Robohub.org
c-Industrial-Automation
IdeaHub, ABB launch new robotics accelerator programme
Simon Blair and IdeaHub / Venturebright
14 May 2015
The IdeaHub recently announced the launch of a robotics accelerator programme, run on behalf of ABB Robotics, to deliver solutions to some of the biggest issues facing robotics today and in the future...
Danish co-bot maker Universal Robots sells for $350 million
Frank Tobe
13 May 2015
Privately held Danish company Universal Robots - the successful producer of the UR line of collaborative robots - has sold to Massachusetts-based Teradyne, a provider of electronic testing equipment....
Shadow Robot’s Dexterous Hand can do more than cook up a storm
Adriana Hamacher
07 May 2015
The Shadow Robot Company has been perfecting its robot hands for almost two decades, but it took just a short demo by the world’s first robot chef last month to propel this small, London-based start...
Competing robotic warehouse systems
Frank Tobe
01 May 2015
As sales via online retailers steadily increase, so too does the speed with which customers want their goods delivered. Amazon, eBay, and Google all have massive and speedy warehousing operations atte...
Video describes accelerating robot deployment in China
Frank Tobe
27 Apr 2015
In response to rising labor costs combined with a shortage of workers, China has begun to provide incentives to encourage businesses to utilize robots to replace factory workers....
Manufacturing next-generation robotic manipulation
Rich Mahoney and SRI International
27 Apr 2015
Every April, National Robotics Week fuels a heightened awareness around robotics, its impact on society, and its growing importance in a wide variety of fields and applications. Robotics, however, nev...
ABB launches YuMi and acquires gomTec
Frank Tobe
15 Apr 2015
ABB leapt into the collaborative robotics space at the Hannover Messe trade show by launching their two-armed YuMi robot and simultaneously announcing their acquisition of German startup gomTec, wh...
Takeoff in robotics will power the next productivity surge in manufacturing
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
05 Mar 2015
BCG research predicts that by 2025, adoption of advanced robots will boost productivity by up to 30 percent in many industries, and lower total labor costs by 18 percent or more in countries such as S...
Foxconn begins selling noodle-making robot
Frank Tobe
28 Feb 2015
Early in 2014 Foxconn invested $25 million in Fu Jiang Robot Technology, a Shenzhen robot maker which had a dough-slicing device that was beginning to sell....
New Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in architecture and digital fabrication at ETHZ
NCCR Digital Fabrication (DFAB)
19 Feb 2015
In September a new Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) ETH in Architecture and Digital Fabrication will be offered by the Gramazio Kohler Research chair at ETH Zurich. This one-year, full-time program f...
Media is more excited about farm robots than exhibitors at World Ag Expo
Frank Tobe
17 Feb 2015
The 48th annual World Ag Expo, with over 1,400 exhibitors, finished up in Tulare, California last week with little exposure to robotic game changers. Their Top 10 New Products included just one robot...
2015 sees mobile manipulators coming to market
Andra Keay
09 Feb 2015
[tweetquote]Fetch Robotics has just announced $3 million funding from Shasta Ventures and O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures[/tweetquote], which will be used to bring their new mobile manipulator robots to...
Japanese Robots: ActiveRobo SAM wants your seat, not your job
Reno Tibke
26 Jan 2015
If it can be simply installed and removed, if the controls are easy for both veteran and new operators, if together this creates a near-human surrogate, the ActiveRobo SAM could upend the entire R/C c...
JCC503 Robo, a high-efficiency washer in the form of CNC-controlled robotic arm
DigInfo TV
13 Jan 2015
http://youtu.be/yurn2xuKpc8
At JIMTOF 2014, Sugino Machine unveiled the JCC503 Robo, a CNC precision washer that positions parts with a numerically-controlled robotic arm and utilizes a high pressu...
Robot Startup Series #7: Interview with Soft Robotics’ Carl Vause
Andra Keay
18 Dec 2014
[tweetquote]Soft robotics is finally leaving the research lab and entering the real world. [/tweetquote] One of the companies leading the way is a Boston-based startup that is commercializing the inn...
10.1% CAGR projected for material handling robots through 2020
Frank Tobe
15 Dec 2014
UPDATED 12.16.14: Robots for palletizing, logistics, packaging, and speciality materials handling (e.g.: in life science labs and for pharma, food and beverage, semiconductor and electronics) are pro...
25% of KUKA shares trade hands
Frank Tobe
08 Dec 2014
Voith GmbH, among the biggest family-owned businesses in Europe, acquired 25% of robot maker Kuka AG by buying the shares held by Grenzebach GmbH.
The transaction was valued at €555 million ...
Christmas is orange at Amazon
Frank Tobe
02 Dec 2014
15K+ bright orange Kiva robots are operating across the US and at 10 Amazon fulfillment distribution centers this holiday season....
Stepping motor with battery-free absolute sensor enables accurate positioning
DigInfo TV
02 Oct 2014
http://youtu.be/6jkMnv-otRA
Oriental Motor has developed the αSTEP AZ Series of closed-loop stepping motor & Driver packages, which contain its patented mechanical absolute sensor, the ABZO Se...
Vision-enabled package handling
Frank Tobe
29 Sep 2014
Capturing and processing camera and sensor data and recognizing various shapes to determine a set of robotic actions is conceptually easy. Humans do it naturally. But it is difficult for a machine.
...
South Korean private-public partnership to invest $2.6B in robot industry by 2018
Jong-Oh Park
11 Aug 2014
With contributions by JiEun Maeng
On July 25, the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy held the robot industry policy meeting at the Korea Technology Center in Seoul and announced the 2nd...
10,000 robots to be used on new iPhone 6
Frank Tobe
24 Jul 2014
MacRumors has done a roundup of iPhone 6 rumors, and reported that the new phone will come in two models: 4.7” and 5.5”, and will be released starting this September.
The new phone will be fas...
3d printer builds houses in China | The Guardian
Hallie Siegel
14 Jul 2014
http://youtu.be/OYqBxEAtXZA
See more at The Guardian and Mashable....
Will agricultural robots arrive in time to keep fruit and vegetable costs down?
Frank Tobe
11 Jul 2014
Grape pickers migrate from field to field in northern Mexico and California. Photo credit: Tomas Castelazo (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons.
77% of all agricultural workers in the US are foreign bor...
Robots automate testing for bacteria, including coliforms
DigInfo TV
08 Jul 2014
http://youtu.be/hVyw9qN6HGY
Robohub is an online platform that brings together leading communicators in robotics research, start-ups, business, and education from around the world. Learn more abo...
Top 10 take-aways from AUTOMATICA 2014
Frank Tobe
02 Jul 2014
When you see a slick robot - say for instance the new Aldebaran Pepper robot - you can easily be distracted by the design, the gestures, the interaction, the cuteness. But AUTOMATI...
ShanghAI Lectures: Barry Richards and Craig Turnbull “Robotics and Automation Applied to the Aircraft Industry”
Nathan Labhart
26 Jun 2014
Guest talk in the ShanghAI Lectures, 2011-11-10
In this guest lecture, Craig Turnbull and Barry Richards from Electroimpact talk about robots in aircraft manufacturing....
Migration from Mexico to U.S. is tapering off. How does this impact farmers?
Frank Tobe
26 Jun 2014
A recent newsletter from Harvest Automation, the start-up company that produces robots that move potted plants at nurseries and greenhouses, cites two very revealing trends regarding migrant workers....
Grasping objects in a way that is suitable for manipulation
Autonomous Robots Blog
19 Jun 2014
This post is part of our ongoing efforts to make the latest papers in robotics accessible to a general audience.
Robots are expected to manipulate a large variety of objects from our everyday lives...
Why was this man smiling at AUTOMATICA 2014?
Frank Tobe
17 Jun 2014
34,500 visitors from more than 100 countries came to Munich this June to visit AUTOMATICA 2014 and examine the robotics-related wares of 731 exhibitors from over 42 countries.
But why was Esben Ø...
Global trends in robotics from patent analysis
Andra Keay
15 Jun 2014
120,000 robotics patents have been published in the last 10 years, tripling in rate from 2004 to 2013, according to the UK Intellectual Property Office Informatics Team. Unsurprisingly, there was a h...
IFR Maker/User Panel at AUTOMATICA
Frank Tobe
11 Jun 2014
In a crowded back room at AUTOMATICA 2014 in Munich, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) sponsored a panel of prominent robot users explaining their needs to a panel of executives represent...
ROS meets precision agriculture at Blue River Technology
Open Source Robotics Foundation
05 Jun 2014
If you were to design the worst possible environment for software engineering, the cramped jump seat of a John Deere tractor would be a contender. The sound and vibration of the engine makes conversat...
IFR reports record 2013 industrial robot sales
Frank Tobe
04 Jun 2014
At a press conference this morning at AUTOMATICA 2014 in Munich, International Federation of Robotics (IFR) President Arturo Baroncelli announced that 179,000 industrial robots were sold in 2013, a 12...
Meet your (ROS-based) cleaning team from Avidbots
Open Source Robotics Foundation
26 May 2014
The folks at Avidbots — who won an honourable mention in the Robot Launch 2014 competition — are developing ROS-based commercial cleaning robots....
Canadian farmers invest in robots to work ‘smarter, not harder’ | CBC
Hallie Siegel
13 May 2014
Thousands of farms around the world now use robotic technology. In Canada, the automatic milkers are more recent – and the numbers of early adopters can be counted in the dozens.
Read more by David...
