Tether free actuator hailed as soft robotics breakthrough
Jon Excell for The Engineer: Designed by a team at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, the new device is claimed to have considerable advantages over existing pneumatically-powered soft actuators as it doesn’t require a tether.
The device consists of a dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA): a membrane made of hyperelastic material like a latex balloon, with flexible (or ‘compliant’) electrodes attached to each side.
The stretching of the membrane is regulated by means of an electric field between the electrodes, as the electrodes attract each other and squeeze the membrane when voltage is applied. By attaching multiple such membranes, the place of deformation can be shifted controllably in the system. Air is displaced between two chambers.
The membrane material has two stable states. In other words, it can have two different volume configurations at a given pressure without the need to minimize the larger volume. Thanks to this bi-stable state, the researchers are able to move air between a more highly inflated chamber and a less inflated one. They do this by applying an electric current to the membrane of the smaller chamber which responds by stretching and sucking air out of the other bubble. Cont'd...
Industrial Internet of Things Focal Point for Global Automation & Manufacturing Summit at 2016's Industrial Automation North America
CANopen Motor Controllers for Electric Mobility and Vehicular Applications
The DVC series motor controllers from Advanced Motion Controls are digital four-quadrant servo drives purpose-designed and built to operate today's modern mobile electric vehicular platforms.
TM Robotics Partners with M.A.P Services to Sell Toshiba Machine Industrial Robots in Australia for the First Time
M.A.P will offer full line of Toshiba Machine Industrial Robot's Cartesian, 6-Axis and SCARA robot systems for all types of automation and materials handling industries
TM Robotics Hires Industry Veteran Doug Dalgliesh to Lead U.S. Sales Team
Former Yamaha Robotics exec brings more than thirty-five years of U.S. market experience to TM Robotics
Comau presents SmartDriveComau 800L
The horizontal machining center with its ergonomic design
is thought to answer all manufacturing needs
SoftBank Robotics America Announces New Developer Portal and Android SDK to Boost Expansive Ecosystem of Support for Pepper - the Interactive, Humanoid Robot
In Preparation for Pepper's U.S. Debut, Developers are Invited to Collaborate, Create Applications and Be at the Forefront of the Robotics Evolution, Starting Today
OpenConnect Launches Latest Generation of Robotic Process Automation Solution, AutoiQ
OpenConnect,, a leader in software solutions that deliver efficiencies derived from objective workforce intelligence, analytics, and robotic process automation (RPA), has announced the introduction of AutoiQ™, the latest generation of its RPA solution.
Germán Villalobos Joins Yaskawa Mexico as General Manager
Germán Villalobos will be responsible for the robotics company's strategic direction and sales growth in Mexico.
Makeblock, the Ultimate DIY Robotics Construction Platform for Makers & STEM Learners to Showcase its Portfolio Expansion at Maker Faire Bay Area 2016
Makeblock Makes DIY & STEM Educational Robots More Diverse & Accessible for Everyone
Manufacturer of World's First Collaborative Robot Illustrates the History of the "Cobot"
Eight years ago, Universal Robots sold the worlds first collaborative robot - long before the term for this emerging robot class was coined. Fast forward to 2016 and the cobot market with an annual 50% growth is now the fastest growing segment of industrial robotics, forecast to hit $3B in global revenue in 2020.
Schunk - SWS Quick-Change System: Modular, Robust, and Flexible
The SWS is a tool changing system used to automatically change end-of-arm-tooling on robotic and gantry systems wherever changeover times between a robot and a tool are needed.
Developing Manufacturing Workers Who Are Job-Ready on Day One
Over the next decade, 3.4 million manufacturing jobs will likely be needed, and 60% of them are likely to be unfilled due to the talent shortage. How can we close that number (and the skills gap)?
University spin-out company with Sebastian Conran to develop next generation of robots
A new company has been formed to bring next generation assistive and companion robots to market by combining University-developed robotics research with the best of British design.
Mapping And Navigating With An Intel RealSense R200 Camera
In our latest demonstration, Archie provides an overview of the R200 sensor and shows how it can integrate seamlessly with ROS and a TurtleBot to accurately map and navigate an environment.
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Industrial Robotics - Featured Product
TM Robotics - Shibaura Machine THE SCARA range
The THE range from Shibaura Machine is an extensive line up of SCARA robots. Available in four arm lengths THE400 (400mm), THE600 (600mm) and the most recent THE800 (800mm) and THE1000 (1000mm), this range is suitable for assembly, handling, inspection and pick and place processes in varied industrial applications. The THE1000 boasts a 20kg payload capacity and an impressive 0.44 second cycle time, providing high speeds for processes with large components. In fact, the range has been recognised for as the price-to-performance leader compared to other SCARA models in its price range due to its impressive speed versus payload capacity.
