How Does the Accident in Germany Affect Industrial Robot Safety?
by Patrick Davison, Director of Standards Development, Robotic Industries Association: Last week, an unfortunate fatality involving an industrial robot and a worker occurred at a Volkswagen plant in Baunatal, Germany. The Robotic Industries Association (RIA) and its member companies express its deepest sympathies to the victim’s family, friends, and colleagues.
According to news sources, the worker was part of a contracting crew responsible for setting up the robot, and was working inside the safeguarded space when the incident occurred. A second member of the contracting crew was standing outside of the safeguarded space and was not harmed.
The international media response to the incident was aggressive, swift, and expounded on topics that were not relevant to the incident. AWashington Post article referenced the dangers of Artificial Intelligence and posed the question, “Should the world kill killer robots before it’s too late?” In another story, a Financial Times journalist with a name similar to a popular character in The Terminator franchise started a social media frenzy with a tweet. A video from Ireland expounds on random tweets regarding the incident with backdrop footage of the Honda ASIMO robot and manual automotive operations. Also, according to this article on an automotive news and gossip site, a Times of India article posted a photo of a gun-wielding toy robot beside the story. Cont'd...
China's Hunger for Robots Marks Significant Shift
By TIMOTHY AEPPEL and MARK MAGNIER for WSJ.com - Having devoured many of the world’s factory jobs, China is now handing them over to robots.
China already ranks as the world’s largest market for robotic machines. Sales last year grew 54% from a year earlier, and the boom shows every sign of increasing. China is projected to have more installed industrial robots than any other country by next year, according to the International Federation of Robotics.
China’s emergence as an automation hub contradicts many assumptions about robots and the global economy.
Economists often view automation as a way for advanced economies to keep industries that might otherwise move offshore, or even to win them back through reshoring, since the focus is on ways to reduce costly labor. That motivation hasn’t gone away. But increasingly, robots are taking over work in developing countries, reducing the potential job creation associated with building new factories in the frontier markets of Asia, Africa or Latin America. Cont'd...
FAA Approves Phoenix Arizona's First Complete Image Acquisition Drone Operation: HighGround Images, LLC
The Federal Aviation Administration has just approved the commercial use of drones for Phoenix Arizona based HighGround Images, LLC. The approval covers a broad range of UAS aerial image acquisition including: motion picture and television, real estate, short range inspection, mapping and survey, agriculture, and search and rescue.
Teledyne Increases Ownership Stake in Ocean Aero
Based in San Diego, California, Ocean Aero is designing unmanned surface vehicles that will also have the ability to descend subsea.
Robots 101 - Lasers
Almost all robots today use lasers for remote sensing. This means that the robot is able to tell, from a distance, some characteristics of an object.
2015 Festo Bionic Learning Network Developments Run the Gamut from Robotic Ants to a Flexible Gripper Inspired by a Chameleon's Tongue
Natural models provide fresh inspiration in automation technology
Deadline Is Here for 2001 Congressional Mandate to DoD: Have 1/3 of Operational Ground Combat Vehicles Unmanned by 2015
Utah Company Kairos Autonomi Has Worked Since 2006 To Answer The Call
Adept Technology to Demonstrate Latest Robot Technologies at China International Robot Show
Attendees Will Get First Look at New Robots and Applications at
Adept's Booth, A116, July 8-11 in Shanghai
Mouser and Imahara Launch New Home and Factory Automation Series to Connect Engineers to the Latest Innovations in Technology
Mouser Electronics is teaming up with celebrity engineer Grant Imahara on an exciting new Home and Factory Automation Series in the Empowering Innovation TogetherTM program.
Robotmaster Asia leads the robotic revolution at Beijing Essen Welding & Cutting 2015
In its 19th year, BEW is the premier welding exhibition within the robotics landscape in China and was a solid platform for Robotmaster to showcase its robot programming technologies.
Robotics Programs Increasingly Becoming Popular in China
Manny Salvacion for YIBADA: Robotics education and its important application in engineering has reportedly taken off in China over the past years, as robots have become increasingly popular among people, the China Daily reported.
Liang Yujun, head of the science education department at Beijing Youth Center, said that there are nearly 300 primary and middle schools in Beijing offering robotics-related curricula and activities now.
Liang is in charge of robotics education in the capital and also the general referee of the national youth robotics activity. According to Liang, only about 20 schools had such curricula and activities in the early 2000s.
The report said that about 3,000 registrants from 160 schools and extracurricular teams participated in the 2014 Beijing Student Robotic Intelligence Competition.
"We have to hold the competition in one of the city's largest sports fields now, which can accommodate the increasing number of players," said Liu Yi, who is charge of running the competition at the Youth Center in Haidian District.
Liu said that the competition, which began in 2012, reflects the dramatic growth of robotics education in the country. Cont'd...
Adept Technology Adds Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Co., Ltd. as New Distributor
Places Initial Order for Lynx AIV Products
FANUC America Introduces New CR-35iA Collaborative Robot Designed to Work Alongside Humans
FANUC America Corporation is introducing its new CR-35iA collaborative robot, the industrys first 35 kg payload force limited collaborative robot designed to work alongside humans without the need for safety fences.
ECA Group, Subsidiary of Groupe Gorg©, Buys into Humanoid Robotics
The innovations of this young company are realizations of new theories on humanoid robotics: hybrid dynamic robotics.
MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printer Wins Red Dot Design Award
MakerBot Replicator Among Winners Chosen Out of Almost 5,000 Entries for 2015 Red Dot Award for Product Design
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