Robotics
On your marks, get set, DRONE!
If you missed out on Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2017, you will be kicking yourself as it really took off there, literally. At the exhibition, there were ‘Experience Halls’ which focussed on four main themes; sports, lifestyle, entertainment and learning, and more importantly included the increasingly popular drones.
Supporting bespoke desktop robots for automated soldering
Working close with its supplier, ATN Germany, Altus are now offering them full pre and post sales and engineering support for their range of bespoke designed desktop robots to address automated soldering which can grow with customers and their future requirements. ATN Germany produce a range of soldering solutions to automate tasks which cannot be completed using SMT production techniques.
Folding robots are capable of complex movements
The traditional Japanese art of origami transforms a simple sheet of paper into complex, three-dimensional shapes through a very specific pattern of folds, creases, and crimps. Folding robots based on that principle have emerged as an exciting new frontier of robotic design, but generally require onboard batteries or a wired connection to a power source, making them bulkier and clunkier than their paper inspiration and limiting their functionalit...
This robot took a long walk off a short fountain
A robot security guard tasked with patrolling car parks and buildings in Washington DC appears to have taken its life into its own hands by rolling into a fountain and drowning itself. In a tweet that quickly went viral, Bilal Farooqui said: “Our D.C. office building got a security robot. It drowned itself. We were promised flying cars, instead we got suicidal robots.”
Robots make sure there isn’t a screw loose
Working together Mitsubishi Electric and system integrator TQC have built a new production line for a customer where robots and automation have been combined with an OEE monitoring system to ensure assembly and testing work is carried out as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Conferences provides training in robot safety and motion control
The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) has announced a series of conferences that align with some jobs of the future while providing insight into the latest automation innovations, in-depth technical training, practical strategies, and networking opportunities. Together, the three events address disciplines central to automation - robot safety, motion control, motor technologies, vision systems, and collaborative robots.
Robotic arm manually tests PIN payment transactions
Edinburgh-headquartered Zonal Retail Data Systems has introduced a robotic arm to aid R&D and ensure the company meets the highest demands in product testing, as part of its continued investment in product development. Selected for its nimble movement and adaptable configuration, Zonal opted for a Universal Robot UR3 table-top robotic arm and Robotiq 2-finger adaptive gripper supplied by RARUK Automation.
How unmanned vehicles can help farms of the future
Agricultural practises will need to continue to develop and become more efficient, if the findings of recent research pieces are anything to go by. For instance, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has reported that agricultural consumption will need to increase by close to 70% by 2050 to account for the world’s growing population - projected to hit nine billion people in the same year.
When will machines exceed human performance?
The Future of Humanity Institute recently published the results of its survey of over 350 industry and academic Artificial Intelligence (AI) experts from around the globe in an effort to answer this question. They also tackled a more vexing one: When will machines exceed human performance for all tasks? According to those experts we have decades. Guest blogger Mychal McCabe explains.
One small step for man, one giant flight for dragonflies
A team of researchers at Draper first announced the DragonflEye programme in January, and it now has lift-off. DragonflEye is a drone that uses live dragonflies to fly. The DragonflEye is a real dragonfly that has been turned into a living drone, it was created by researchers at Draper and Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Janelia Research Campus. The dragonfly wears a tiny backpack fitted with electronics, sensors and a solar cell. A ...