Small and midsize manufacturers often struggle with processes and systems that must be flexible enough to move from one task to another rather than simply crank out large batches of identical items. Fluidics Instruments BV makes components for oil burners and has used collaborative robot arms from Universal Robots A/S to steadily increase production. Netherlands-based…
Drone inspection software, services from SiteAware offer construction quality control
An unmanned aerial vehicle recently flew around Salesforce Tower, the tallest building in San Francisco. Drone inspections are a growing alternative to other methods of inspection, but they need sophisticated software to make sense of the data gathered. Building owner Boston Properties Inc. turned to SiteAware Systems Ltd. for the drone inspection of Salesforce Tower.…
TORY inventory robot rolls out to European retail stores
After a three-year pilot, German clothing retailer ADLER Modemärkte AG this week said it is rolling out the TORY inventory robot to 40 of its stores. Ilmenau, Germany-based MetraLabs GmbH provides design services and makes the autonomous service robots. TORY checks inventory 10 times faster than humans, and a unit can run for up to 18…
6 unique applications for cobots
By definition, collaborative robots are designed to be safer to operate around humans. Thanks to their smaller scale, affordability, and flexibility, cobots offer the benefits of industrial automation to new markets, including at small and midsize enterprises. Cobot arms, compliant grippers, and mobile platforms equipped with collision-avoidance capabilities take robots from inside fenced work cells…
Toyota Mobility Unlimited Challenge finalists vie for $1M to aid people with disabilities
Ride-hailing services, electric vehicles, delivery robots, and self-driving cars and trucks are changing transportation at the fastest pace in decades. Toyota Motor Corp. has been a leader among automakers in expanding its focus to personal mobility. The Toyota Mobility Unlimited Challenge is a three-year, $4 million competition for improving mobility for people with disabilities. At…
Polish manufacturer Hanplast achieves sustainability with KUKA robots
Environmental sustainability is a laudable goal, but companies need to guarantee profitability. Robotics can help manufacturers such as Hanplast sp. z o.o. reach the efficiencies needed to accomplish sustainable development. The Polish company was founded in 1993 and is a leader in plastics processing, injection molding, and photovoltaic panels. Hanplast offers its customers services including…
MIT engineers program marine robots to take calculated risks
We know far less about the Earth’s oceans than we do about the surface of the moon or Mars. The sea floor is carved with expansive canyons, towering seamounts, deep trenches, and sheer cliffs, most of which are considered too dangerous or inaccessible for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to navigate. But what if the reward…
ABB YuMi cobot helps Dutch manufacturer stay competitive
Collaborative robots can help small and mid-size enterprises stay competitive, providing the benefits of industrial automation but with greater ease of use, affordability, and flexibility. Dutch manufacturer DEONET is an example of how robots that work alongside people can boost quality and productivity. DEONET was founded 25 years ago and is based in the technology…
At Windover Construction, Drones Go Beyond ‘Eye in the Sky’
The use of drones in construction is expected to rise, particularly as surveyors, builders, realtors, and insurers apply new techniques such as AR and VR for gathering and understanding data.
Creator Offers Better Burger Experience With Robot Cooks
As robots move into food preparation, Creator is focusing on quality rather than mass production, explains Martin Buehler.
Swedish machine shop boosts capacity with cobot cell
Founded in 1983 and based in the town of Åseda in Southern Sweden, FT Produktion is a machine shop that supplies metal parts measuring up to 7.5 meters in size to a variety of industries. The company has 25 employees that hail from Sweden, Norway, Lithuania, Syria, and Thailand who work in tandem with neighboring company Profilgruppen.…
3D vision system enables DHL’s e-fulfillment robot
DHL Supply Chain has a broad innovation agenda for its warehouses, including the use of augmented reality, AGVs, robotics and everything in between. One labor-intensive task DHL is looking to automate at its warehouse in Beringe, Netherlands is manual picking. To do so, DHL worked with Robomotive, an industrial automation specialist in the Netherlands, to…
Logistics Leader Port Logistics Group to Deploy Locus Warehouse Robots
3PLs have recognized that robots can improve efficiency and help with scalability, especially with labor shortages regionally and around the holidays. Logistics leader PLG expects to expand its deployment of LocusBots.
Robot Startup Lessons From Rethink Robotics’ Fall
Rethink Robotics’ cobots were iconic, but what robot startup lessons can we take from its failure? We spoke with several industry experts to find out.
3D-printed robotic grippers make packaging machines efficient
Plastic grippers from a 3D printer and made with tribo-filaments from igus are 85% cheaper and 70% faster than most competitors currently being used in the packaging industry. 3D printing, one of the most impactful trends emerging in modern industry, allows for the single batches to become a reality and enabled for the personalized serial…
UR10 Cobot Increases Canadian Manufacturer’s Flexibility
Etalex, a Canadian manufacturer of commercial interiors, metal fixtures, shelving, wood furnishings and heavy-duty racking systems, struggled with picking metal parts out of a press brake leading to significant automation problems. Etalex had no room for safety guarding in front of the press and needed a robot that could safely handle pick and place tasks…
Soft Robotics Gripper Helps Micron Products Cut Costs, Maintain Quality
Micron Products, a wholly owned subsidiary of Micron Solutions Inc., is a contract manufacturer in Fitchburg, Mass. that specializes in precision machining, thermoplastic injection molding, mold making and more. To reduce costs and improve quality, Micron wanted to automate the pick and place process of the delicate plastic clips it produces for a car seat…
CNC machine shop increases efficiency with Sawyer cobot
Fitzpatrick Manufacturing, a Sterling Heights, Michigan-based CNC machine shop and custom manufacturer founded in 1952, supplies parts to more than a dozen sectors, including aerospace, automotive, medical equipment and oil and gas. To increase operational efficiency and counterbalance a tight labor market, Fitzpatrick Manufacturing made its initial foray into advanced automation by adopting a Sawyer collaborative…
Universal Robots at Autodesk for human-robot collaboration in construction
At Autodesk’s Robotics Lab in San Francisco, Universal Robots cobots are proving it might be possible to automate portions of the construction industry. The projects span human-robot interactions, machine learning, drawing, and smart assembly systems. Some say robots are going to take over, and humans will have nothing to do. “But we wanted to explore…
E-Commerce Drives FedEx to Find Robots for Multiple Challenges
FedEx has been pushing the development of robots for multiple aspects of its operations, as e-commerce demands outstrip the available workforce. Ted Dengel gives a preview of his session at the Robotics & AI Summit & LiveWorx ’18.
How 3D Printing Helps Jabil Slash Production Costs & Times
A steady pace of innovations underscore Jabil‘s mission to be the most technologically advanced manufacturing solutions provider in the world. To that end, the company continually weaves a digital thread across its 100 facilities in 29 countries to connect people, processes and plants with suppliers, partners and customers in new and powerful ways. At Jabil’s…
Chinese Mobile Robot Maker Geek+ Coming to America
Chinese artificial intelligence and robot maker Geek+ (Beijing Geekplus Technology) will be demonstrating its line of picking, moving and sortation robots April 9-12 in Atlanta, GA at MODEX, the largest supply-chain trade show in the Americas. Geek+ is a leading provider — and China’s #1 supplier — of warehousing and logistics solutions in China and…