Industrial Automation, Robots and Unmanned Vehicles General Newsletter - Jul 2013

Global Future 2045 Takes A Hard Look At Today
06/28/13, Frank Tobe, The Robot Report
Bottom line of all of the interfaith / spiritual speakers was to emphasize that we are preoccupied with the "how" of change and not the "why."

Top 10 Questions to Consider Before Buying an Industrial Robot
06/28/13, Jeff Kamin, QComp Technologies, Inc.
The following document poses some of the questions that a robotic user should consider prior to selecting a robot and a robot programmer/installer.

Case Study: Machine Vision System Detects Defective Parts for Precision Stampings Supplier
06/28/13, Microscan
Dimensional measurement is an essential step in the manufacture of Hexin’s stamped parts in order to ensure that each workpiece meets required tolerances.

Where Has All the Training Gone?
06/14/13, Robert Allen and Kathleen Bellemare, Connecticut Spring & Stamping
While the CSS program is clearly a success, the company still would prefer to focus solely on manufacturing. They created the program to fill a void, and it means they will be able to promote from within their own ranks, but CSS would prefer not to take the place of educational institutions.

Online Robotics Certificate Program
06/14/13, Colin Simpson, George Brown College Robotics Technician Training Program
The program is offered in an asynchronous format, which means you can study any time, any place. We also offer a "pay as you go" tuition option where students pay for each course as they complete it.

DARPA Announces Winners of Virtual Robotics Challenge (VRC)

The goal of the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) is to generate groundbreaking research and development so that future robotics can perform the most hazardous activities in future disaster response operations, in tandem with their human counterparts, in order to reduce casualties, avoid further destruction, and save lives.

Disaster response robots require multiple layers of software to explore and interact with their environments, use tools, maintain balance and communicate with human operators. In the Virtual Robotics Challenge (VRC), competing teams applied software of their own design to a simulated robot in an attempt to complete a series of tasks that are prerequisites for more complex activities.

Twenty-six teams from eight countries qualified to compete in the VRC, which ran from June 17-21, 2013. DARPA had allocated resources for the six teams that did best, but in an interesting twist, good sportsmanship and generosity will allow members of the top nine teams, listed below, to move forward:

1. Team IHMC, Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, Pensacola, Fla. (52 points)
2. WPI Robotics Engineering C Squad (WRECS), Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Mass. (39 points)
3. MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. (34 points)
4. Team TRACLabs, TRACLabs, Inc., Webster, Texas (30 points)
5. JPL / UCSB / Caltech, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. (29 points)
6. TORC, TORC / TU Darmstadt / Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. (27 points)
7. Team K, Japan (25 points)
8. TROOPER, Lockheed Martin, Cherry Hill, N.J. (24 points)
9. Case Western University, Cleveland, Ohio (23 points) 

Schunk - Powerball Lightweight Arm LWA 4.6

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Learn More About SCHUNK

ATI Industrial Automation

ATI Industrial Automation is a world-leading developer of robotic accessories and robot arm tooling, including Automatic Tool Changers, Multi-axis Force/Torque Sensing Systems, Robotic Deburring Tools, Robotic Collision Sensors, Rotary Joints, and Compliance Devices.

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