to use to get its Senhance robot-assisted surgery platform past the FDA. The Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based company also posted 1st-quarter earnings that missed the consensus forecast by a penny. The 1st $14 million…
What’s slowing the use of robots in the ag industry?
Why are so many farm equipment manufacturers so heavily involved in the ag industry yet things are going so slowly in relation to robotics? Perhaps farmers need to first incorporate the digital era — and the concepts and practices of precision agriculture — before taking the next step toward the use of robots. Two traditional qualifyers for farmers buying…
Georgia OKs Self-Driving Cars on Public Roads
Georgia becomes the latest state to legalize testing of self-driving cars on public roads. The bill won’t require humans in self-driving cars to have a valid driver’s license. However, the self-driving cars must be registered as automated vehicles with the Department of Motor Vehicles, must maintain a valid insurance policy, and follow speed limits designated by local order.
Eplan Data Portal migrates to Azure
Eplan Data Portal—previously hosted on servers in Germany—has now migrated to the Microsoft Azure Platform. Due to its exponential growth in the last years, the previous deployed solution had reached its limits. Explaining the decision to switch to Azure, Global Director Eplan Data Portal Stefan Domdey said: “Looking ahead to our international growth, we wanted […]
CEO of Robotiq Samuel Bouchard explains coming trends in robotic grippers
Recently, Design World surveyed the robotics and motion industries about current and coming technology shifts (including those for robotic grippers) to improve automation. Among the experts who provided their insights was Samuel Bouchard, CEO of Robotiq. Just a bit south of Quebec City, Robotiq was founded in 2008. Today the company designs and sells offers […]
5 Autonomous Systems Takeaways From Xponential Day 1
Unmanned systems are all the rage at this week’s AUVSI Xponential in Dallas. From our first impressions, the markets for drones and related technologies are healthy, based on business and technology developments.
Meet the LiveWorx Robotics Lineup
Meet the speaker lineup for the Robotics & Autonomous Vehicles Track at LiveWorx 2017, including Boston Engineering, CyPhy Works, Jibo, MIT, Soft Robotics, Vecna, WPI and more.
Tesla Autopilot 2.0 Increases Speed Limit to 90 MPH
Tesla has updated Autopilot 2.0, increasing Autosteer’s speed limit on highways to 90 MPH and removing the speed limit during off-highway driving.
Medrobotics wins colorectal indication for Flex robot-assisted surgery system
Medrobotics said today that it won 510(k) clearance from the FDA for a colorectal procedure indication for its Flex robot-assisted surgery platform. 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 2015 (that indication…
Robotics market in North America surges 32% with $516 million is Q1 2017
North American robotics companies posted the strongest ever first-quarter results, according to the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry’s trade group. Both robot orders and shipments achieved record levels. An all-time high total of 9,773 robots valued at approximately $516 million were ordered from North American robotics companies during the first quarter of 2017. This […]
Human exoskeleton takes top manus award at Hannover Messe
At the 2017 Hannover Messe, plastic bearings expert igus announced the winners of its 8th manus awards for unique plastic bearing applications. An independent jury, with representatives from the research, business, and specialist media organization, awarded the 2017 golden manus trophy, along with a €5,000 prize to California-based Pathway LLC for its design for manufacturing […]
This new bionic hand reacts automatically: Here’s how
British researchers are trying out a new bionic hand that they’ve developed that allows the wearer to reach out and grasp objects automatically – without the user consciously thinking – mimicking how people fluidly react to with the world around them. The key to allowing the hand to do this was a camera. The biomedical engineers at Newcastle…
Cyber attacks on robots a real threat — New report shows ease of hacking
Today’s automation connectivity support IIoT and Industry 4.0. setups, but the threat of cyber attacks on robots is very real. In fact, robots are just as exposed to corporate networks and the internet as other setups in industrial plants and applications — leaving them and their environments vulnerable. Now a new report from Trend Micro […]