Industries
Collaboration brings autonomous mobile robots to the market
Teradyne and the shareholders of Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) have announced the acquisition of privately held MiR of Odense, Denmark for €121m ($148m) net of cash acquired plus €101m ($124m at current exchange rate) if certain performance targets are met extending through 2020.
Automated sealant dispensing proves a winner for golf
Based in Edinburgh, Shot Scope Technologies designs and manufactures innovative wearable technology which helps both professional and amateur golfers to improve their game. A keen golfer with a background in electronics design, CEO David Hunter set up the company in 2014 to develop the golf wearable, which collects and analyses over 100 key statistics from each round played, identifying shots, club used and GPS information. The data can then...
Eel-like soft robot can swim silently underwater
An eel-like robot developed by engineers and marine biologists at the University of California can swim silently in salt water without an electric motor. Instead, the robot uses artificial muscles filled with water to propel itself. The foot-long robot, which is connected to an electronics board that remains on the surface, is also virtually transparent. The team, which includes researchers from UC San Diego and UC Berkeley, details their wo...
Multi-band receiver delivers centimetre-level accuracy
u-blox has announced the ZED-F9P multi-band GNSS module with integrated multi-band Real Time Kinematics (RTK) technology for machine control, ground robotic vehicles, and high precision unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) applications. The ZED‑F9P measures only 22x17x2.4mm and uses technology from the recently announced u‑blox F9 platform to deliver robust high precision positioning performance in seconds.
Dundee's Grove Academy triumph at GU ROV competition
A team of young engineers from Grove Academy in Dundee have triumphed in an annual competition at Robert Gordon University (RGU) and will now travel to Seattle to take place in the international final. The team were taking part in the Scottish MATE ROV competition, co-ordinated and hosted by RGU, which saw nine school teams from around the country put underwater robots, which they had designed and built, through a series of missions for a pl...
How automation can help the UK's low productivity levels
Following recent reports from the Bank of England that productivity is at its lowest level since the 18th century, a robotics expert has called on organisations to invest in automation to enhance efficiency levels.
New enclosure designed for the rail industry at Infrarail 2018
At Infrarail 2018 on stand D11, Rittal’s new generation Location Case enclosure will be the main attraction. Rittal’s new generation Location Case has been developed in conjunction with Network Rail and their exacting requirements using a standard product platform widely used in other IT and industry sectors.
RelayPro thoracic stent graft system launched in Europe
Terumo Aortic has announced the European limited market release of the RelayPro Thoracic Stent-Graft System at the 2018 Charing Cross conference. RelayPro is a low profile, next generation device designed to expand the treatment of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) to patients with smaller access vessels.
Insights into the mechanics of human movement
For athletes and weekend warriors alike, returning from a tendon injury too soon often ensures a trip right back to physical therapy. However, a technology developed by University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers could one day help tell if your tendons are ready for action. A team of researchers led by UW–Madison mechanical engineering professor Darryl Thelen and graduate student Jack Martin has devised an approach for noninvasivel...
Device could help insulin-producing cells live longer
Since the 1960s, researchers have been interested in the possibility of treating type 1 diabetes by transplanting islet cells — the pancreatic cells that are responsible for producing insulin when blood glucose concentration increases. Implementing this approach has proven challenging, however. One obstacle is that once the islets are transplanted, they will die if they don’t receive an adequate supply of oxygen.