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News briefs for the week check out Squishy Robotics and its soft-landing robots that went from NASA Moon undertaking to first responder aids on Earth; then how Locus Robotics upgraded its product line of LocusBots to supply new-age options to ever-accelerating warehouse calls for; then China’s newly developed, robot-assisted, laparoscopic surgical system scheduled to compete with business chief Intuitive Robotics utilizing 3D glasses as a substitute of a conventional monitor and hood; and eventually, why is it that robots have been so sluggish to disrupt the garment business?
“What’s going on?” Ask Squishy Robotics
In catastrophe situations, situational consciousness, or “What’s going on?” throughout the catastrophe space, is many occasions data that could be very laborious or inconceivable to come back by.
Squishy Robotics (primarily based in Berkeley, CA), a by-product from a undertaking initially funded by NASA (2014) to develop new methods of touchdown 
rovers and different forms of tools on the Moon, has provide you with a robotic for first responders to make use of in catastrophe conditions that gives situational consciousness, the place nobody must be put in danger. It additionally supplies very important on-the-ground data a lot earlier than first responders might.
Berkeley researcher, Alice Agogino’s first thought for her $500,000 NASA grant requested the query: Why not make the robotic itself the touchdown gadget? In that method, there could be no want for a separate lander to deliver a rover right down to the floor. Answering that primary query is how she developed her startup firm Squishy Robotics.
As Agogino remembers it: “We thought, wow, if we can do this on the Moon, we should be able to do it on planet Earth and save some lives.”
Her thought was to create a sphere-shaped skeleton of rods and elastic cables, primarily based on the design precept of stress integrity, or “tensegrity”. The time period itself was coined by Buckminster Fuller as a portmanteau of “tension” and “integrity” in 1955.
Functionally, the sphere-shaped robotic skeleton is dropped from a drone right into a catastrophe scenario or perhaps a rescue scenario that’s troublesome to entry by first responders. The robotic’s sensors and different information-gathering devices would reside within the middle of the robotic, and when dropped, the pressure of the influence could be unfold throughout the skeleton, holding the very important payload secure.
Locus Robotics upgrades AMR fleet
Providers of AMRs for the logistics and e-commerce industries have been shifting quick to develop their cellular robotic platforms and operational software program to accommodate the accelerating churn and number of warehouse logistics.
Not to improve dangers being bypassed by an business that’s already in excessive gear and accelerating ever extra to fulfill the mega calls for of e-commerce.
Massachusetts-based Locus Robotics, extremely profitable provider of its LocusBots, has been constructing out to fulfill these wants since 2021 when it acquired Waypoint Robotics. Heavyweight chassis, bigger kind components and enhanced capabilities of the Locus Vector and Max (rebranded from Waypoint) together with the beforehand launched Locus Origin, make up the corporate’s new product line, just lately launched for the EU at Amsterdam’s Deliver 2023 convention held June 7-8.
Intelligent AMRs are the wave of the longer term and Locus now has three. Locus buyer DHL Supply Chain will see Locus Origin deployed to its 1,500 warehouses and distribution facilities by the top of 2023, claims Locus.
“We are excited to showcase our newest expertise improvements at Deliver 2023 to our international and European clients,” stated Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “Together with our advanced LocusONE warehouse Automation Platform, we are transforming the way warehouses operate.”
3D glasses for China’s newly-launched surgical robotic
The world is headed towards minimally-invasive surgical procedures. And surgical robots are forecast to be the platform of option to ship a safer, minimally-invasive operation with far much less post-operative trauma.
Although over a dozen builders have marketed, or are within the course of of selling a surgical robotic, U.S.-based Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci robotic has been the surgical crown jewel since its debut in 2009, even at over $2.5 million a system, plus over 1,000,000 {dollars} in components and provides yearly. Now, nonetheless, rivals from the EU (the Versius Surgical Robotic System) and, most just lately, China are difficult Intuitive’s dominance.
Weigao Group, headquartered in Weihai, Shandong province, has develop into the first Chinese developer for a robot-assisted laparoscopic surgical system (2021). “We at present have 20 items at hospitals for scientific analysis which are concerned in quite a lot of surgical procedures, resembling urological, liver, and thoracic procedures,” stated Wang Bingqiang, common supervisor of Weigao Group’s medical instrument division. “Our robotic system might be on the market for common surgical use from June (2023).”
With 20 programs in use, Weigao nonetheless has an extended strategy to go to even start to contest Intuitive’s over 6,000 deployed da Vinci programs worldwide. According to Fosun International Securities, of the 189 robot-assisted laparoscopic surgical programs presently in use in China (barely 5% of the world market), Intuitive has almost a 100% share.
Unique amongst robotic surgical programs, Weigao’s surgical robotic is operated utilizing 3D glasses—slightly than the usual monitor and hood utilized by all others—which the corporate says reduces physician fatigue. “Doctors can even talk extra simply with different docs and nurses within the working room,” added Wang.
Robots sluggish to disrupt garment business
There aren’t too many industries nowadays that robotics has had a tough time disrupting, however the garment business appears to be one which’s been notably elusive.
However, there’s a fortune awaiting those who succeed. Revenue within the attire/garment marketplace for 2023 is $343 billion! Automating even a small a part of the business might save billions in productiveness features and make use of tens of 1000’s of robots, particularly in stitching items of attire collectively.
There are 10-20 totally different steps wanted to make a easy T-shirt; 70-80 for a long-sleeve gown shirt.
Although laser chopping of material has unfold all through garment making, the laser-cut items nonetheless must be joined right into a completed piece, and therein sits the issue for robots. Human palms are nonetheless relied upon for ending.
Germany-based Robotextile is considered one of a number of corporations making an attempt to deliver extra automation to garment making.
“Textile researchers at Germany’s RWTH Aachen University estimate that in manufacturing a piece of clothing, handling time — as distinct from the cutting or sewing steps — accounts for about 80% of production time and roughly 80% of factory costs.”
The Robotextile fabric-sorting work cell makes use of an ordinary KUKA Scara robotic with a working diameter of 1600mm and 5kg payload (cobot will also be used). Depending on the structure and common situations, cycle occasions of two to 4 seconds per cloth layer are attainable.
But let’s make no mistake, the bell is tolling for handbook labor within the garment biz. However, for now, Asian palms nonetheless gown most everybody worldwide.
The video beneath amply shows the daunting problem dealing with automation.