Chinese apparel company Tianyuan Garments Co. plans to open a $20 million factory in Little Rock, using 330 robots from U.S.-based robotics company Softwear Automation. Tianyuan — which supplies apparel to Adidas, Armani and Reebok — will produce t-shirts at the new factory for a cost of 33¢ per shirt. The “sewbots” used can produce…
ABB acquires GE Industrial Solutions for $2.6b
ABB acquired the industrial solutions unit of General Electric today for $2.6 billion in a move that will help ABB expand its hold in the North American market, the company announced. “With GE Industrial Solutions, we strengthen our Number 2 position in electrification globally and expand our access to the attractive North American market,” ABB…
SRI, Chilean mine operator Enaex launch RoboMiner
Chilean mining company Enaex Group launched the first versions of its RoboMiner and Mine-iTruck, developed to protect human employees of the mining industry. “These projects were specially created to continue enhancing the mining operation and its resources, but taking care of our greatest value, which are the people,” Enaex CEO Juan Andrés Errázuriz said in…
Epson Robots all-in-one SCARA to compete against Cartesians
Today at PACK EXPO, Epson Robots (which bills itself as the top SCARA robot manufacturer in the world) announced an expansion of its industrial SCARA robot line with new T-Series all-in-one robots with built-in controllers. The design (with a price starting at around $7,500, according to early sources) reduces space requirements and simplifies setup. The…
Toyota Robotics, AI Investments Are Selective, Strategic, Says RoboBusiness Panelist
At RoboBusiness 2017, Toyota Research Institute VP Jim Adler will discuss what investors are looking for in robotics and AI. Here, he describes how his own career and Toyota’s interests have converged.
Intuitive Surgical to integrate GE Healthcare tech in Korea
Intuitive Surgical Korea signed a memorandum of understanding with GE Healthcare Korea aimed at improving the clinical applications of robotic-assisted surgery. Under the agreement, GE Healthcare Korea will provide its CS600 anesthesia machine, which supports multiple ventilation modes tailored to patients, and its patient monitoring technologies as well as needed training and services assistance to Intuitive…
Baidu announces $1.5B autonomous vehicle tech fund to drive development
Chinese internet search provider Baidu created a 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) fund to invest in autonomous vehicle projects and released the latest version of its open-source autonomous vehicle software, the company announced yesterday. The goal of the Apollo Fund, named for the software and NASA’s moon-landing program, is to fund 100 projects over the…
GE to sell industrial solutions unit to ABB
General Electric is close to a deal to sell its industrial solutions unit to ABB Ltd at a value of $2.5 billion to $3 billion, Bloomberg reported. The companies are expected to announce the final agreement next week, though neither has publicly commented on the deal. However, the agreement could still be delayed or fall…
Vorwerk acquires autonomous vacuum maker Neato Robotics
German appliance maker Vorwerk Group this week acquired Neato Robotics, a California company developing smart home-based robots. “Today marks a significant milestone for Neato, and I am honored to be leading this team,” Neato Robotics chairman and CEO Giacomo Marini said in a press release. “We are bringing together a powerful combination of technology and talent uniquely positioned…
Competition in South Korea’s collaborative robots industry heats up
In 2016, the South Korean government planned to put 500 billion won, or about $445 million, toward expanding the country’s robotics industry. And in 2017, the country claimed the highest robot concentration globally with 531 multipurpose industrial robots per 10,000 employees in the manufacturing industry. Now with new developments and market entries, the competition among…
Knightscope Adds Mobile, Stationary Sentry Robots to RaaS Line
Knightscope has added two sentry robots, the stationary K1 and mobile K7, to its product line. The K1 is meant to improve building security, while the K7 is ruggedized for outdoor use.
Powerhouse Ventures to sell a quarter of Invert Robotics holdings for $1.3m
Technology investor Powerhouse Ventures plans to sell about a quarter of its Invert Robotics shares for $1.3 million, the company announced. Powerhouse currently holds 34.6% of Invert Robotics, but the sale would decrease that holding to between 23.6% and 28.2%. “Generally, Powerhouse Ventures aims to own between 20 to 40 percent of its investee companies…
Your Guide to RoboBusiness 2017
Robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence will take center stage at RoboBusiness 2017, which takes place Sept. 27-28 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Here’s a guide to help organize your show.
Robots could soon use new form of actuator: Genesis Robotics CEO explains
In a recent interview, Lisa Eitel of The Robot Report chatted with Mike Hilton, CEO of startup Genesis Robotics. This spinoff of Genesis Advanced Technology focuses on R&D in robotics, oil and gas, medical, human performance, and clean-energy industries. The company recently announced an actuator that’s particularly suitable for powering the joints in SCARA robot…
Startup working in human-robot collaboration software receives $18m
Boston-area startup Humatics, which is developing “microlocation” systems, secured $18 million in Series A funding. “We now are piloting our breakthrough microlocation system with key industrial automation and manufacturing partners,” co-founder, president and chief operating officer Gary Cohen said in a press release. “For our partners and others, millimeter-scale precision can dramatically improve safety, efficiency…
Researchers develop sucker allowing robots to attach to fish, explore ocean
A newly developed suctioning device could help robots explore the depths of the ocean by attaching to sea creatures. According to the study published in Science Robotics, the adhesive disk — which was created using 3D printing, laser cutting and soft robotics — can lift almost 100 pounds and withstand pull-off forces more than 340…
Robot fits woman with 2 teeth in first autonomous implant surgery
A robot in China carried out the first autonomous dental implant surgery, fitting two 3D-printed teeth into a woman’s mouth. Medical staff were on hand during the procedure and were responsible for fitting orientation equipment to the patient; programming the robot’s position, movements, angle and depth necessary to insert the teeth and administering a local…
Companies race to increase foothold in China as robotics industry grows
Right now, robotics companies are setting their sights on China as its robotics industry and the number of robots installed in the country continue to grow. Through official initiatives, such as the “Made in China 2025 program,” the Chinese government is helping drive this industry growth. The program’s five-year plan aims to automate sectors like…
Bonsai claims AI concept networking technique helps robot work 45X faster
After testing its concept networking technique, the Bonsai found its artificial intelligence platform can enable robots to perform tasks at 45 times the speed of comparable machine learning techniques, the company announced. The concept networking approach speeds up the training process by breaking tasks down into multiple sub-tasks, each of which the machine learns to…
Can You Tame the UR5 Robot Arm?
At RoboBusiness 2017, the UR5 robot arm from Universal Robots will pick “widgets” out of a feeder that moves around and is dynamically tracked by the vision-guided cobot. Using a wand, attendees will be able to “tame” the robot, prompting it to avoid the wand while attempting to reach the widget.
ARC Specialties and Universal Robots launching collaborative-robot MIG welder
Small job shops struggling with the budget, programming and space requirements of traditional welding robots now have an alternative setup … … the new SnapWeld Collaborative Robot Welding package developed by ARC Specialties Inc. and Universal Robots is a cobot-assisted, interactive welding system that can be deployed easily and flexibly in existing, manual welding booths,…
New Panasonic sensor lets robots detect direction, distance and floor
Panasonic created a 3D sensor that can detect direction, distance and the floor to help mobile robots move autonomously. The 3D LiDAR sensor uses laser-scanning at an angle of up to 60 degree vertically and 270 degrees horizontally that senses moving objects like people to help the robot avoid them as well as detects the…