At this point, we need to discuss the strengths and limitations of process automation with collaborative robots. Although you probably have ideas as to what processes you would like to have automated. many are probably not the best choices to begin with, and we need to be realistic about what the t…
Although collaborative robots are a new technology, this does not mean that they are necessarily complex. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. While traditional robots have evolved to satisfy the need for high volume industries, collaborative robots have been designed for the challenges of high mix…
Google announced recently that its self-driving car project is moving to the next phase: they are building electric prototypes with no steering wheels or pedals, just Go and Stop buttons. These vehicles will be tested in the state of California, who just approved new laws for prototype autonomous c…
The Hokuyo scanning sensors are great 2D obstacle scanners. They can be used in fixed locations to detect if an object enters its scan area, and can be used on mobile platforms that need to do obstacle detection and avoidance as they move. There are two categories of sensors: outdoor sensors th…
Watch the speed and accuracy of this industrial robotic arm. Developed by MIMIX Motion, this Delta (a parallelogram) robot has 4 axes that converge into one where the gripper is located. The latter always stays correctly orientated in the same way thanks to 4 arms (we talk about a parallel robot…
We all certainly love robots and we are thrilled to see new advancements in robotics. However, sometimes we wonder if humans have already gone too far in their quest to make ever more capable (and dangerous) robots. The "LaserSnake" illustrates well this well: LaserSnake Cutting Through Metal Res…
Robots Create Jobs The market research firm Metra Martech conducted a study named "Positive Impact of Industrial Robots on Employment" that shows robotics will be a major driver for global job creation over the next five years. A growth in robot use over the next five years will result in th
With light sabres, Yaskawa equipped robots. Hmmmmmm. For this year's IEEE International Conference on Robotics, the robotic company equipped two robotic arms with Jedi and Sith light sabres and taught them to fight. OK, maybe not to fight but it makes a nice fight choreography as shown in
Robotiq Gripper with Yaskawa Arms It is always exciting to see Quebec robotic innovation. Robotiq is a Quebec company that developed a very interesting robotic gripper that can adapt to various types of objects as shown in the video below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87skD0jny78 Even more impr
Robot arms skilled at wielding knives and carving meat, can be a bit scary, specially for us fleshy humans. Nevertheless, the HAMDAS-R by Mayekawa Manufacturing is a very impressive machine. It is capable of de-boning ham using a razor sharp knife by adapting to the shape and size variat
By combining one of their holonomic (omnidirectional) youBot mobile platforms with the Titan, their largest and strongest robotic arm, Kuka created the strongest mobile robot ever. Giants planet-defending robots, here we go! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcZJA3XyVjQ Via Hizook.
CARPI 2010 - 1st International Conference on Applied Robotics for the Power Industry The first International Conference on Applied Robotics for the Power Industry (CARPI 2010) is about to take place in Montreal. Starting on October 5th, this three-day conference will bring together experts from …
According to an article in Usine Nouvelle, the robotics market largely picked up in 2010 as opposed to 2009. Growth is very strong especially in industrial robotics. The large crowds at the Automatica 2010 exhibition in Germany confirmed the trend. Robotization in German is also stronger than …
The manufacturer of the Kuka industrial robotic arm has unveiled a mobile platform with open interfaces and open source software. It's a first: a manufacturer of industrial robots heading towards consumer robotics. The arm has a multidirectional mobile platform, a hand with 5 degrees of freedom…
The company, Adept, a leader in industrial robotics has just acquired MobileRobots Inc, a specialist in mobile robotics. This is a significant take-over because it's unusual. MobileRobots, a New Hampshire company with annual revenues of 5 million dollars, provides autonomous robot and self-guid…
The German Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics has run some experiments on man-machine collisions. Here, it's rather a case of a Kuku robotic arm against a mannequin head (the same as those you see in car crash-tests). This type of experiment enables the development of anti-collision and safet…
