Torque is equal to current when it comes to electric motors. When sizing the motor and drive circuit, the discussion usually revolves (pun intended) around the torque of acceleration. This is because the torque required to accelerate the load is generally the largest component of the load requirement. However, there are two aspects to the […]
Foxconn to deploy 1,000,000 robots by 2014
Foxconn is planning to up their factory robot count to 300,000 by 2012 and 1 million by 2014. A Taiwanese contract manufacturer with factories in Taiwan, China, Vietnam and Indonesia, Foxconn employs 1.2 million workers, 400,000 of which work on iPad, iPhone and other Apple products. Read story in Christian Science Monitor. Combining low-cost skilled…
Defense Robots for Land, Air and Sea
The just-ended AUVSI convention showcased military/defense technology – including a Chinese-made drone. Good pics from the Wall Street Journal.
Free Stanford online course in AI
Artificial Intelligence is the science of making software that reasons about the world around it. Humanoid robots, Google Goggles, self-driving cars, music you might like to hear suggesting software, are all examples of AI. The class will be taught by two of the leaders in the field, Peter Novig and Sebastian Thrun. Dr. Norvig is…
Torque and Motion
Torque isn’t just torque when we’re talking about motion control. It’s another one of those subtleties of the field of mechatronics that requires consideration when you are doing a new project. With retrofits there are different rules. It is possible to use the motor as a sensor by monitoring the current over time which […]
US Army Testing 4 Rugged UGVs in Afghanistan
Lockheed Martin’s rugged UGV has a range of 125 miles (201 km), carries up to half a ton of cargo, and has three control options: supervised autonomy, tele-operation or manual operation.
DoD Orders Just Keep Coming
AeroVironment receives $65 million for Puma unmanned aircraft systems. iRobot receives $14.1 million from US Navy and $7.4 million from US Army. ReconRobotics gets $5.8 million for Scout and pole-bots.
Willow Garage’s PR2 Robot Loses Arm and $80,000
To enable more scientists, educators and engineers to explore the capabilities of a personal service robot, Willow Garage launched a new one-armed PR2 for $200,000. It includes an open source operating system (ROS) and a Kinect device and new sensor suite.
Unmanned Agricultural Tractors Gaining Momentum
Row-crop equipment manufacturer Kinze hooked up a Jaybridge Robotics driverless kit to a John Deere tractor pulling a grain cart and integrated it so that the unmanned tractor and cart pull alongside a harvester, receive a load while moving, drive to a staging area to drop the cart and get a new one and then…
Timely Robotics-Related Research Reports Hit The Market
Expensive but comprehensive research reports covering most aspects of the robotics industry: components, healthcare and medical, defense, security, surveillance, industrial, personal and exoskeletons, prostheses and optical sensory devices. ABI Research offers cluster package of reports covering all aspects of the industry. Research and Markets just released their Global UAV Market Analysis for 2011-2021. Market Research…
Shopping tablet guides you thru store, discounts and alternatives
Korea’s largest telecom provider SK Telecom is funding a tablet-enabled grocery shopping cart trial. It matches a smartphone purchase list app to a tablet affixed to the cart and, while you move around the store, tells you where your items are, data about the product, discounts and alternatives.
China’s Mammoth Intro to Robotics
by Frank Tobe and Manoj Sahi According to Xinhua, the official press agency of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn will deploy 1 million robots over the next three years to improve efficiency and reduce labor for tasks better suited to a robot. The robots will be used…
Progress? or What?
Where is the line between art and technology? Design is how we respond to a need. Part of that response is functional, technically oriented, part of that response is aesthetic and subjective. Great design comes from extraordinary solutions that embody the deep knowledge and understanding combined with great aesthetic aspects that make the solution appealing […]
Inventing the Future
What happens when the cost of technology drops? Not just the raw cost of something, but the means to produce it. Semiconductor costs decrease over time as volume increases. This has been the magic of the industry for decades. The cellphone, flat screen monitor, tablet computer all represent incredibly low cost of technology as a […]