Sensor readings issue 9

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SENSOR READINGS

The weekly magazine for the robotics and automation industry

Issue 9 11 September 2015

Opinion Brad Templeton looks at the future of robotic cars at industry event

Bosch outlines vision of future Car technology leader showcases trends in automated systems

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Kuka robots to build jets Luxury private plane company Gulfstream brings in Kuka

ABB makes itself at home Robotics company broadens smart home product range

Case studies Automation: Advantech and Rockwell

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Opinion Brad Templeton looks at the future of robotic cars at industry event 6

Germany makes progress Robotics sector grows 11 per cent in first quarter of 2015 Off side We talk to the people behind RoboDK, the new offline progamming tool

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lthough the history of robots is traced back by some to ancient times, the conditions for a real robotics revolution has never been present until now, with the emergence of powerful supercomputers and cloud computing platforms, as well as advances in sensing technologies, to name just two of the conditions.

The mechanical and perhaps the engineering knowhow – in the old sense of the phrase – have been present since the industrial age, or the steam age, as some call it. Steam was, of course, the power that drove the trains and giant machines that characterised the industrial revolution.

The industrial revolution, which historians say started in the mid-1700s and lasted until the mid-1800s, was the most transformative era the history of humanity, on a par with the emergence of global religions and empires.

The empires built during the industrial revolution still exist today. In fact, not only do they exist, those empires are still empires, commanding vast power and resources around the world. After all, we are still living in the echoes of the industrial revolution.

Space travel, computers and robotics may have matured some decades ago but now they have grown to a point where they can merge with each other, as well as other technologies, to create an entirely new technological era.

And truth be told, it may well be the same industrial-age empires that pass into the new world with their power not only intact but perhaps even magnified. But there is a chance that new empires will be built.

We have seen how Google, Apple and number of other companies have seemingly appeared out of nowhere to dominate the “virtual” world, through which they are increasingly influencing the “real” world. What’s to say there will not be robotics companies that replicate the success of those tech giants and find themselves among the largest companies in the world? It’s not only possible. It’s only matter of time. l

Automation for the drivers Bosch showcases vision of future driving 10 Kuka robots to build jets Luxury private plane company Gulfstream brings in Kuka 5

ASI CEO Torrie to give talk at China robotics exhibition 4 iRobot sells $7m of orders to military 4 Acer invests in Jibo 4 Kuka Robots to build Gulfstream jets 5 The future of robocars event 6 Automation technology latest from Bosch 10 ABB broadens smart home product range 14 Marketplace 18

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Contents

First issue 17 July 2015

Rockwell CEO calls for youth ‘Manufacturing needs to teach and reach younger students’

China’s robot revolution The world’s most populous nation now buys the most robots

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News

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In Brief

In Brief

Foxconn joins Siliconware Toyota has made a number of moves which would indicate that is preparing to launch a robotic car. The company has formed research partnerships with MIT and Stanford universities, as well as poaching the man behind DARPA’s robotics challenge, Dr Gill Pratt. Toyota did not clearly state that it is working on an autonomous car, only saying that it is developing “future mobility” solutions with a view to “improving the human condition”.

Pratt, meanwhile, says: “The focus of the effort today is more on the autonomy of people, of human beings,” Pratt says, “regardless of the limits imposed by age or illness.”

Hitachi unveils new AI tech Hitachi has announced the development of artificial intelligence technology which provides appropriate work orders based on an understanding of demand fluctuation and on-site kaizen activity derived from big data accumulated daily in corporate business systems, and its verification in logistics tasks by improving efficiency by 8 per cent. By integrating the AI into business systems, it may become possible to realize efficient operations in a diverse range of areas through human and AI cooperation..

Acer invests in Jibo Taiwanese computer company Acer has reportedly made a significant investment in Jibo, the home help robot. Jibo raised a total amount in the region of $40 million since January, and has launched its robot at a price of $750 each. Acer CEO Jason Chen said acquiring shares in Jibo would give the company an option to research the robotics sector, which it sees is booming at the moment.

But Chen did not say how much Acer had invested in Jibo.

Samsung unveils SmartThings Hub Samsung has launched its smart home hub, a small connectivity device which can monitor video and sense motion. The SmartThings Hub can monitor and manage a home, and can operate without an internet connection – just an internal connection at home. It can be controlled through a smartphone and has 10 hours of battery life.

Alex Hawkinson, CEO and founder of SmartThings, says the device lets users watch over and protect their home from anywhere in the world. “You’ll get a text, alert or video notification if there is smoke or anything else happens in your home. So you can act before it turns into a disaster,” he said.

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ASI’s CEO Torrie to give talk at China robotics exhibition ASI co-founder and CEO, Mel Torrie will be the keynote speaker at the First World Congress of Robotics (WCR-2015) in Shenyang, China.

ASI says Torre is planning to talk about the keys to success in fielding robotics, and lessons that ASI has learned over its 15 years of automating vehicles in industries like mining, agriculture, automotive, and industrial automation.

It has been a busy speaking year for Torrie, giving presentations at conferences around the world including events in Australia, Germany, China, South Africa, and the UK. Most recently, Torrie spoke at the RISE tech conference in Hong Kong and he is scheduled to speak in Russia and Egypt before the end of the year.

“There are amazing things happening in the driverless vehicle industry and it is thrill-

ing to visit with people around the world in how we can bring this disruption to a reality.”

The 1st China Shenyang International Robot Expo will be held on September 1-5, 2015 at Shenyang International Exhibition Center. The organisers say it will bring “well-known robot enterprises and high class buyers home and abroad” together.

The WCR-2015 is co-organized with Siasun Robot and Automation Company, which is regarded as one of the most innovative and influential robotics brands in China.

More than 100 speakers will make presentations, covering topical issues and cutting-edge technology in the industry.

Around 500 exhibitors will be showcasing emerging new products and technologies, and organisers are expecting more than 3,000 visitors.

iRobot sells $7m of orders to military iRobot says its defense and security business unit has received orders totaling $7.2 million from US and international customers.

The orders include the delivery of spare parts and associated equipment, as well as the delivery of new robots ranging from the fivepound, compact and expandable 110 First Look, the man-portable 310 SUGV, the multi-mission 510 PackBot and the heavy duty 710 Kobra™.

“As threats persist globally, iRobot’s roster

of defense and security clients continues to expand at home and abroad,” said Tom Frost, senior vice president and general manager of iRobot’s defense and security business unit. “Our customers’ missions are critical to making the world a safer place. We take pride in providing our customers with a whole family of robot solutions, from five-pound robots to 500-pound robots. Our systems are reliable, field-proven and get the job done.”

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Kuka to showcase at IROS Kuka is to showcase its products at this year’s International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), in Hamburg. From 29 September to 1 October 2015, researchers and developers will not only be able to get an up-close look at the innovative products from Kuka across 144 sq m of booth space, but will also have an opportunity to discuss visionary future concepts with Kuka experts. The company says that at a time when the focus is on the future of robotics, there is one Kuka product that is “an absolute must” at IROS 2015: the LBR iiwa.

Bosch joins robocar group Bosch has joined forces with a number of other suppliers, automakers, and publicsector partners to launch the “cooperative highly automated driving” (Ko-Haf) research initiative, which aims to push forward the development of automated driving. The publicly funded project will tackle the challenges of highly-automated driving, in which drivers no longer need to be constantly vigilant. But for this to happen, technical precautions are necessary.

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News

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Kuka bots to build jets Kuka Systems Aerospace is providing Gulfstream Aerospace with assembly fixtures – wing boxes and other tooling – as well as state of the art mobile robot platforms to help assemble wings and other parts for the company’s newest and fastest corporate jets.

Gulfstream has ordered tooling from Kuka’s aerospace group for the new G500 and G600, scheduled for first customer deliveries in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Deliveries by Kuka of the G500 wing assembly fixtures have been completed, and work continues on the G600 wing fixture box and other tooling.

The work reflects multiple purchase orders.

“Weseeahugepotentialinthegrowingaerospace industry for intelligent automation solutions”, says Dr Till Reuter, CEO Kuka, “Gulfstream is another important reference customer for Kuka along with other giants of the aerospace sector.”

The wing assembly fixture is a long, vertical structure – larger than the wing itself – in which the wing is assembled. Inside that structure, the ribs and spars of the wing are installed between the top and bottom skins to provide needed structural integrity. Kuka also built vertical hoist tools to lift the wing, turn it from vertical to horizontal, and take it to the next assembly station. Other tooling in the Gulfstream orders includes fixtures used for building up sections of the aircraft, such as, ailerons, engine mount bulkheads, flaps, and leading and trailing edge panels.

Aircraft tooling is built using large components that are fabricated and machined to very tight tolerances to locate and hold the airframe components for assembly. It’s always custombuilt to the customer’s engineering specifications for each aircraft type. Multiple processes are used in fabrication, depending on the type of tool and the function it performs. Most have a fabricated structure and machined locators.

Typically, the main structure is made of steel,

usually tubing, while part-touching details or critical locators are made from aluminum. Some tools may be made entirely of aluminum so the coefficient of thermal expansion matches that of the aluminum aircraft parts they are assembling.

“Every large order Kuka has done for an aerospace customer has included substantial tooling, and our ability to build excellent aerospace assembly fixtures now is well accepted in the industry,” says Larry Drake, CEO Kuka Systems North America.

The two mobile robot platforms are Kuka innovations, and the first built by any manufacturer in the US. Their mission is precision drilling and fastening, with excellent repeatability, to increase the productivity and quality of the assembly process. Each mobile robot platform includes a Kuka robot and Kuka multi-function end effector.

For Gulfstream, the mobile robot platforms are drilling primarily on the wing and horizontal stabilizer structures, including sections containing titanium that are very difficult to drill manually.

Kuka Systems, part of Germany-based Kuka AG, is an international supplier of engineering services and flexible automation systems for the Automotive, Aerospace, Energy, and Industrial Solutions segments. Some 5,800 employees worldwide work on ideas, concepts and solutions for automated production and the provision of products and services for virtually all tasks in the industrial processing of metallic and nonmetallic materials. The range is marketed internationally via subsidiaries and sales offices in Europe, America and Asia. Kuka Systems had sales revenues of 1.28 billion euros for the 2014 business year. Kuka Systems North America, based in Sterling Heights MI, is responsible for the North American business and the worldwide aerospace group. The Kuka Systems Aerospace Group focuses on all aspects of tooling and assembly processes for aircraft manufacturing.

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Interview

Sensor Readings

Sensor Readings

Interview

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app allowed them to leave like that, or the app records that it tried to reach the server and failed, or other mitigating circumstances. (This is all hours before the storm, of course, before there is panic, when people will do whatever they can.)

Some storms might be so bad the cars are at risk. In that case, if the road capacity is enough, people could move out all the cars too, to protect them. But in most cases, it’s the people that are the priority.

Test Track Lots of PR about the new test track opening at University of Michigan. I have not been out to see it, but it certainly is a good idea to share one of these rather than have everybody build their own, as long as you don’t want to test in secret.

Future of robocars Robotics trends When do robocars become cheaper than standard cars? Brad Templeton visits the Automated Vehicle Symposium to try and find some answers

Brad Templeton (inset), Robocars. com is an EFF board member, Singularity U faculty, a self-driving car consultant, and entrepreneur.

I

’m in the Detroit area for the annual TRB/AUVSI Automated Vehicle Symposium. Those in Ann Arbor attended the opening of the new test track at the University of Michigan, but I was at a small event in downtown Detroit, sponsored

by SAFE, which is looking to wean the USA off oil. Much was discussed, but a particularly interesting idea was just how close we are getting to something I had put further in the future: robocars that are cheaper than ordinary cars.

Most public discussion of robocars has depicted them as costing much more than regular cars. That’s because the cars built to date have been standard cars modified by placing expensive computers and sensors on them. Many cars use the $75,000 Velodyne LIDAR and the similarly priced Applanix IMU/GPS, and most forecasts and polls have imagined the first self-driving cars as essentially a Mercedes with $10,000 added to the price tag to make it self driving. After all, that’s how things like Adaptive Cruise Control and the like are sold.

Google is showing us an interesting vision with their 3rd generation buggy-style car. That car has no steering wheel, brakes or gas pedal, and it is electric and small. It’s a car aimed at “Mobility on Demand.”

When people ask me “How much extra will these cars cost?” my answer has been that while the cars might cost more, they will be available for use by the mile, where they can cost less per mile than owning a car does today. Overall it will be cheaper. That’s in part because of the savings from sharing, and having vehicles go more miles in their lifetime.

More miles in the life of a car at the same cost means a lower cost per mile, even if the car costs a little more.

The sensors cost money, but that cost is already in serious

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decline. We’re just a few years away from $250 LIDARs and even cheaper radar. Cameras are already cheap, and there are super cheap IMUs and GPSs already getting near the quality we need. Computers of course get cheaper every year.

This means that we are not too far from when the cost of the sensors is less than the money saved by what you take out of the car. After all, a steering wheel, gas and brakes cost money. Side mirrors cost money (ever had to replace them?).

That fancy dashboard with all its displays and controls costs a lot of money, but almost everything it does in a robocar can be done by your tablet.

That said, you need a few extra things in your robocar: two steering motors and two braking systems, some more short range sensors and a cell phone radio.

But there’s even more you can save, especially with time.

Because mobility on demand means you can make cars that are never used for anything but short urban trips (the majority of trips, as it turns out) you can save a lot more money on those cars. These cars need not be large or fast. They don’t need acceleration. They won’t ever go on the highway, so they don’t need to be safe at 60mph. Electric drive, as we discussed earlier, is great for these cars, and electric cars have far fewer parts than gasoline ones. Today, their batteries are too expensive, but everything else in the car is cheaper, so if you solve the battery cost using the methods I outlined in my previous post, we’re saving serious money. And small one- or two-person cars are inherently cheaper to boot.

You need to make highway cars, and long-range 4WD SUVs to take people skiing. But these only need be a fraction of the cars, and people who use a mix of cars will see a big saving.

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For a long time, we’ve talked about some day also removing many of the expensive safety systems from cars.

When the roads become filled with robocars, you can start talking about having so few accidents you don’t need all the safety systems, or the 1/3 of vehicle weight that is attributable to passive safety. That day is still far away, though cars like the Edison2 Very-Light-Car have done amazing things even while meeting today’s crash tests. Companies like Zoox and other startups have pushed visions of completely redesigned cars, some of them at lower cost for a while. But this seems like it might become true sooner rather than later.

Evacuation in a hurricane One participant asked how, if we only had 1/9th as many cars (as some people forecast, I suspect it’s closer to 1/4) we would evacuate sections of Florida or similar places when a hurricane is coming. I think the answer is a very positive one — simply enforce car pooling / ride sharing during the evacuation. While there is not a lot I think policymakers should do at this time, some simple mandates could help a lot in this arena.

While people would not be able to haul as much personal property, it is very likely there would be more than enough seats available in robocars to evacuate a large population quickly if you fill all the seats in cars going out. Further, those cars can go back in to get more people if need be.

Filling those seats would actually get everybody out faster, because there would be far less traffic congestion and the roads would carry far more people per hour. In fact, that’s such a good idea it could even be implemented today. When there’s an evacuation, require all to use an app to register when they are almost ready to leave. If you have spare seats, you could not leave (within reason) until you picked up neighbours and filled the seats. With super-carpooling, everybody would get out very fast on much less congested roads. Those crossing the checkpoint on the way out with empty seats would be photographed and ticketed unless the

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NHTSA Mark Rosekind, the NHTSA administrator gave a pretty good talk for an official, though he continued the DoT’s bizarre promotion of V2V/DSRC. He said that they were even open to sharing the DSRC spectrum with other users (the other users have been chomping at the bit to get more unlicensed spectrum opened up, and this band, which remains unused, is a prime target, and the DoT realizes it probably can’t protect it.) Questions, however, clarified that he wants to demand evidence that the spectrum can be shared without interfering with the ability of cars to get a clear signal for safety purposes. Leaving aside the fact that the safety applications are not significant, this may bode a different approach — they may plan to demand this evidence, and when they don’t get it — because of course there will be interference — they will then use that as a grounds to fight to retain the spectrum.

I say there will be interference because the genius of the unlicensed bands (like the 2.4ghz where your 802.11b and bluetooth work) was the idea that if you faced interference, it was your problem to fix, not the transmitter’s, as long as the transmitter stayed low power. A regime where you don’t interfere would be a very different band, one that could only be used a long distance from any road — ie, nowhere that anybody lives.

Manufacturers The most disappointing session for everybody was the vendor’s session, particularly the report from GM. In the past GM has shown real stuff based on their work. Instead we got a recap of ancient stuff. The other reports were better, but only a little. Perhaps it is a sign that the field is getting big, and people are no longer treating it like a research discipline where you share with your colleagues.

Ethics Chris Gerdes’ report on a Stanford ethics conference was good in that it went well past the ridiculous trolley problem question (what if the machine has to choose between harming two different humans), which has become the bane of anybody who talks about robocars. You can see my answer if you haven’t by now.

Their focus was on more real problems, like when you illegally cross the double yellow line to get around a stalled car, or what you do if a child runs into the street chasing a ball. I am not sure I liked Gerdes’ proposal — that the systems compute a moral calculus, putting weights on various outcomes and following a formula. I don’t think that’s a good thing to ask the programmers to do.

If we really do have a lot of this to worry about, I think this is a place where policymakers could actually do something useful. They could set up a board of some sort. A vendor/ programmer who has an ethical problem to program would

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8

Interview

Sensor Readings The anti-Urmson Adriano Allessandrini has always been an evocative and controversial character at these events. His report on Citymobil2 (a self-driving shuttle bus that has run in several cities with real passengers) was deliberately done as contrast to Google’s approach. Google is building a car meant to drive existing roads, which is a very complex task. Allesandrini believes the right approach is to make the vehicle much simpler, and only run it on certified safe infrastructure (not mixed with cars) and at very low speeds. As much as I disagree with almost everything he says, he does have a point when it comes to the value of simplicity. His vehicles are serving real passengers, something few else can claim.

put it to the board, and get a ruling, and program in that ruling with the safe knowledge they would not be blamed, legally, for following it.

The programmers would know how to properly frame the questions, but they could also refine them. They would frame them differently than lay people would imagine, because they would know things. For example: My vehicle encounters a child (99 per cent confidence) who darts out from behind a parked van, and it is not possible to stop in time before hitting the child. I have an x% confidence (say 95 per cent) that the oncoming lane is clear and a y% confidence (90 per cent) that the sidewalk is clear though driving there would mean climbing a curb, which may injure my passenger. While on the sidewalk, I am operating outside my programming so my risk of danger increases 100 fold while doing so. What should I do?

Let the board figure it out, and let them understand the percentages, and even come back with a formula on what to do based on x, y and other numbers. Then the programmer can implement it and refine it.

Public perception We got to see a number of study results. Frankly, I have always been skeptical of the studies that report what the public thinks of future self-driving cars and how much they want them. In reality, only a tiny fraction of the 800 people at the conference, supposed experts in the field, probably have a really solid concept of what these future vehicles will look like.

None of us truly know the final form. So I am not sure how you can ask the general public what they think of them.

Of greater interest are reports on what people think of today’s advanced features. For example, blindspot warning is much more popular than I realized, and is changing the value of cars and what cars people will buy.

Investment For the first time, there was a panel about investment in the technology, with one car company, two VCs and a car oriented family fund (Porsche). Lots more interest in the space, but still a reluctance to get involved in hardware, because it costs a lot, is uncertain, and takes a long time to generate a return.

Afternoon breakouts I largely missed these. Many were just filled with more talks.

I have suggested to conference organizers a rule that the breakout sessions be no more than 40 per cent prepared talks, and the rest interactive discussion.

Security For Tuesday afternoon I attended a very interesting security session. I will write more about this later, particularly about a great paper on spoofing robocar sensors (I will await first publication of the paper by its author) but in general I feel there is a lot of work to be done here.

Wednesday starts with Chris Urmson of Google Chris’ talk was perhaps the most anticipated one. (Disclaimer — I used to work for Chris on the Google team.) It has similarities to a number of his other recent talks at TED and ITS America, with lots of good video examples of the car’s perception system in operation. Chris also addressed this week’s hot topic in the press, namely the large number of times Google’s car fleet is being hit by other drivers in accidents that are clearly the fault of the other driver.

While some (including me) have speculated this might be because the car is unusual and distracting, Google’s analysis of the accidents strongly suggests that our impression of how common small bumper-bender accidents are was seriously underestimated. There are 6 million reported accidents in the US every year, and common suggestions from insurers and researchers suggested the real number might include another 6 million unreported ones. It’s now clear, based on Google’s experience, that the number of small accidents that go unreported is much higher.

Google thinks that is good news in several ways. First, it tells us just how distracted human drivers are, and how bad they are, and it shows that their car is doing even better than was first thought. The task of outperforming humans on safety may be easier than expected.

“

here were calls for standards, which T I oppose – we are way too early in this game to know how to write the standards. Standards at best encode the conventional wisdom of three years ago, and make it hard to go beyond it.

Not what we need now”

editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com

This article has previously appeared on Robocars.com and Tobohub.org. It is republished here with permission

Concluding in opposition While most of the field seems to be raving about the values of connectivity, and that debate has some merit, I feel that if the value of connectivity (other than to the car’s HQ) is not particularly high, it does not justify the security risk that comes from it. As such, if you have a vehicle that can drive itself, that system should not be “on the internet” as it were, connecting to other cars or to various infrastructure services.

It should only talk to its maker (probably over a verified and encrypted tunnel on top of the cellular data network) and it should frankly be a little scared even of talking to its maker.

I proposed this to the NHTSA administrator, and as huge backers of V2V he could not answer – he mostly want to talk about the perception of security rather than the security itself — but I think it’s an important question to be discussed.

Since many people don’t accept this there are efforts to increase security. First of all people are working to put in the security that always should have been in cars (they have almost none at present.) Secondly there are efforts at more serious security, with the lessons of the internet’s failures fresh in our minds. Efforts at provably correct algorithms are improving, and while nobody thinks you could build a provably correct self-driving system, there is some hope that the systems which parse inputs from outside could be made provably secure, and they could be compartmentalized from other systems in a way that compromise of one system would have a hard time getting to the driving system where real danger could be done.

There were calls for standards, which I oppose – we are way too early in this game to know how to write the standards.

Standards at best encode the conventional wisdom of three years ago, and make it hard to go beyond it. Not what we need now. Nonetheless there is research going to make this more secure, if it is to be done. l

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Feature

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Bosch showcases vision of future driving Feature Bosch is showcasing is automated driving systems at an exhibition next week. Here, we highlight some of the key features of the company’s driver-assistance technology

Overview Bosch connects systems inside and outside the vehicle to produce smart mobility solutions that make driving smarter and add a whole new dimension of fun to the experience. At the same time, connecting the vehicle to external IT systems and services opens up new business models and service offers.

The company says it has a simple solution for integrating smartphones, ways of using real-time data to improve efficiency and safety, and an automatic emergency call system that gets rescue personnel to the scene much faster. Bosch says it is turning the car into an active part of the internet.

Driving help from the cloud Wrong-way driver on the roads is not as rare as one might think, according to Bosch. Such instances happen about 2,000 times each year on Germany’s freeways, says Bosch. That’s why the company is introducing a new cloud-based solution at the IAA 2015 that will minimize the risk posed by wrong-way drivers by warning other road users in just ten seconds.

Anonymous reporting of each vehicle’s position to the cloud makes it possible to compare a vehicle’s actual movements against the permitted direction of traffic, says Bosch, and the solution alerts drivers immediately to turning errors. Optical road sign recognition also supports the system.

The module is easy to integrate into existing infotainment systems or apps, thus providing critical safety at low cost, says Bosch.

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A simple solution to the problem of parking Bosh says it is simplifying parking for drivers, parking lot operators and car manufacturers. The narrow roads and high vehicle traffic density, especially in the city centers, make driving difficult.

All this mostly affects also the everyday search for a parking space and thus costs time, hard cash and results in frayed nerves. With connected parking, Bosch is developing solutions that simplify parking altogether – right from searching for parking space up to parking – regardless of whether it’s on the street or in a car park, in the city or in the countryside. The focus here is on making mobility, on the whole, smarter and thus also cleaner, more comfortable and cheaper.

As the first product, the active parking lot management from Bosch now already offers a networking solution, which decisively simplifies the search for available parking spaces: The service guides the vehicle to an available parking space, without any detours, and benefits drivers, parking lot operators and car manufacturers. Moreover, the quality of life also improves for other road users and local residents, who directly benefit from the reduced traffic volume.

About one-third of the traffic volume in city centers is caused by cars searching for parking space. Drivers drive around, on an average, 4.5 kilometers searching for a place to park. Unnecessary distances, which can be reduced considerably with the active parking lot management from Bosch.

The active parking lot management system shortens the search for parking spaces and thus helps to protect

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the environment: Instead of producing more emissions trying to locate a parking space, vehicles reach their destination directly.

The active parking lot management system eliminates the hassle of searching for parking space. From now on, drivers can search for available parking space in their vicinity from a smartphone app. The results appear on the display and can be filtered by price, parking space size or special requirements such as parking spaces for parents and electric vehicle charging stations. The selection is made with a simple click - and the user is already navigated direct to his newly set destination.

The time-consuming and resource-consuming traffic created by vehicles in search of parking is eliminated.

Instead, it only says: “Need parking space? This way please.”

Depending on customer preference additional services such as integrated cash-less payment or subscription function, can further simplify the parking process.

From the sensor to the smartphone The parking management system that Bosch has developed depends on sensors. Here are some details on how the company’s active parking lot management works.

Bosch installs the parking lot sensors in the center of a parking lot. They reliably detect the current occupancy status and report it to the data center (cloud) via a gateway installed nearby. All the data sent in are collected and analyzed at the data center. Concurrently, a matching is done with the stored meta-information, like the dimensions of the parking spaces, costs and special situations such as parking bays for the disabled.

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From all this information, the data center generates a parking map in real time. Drivers receive all the information through their smartphone app and thus permanently get an overview of the nearest available parking space, with all the related details such as distance and price.

Parking lot operators can view the occupancy status of their parking spaces via a web portal. Here, they have access at all times to the statistical analyses and know exactly where there is a traffic jam and where they can direct new users. With exact forecasts, the data analysis enables them to optimize their planning and control to increase the parking space utilization — and at the same time is the prerequisite for additional services such as reservation and payment functions.

The installation of the parking lot sensor and the gateway is done within the shortest time. Bosch equips an entire car park with the components and gets the active parking lot management service running, in just a day.

By recording the current occupancy status, the active parking lot management system increases the utilization of parking spaces - driving around long in search of a parking space is now a thing of the past.

Bosch installs parking lot sensors and gateways in car parks as well as on the streets. Once installed, these components work completely maintenance free. Thanks to its very low power consumption, the sensor lasts for up to seven years.

The parking lot operator can read the current battery status on a display at all times. In each parking lot sensor, two different Bosch sensor technologies ensure redundancy and therefore particularly reliable detection

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12

Feature

of the occupancy status. The gateway receives the message within a square kilometer. The transmission takes place wirelessly and is encrypted.

Thus, the security of the sent data is guaranteed. This standard also applies to the further processing of the information in the data center (cloud), and to the preparation of the data for the various customer systems (data bases, app, web portal). Bosch carries out software updates via the wireless interface “over-the-air”. Thus, no additional expenditure is required from parking lot operators. Instead, they enjoy an all-round service with the active parking lot management system, which provides them and the drivers only that which each wants.

Partly automated driving Based on surround sensors such as radar, video and/or ultrasound, driver assistance systems sense and interpret the surroundings. They assist the driver in various driving situations and increase the driving comfort. In addition, driver assistance systems improve driving safety by supporting the driver in critical driving situations that require rapid and safe action.

Bosch is a member of several initiatives that aim to promote the public awareness of and knowledge about driver assistance systems: the European initiative “eSafety Aware!”, the German information campaign “bester Beifahrer” by the German Road Safety Council (DVR), as well as the “Driving for Better Business” campaign by the British Department for Transport.

Traffic jam assist helps drivers arrive more relaxed at their destination, even in dense traffic or in traffic jams. As a partially-automated comfort function, the system takes over the longitudinal and lateral guidance of the vehicle.

This means the car can drive off, accelerate and brake automatically, as well as steer the vehicle within certain constraints. The driver has to permanently supervise the system and be ready to take over the complete control of the vehicle at any time.

Traffic jam assist is based on the sensors and the functionality of adaptive cruise control with stop & go and lane keeping support, extended by adding electromechanical steering.

When ACC stop & go is turned on, the traffic jam assist continuously analyzes the speed of the surrounding vehicles and compares it with the own driving speed. If the system detects dense traffic or a traffic jam, the driver can activate the functionality by pressing a button. The vehicle will now automatically follow the vehicle in front, takes over driving off, acceleration, braking and steering within the same lane.

In this way, the system is able to react, for example, when an emergency lane is formed.

The first generation of traffic jam assist is expected to enter series production in 2015. In the following years, the system will be enhanced to cover ever-faster speeds and more complex driving situations, including automatic lane changes.

Automated driving — the future of mobility Today, efficient driver assistance systems are already helping drivers reach their destination in a safer, more relaxed manner. In the future, these systems will tackle increasingly complex driving situations and assist the driver — or even act independently. Each innovation brings us a little closer to accident-free, automated driving.

Automated driving will change the future of mobility.

There will be fewer accidents, fewer traffic jams and lower harmful emissions. Instead of steering the vehicle ourselves, we will calmly leaf through a newspaper,

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Sensor Readings prepare ourselves for meetings, or catch up on our email. The dream of self-driving vehicles may become a reality in the near future, as the technology needed is already in existence today.

The trends driving society Megatrends are the main drivers of society. They reflect long term changes in peoples’ behavior. Megatrends are not only able to change individual areas of social life, politics and the economy, but also transform entire societies. Here you will find several examples that are of particular significance for automated driving.

The urbanization megatrend will present us with difficult tasks. More and more people are living in urban areas.

The resulting megacities are simultaneously engines of economic growth and productivity. This means increasing numbers of people are moving from the countryside in order to take advantage of the growing wealth and higher standard of living provided by these urban centers.

All metropolitan areas have to address problems including environmental pollution, growing volumes of traffic and overloaded transport routes. Urbanization presents a need for new traffic management and infrastructure solutions that optimize traffic flow. Following the development of new vehicle concepts, urbanization also requires sustainable and environmentally-conscious mobility solutions.

Global population development is one of the greatest challenges of our time; never before has the world’s population grown as rapidly as in the 20th century.

Alongside this development, the proportion of older people in the global population is also rising significantly.

We are all living longer than previous generations — but we are aging differently. The seniors of today are more mobile and more active, and they are breaking with traditional age roles. This means that we will have to assist older motorists with driving, and give greater consideration to their safety requirements and physical needs.

The degree of networking is on the rise in all areas of life and work. Mobile communications technology allows us to go online anywhere, any time.

The “Internet of Things and Services” enables not only people to communicate with each other but also objects.

This gives rise to the possibility of completely new services that will change people’s everyday lives. Vehicles will come into contact with guidance systems, and thus have at their disposal an up-to-date image of the traffic situation, even outside of the range of on-vehicle sensors. More and more web applications will be integrated into the vehicle as well.

The increasing amount and variety of information available to the driver creates a need for a human-machine interface (HMI) that is intuitive. Bosch is actively working to provide the best technology to meet this need.

Degrees of automation Modern driver assistance systems are paving the way for the automated driving of tomorrow. A distinction is made* between various degrees of automation, depending on the extent to which the driver has to monitor the traffic situation and the framework within which the driver is responsible for vehicle control.

The higher the degree of automation, the lighter the workload of the driver — automation frees up time for productivity, communication or conversation while on the road. Partially-automated functions, such as traffic jam assist, will be available on the market within the next two years, followed by functions with a higher degree of automation. Fully-automated functions for highway driving will be implemented by the end of the decade. l

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Offline programming Offline programming has never been easier thanks to RoboDK. You don’t need to learn brand-specific languages anymore. RoboDK handles the robot controller syntax and outputs the right program for your robot. Try a basic Pick and Place example.

Multiplatform RoboDK is the first multiplatform robot offline programming software. It works on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android devices. It even works on your phone or tablet! Check the download section.

Python powered RoboDK is a robot development kit that allows you to program any robot from any brand through Python. Python is easy to learn yet powerful and flexible. Robot offline programming has no limits with RoboDK’s Python API.

CNC friendly Use your robot like a CNC. Convert CAM files into robot programs, your robot can be used like a 5-axis CNC. Easily simulate the result with RoboDK and avoid collisions, robot singularities and joint limits. Download and try our robot milling example.

Robot accuracy Certificate robots. Check the accuracy of your robots with a ballbar test. Obtain a PDF report describing the accuracy and repeatability of your robots. RoboDK allows you to calibrate your robots and improve production results.

Contact us for more information.

Extended library The RoboDK Library has many robots, external axes and tools from different brands. We are constantly adding new robots to RoboDK. The library can be directly accessed from our desktop app.

http://www.robodk.com

14

Market analysis

Sensor Readings

THE FLEXIBLE ROBOT GRIPPER DESIGNED FOR UNIVERSAL ROBOTS

EASY INSTALLATION The smart homes market is growing, at least from the supply side, where some large companies are launching products. When will demand meet supply?

ABB enters smart homes A

BB has unveiled the world’s most advanced voice activated smart home automation system at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany. This latest innovation allows consumers to use voice commands to control more than 60 home automation functions for the full range of applications in a typical residential smart home environment including lighting, heating, blind control and door communication.

ABB launched free@home last year to make it easier for installers to offer home automation, bringing the advantages enabled by the Internet of Things, Services and People into people’s homes. The system makes it simple – via smart device or a personal computer – to manage multiple functions to create the home environment of consumers’ choice. Now, by adding voice control, home automation becomes even simpler.

Axel Kaiser, Manager for ABB’s Living Space Product Group, said: “Our aim is to make home automation easier than ever and free@home creates a new space in the market.

We continue to add functionality and our latest voice activation provides even more comfort and convenience for users.

Coming home after dark, you can just command: ‘turn the hall lights on’ and lights are activated, or as you leave your house you can call: ‘switch all lights off’ and it’s done.”

According to digital research service BI Intelligence, the market for smart homes devices was worth more than $61 billion in 2014 and is expected to grow to $490 billion by 2019, an annual growth rate of around 50 per cent.

Users can program the system to choose the names of rooms and areas. The system can be set so that users receive a confirmation that a command has been activated, so when you state: ‘close the shutters in the living room’, you would hear ‘the living room blinds are all closed’, etc.

Additionally, users can ask the system questions about the status of the functions, such as: ‘are the lights off in Thomas’ bedroom?’ and the system will provide an answer.

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Smart homes ABB unveils intelligent voiceactivated smart home system.

New free@home system controls 60 functions and enables combination of processes using ‘if… then’ logic

ABB has implemented a hybrid voice recognition solution which is a combination of grammar based speech recognition and a statistical speech model. Natural speech and ‘commando based’ input is possible, so the user can state either ‘please can you switch the living room lights on’ or ‘living room – lights – on’. The dialog processor within the voice control system uses algorithms to recognize the user’s intention and the context. The user does not need to be trained as the speech model adapts based on the words programmed into the free@home system (name of floors in the home, rooms and functions being controlled). The system gathers the data from the context, but also from a large voice library. Moreover, should the command not be complete enough, the system will ask the user for more information.

An additional enhancement is a new ‘Actions’ menu, which enables intelligent combination of different processes, using ‘if… then’, logic. For example, if the room temperature exceeds 25 °C, the blinds could automatically close. And if the motion detector is triggered, the user will receive a notice via email or via push notification on their smartphone.

The home automation solution is sold under the Busch Jaeger brand in Germany, Holland and Austria and under the ABB brand in all other markets around the world.

As part of ABB’s Next Level strategy the company is achieving growth through product innovations that unlock the potential for increased automation in the home through the Internet of Things, Services and People. The company aims to enhance the comfort, efficiency and safety of people’s homes through the application of intelligent solutions.

ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility, industry, and transport and infrastructure customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in roughly 100 countries and employs about 140,000 people. l

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16

Case studies

Sensor Readings

Sensor Readings

Case studies

ALD installs Rockwell Automation solution

A

Steel factory in Asia improves its furnace distributed control systems Advantech installs an advanced monitoring and control solution for continuous casting machines in a steel factory

W

ith a very broad range of applications, steel is an important material and has been developed into the most extensive alloy in the engineering world. Since delivering high quality is absolutely crucial for steel plants, ensuring maximum productivity and the best quality production are the keys to competitiveness in the steel industry. Additionally, working conditions in steel factories are not suitable for workers to stay in for long periods of time, so manufactures usually adopt various machines to complete the steel production processes.

However, the precision of these machines is often overestimated and the lack of flexibility also makes supervisors unable to adjust operating procedures.

A renowned steel factory in Asia planned to improve its Distributed Control System (DCS) of furnaces as well as addressing the problem of insufficient accuracy. However, most well-known international equipment suppliers can not

provide a satisfactory solution and local maintenance because the project needed new technologies to more accurately control equipment operations.

By implementing Advantech’s automated monitoring and control solution, steel factories can not only improve the manufacturing processes but can also allow users to add additional functions to the existing system so as to make sure the operation runs at high efficiency.

Therefore the company decided to utilize its own extensive expertise and cooperated with the System Integrator to develop the required subsystems so that enhancing the billet surface quality and dynamic mold level control based on the original framework.

Apart from software, the improvement of the continuous casting process needed to come with powerful and robust devices to provide reliable system operation, the models were required to: support Microsoft operating systems to easily

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develop customized programs; have better CPU performance to run software; offer various I/O interfaces and expandable connections to meet the required functions; have a wide operating temperature range and anti-interference ability to resist harsh industrial and high electromagnetic environments.

System Description: According to the customer’s requirements, two subsystems needed to be implemented in the continuous casting machine, including the mold level control system and hydraulic cylinder control system. For the first subsystem, Advantech proposed the TPC-1571 Touch Panel Computer, embedded in the electrical cabinet, to be used as the HMI for users to communicate with the APAX-5571XPE Programmable Automation Controller (PAC) and a variety of APAX-5000 I/O modules (APAX5017H, APAX-5028, APAX-5040 and APAX-5046). The APAX models are to be used as a compensator in order to provide the stabilization of the molten steel in the mold of a continuous casting machine.

With an Intel Atom Dual Core processor, the TPC-1571 is a powerful computer and is able to deal with large amounts of data while its panel features and mounting options offer a better user interface and save installation space compared to a desktop PC with monitor.

The APAX-5571XPE, with Intel Celeron M grade CPU and built-in Windows XP Embedded operating system, makes it a high performance and application ready platform to shorten user’s development time.

By usingthe APAX I/O modules to collect the signals (including pressure, level, sliding gate, motor, temperature, switch and light), this mold level control system can fully monitor various devices and conditions as well as controlling the casting processes.

When the original PID controller is unable to deliver enough signals, managers can switch to the new subsystem which provides faster data acquisition (up to 1000 samples) so as to compensate DCS dynamic level control. Furthermore, since they have been designed with isolated protection, Advantech’s APAX

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serial products are very resistant to field interference.

As for the secondsubsystem, the APAX-5620 RISC-based controller is responsible for executing hydraulic cylinder control tasks by connecting to different APAX-5000 I/O modules (APAX-5017, APAX-5040, APAX5046 and APAX-5343E).

By providing a CAN bus communication interface, the APAX-5620 can control the steel’s thickness via a CANopen sensor.

Unlike the competitor's products, to add an extra pipe to cool the system down, Advantech’s controller and modules support wider operating temperatures to ensure that devices would not be damaged by high temperaturessince the control box has to be installed next to the machine and the field temperature is often above 50 deg C. The developer can also configure related hardware settings for the I/O modules through built-in utilities and can effortlessly create the related application programs under the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET or C/ C++ programming environment. l

LD Vacuum Technologies (ALD) is a manufacturer of vacuum process plants for metallurgy and heat treatment.

The company is a leading provider of vacuum systems and vacuum process technologies; covering all areas of vacuum metallurgy and vacuum heat treatment.

The company’s new “SmartCoater”, part of its offering for the Electron Beam/Physical Vapor Deposition (EB/PVD) product segment, has been developed for coating turbine blades. While the company’s existing XXL-Coater is used for production, the smaller SmartCoater, which deploys a Logix-based control solution from Rockwell Automation, is designed for laboratory use and repairs.

The prototype Smart Coater has been successfully installed in “Aviation Valley” in south-east Poland for a Polish university.

During process commissioning ALD was quickly able to demonstrate stable, reproducible production parameters and the high quality and uniformity of the coatings produced.

A manipulator transports the turbine blades to be heated and coated in a vacuum. A heatingand gas-profile is followed.

A ceramic material is then vaporised, using a high-voltage electron beam. The turbine blades are moved in the emerging ceramic vapour cloud using an individual motion program, which comprises multiple axis movements suited to the defined process conditions (pressure and temperature). The ceramic is then deposited onto the blades in a precise uniform manner.

During the selection of the automation platform ALD faced an issue in that it needed a solution that could combine all the aspects of the technologies deployed in the process. The controller had to be able to undertake complex measurement and control tasks such as regulating pressures and temperatures. Also, exact movement profiles for the multipleservo-axes system had to be reliably co-ordinated. Interfaces to measuring equipment and control systems from various other manufacturers was also a

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requirement. The AllenBradley ControlLogix and GuardLogix programmable automation controllers (PAC) offered the necessary performance with an easy-touse development environment.

The high degree of integration of the PAC, I/O modules and the programming software also reduces the time required for development and commissioning.

Standard PACs and safety PACs are installed in a common rack in order that the safety functions can be implemented easily alongside the control program, addressing the functional safety requirements in conformity with the Machinery directive. Integrated motion modules simplify the control of the servo axes and their incorporation into the process program.

To control the process plant, various measurement and control tasks must also be undertaken using an array of instruments and features, all of which are connected to the PAC using a variety of communication interfaces.

The control of pumps, valves and analogue measurements is realised using remote Flex I/O nodes that are accessed via ControlNet. The pressure measuring equipment is accessed via DeviceNet as are the gas controllers. The control unit that controls the electron beam, which is a powerful realtime system, is also operated via DeviceNet. Commands and set points can be sent directly from the PAC, making it possible to react very quickly to feedback from these control units.

From a safety perspective, the CompactBlock Guard Safety I/O is connected to the GuardLogix PAC over DeviceNet using CIP Safety. The requirements relating to the safety of machine control systems in accordance with DIN EN ISO 13849-1 can be realised efficiently and with significant cost advantages by means of integrated safety. This usage of common components for standard control systems and safety control systems also minimises costs for hardware, software, development and support.

The motion solution comprises

17

an Allen-Bradley Kinetix 6000 multi-axis controller, which is integrated into the control system using Sercos. The complex multiple-axis motion control for the manipulation of the turbine blades was implemented in the RSLogix5000 development environment and therefore did not require any interfaces to external systems.

Thanks to the integrated safety option for torque shutdown (Safe Torque-Off) the Kinetix servo drives meet the safety standards up to SIL3/ PLd. The stop categories can be realised within the safety routine.

The system is operated using an HMI PC and an Allen-Bradley PanelView Plus. The PC is used for recipe preparation, operating mode selection, process information display and logging, while the PanelView Plus attached to the loading chamber is used to operate the manipulator’s servo axes.

The Coater comprises individual modules, each with the related vacuum components and drives.

Due to the high degree of flexibility of the ControlLogix and GuardLogix systems, a modular approach was adopted, which made it possible and straightforward to react to customer requirements. Additions can also be made independent of the existing system.

One possible addition is an additional loading module. The process chamber can then be loaded from two sides and the cycle times for the system halved. A ControlLogix 1756 PAC is allocated to each side. The process module is controlled by a 1756-L61S PAC (SIL 3, Cat. 4, PLe) and the related 1756-LSP PAC, which takes over the central co-ordination of the overall system and monitors the safety functions in accordance with DIN EN ISO 13849-1.

The use of GuardLogix, with integrated safety has had advantages. The wiring effort and planning costs were reduced while commissioning times were shortened. Troubleshooting is also easier than with conventional hardwired safety technology.

A further advantage is the possibility of displaying the safety interlocks in the display, as a result a quick diagnostic overview of the state of the system can be provided for the system operator. l

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Marketplace

Off side We talk to the people behind RoboDK, the new offline progamming tool

Directory Listing

Marketplace

Robotics Society of Japan rsj.or.jp The Robotics Society of Japan promotes progress in academic fields and provides specialists with a venue for announcing their research and exchanging technical information.

euRobotics AISBL eu-robotics.net

British Automation & Robot Association bara.org.uk

Actuation

The aim of the BARA is to promote the use of, and assist in the development of Industrial Robots and Automation in British industry.

In 2009 BARA joined forces with the PPMA (Processing & Packaging Machinery Association) to become a special interest focus group.

International Federation of Robotics ifr.org The purpose of IFR shall be to promote and strengthen the robotics industry worldwide, to protect its business interests, to cause public awareness about robotics technologies and to deal with other matters of relevance to its members.

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society ieee-ras.org

euRobotics AISBL is a Brussels based international non-profit association for all stakeholders in European robotics. euRobotics builds upon the success of the European Robotics Technology Platform and the academic network of EURON, and will continue the cooperation abetween members of these two community driven organisations.

Our Mission is to foster the development and facilitate the exchange of scientific and technological knowledge in Robotics and Automation that benefits members, the profession and humanity. Our Vision is to be the most recognized and respected global organization in Robotics and Automation.

Robotic Industries Association robotics.org

China Robot Industry Alliance cria.mei.net.cn

The Robotic Industries Association (RIA) drives innovation, growth, and safety in manufacturing and service industries through education, promotion, and advancement of robotics, related automation technologies, and companies delivering integrated solutions.

CRIA is a non-profit organization composed of enterprises, manufacturers, universities, research institutes, regional or local robotic associations, related organizations as well as organizations in the fields of R&D, manufacturing, application and services of the robot industry.

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PHD PHD is a leading manufacturer of industrial automation actuators, designed to help companies across all industries optimize their manufacturing processes. phdinc.com

Wittenstein

From machine tools or woodworking and packaging machines through robotics and handling equipment to food processing, pharmaceutical and medical technology or intralogistics, Wittenstein actuators keep you one step ahead of the competition. wittenstein-us.com

Ham-Let More than half a century of excellence servicing the high purity and process industries with designing, developing, producing and marketing of fluid system components. ham-let.com

ATC The Actuator Technology Company operates independently and is located close to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

We are acclaimed and appreciated for offering vital design support during FEED and detailed design stage (EPC). atc-actuators.com

The Valve and Actuator Co We realise there is an urgent need to provide experienced technical support with competitive pricing.

We carry an extensive stock of electric and pneumatic actuators and general valves. valveandactuatorcompany.co.uk

Rethink Robotics Our patented SEA technology uses springs to advance the robot’s motion control solution from one of rigid positioning to one of force control. rethinkrobotics.com

Parker Parker actuators come in a wide range of construction types, ranging from compact light duty aluminum air actuators, motorized electric actuators, to heavy duty hydraulic designs. parker.com

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Sensor Readings

Marketplace

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Marketplace

21

Marketplace: technology Computing & Software

Arduino Arduino is an open-source computer hardware and software company, project and user community that designs and manufactures kits for building digital devices and interactive objects that can sense and control the physical world. arduino.cc

Integration & Process

Cognex

Microcontrollers & Microchips

No matter what the machine vision application, Cognex offers a complete family of vision products—from standalone vision systems to 3D vision software— that provide unparalleled accuracy and repeatability. cognex.com

Sensors Ranesas

Alphasense

Renesas Electronics Corporation, the world’s number one supplier of microcontrollers, is a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions including microcontrollers, SoC solutions and a broad range of analog and power devices. renesas.com

Alphasense has established a reputation as a reliable source for a wide range of gas sensor technologies. We supply high-quality Oxygen,CO2, toxic and flammable Gas sensors to many of the world’s leading industrial OEMs. alphasense.com

RoboDK

Raspberry Pi

Rockwell Automation

STMicroelectronics

4D Technology

Sensiron

Offline programming has never been easier thanks to RoboDK. You don’t need to learn brand-specific languages anymore. RoboDK handles the robot controller syntax and outputs the right program for your robot. robodk.com

The Raspberry Pi is a series of credit cardsized single-board computers developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation with the intention of promoting the teaching of basic computer science in schools. raspberrypi.org

Preferred integration starts with using plug-and-play technology, which means robots connect through Ethernet/IP with software and service interfaces that simplify design, operation and maintenance efforts to improve machine and overall line OEE. rockwellautomation.com

A world leader in providing the semiconductor solutions that make a positive contribution to people’s lives, both today and in the future. st.com

4D Technology designs and manufactures laser interferometers, surface roughness profilers and interferometry accessories.

4dtechnology.com

Sensirion is a leading sensor manufacturer, providing relative humidity sensors and flow sensor solutions with unique performance. sensirion.com

Evana Automation

Infineon

Sano

Hansford Sensors

Evana specializes in designing and implementing robotics automation solutions that fit your specific manufacturing needs. Let our robotics engineering and robotics manufacturing experts develop a custom robotics automation solution that meets your requirements. evanaautomation.com

We provide semiconductor and system solutions, focusing on three central needs of our modern society: Energy Efficiency, Mobility and Security. infineon.com

Sano is a biometric sensor and software company with a patented, breakthrough sensor that will help people understand what’s happening inside their bodies through continuously monitoring important markers in their bodies’ chemistry. sano.co

At Hansford Sensors, we design, develop and manufacture a wide range of high performance industrial accelerometers, vibration transmitters (loop powered sensors) and ancillary equipment. hansfordsensors.com

KUKA.WorkVisual Dassault Systemes Robotics Programmer provides a 3D environment where robot programmers can create, program, simulate and validate an entire robot workcell.

3ds.com

Programming. Configuration.

Loading. Testing. Diagnosis.

Modifying. Archiving. KUKA. WorkVisual groups all the steps of a project together in a homogenous offline development, online diagnosis and maintenance environment. kuka-robotics.com

Freescale Adept Adept has cultivated and maintained key partnerships with industry-leading integrators, OEMs, and machine builders across the globe and throughout numerous application segments. adept.com

NewBotic Corporation

Atmel

NewBotic is a robotic systems integrator, best known for its specialized engineering services that designs advanced transformative manufacturing and warehousing processes for a wide variety of industries. newbotic.com

Atmel Corporation is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, capacitive touch solutions, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency components. atmel.com Silicon Labs

FANUC Authorized Integrators Aldebaran by Softbank ABB RobotStudio Aldebaran enables both novices and experts to use its robots with ease. To do this, an SDK has been developed to support creation in the best way possible: 3D simulator, simple and intuitive programming software, C++ libraries, Python, .Net. aldebaran.com

RobotStudio provides the tools to increase the profitability of your robot system by letting you perform tasks such as training, programming, and optimization without disturbing production. abb.com

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An Authorized FANUC Integrator is ready to analyze your system requirements and provide a robotic solution that will improve quality, throughput, and productivity to give you the return on investment you are looking for. fanucamerica.com

Freescale Semiconductor enables secure, embedded processing solutions for the Internet of Tomorrow. Freescale’s solutions drive a more innovative and connected world, simplifying our lives and making us safer. freescale.com

Genesis Systems Genesis Systems Group designs, builds and implements robotic arc welding systems, assembly automation systems and robotic tooling, material handling solutions, non-destructive inspection cells and robotic waterjet cutting systems like nobody else. genesis-systems.com

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Silicon Labs is a team of hardware and software innovators dedicated to solving our customer’s toughest embedded design challenges. silabs.com

Texas Instruments

EMX

TI’s microcontroller platform offers innovative devices with integrated on-chip architectures, unique intellectual property, system expertise in key markets, and a comprehensive ecosystem of software, tools and support. ti.com

EMX is one of the world’s leading innovators of specialty sensors in the factory and process automation markets. Our sensors are used in automotive, packaging, labeling, metal stamping, paper and wood processing, plastics, electronics and pharmaceutical manufacturing. emxinc.com

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Synaptics Synaptics is a world leader in capacitive touch sensing technology. This patented technology is at the heart of our industry-standard TouchPad products and other solutions. synaptics.com

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22

Sensor Readings

Marketplace

Sensor Readings

Marketplace

23

Marketplace: companies Kawada

Kawasaki

SynTouch

3D Robotics 3DR helps people see their world from above. As North America’s largest personal drone company, 3DR is a pioneer in making advanced, easy-to-use drone technology.

3dr.com

For over 40 years, Kawasaki has been improving technology to meet the high demand of assembly applications. Kawasaki’s innovative hardware and software can help you solve your complex assembly challenges. kawasaki.com

SynTouch LLC developed and makes the only sensor technology in the world that endows robots with the ability to replicate - and sometimes exceed - the human sense of touch. syntouchllc.com

DENSO Robotics Yaskawa Yaskawa Motoman offers a wide range of industrial robotic arm models for high-speed precision assembly and small part handling including high-performance sixaxis robots; flexible seven-axis manipulators; dual-arm robots with 15 axes; and more. motoman.com

Universal Robots Universal Robots is a result of many years of intensive research in robotics. The product portfolio includes the collaborative UR3, UR5 and UR10 robot arms named after their payloads in kilos. universal-robots.com

Vecna Vecna’s robotic logistics solutions are a family of autonomous mobile robots, built to operate within human-centric environments. vecna.com

Cutting edge technology, class leading products and groundbreaking systems are only part of what you can expect when you choose DENSO Robotics. densorobotics.com

Schunk SCHUNK is one of the largest manufacturer for automation components, toolholders and workholding equipment. schunk.com

”Serving society through technology,” has been Kawada’s mission since its inception in 1922. Our mission has been accomplished through technological innovations in a vast range of operations, including projects involving transportation, energy, and information, all basic necessities of society. global.kawada.jp

Brain Corporation Energid

Stäubli Stäubli is a mechatronics solutions provider with three dedicated divisions: textile, connectors and robotics, serving customers who want to increase their productivity in many industrial sectors. staubli.com

Energid Technologies develops advanced software and robotic systems for the aerospace, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, defense, and medical industries. energid.com

Brain Corporation develops software, hardware, and cloud services for consumer robotics.

Our goal is to make intelligent and useful machines a part of everyday life with the world’s first training-based operating system for robots – BrainOS. braincorporation.com

Honda Robotics

Ekso Bionics

Bosch Robotics

DMG Mori Ellison

Honda has further advanced intelligence technologies enabling its advanced humanoid robot ASIMO to act autonomously and perform uninterrupted service to office guests. honda.com

Ekso Bionics helps survivors of stroke, spinal cord injury and other forms of lower extremity weakness to walk again. intl.eksobionics.com

We are working on Personal Robotics and the enabling technologies. Our interdisciplinary team conducts research on topics such as mobile manipulation, navigation, perception and semantic analysis of 3D data. bosch.us

DMG Mori Ellison Technologies is a provider of advanced machining solutions to North American metal-cutting manufacturers and their global affiliates. ellisontechnologies.com

Epson

iRobot

ASI

DAIHEN

With over 45,000 robots installed in factories throughout the world, many of the top manufacturing companies rely on Epson Robots every day to reduce production costs, improve product quality, increase yields and help increase their bottom line. epson.com

iRobot’s home robots are revolutionizing the way people clean – inside and out. More than 10 million home robots have been sold worldwide. www.irobot.com

Autonomous Solutions is a world leader in vendor independent vehicle automation systems. From our HQ in Utah, we serve clients in the mining, agriculture, automotive, government, and manufacturing industries with remote control, teleoperation, and fully automated solutions. asirobots.com

The DAIHEN Group makes it our mission to provide products and services indispensable to primary industries around the world, including first and foremost the power industry or so-called “lifeline” of society. daihen.co.jp

Robotiq Our goal is to enable all manufacturers to take full advantage of robotics. We work with robot manufacturers, system integrators and end-users to automate applications that require fexibility. robotiq.com

Dyson Dyson recently invested in a joint robotics lab with Imperial College London to investigate vision systems and engineer a generation of household robots. dyson.co.uk

TEUN

Future Robot

Clearpath Robotics

Axium

TEUN is a comprehensive concept, based on a smart unmanned machine, the PIQR. The concept has been developed to offer a solution for the frequently complex laborintensive and expensive way of unloading containers. teun.com

We, Future Robot, aim to create an exemplary service robot market. We deal with Coupon Advertising Robot, Mobile Infotainment Service, Robot Event Service, and many more.

We build the world’s best unmanned vehicles for research and development. Our products will save time, money and headaches on your next project. clearpathrobotics.com

Axium designs, manufactures and installs a complete range of automated solutions for robotic material handling (palletizing, depalletizing, case packing, and peripheral equipments) and transformation of plastic products. axiumsolutions.com

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Honeybee Robotics Since 1983, Honeybee has completed over 300 projects for NASA, the US Department of Defense, academia, industry and artists. honeybeerobotics.com

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Aethon Aethon is best known for its TUG autonomous mobile delivery robot which transports medications, meals and materials through hospitals. aethon.com

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Aurotek Aurotek delivers high valueadded services and solutions, and helping customers achieve greater value through its introduction of advanced and quality components, acquirement of new technology concepts. robot.com.tw

Apex Automation and Robotics Apex Automation and Robotics is an Australian company specialising in the design and manufacture of custom-built automation machines and robotic systems. apexautomation.com.au

Adept Adept systems provide unmatched performance and economic value throughout the production lifecycle, enabling customers to achieve precision, quality and productivity in their assembly, handling and packaging processes. adept.com

Reis Experts know REIS as creative pacemaker for process-oriented system solutions. Since 1957 our way has been going dynamically up.

The fundamentals: Inventive genius, competence, innovative power, and reliability. reisrobotics.de

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