SolidWorks acquisition of electronic product design software maker Priware, is designed to meet engineer demand for an integrated electrical and mechanical design platform.
Under a new agreement, factory automation, engineering and consulting services supplier Applied Manufacturing Technologies will provide contracted implementation support for SHAFI, Inc.’s RELIABOT 2D and 3D Vision Guided Robotics software solutions, accelerating application studies and installation support.
Robotic random bin picking, the ability to handle loose items which arrive at facilities in containers, is a much coveted material handling capability. Braintech, a leader in vision guided robotics (VGR), has integrated random bin picking into the latest release of its eVisionFactory software platform and vision library for the development of VGR applications.
SLS Solar Line Saxony GmbH, a major German solar cell production equipment manufacturer, has incorporated Adept motion control, vision and Quattro robotic systems into standard products for solar cell production.
Microcontroller and semiconductor provider Microchip Technology has released a new series of Serial Presence Detect (SPD) EEPROM devices that support the latest high-speed Double Data Rate 2 (DDR2) DIMM modules. The devices are particularly useful for technologies requiring low-voltage batteries.
Devices Have Lowest Operating Voltage of Any SPD EEPROM in Industry
Medical robotics, ‘Quality of Life’ technology, and healthcare automation will take center stage at the upcoming RoboBusiness Conference and Exposition 2008. The international business development event for the personal, service, and mobile robotics industry to address advancements, challenges, and the future of healthcare robotics.
Seegrid Corporation has released its GT3 autonomous ‘tug bot’, the first vision-guided industrial mobile robot designed specifically for material handling in manufacturing, warehousing and distribution. Current GT3 customers include Giant Eagle, Daimler Trucks and GENCO experience successful operational performance.
For mobile service robots (MRS) to self navigate through unstructured environments, particularly the workplace or public places such as malls and airports, they must be able to do so without risking injury to people and other objects. To this end, GeckoSystems has released a full robot body touch sensor termed GeckoTactileShroud which allows MRSs to navigate crowded environments more safely and at greater speed.
A group of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are working to change engineer video game characters with the capacity to have beliefs and to reason about the beliefs of others. The characters will be able to predict and manipulate the behavior of even human players, with whom they will directly interact in the real, physical world, according to the team.
The robotics industry must vie with all other industries for qualified engineering talent. Unfortunately, the overall US pool of engineering talent is dropping right at a time when scores of existing engineers are preparing to retire.
By John P. Desmond
In this illumination article, Craig Jennings, CEO of industrial robotics manufacturer Motoman, describes the company’s new humanoid robotic products. Jennings explains how Motoman humanoid systems are extremely well suited for handling, manipulation and assembly-related tasks that require two hands, and that the market for such systems is huge and an alternative to offshore manufacturing.
3D imaging company Technest Holdings has been awarded Phase I SBIR grant from the US Air Force to develop a low-power, small sized, day/night sensor named ‘SpectralBird’. Because of its small size and low power requirements, the SpectralBird technology is expected to find use in small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for military, counter terrorism and law enforcement missions.
Researchers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville have developed a wide-angle camera that will be able to provide security forces with the ability to monitor large areas through high-resolution images taken from a satellite or an airborne craft.
Induction ceremony highlighted during international business development event for the mobile robotics and intelligent systems industry
ABB Robotics and machine tool producer Okuma have co-developed a standard interface for Okuma machine tools for ABB robots. The new interface, which is purported to reduce production and operator training time, was developed under The Intelligent Numerical Control program (THINC).
Pittsburgh, PA based Aethon has enhanced the laser-based technology within their TUG autonomous mobile robots. The new technology increases sensing accuracy and obstacle detection capabilities, allowing the tugs to run 33 percent faster and better navigate open, busy spaces, such as hospital atriums or lobbies, in addition to narrow corridors and elevators.
iRobot has received a DARPA to develop small mobile communications relay robots called LANdroids. LANdroids are small, inexpensive, smart robotic radio relay nodes that dismounted warfighters drop as they deploy in urban settings. The mobile robotic nodes then self-configure and form a mesh network – a temporary infrastructure that establishes communications over the region. The LANdroids are designed to adapt the network if individual nodes break down or become destroyed.
At a recent American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons meeting, a number of SensAble Technologies customers demonstrated a number of innovative products ranging from artificial joints to arthroscopic simulators, based on the company’s 3D touch-enabled technology.
Prosurgics, a producer of image-guided surgical robotics, and Adept Technology, a provider of intelligent robotics systems and services, are leveraging their combined competences to further accelerate growth in billion dollar robotic surgery market. The US surgical robotics market alone is forecast to be worth approximately $2.5 billion by 2011 (BCC Research) with an expected average annual growth rate of 43% in the period 2006-201.
Adept Technology, a provider of intelligent robotics systems and services, is partnering with Prosurgics, a producer of image-guided surgical robotics, to co-develop robotic surgical solutions. No wonder, the US surgical robotics market alone is forecast to be worth approximately $2.5 billion by 2011 (BCC Research) with an expected average annual growth rate of 43% in the period 2006-2011.
Carnegie Mellon University’s Takeo Kanade is the 2008 recipient of the Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science from the historic Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The Bower Award, the newest award at The Franklin Institute, includes a gold medal and a cash prize of $250,000 making it one of richest awards for scientific achievement in the world. Previous Franklin Institute laureates includes Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.
Noel Sharkey, a robotics expert at the University of Sheffield issued a issue stark warning during a keynote address to the Royal United Services Institute concerning the threat posed to humanity by new robot weapons being developed by powers worldwide. According to Sharkey, dropping prices and increasing sophistication of military robots will make such systems commonplace with the result that they made be used by terrorists.
Educators at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Academy have developed ROBOTC, a full-featured implementation of the industry-standard C programming language, as well as a debugger, that was specifically designed for use with educational robots at the high school and college levels.
Athena Technologies, 10-year-old technology company which sells guidance control and navigation systems for unmanned aircraft, as agreed to be acquired by Rockwell Collins, a producer of aviation electronics.
In this Q&A session with Robotics Trends’ Contributing Editor John Desmond speaks with Kevin Kozuscek, Director of Marketing of KUKA Robotics, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial robots, describes how KUKA is moving into service robotics markets.
A new version of content delivery Web site boosts engineering innovation and productivity.
National Science Foundation makes Carnegie Mellon invention available to more researchers.
In this Q&A session with Robotics Trends’ Contributing Editor John Desmond speaks with Kevin Kozuscek, Director of Marketing of KUKA Robotics, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial robots, describes how KUKA is moving into service robotics markets.
Probo may look like a simple cuddly toy, but this little piece of green artificial intelligence is no toy.
By Lisa Bradshaw
