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From the Editor
The Spirit of Collaboration is All Around Us
There were certainly a lot of partnerships and agreements made during the MODEX 2022 event last week, and a lot of that has carried over into this week as well. Robot companies are partnering up with other robot companies to work on joint pilot projects; robot companies are partnering up with logistics companies to begin deploying robots for specific tasks as well. In addition, companies that develop robot parts or software are teaming up with other component makers to come up with easier ways for robot developers to make robots quicker. It’s really nice to witness all of these collaborations, as it reminds me that things often proceed faster when people work together. Sure, competition still exists in the marketplace, but that doesn’t mean companies need to go it alone – it’s when they find similar common ground to work together that opens up more opportunities. Yes, the spirit of collaboration is in the air – or maybe that’s just springtime here in the Northeast.
– Keith Shaw, Managing Editor. |
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Vecna Chooses Quanergy for Lidar Sensors on New Cobot Pallet Jack
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Quanergy Systems, which develops lidar sensors and smart 3D solutions, has announced that its M1 lidar sensors were chosen by Vecna Robotics to deliver navigation on their new Vecna CPG autonomous co-bot pallet jack. Vecna uses the sensors for natural feature navigation to help bring automation to long-ignored material handling workflows, such as pallet and tote consolidation, pick-to-packout, and quality assurance/quality control/rework. Lidar uses time-of-flight sensing to generate rich point cloud data about the surrounding area, allowing the cobot to navigate the warehouse autonomously, abandoning the need for expensive and inflexible beacons. |
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Yokowo Expands Line of Fiber Optic Transceivers for Industrial Vision Applications
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Yokowo recently announced it expanded its fiber optic transceiver line with an LC Type multimode transceiver. The new LC Type M optical transceiver is a metal version compatible with LC Duplex connectors, and can be used in vision systems for industrial machinery, broadcast, mining, oil & gas exploration, transportation (including subways and trains), aviation, medical engineering and other Industry 4.0 applications. The LC Type M transceiver is one-third the size of SFP+ transceivers, which helps simplify product design in space-constrained applications. |
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Flux Power Launches New Battery Pack for AGVs, AMRs
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Flux Power Holdings, which develops advanced lithium-ion energy storage for commercial and industrial equipment, has announced its C48 lithium-ion battery pack aimed at automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). In response to improvements in technology and engineering design, Flux Power said it developed the C48 for AGVs and AMRs. The design was improved to make the battery easier to service, as well as lower the total cost of ownership for customers. |
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ePicker, Anantak Launch Automated Lift Truck
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ePicker, which develops material handling equipment, has announced a partnership with robotics developer Anantak to power warehouse vehicles that include pallet movers, tuggers, stackers, and forklifts. The ePicker autonomous pallet mover, powered by Anantak, aims to make warehouse automation more attainable for companies. The first vehicle from this partnership combines lasers, 3D cameras, vehicle telemetry and a proprietary self-driving software package to allow the unit to complement existing workflows instead of replacing them, ePicker said. The system sets itself apart from other mobile robots with on-board intelligence and how little effort is needed to deploy, maintain, and scale for any operation. |
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iRobot Launches Create 3 Educational Robot for Developers
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Consumer robot maker iRobot has announced expanding its educational product lineup with the launch of Create 3, an educational robot and developer platform. Based on the Roomba i3 Series robotic vacuum platform, Create 3 gives educators and advanced makers an out-of-the-box alternative to more costly and labor-intensive robotics kits that require assembly and texting. Instead of cleaning people’s homes, the robot is designed to promote higher-level exploration for people seeking to advance their education or career in robotics. |
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Product Profile: MAXON's EC 69 Flat UAV Motor
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MAXON offers a large variety of custom drive motors for drones. The new EC 69 flat drone motor is a brushless motor optimized for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and drone applications. The EC 69 flat UAV motor and matching UAV-ESC 52/30 electronic speed controller (ESC) are designed to deliver high torque and power density with minimal vibration, and a long service life. |
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In Case You Missed It
FedEx Express to Test Autonomous Cargo Delivery with Elroy Air
FedEx Express has announced teaming up with Bay Area-based Elroy Air, which is building an end-to-end autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial cargo system. FedEx Express said it will test Elroy Air’s Chaparral autonomous air cargo system within the company’s middle-mile logistics operations, moving shipments between sortation locations. FedEx said this is the latest initiative to explore and adopt emerging technologies across its networks. Elroy Air announced its signature Chaparral autonomous aircraft earlier this year. The aircraft is an eVTOL aerial cargo system that can autonomously pick up 300 to 500 lbs of cargo and deliver it by air up to 300 miles away. The Chaparral is capable of longer range flights without the need for additional infrastructure, such as airports or charging stations. Read More |
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Featured Article
Konoike Transport, OSARO, inVia Robotics to Pilot Fully Autonomous Warehouse in Japan
Konoike Transport, OSARO and inVia Robotics have teamed up on a new project to showcase a prototype of an automated warehouse where autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) work together with picking robots. The system is optimized for warehouse and e-commerce applications that involve large SKU inventories, and will take place at the Konoike Institute of Technology Innovation Center (KITC) in Japan. The pilot aims to demonstrate automation of logistics processes by linking inVia’s AMRs with OSARO’s piece-picking robots to provide a smooth path from warehouse inventory to packing and shipping operations. Read More View Video |
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Industry News
- Sarcos Acquires Pittsburgh's RE2 for $100M
Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation has announced a definitive merger agreement with Pittsburgh-based RE2 Inc., which develops autonomous and teleoperated mobile robotic systems for use in the aviation, construction, defense and medical industries. The transaction is $100 million, consisting of $30 million in cash and $70 million of Sarcos common stock. Following the transition, the shared product suite will allow the combined company to target a much broader spectrum of customer needs across the commercial and defense sectors.
- H3 Dynamics, ELID Partner on Robotic Building Facade Inspection
Singapore-based H3 Dynamics and ELID Technology have announced a commercial and technology partnership that combines artificial intelligence-enabled facade assessments with robotic facade repair gondolas. The combined technologies aim to create the first end to end automation solution that covers both inspection and remediation activities on tall buildings. This will increase worker safety, while also scaling up much-needed maintenance in large cities that have aging populations and thousands of aging structures.
- Seegrid Taking Orders for Palion, its Autonomous Lift Truck
Seegrid, which develops autonomous mobile robots for material handling tasks, has announced that its newest autonomous lift truck, the Seegrid Palion Lift, is now available for pre-order. With initial customer shipments occurring later in April 2022, the lift truck AMR is aimed at manufacturing, e-commerce, and logistics companies. Equipped with the most advanced generation of Seegrid’s proprietary autonomy technology, Palion Lift also includes 3D perception for navigation along with situational awareness capabilities.
- MOV.AI, Lanner Electronics Partner on AMR Development
Lanner Electronics and MOV.AI have announced a collaboration to provide developers of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) an integrated computing and software platform to help optimize performance and speed the deployment of AMRs. With an expected $8.7 billion market for AMRs worldwide by 2028, AMR manufacturers are expected to deliver intelligent and more agile robots that can be integrated into dynamic and human-centric environments. The collaboration between MOV.AI and Lanner will leverage the Robotics Engine Platform from MOV.AI with Lanner’s Edge AI computing appliance.
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Robotics News
Tennant Adds Lithium-Ion Tech to Robot Floor Cleaners
Tennant Company, which designs and manufactures systems for floor cleaning, has announced the introduction of lithium-ion technology to its portfolio of autonomous mobile robots, including the T380AMR, T7AMR, and T16AMR. Tennant and its partner, Brain Corp, have engineered a portfolio of autonomous floor scrubbers and deployed more than 5,400 robotic scrubbers. Read More |
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Aurora Releases Driver Beta 2.0 Autonomy System
Aurora Innovation has announced the launch of Aurora Driver Beta 2.0, the second release of its integrated hardware and autonomy system. The new release powers Aurora’s truck fleet and recently unveiled Toyota Sienna test fleet, as well as add new features and improvements to prepare Aurora Driver for commercial launch. Read More |
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VisionNav Robotics Demos Automated Industrial Forklift
VisionNav Robotics, which develops industrial automated vehicles, demonstrated its automated industrial vehicle forklift to help drive intralogistics automation with intelligent technology. The company was exhibiting at the recent MODEX 2022 event in Atlanta. At the event, VisionNav demonstrated applications for its VNP15 counterbalanced automated forklift in a stacking scenario of multi-layer material frames, in addition to the material handling operation of its SLIM series forklifts in a dense, narrow aisle scenario. Read More |
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MDA Joins Lunar Rover Development Team
MDA Ltd., which develops advanced technologies and services for the space industry, has announced it is working with Lockheed Martin and General Motors to integrate MDA’s commercial robotic arm technology on a planned human-rated lunar mobility vehicle. The addition of MDA to the industrial lunar vehicle development team follows the announcement of an agreement between Lockheed Martin and GM in 2021. The vehicle is expected to be a part of NASA’s Artemis program, which plans to send humans back to the surface of the moon in 2025. Read More |
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