Amazon is adding even more robots to its already massive robotic workforce Source: IEEE Spectrum / by Evan Ackerman At Amazon’s re:MARS conference in Las Vegas today, who else but Amazon is introducing two new robots designed to make its fulfillment centers even more fulfilling. Xanthus (named after a mythological horse that could very briefly talk but let’s not read too much into that) is a completely redesigned drive unit, one of the …Read More
Last month, PICK-PLACE was presented at a forum on advanced industrial solutions, including fields such as robotics, laser and machining for manufacturing, Zero Defect Manufacturing (ZDM), talent management in SMART environments, and other relevant trends. The forum, entitled “What and how will be produced in 2050?” was organized by IMHE in collaboration with research centers ACORDE, IK4-TEKNIKER and IK4-IDECO, and hosted by project parner IK4-TEKNIKER at their headquarters in Eibar …Read More
Source: Festo Whether its grabbing, holding or turning, touching, typing or pressing – in everyday life, we use our hands as a matter of course for the most diverse tasks. In that regard, the human hand, with its unique combination of power, dexterity and fine motor skills, is a true miracle tool of nature. What could be more natural than equipping robots in collaborative workspaces with a gripper that is modelled after this model …Read More
Last month, some members of the PICK-PLACE consortium attended the European Robotics Forum (ERF) 2019, which took place in Bucharest (Romania), on March 20-22 2019. The Forum has been an excellent occasion to learn about the latest innovations in the field, and has provided interesting feedback for our project. Ander Iriondo, researcher at IK4-TEKNIKER, answers the interview. As IK4-TEKNIKER, why did you decide to attend ERF 2019? ERF is a …Read More
Source: Spectrum IEEE / By Evan Ackerman TossingBot, developed by Google and Princeton, can teach itself to throw arbitrary objects with better accuracy than most humans As anyone who’s ever tried to learn how to throw something properly can attest to, it takes a lot of practice to be able to get it right. Once you have it down, though, it makes you much more efficient at a variety of …Read More
Source: The Robot Report / by Steve Crowe Holy mobile manipulation, Batman! Boston Dynamics just released a new video of its reimagined Handle robot. The Waltham, Mass.-based company is now calling Handle a “mobile manipulation robot designed for logistics. Handle autonomously performs mixed SKU pallet building and depalletizing after initialization and localizing against the pallets.” Handle uses an on-board vision system to track the marked pallets for navigation and finds …Read More
In this series, members of the PICK-PLACE consortium are portrayed. After TOFAŞ, ULMA Handling Systems, Mondragon Assembly, IK4-TEKNIKER and CNR-STIIMA, the last partner profile is dedicated to Fraunhofer IFF. Senior research scientist Veit Müller answers the interview. What is Fraunhofer IFF? The Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF is an autonomous institute in the nonprofit Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the largest applied research organization in Europe. The Fraunhofer IFF specializes in research and development in the …Read More
Source: MIT News / by Rachel Gordon Gripper device inspired by “origami magic ball” can grasp wide array of delicate and heavy objects. Fifty years ago, the first industrial robot arm (called Unimate) assembled a simple breakfast of toast, coffee, and champagne. While it might have looked like a seamless feat, every movement and placement was coded with careful consideration. Even with today’s more intelligent and adaptive robots, this task remains …Read More
Source: Supply Chain Dive / by Edwin Lopez In Influencers Roundtable, we bring together voices from consulting firms to share how they perceive various emerging technologies. The answers below have been edited for clarity and length. No talk of automation is complete without a mention of its apparent nemesis: labor. “We believe new productivity enhancing tools from accounting box, legal system analytics and predictive AI etc. will allow us to …Read More
Last month, some members of the PICK-PLACE consortium attended LOGIMAT 2019 fair (Stuttgart, Germany, 18-21 February 2019). The fair has been an excellent occasion to learn more about the latest trends in the sector, and has provided interesting feedback for our project. Oier Álvarez, Research and Innovation engineer at ULMA Handling Systems, answers the interview. As ULMA Handling Systems, why did you decide to attend LOGIMAT 2019 fair? ULMA Handling …Read More