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From the Editor
Robots Deliver, Now and in the Future
As the official holiday season is now underway, thousands of robots are working in warehouses to help guarantee that the purchases you made on Black Friday and Cyber Monday will arrive at your destination quickly. But we are still in the early stages of robots assisting humans with tasks such as delivery, as we are seeing projects from companies like Ottonomy, which is not only exploring last-mile delivery in venues such as airports, but also exploring “first mile” delivery to get products and packages from factories and warehouses to distribution centers. While robots continue to assist us now, it’s interesting to note how they could be helping us five years from now. One quick note - you are now receiving this newsletter on Mondays, to help catch you up on the recent news in the robotics world as you start your week.– Keith Shaw, Managing Editor. |
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Researchers Design Low-Cost, Obstacle-Ready Robot Dog
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Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science and the University of California, Berkeley, have designed a robotic system that enables a low-cost and relatively small legged robot to climb and descend stairs nearly its height; traverse rocky, slippery, uneven, steep and varied terrain; walk across gaps; scale rocks and curbs; and even operate in the dark. "Empowering small robots to climb stairs and handle a variety of environments is crucial to developing robots that will be useful in people's homes as well as search-and-rescue operations," said Deepak Pathak, an assistant professor in the Robotics Institute. "This system creates a robust and adaptable robot that could perform many everyday tasks." |
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Han’s Robot Launches Automated Arc Welding System
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China-based Han’s Robot, which develops collaborative robot systems, has announced a new automated arc welding system aimed to improve the accuracy, efficiency, and stability of welding. The company said welding industry operators face high deployment costs with traditional industrial robots, high learning costs for welders, and high requirements in terms of the welders’ abilities. Because of this, traditional industrial robots and manual welding are options that fail to meet specific needs of many companies. Han’s Robot said its automated arc welding robots can be applied to small-batch and multi-variety flexible production lines. |
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Spacee Launches New Shelf-Mounted Robots for Retail Inventory Scanning
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Spacee, which develops computer vision and AI solutions, has announced the launch of a new version of its Deming shelf-mounted robots with live video feed capabilities. The new features allow retail store managers to see shelves and get real-time inventory snapshots remotely. The United Arab Emirates-based company’s Deming robots roam across shelves capturing inventory data. While it can take several days for staff to capture inventory manually and a full day for a floor robot, Space said Deming can provide an accurate inventory accounting of an entire facility in under a minute. The company said Deming can be installed with just one tool and about 30 minutes per aisle. |
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Dobot Launches Collaborative Retail Automation Robots
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To address labor shortages and rising costs in the retail and service sectors, China-based Dobot has announced a new Nova Series of collaborative robots designed specifically for retail customers. The new robots can handle tasks such as making coffee, cocktails, ice cream, noodles, fried chicken, and even perform physical therapy. The Nova 2 and Nova 5 are the first two models in the series, with payloads of 2 kg and 5 kg respectively. Dobot said the robots can replace workers to help reduce operating expenses and decrease direct human contacts during pandemics. To help meet needs of retail branding, the Nova Series offers color customization to better fit into retail stores for better customer experiences, and they are more compact than comparable industrial cobots, with the ability to fit into one square meter of space. |
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LEMO Expands High-Speed Data Transfer Connectors
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LEMO, which designs and manufactures precision custom connection and cable solutions, has announced a new range of USB 3.1 connectors that can provide data transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps. The company said the inserts ensure optimum shielding and absolute signal integrity, and are equipped with a pair of USB 2.0 contacts to ensure backward compatibility, and a low voltage power contact. LEMO also said it it extending its Ethernet compliant portfolio that includes 1,000 Base-T4 and 10G Base-T4 compliant with a new range of Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) connectors that provide data transfer speeds up to 1 Gbps. Offered with either one or two high-speed SPE pairs, the miniature models help ensure robust, safe and lasting compact integrations, the company added. |
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Product Profile: Heidenhain IBV 6000 Signal Converter
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Heidenhain signal converters adapt encoder signals to the interface requirements of an application's downstream electronics. They can process additional sensor signals as needed, and let users flexibly adapt the encoder signal interfaces to the requirements of the applications. For some applications, additional signals, such as from temperature sensors, are processed and forwarded to the subsequent electronics. For greater flexibility in the application, signals can be interpolated, and different designs can be selected (e.g., housing, connector, top hat rail, or built-in versions). |
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In Case You Missed It
Team PoliMOVE Wins Indy Autonomous Challenge in Texas
Team PoliMOVE has won The Indy Autonomous Challenge Powered by Cisco at Texas Motor Speedway, competing in a field of six autonomous racing teams. The competition, held on Nov. 11, marked the third autonomous racing competition organized by the Indy Autonomous Challenge, and was the first one to be held at Texas Motor Speedway. Teams competed at speeds that topped 140 mph, with the addition of unseasonably cold and wet weather conditions that dropped track temperatures to near freezing. The Rules of the IAC Competition consisted of a single elimination tournament with multiple rounds of head-to-head passing matches culminating in a championship round. AV-21 racecars took turns playing the role of Leader (Defender) and Passer/Follower (Attacker), with passes attempted at ever increasing speeds until one or both cars were unable to successfully complete a pass. Read More |
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Featured Article
Case Study: Faulhaber Motors Help Explore the Universe
Over the next five years, SDSS V plans to observe 4 million stars and 300,000 black holes, analyze spectra and material composition, reconstruct cosmic development histories and verify physical models of the birth of the galaxy. Among other things, two optical large-scale telescopes in the northern and southern hemisphere will be used for the major international project. Fiber optics collect the light from the celestial bodies. The extremely precise alignment of each of the fibers is performed by 500 small robots, which are driven by Faulhaber motors. SDSS stands for "Sloan Digital Sky Survey" and is a cooperative alliance of astrophysicists from around the world. Over the past year, they have already presented the largest 3D map of the universe and thereby marked a milestone in astronomical research. Equipped with numerous telescopes and other scientific instruments, the researchers are working constantly on a wide range of projects. The latest is SDSS V, which aims to enable another qualitative leap in the understanding of the physical processes in outer space. The project will make possible the "first spectroscopic observation of the entire sky in various astronomical dimensions of time in the optical and infrared light spectrum." In total, more than 6 million objects are to be targeted. Read More |
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Industry News
- ISEE Raises $40M to Advance Self-Driving Yard Trucks
ISEE, which develops self-driving technology for fully autonomous operations in logistic yards, has announced it raised $40 million in Series B funding round, led by Founders Fund, with participation from Maersk Growth, Eniac Ventures, New Legacy and other existing and new investors. The company has raised $70 million since spinning out from MIT in 2017. The company focuses on logistics yards, where shipping containers reside as they wait to be transported by a truck to a warehouse or distribution center. Globally, about 500,000 yard trucks perform challenging, repetitive and dangerous work, which can be automated.
- Addverb, McMurray Stern Partner on Warehouse Robot Offerings
Addverb Technologies has announced a partnership with McMurray Stern, which develops mobile storage and automation systems. The two companies plan to make warehouse automation systems more affordable to a broader market, combining McMurray Stern’s integrated storage options with Addverb’s fixed and flexible solutions for picking, packing, storage and other automation tasks. These integrations will be aimed for businesses in apparel, grocery, retail, healthcare and government markets.
- AutoStore Launches Data Analytics Tool for Grid Robotics System
AutoStore, which develops a 3D cube storage automation platform for warehouse fulfillment operations, has announced a new cloud-based service and data platform for its automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS). The new Unify Analytics offering is available in two versions: a web application that lets customers view real-time statistics and analytics, and an application programming interface (API) that enables seamless integration with other external third-party applications.
- H3 Dynamics Completes Flight With Distributed Hydrogen-Electric Nacelle Tech
H3 Dynamics has announced its aircraft with distributed hydrogen propulsion nacelles has taken flight for the very first time in France. In November 2021, the company completed its first working hydrogen propulsion nacelle prototype. Earlier this year in July, the first distributed pod system took to the skies on a scaled-down aircraft at Hub Drones – Systematic airfield near Paris. H3 said the hydrogen flight received clearance from French civil air authorities (DCAG).
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Mobile Robots
Ottonomy Deploys Mobile Delivery Robots at Pittsburgh Airport
Pittsburgh International Airport has announced a collaboration with Ottonomy.io for a pilot project to offer select passengers a contactless delivery system with autonomous mobile robots. Ottonomy is partnering with Pittburgh’s xBridge Innovation Center, the airport’s technology proving ground for technologies and startups that provide solutions for the industry and beyond. The airport is a proof-of-concept site for technologies in a real-world operating environment, as well as a pilot site for companies’ first deployments. In the airport pilot program, volunteer customers will be able to order and receive beverages at designated drop-off points in Pittsburgh’s Airside T terminal. Ottobot is a fully autonomous robot that can provide deliveries inside airports, and is currently deployed at multiple airports in the U.S. and Europe. Read More |
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Ottonomy to Pilot First-Mile Automation Via Mobile Robots in Norway
Ottonomy.io, which develops autonomous mobile robots used in last-mile delivery tasks, has announced a collaboration with Norway’s Posten Norge AS and Holo to trial first-mile delivery with its Ottobots. The partnership looks to see whether autonomous can improve intra-logistics, especially in city centers. Posten Norge will leverage Ottobots for first-mile pick-ups, receiving and delivering goods for the digital marketplace AMOI from the busy Aker Brygge metropolitan area in Oslo. First-mile delivery involves moving products from a manufacturer or retailer’s warehouse to a central holding center, Ottonomy said. From this location, products are picked up by carriers, shipping companies or other logistics partners to bring it to the next leg of the destination. Read More |
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Cepton, Exwayz Demonstrate Lidar-Based Perception for Mobile Robots
High-performance lidar solutions provider Cepton has announced a collaboration with Exwayz to demonstrate new lidar-based perception solutions for mobile robotics applications. Exwayz provides plug-and-play perception software that enables lidar-based 3D mapping, localization, re-localization, as well as object detection and classification. The company offers a software development kit for real-time 3D lidar processing and is used primarily in mobile robotics for logistics, construction, and security markets. Lidar solution providers can integrate Exwayz’s software with their own lidar hardware to easily demonstrate how lidar can enhance robotic applications. The Cepton/Exwayz collaboration adds to Cepton’s existing perception solutions, creating new possibilities to streamline the development and demonstration of lidar-integrated robotic systems. Read More |
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