A new standard in robotics
Phys.org: On the wall of Aaron Dollar's office is a poster for R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), the 1920 Czech play that gave us the word "robot." The story ends with the nominal robots seizing control of the factory of their origin and then wiping out nearly all of humanity. Dollar, fortunately, has something more cheerful in mind for the future of human-robot relations.
He sees them as helpers in our daily lives—performing tasks like setting the table or assisting with the assembly of your new bookcase. But getting to the point where robots can work in the unstructured environment of our homes (as opposed to industrial settings) would take a major technological leap and a massive coordination of efforts from roboticists around the globe. The living room has been called the last frontier for robots—but first, the robotics community needs some standards that everyone can agree on.
Enter a suitcase-sized box containing 77 objects. It contains things like hammers, a cordless drill, a can of Spam and a nine-hole peg test. As ordinary as they may seem, these carefully curated household items could be the future of a new kind of standardization for robotics. Known as the Yale-CMU-Berkeley (YCB) Object and Model Set, the intent is to provide universal benchmarks for labs specializing in robotic manipulation and prosthetics around the world. Cont'd...
Meet the robot whisperer who trains "big, monstrous, industrial robots" to follow her every command
Charlotte Whistlecroft for DigitalSpy: If you think you're happy with your job, Madeline Gannon will definitely make you question your life, as this woman has managed to train giant robots to do things for her.
Nope, we're not joking - the founder of the Madlab Research Studio created "big, monstrous, industrial robots" and then tamed then, and she even has a nickname to prove it: The Robot Whisperer.
Which is all pretty impressive, if not terrifying, stuff.
Speaking at the WIRED Next Generation event in London, Madeline passed on her robot-taming skills to the audience of 12-18 year olds and shared her passion for turning 6-foot-tall factory line robots into tools any human can communicate with. Cont'd...
Dual Check Safety Improves Stop Position Prediction
The process of having employees work alongside robots is constantly improving. While this change may seem to be a small change, it does give more space for actual collaboration.
ASU Robot learns to shoot hoops
ASU Interactive Robotics Lab: The video shows a bi-manual robot that learns to throw a ball into the hoop using reinforcement learning. A novel reinforcement learning algorithm "Sparse Latent Space Policy Search" allows the robot to learn the task within only about 2 hours.
The robot repeatedly throws the ball and receives a reward based on the distance of the ball to the center of the hoop. Algorithmic details about the method can be found here:
RR Floody's Powerful New Flexible Feeder System Pairs Mitsubishi Electric Robot and Cognex Vision System
With manufacturers more and more concerned about being able to change product and component mix on the fly, they are demanding a more flexible feeder bowl solution that allows for changing component recognition without expensive and time-consuming retooling of the system every time.
Tru-Trac Keeps Frankenstein Alive
This machine was assembled from various parts from other machines, so "Frankenstein" was really the only logical name for it.
Mobility for Robots
IPRs Robot Transport Units (RTU) Increase Both the Action Radius of Robots and the Productivity of Loading Stations
Brushless Motors: What's the Big Difference?
The electronic switching of currents to the coils of the BLDC motor is more efficient than the mechanical switching of the DC motor.
Robotics 101 at Loyola University
I think it is realistic for a robot of some sort to be in every classroom. But, the education system will need to lead the way towards that future.
Japan Regional Service Robot Expo - Expediting Opportunities in the Domestic Market
Coupled with the Government`s new Robot initiative and plenty of reasons such as short fall of labor and so on, it is becoming inevitably to adapt to new and advanced robotic process for sustaining the production strength in regional factories thus paving a new and huge potential domestic market opportunity for Robotic equipment's and services.
RoboBusiness 2016: Our Takeaways
Just like at Automatica last summer, it almost felt as if the robotics event was morphing into an IT event. So much so that Michael Loughlin of nelmia Robotics Insight joked that it looked like manufacturers forgot that their job is actually to build stuff.
Is a Robot After Your Job?
Robots may be after your job, but you could be their boss.
Vision-guided Collaborative Robots Deliver Fast Return on Investment in Production of Firehose Valves
The Universal Robot is so simple and non-intimidating that our programmers were already in the mindset of I dont need any guidance, I can do this on my own. It was almost like a PlayStation video game where they could pick up the controller and figure it out without reading the rules to the game.
Foxconn reaches 40,000 robots of original 1 million robot automation goal
From Next Big Future: In 2011, Foxconn had announced a plan to replace 500,000 mainland Chinese workers with 1 million robots over the next 3-5 years.
Foxconn is the company that builds Apple's iPhone and iPad hardware and many of the android smartphones as well.
Foxconn, has so far installed 40,000 production robots across China as it looks to minimize the number of people it employs.
With the exception of some components like servo motors and speed reducers, the robots are being built entirely in-house, Foxconn's Dai Chia-peng told Taiwan's Central News Agency, as quoted by DigiTimes. It's unclear how many of the so-called "Foxbots" are being used to manufacture Apple products.
The machines are, however, said to be operating an industrial facility in Zhengzhou, a tablet plant in Chengdu, and computer/peripherals plants in Kunshan and Jiashan. Cont'd...
As China Invests in Robotics, iRobot and Other Companies Eye Deals
Jeff Engel for Xconomy: China emerged as a manufacturing powerhouse over the past few decades, thanks in large part to a deep pool of cheap labor. Now, the country is investing heavily in factory automation, and Boston-area robotics companies and their allies smell opportunity.
Executives from 11 New England robotics firms will travel to several cities in China later this month on a trade mission aimed at sparking business deals and more technology collaboration between the U.S. and China.
The trip is being organized by InTeahouse, along with local nonprofit robotics support group MassRobotics. Cont'd...
Full Press Release:
Records 1306 to 1320 of 2221
First | Previous | Next | Last
Industrial Robotics - Featured Product
Midwest Motion Products is a leading provider of robust and reliable Motion Control Products.
MMP specializes in supplying high-quality Brushed & Brushless DC Motors & Gearmotors for Robotics and Automation Equipment with a wide range of motor windings and gear ratios. With an impressive track record of more than 8,000 released DC Gearmotors designs and over 2,000,000 individual part numbers, we are renowned for our ability to handle large-scale orders. Due to our huge on-hand inventory, we are also well known for lightning-fast delivery of our standard products. We take pride in our dedicated customer service and our team of knowledgeable sales and engineering experts who are ready to assist you with custom design solutions tailored to your specific application. Additionally, we also offer a wide range of complimentary products, such as DC Motor Controls, DC Linear Actuators, AC-DC power Supplies, and DC Servo Amplifiers and others.
Robotics and Automation - Featured Company
Shenzhen Mosrac Motor Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Mosrac Motor Co., Ltd. was established in 2010 and currently has around 350 employees across 2 locations in Shenzhen, China. As a leading motion control manufacturer, Mosrac implements standard and customized innovative solutions. As an original design or equipment manufacturer (ODM/OEM), we design and manufacture frameless motors, high-precision encoders, and robot joint modules from development through production, as well as other services. Our products are used across printing, packaging, food and beverage, medical equipment, warehouse and industrial automation, and various types of robots, including surgical robots, humanoid robots, and collaborative robots. These fields require high performance, high quality, and special custom solutions. High-performance motion control products improve system reliability, save energy, and increase their precision and accuracy. For this reason, we provide precise control of torque, speed, and position for machines with complex motion needs.
