TOKYO -- Nidec will spend roughly 50 billion yen ($450 million) to acquire five German robotics companies by the end of March, going after cutting-edge technology fueling the global shift toward automated manufacturing.

ABB launched at Automatica 2018 in Munich its OmniCore, a significant step towards a new era in manufacturing. The OmniCore controllers are designed for maximum performance and reliability during the robust 24/7 operations of factories making products with increasingly shorter lifecycles. The controller’s high path accuracy also increases throughput and decreases cycle times.

The Market Leader in Collaborative Robots now offers two technology platforms; the G3 range for proven applications and the new e-Series for advanced solutions, setting a new standard for collaborative automation platforms

Complex disciplines, like mechanical engineering, are safe from robot workers, for now according to an article in the March 2018 edition of the Boss Magazine.

Nov 30, 2017  -  The vacuum-powered soft robots are reported capable of lifting objects a thousand times their own weight.  There have been a number of soft robots inspired by the ancient art of paper folding – origami – recently, including polymer-based microgrippers and the safety-first Twister. Researchers from Harvard and MIT say that robots made of soft materials are often not as strong as their rigid counterparts. This thinking has led to the development of inexpensive artificial muscles that have been designed to give soft robots superpowers. The artificial muscles have been developed by a team from Wyss Institute…

Nov 28, 2017  -  The Science for Technological Innovation National Science Challenge Board has provided $2m in funding for a two-year interdisciplinary research programme to examine how next-generation robots can work with humans in a safe and flexible manner. The Science for Technological Innovation National Science Challenge Board has provided $2m in funding for a two-year interdisciplinary research programme to examine how next-generation robots can work with humans in a safe and flexible manner. Researchers will focus on developing robots to work in small-scale manufacturing and unforgiving outdoor environments. The board said such technology could become a global specialty of…

Robots endangering workers has been the driving force behind a German startup writes Oliver Sachgau for Bloomberg and publiashed recently by Industry Week.  Increased safety would mean robots could work more efficiently and at a faster pace when near humans Two years ago, a robot crushed a 22-year-old man to death at a Volkswagen AG factory in Germany after the maintenance worker became trapped in an area usually off-bound to humans. While this type of tragedy is still relatively rare, efforts to improve safety are intensifying as factories around the world become increasingly automated.Now, in a development that’s drawn interest…

As the world of robotic automation continues to grow, so too will the number of automation jobs.  This article written by Carlos Gonzalez and published in The New Development Digest NED  is from a North American perspective but is relevant beyound those shores. In 2015, a poll of 200 senior corporate executives conducted by the National Robotics Education Foundation identified robotics as a major source of jobs for the United States. Indeed, some 81% of respondents agreed that robotics was the top area of job growth for the nation. Not that this should come as a surprise: as the demand…

 Is your IT team ready asks Cindy Waxer in CIO?  These collaborative robots work alongside human employees, sending productivity sky-high. But IT teams must be prepared to take on complex programming, deal with connectivity issues and get used to sharing work space with 6-foot-tall machines. At Creating Revolutions, an employee affectionately nicknamed "Manuel Noriega" assembles the tiny components of a customer service paging device. Unlike other employees of the startup, Manuel works for hours, day in and day out, without bathroom breaks or healthcare benefits. Meet today's robot workforce. Manuel is a collaborative robot (or cobot) that's helping Creating Revolutions…

Robotics and smart machinery could help accelerate efficiency, quality, safety - and it could save companies money, according to Professor Mike Duke from the University of Waikato’s School of Engineering. More than 70% of the country’s exports come from the primary industries. By 2025, the MPI wants double exports to more than $64 billion. Duke says that the way to achieve that goal could be robotics - especially in the face of increasing labour costs. He says that the cost of importing labour, labour reliability, environmental and safety legislation are putting many companies on the back foot when it comes…

RS Components has launched a new, low-cost, fast and accurate robotics solution. Easy to programme – even for those who have never programmed a robotic arm before – the R12 and R17 benchtop robots from ST Robotics are capable of undertaking the most complex tasks, including product testing, sample handling, parts handling, machine feeding, welding, spraying and sound measurement. Both models are supplied with controller, teach pad/pendant, all cables, connectors, RoboForthII and RobWin7 software and comprehensive manuals and, as a result, are ready to use immediately out of the box. Their high efficiency motor drives, solid machined-alloy construction and industrial-standard…