What’s New in Robotics? 22.09.2023

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What’s New in Robotics? 22.09.2023


News briefs for the week check out particular cobot debuts at FABTECH and Pack Expo:  Neuromeka’s robotic welding cell for shipbuilding and Staubli’s TX2-60 Stericlean for high-risk sterile environments, the first-ever, mass-produced humanoid robots, a robotic system, after 250,000 tries, discovers hardest recognized construction, subsea robots service “floating” wind farm, and Aura, the humanoid “spokesbot” for the brand new Las Vegas Sphere.

Tradeshows debut new cobot duties

FABTECH (Chicago) and Pack Expo (Las Vegas), tradeshows that had been run almost concurrently this previous September 11-14, all the time have a couple of surprises showcased for the primary time, and this 12 months was no completely different. New duties for cobots had been highlighted.

FABTECH

Korea-based Neuromeka launched a brand new robotic welding cell at FABTECH’s robotic pavilion. The cobot welding cell is particularly designed for block welding processes within the building of enormous ships. Blocks check with a ship’s hull which is split into sections known as blocks (see diagram).

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Each block is once more divided into assemblies and sub-assemblies. These are welded collectively to type three-dimensional buildings known as block assemblies.

Neuromeka’s cobot block-welding cell options arc sensor-based welding, seam monitoring, and computerized detection of welding irregularities utilizing 3D cameras.

Its user-friendly interface and simplified programming lend themselves properly to non-expert use, which is interesting to shipbuilding’s present labor shortage.

 

Pack Expo

Swiss-based Stäubli showcased its high-precision TX2-60 Stericlean robotic that automates medical system manufacturing processes downloadand is designed for high-risk sterile environments.

The TX2-60 picks and locations medical system elements utilizing AI imaginative and prescient to find acceptable components after which transmits their decide coordinates to the robotic for the pick-and-place maneuver. Production is tracked by the use of a monitor, permitting full traceability, whereas each operational security and effectivity are maintained.

The 6-axis, TX2-60 Stericlean is designed to fulfill the “stringent requirements of hydrogen peroxide (H²O²) decontamination process.” It can function in a Grade A atmosphere (clear room high-risk operations) for numerous functions in laboratory, batch testing, or pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Both the Neuromeka welding cell and the Staubli Stericlean spotlight the capabilities and flexibility of cobots in taking over beforehand handbook duties, which yearly appears to be the evolving hallmark of cobot know-how.

First-ever, mass-produced humanoid robots

Mass-producing a robotic at scale whose know-how is developed sufficient to belief is what all robotic distributors aspire to. Mass manufacturing of bi-pedal humanoid robots has, till lately, by no means been tried. …Not any longer!

Agility_Robotics_1-1Oregon-based Agility Robotics is constructing a manufacturing facility able to producing 10,000 of its humanoid robotic Digit. A primary-ever for bi-pedal humanoids.

“The opening of our factory marks a pivotal moment in the history of robotics: the beginning of the mass production of commercial humanoid robots,” stated Agility Robotics’ co-founder and CEO Damion Shelton.

The market seems to be prepared. Incredibly, humanoid robots at the moment at a $1.8 billion world market is forecast to blow up to $13.8 billion by 2028, with a compound annual development charge (CAGR) of fifty%!

Investors are onboard: 2022 noticed Agility decide up $150 million from Amazon and others.

With confidence ranges seemingly sky excessive, the startup (based in 2015; offered its first Digits in 2018) is constructing a manufacturing facility in Salem, Oregon that it calls a RoboFab. If and when it will get to max manufacturing of 10,000 robots yearly, the 70,000-square-foot facility will make use of 500, says the corporate.

Shelton advised CNBC that his crew developed Digit with a human type issue in order that the robots can elevate, type, and maneuver whereas staying balanced, and so “they could operate in environments where steps or other structures could otherwise limit the use of robotics. The robots are powered with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.”

As the firm web site places it: “You don’t accomplish “never been done before” and not using a tradition that helps risk-taking and wholesome dwelling.”

Video: Evolution of Digit 2015 to 2023:

The new manufacturing facility: RoboFab:

 

Robot discovers hardest recognized construction

It took a 6-axis robotic and its lab mates—5 3D printers, a scale, and a common testing machine—to work by 25,000 lab experiments earlier than discovering the world’s hardest new construction. At a charge of fifty experiments per day, all of the experiments had been BEAR-1024x768performed in a very autonomous robotics laboratory with none human supervision.

A product of Boston University’s College of Engineering, The novel construction, dubbed Willow, is made from a type of polyester known as PLA and measured 73.3% power absorption. As the 5 3D printers use seven sorts of plastic to create completely different buildings, the buildings are analyzed for his or her energy-absorption capabilities utilizing a compression machine and a pc imaginative and prescient system to observe the responses. The 6-axis cobot arm strikes plastic samples for testing.

By brute testing by 25,000 experiments, the system discovered Willow, the hardest construction ever recorded. The findings, in accordance with the researchers, symbolize a possible recreation changer in designs throughout industries, bettering security in automobiles, in addition to helmets and different protecting gear for numerous sports activities.

For the robotic system, it represents a bigger image as a result of autonomous analysis and discovery with the robotic system doing the lab work completely, is a brand new development that saves lab employees from repetitive drudgery and but opens up alternatives to make new discoveries like Willow.

Subsea robots service “floating” wind farm

When ocean wind farms can’t set down pillars for stability on the seabed, they then have to float on the floor, which might trigger a number of issues.

Ocean-Infinity_AUV-5-1024x577-1Norwegian power large Equinor gained a 2-gigawatt (GW) lease in Morro Bay, California, for America’s first-ever offshore wind lease to help commercial-scale “floating” offshore wind improvement. In phrases of energy output, the Moro Bay Project has the potential to generate sufficient power to energy round 750,000 US households.

Deploying to Morro Bay in February 2024, Equinor has contracted with marine robotics firm Austin, TX-based Ocean Infinity to conduct a website investigation survey utilizing a number of AUVs (autonomous underwater automobiles).

Shawntel Johnson, director of enterprise improvement at Ocean Infinity, stated, “AUVs in scale are the perfect tool for the US West Coast, providing not only great data quality advantages over towed arrays, in water depths down to 4,000 feet but also huge efficiency over wide areas.”

According to Equinor, The information that the AUVs acquire will assist Equinor develop and refine its floating offshore wind farm design and also will help in creating the positioning evaluation, plus building and operations plans.

Humanoid robotic Aura awaits you in Las Vegas

We’ve seen the face of Aura earlier than, haven’t we?

The new and large Las Vegas Sphere (massive sufficient to simply match your entire 151-foot tall Statue of Liberty, is quickly to open because the world’s largest leisure venue (music, reveals, motion pictures, and many others.)

DSC00539-copyB-353x529Thumbnail of Sphere: “The round, a 366-foot-high venue located just off the Las Vegas strip has 17,600 seats and can hold up to 20,000 people. The outside, known as the Exosphere, is covered in 1.2 million programmable LEDs that can be seen from up to a mile away.”

Within the Sphere, and billed as a “spokesbot”, is Aura the humanoid robotic, in addition to 4 different clones of herself. The robots will help guests with instructions and data, and in addition give background concerning the Sphere to anybody who asks.

Aura is the robotic we’ve seen earlier than; the male model of Aura known as Ameca debuted at CES2022 (Las Vegas) by UK-based Engineered Arts.

He/she is again once more in Las Vegas for a everlasting position as Aura the spokesbot for the Sphere.

“We are pushing the limits of how robotics can be used to enhance our guests’ journey through the venue,” stated David Dibble, CEO of MSG Ventures, a division of Sphere Entertainment. Aura is designed to work together with company and can function a “spokesbot” for Sphere on digital and social platforms.

Here’s a glimpse of the Sphere and Aura:

 

Here’s a backgrounder on robotics, engineered Arts & Ameca:

 

 

 

 

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