Robotics Trends

Virtual Conference to Focus on Autonomy, Navigation and Mobility Solutions, and Business Development Robotics Trends’ Robotics Summit Virtual Conference and Exposition to feature keynotes and general sessions by world class speakers, as well as a virtual exposition floor packed with cutting-edge technologies. Robotics Trends and EH Publishing, Inc. announce the focus of the first virtual conference serving the robotics and intelligent systems industries.  The inaugural Robotics Summit Virtual Conference and Exposition will take place June 16, 2010 and feature an international cast of keynote and general session speakers from the robotics and intelligent systems industries.  Attendees will attend the event free of charge, with full access to the exhibit hall, keynote presentations, sessions, online networking opportunities, and prize giveaways - without travel expense or time away from their business.  The event website is http://www.robovirtualevents.com. Robotics Trends’ Robotics Summit offers… View this post
Filed in: Service Robotics • Latest News • Robotics Features
Tagged: Autonomy, robotics, robot, robotics trends, business development, investment, robotics summit, robotics summit virtual conference and exposition

Innovations in Robotics and Evolving Safety Standards Examined in New White Paper Rockwell Automation releases a new white paper entitled “International Safety Standards Keep Pace With Advances in Robotic Technology and Applications” that examines the major innovations in robotics and robotic systems, including cableless teach pendants, human-robot collaboration, robot-to-robot synchronization and vision-based safeguarding systems, that new safety standards will address for the first time. Major advances in microprocessor and artificial-intelligence techniques, along with innovations in automation and control systems, are ushering in a new age of robotics, in which once-futuristic visions are becoming realities. Despite these breakthrough applications – in areas ranging from manufacturing to medicine – robots carry risk. Without the proper precautions in place, a robot experiencing a fault or failure might cause serious injuries to people and damage to capital equipment in or around the… View this post
Filed in: Industrial Automation • Latest News • RT News
Tagged: Automation, robotics, robot, indusrial robot, teach pendants, irockwell automation, robot-to-robot synchronization, international safety standards keep pace with advances in robotic technology and applications

PMD Enhances Its Prodigy Family of Motion Cards With New Features and Peripherals User accessible on-board non-volatile memory (NVRAM) and the IM600 Interconnect Module, which that simplifies the process of connecting various motion peripherals, are the newest additions to PMD’s Prodigy Motion Control Cards. Performance Motion Devices, Inc. (PMD) has enhanced its Prodigy family of motion control cards with new features and peripherals. The added capabilities will benefit both development and production applications by simplifying the programming and connectivity of the Prodigy motion controllers. All Prodigy/CME controllers have been upgraded to include user accessible on-board non-volatile memory (NVRAM). This new memory area allows users to store configuration parameters, program variables, and other data items directly on the card so that they do not need to be loaded as part of the power-up sequence. Information stored in the non-volatile memory… View this post
Filed in: Design and Development • Opinion
Tagged: robotics, robot, motion control card, Im600, prodigy, nvram, performance motion devices, motion control

National Instruments Introduces LabVIEW Robotics 2009 LabVIEW Robotics 2009 can import code from other languages including C/C++, .m files and VHDL, and communicate with a wide variety of sensors using built-in drivers for everything from LIDAR, IR, sonar and GPS devices to dramatically reduce development time allowing engineers and scientists to focus on adding their own algorithms and intelligence. National Instruments announced LabVIEW Robotics 2009, a new version of its graphical system design software that provides a standard development platform for designing robotic and autonomous control systems. NI LabVIEW Robotics 2009 delivers an extensive robotics library with connectivity to standard robotic sensors and actuators, foundational algorithms for intelligent operations and perception and motion functions for robots and autonomous vehicles. With this new software, engineers and scientists now can implement ideas faster with… View this post
Filed in: Design and Development • Feature • Robotics Features
Tagged: robotics, robot, Development, robotics control systems, national instruments, labview, labview robotics, labview robotics 2009

iRobot Achieves Milestone in Home Robot Market Sales of iRobot home robots surpass five million units; innovative features and proven reliability continue to make Roomba the industry leader in robotic floor cleaners iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) announced that it has achieved an industry milestone in the home robot market. The company, which was founded twenty years ago, launched its iRobot Roomba Vacuum Cleaning Robot in 2002. Since then, iRobot has sold more than five million home robots, making its products among the best-selling consumer robots in history. “This achievement represents a huge milestone for iRobot and for the robotics industry as a whole,” said Colin Angle, chairman and chief executive officer of iRobot. “We set out to create practical robots that help people accomplish tasks they don’t like to do, and in many… View this post
Filed in: Personal Robotics • Latest News • Robotics Features
Tagged: robotics, robot, roomba, Dirt dog, verro, irobot, looj, personal robot

Virginia Tech Team to Build Battlefield Robots for 2010 Competition A team of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students from Virginia Tech’s Virginia Center for Autonomous Systems in building a team battle-ready robots as part of an international war games challenge. The roving, walking robotic soldiers of the “Terminator” films are becoming less sci-fi, and more certain future every day. Now, a team of robotics researchers from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering will build a team of fully autonomous cooperative battle-ready robots as part of a 2010 international war games challenge that could spur real-life battle bots. The 2010 Multi-Autonomous Ground-robotic International Challenge (MAGIC) (http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/MAGIC2010/) tasks teams with building squads of fully autonomous ground robots that will coordinate, plan, and execute a series of timed tasks including hunting objects, classifying and responding to simulated threats,… View this post
Filed in: Academics and Research • Feature • Robotics Features
Tagged: robotics, robot, autonomy, tomonari furukawa, virginia tech college of multi-autonomous ground-robotic international challenge, tank automotive research development and engineering center, Autonomous ground vehicles, magic

AAI Receives $39 Million Award for Additional Shadow Systems In addition to 91 previously delivered systems, AAI Corporation has been contracted to deliver three new Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems to support U.S. Army and Marine Corps. bringing the total of ordered systems to 116. AAI Corporation, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced that it has received a $39 million production order for additional Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (TUAS). The order includes two additional units for the U.S. Army and one for the Marine Corps. Including this new order, a total of 116 Shadow TUAS have been ordered by the Army, Army National Guard, Army Special Forces and Marine Corps. To date, AAI has delivered 91 Shadow systems and deliveries now extend through March 2011. “Our goal… View this post
Filed in: Security & Defense Robotics • Opinion
Tagged: robotics, robot, Aai corporation, unmanned aerial vehicle, autonomy, shadow, unmanned aerial system, autonomous

Next-Generation of Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft Takes Flight World’s first fully autonomous high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system, the Global Hawk will carry the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) active electronically scanned array radar making well suited for designed for persistent ISR. The first Block 40 configuration of the RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) successfully completed its first flight on Nov. 16. Designated AF-18, the advanced capability aircraft flew for approximately two hours from Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) manufacturing facility in Palmdale, Calif., to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Photos accompanying this release are available at http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/mediagallery.html?pkgid=6904 “AF-18, the eleventh of the next-generation Global Hawk Block 20/30/40s to arrive at Edwards Air Force Base, performed beautifully,” said George Guerra, Northrop Grumman vice president of HALE systems. “This flight… View this post
Filed in: Security & Defense Robotics • Feature • Robotics Features
Tagged: Northrop grumman, uav, robotics, robot, unmanned aerial vehicle, unmanned aircraft system, global hawk, uas

KUKA is Revolutionizing Robotics With a Sensitive Touch KUKA and the German Aerospace Center co-develop a small, lightweight robot, in use in piolet projects since March 2009, was designed to operate in close association with human co-workers. KUKA Roboter GmbH, based in Augsburg, is demonstrating once again that it wants to play a key role in shaping the future of robotics. The KUKA lightweight robot (LWR), developed in cooperation with the German Aerospace Center, is being used in series production for the first time: in rear axle assembly at Daimler’s Mettingen plant. “The lightweight robot is a prime example of the successful transfer of technology from science to industry,” explained Manfred Gundel, CEO of KUKA Roboter GmbH, at a press conference at the Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim plant. Since March 2009, Daimler AG has been using… View this post
Filed in: Industrial Automation • Latest News
Tagged: robotics, robot, kuka lightweight robot, german aerospace center, kuka roboter, Kuka, industrial robotics, industrial robot

Smith Detection, AeroVironment and US Army Collaborate on Chemical Agent-Detecting UAV Partnership combines powerful chemical sensors and advanced algorithms to enable rapid aerial chemical detection and tracking by unmanned aerial vehicles. Smiths Detection announced the successful creation and demonstration of an unmanned aircraft chemical detection and identification system capable of warning troops against chemical warfare agents. The detection and identification system, able to fit in the interchangeable nose cone of a Raven® UAV, is a result of the collaborative efforts between Smiths Detection, AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) (Nasdaq: AVAV), the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and other U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) laboratories. To provide safe and effective standoff detection and identification capability of chemical hazardous events, the sophisticated chemical sensor nose cone was developed specifically to fit into AV’s RQ-11B Raven as part of a DoD… View this post
Filed in: Service Robotics • Latest News
Tagged: uav, robotics, robot, unmanned aerial vehicle, raven, aerovironment , Smith detection, unmanned air system