07/19/12 — Optima Control Solutions Ltd, an independent automation company, was approached by KUKA Robots and charged with the task of installing and programming a robot solution to integrate with the paper mill’s existing machine control system. The mill’s automation engineer reported: “We had complete confidence in the company’s expertise when KUKA recommended Optima as the best system integrator for the job. KUKA Robots employed a 3G router solution and made sure that remote robot diagnostics are possible via LogMeIn (a remote control desktop website). The most challenging part of the project was calculating the arc the robot had to take relative…

06/28/12 — (CNN) -- Rising wages in China may be squeezing the profits of many manufacturers -- but they are also feeding a boom in the robotics industry. Wages in China's cities rose 12.4% last year, while in rural areas they were boosted by 21.9%, accordingto figures from China's National Bureau of Statistics. While that may be good for workers, manufacturers are softening the blow to their balance sheets by turning to robotics -- which are cheaper, faster and deliver high quality. China is the fastest growing market in robotics, and by 2014 it will top the global market, according tothe International Federation…