Robo News

MIR 1000 RANGE ON OFFER FROM RARUK

RARUK Automation is now offering the MiR 1000 range.

The MiR 1000 extends the payload capacity of the fleet to 1000kg making it the perfect choice for heavier pallets said RARUK, providing a safe and efficient alternative to traditional forklifts and trucks.

With optional pallet lifts, the MiR 1000 can pick up and transport Euro and other pallets onto pallet stations ensuring their smooth and seamless delivery to the destination. Flexible deployment for different tasks is made possible by a choice of top modules which allow a wide range of items to be transported.

Both the MiR 500 and MiR 1000 operate without the need to change the layout of the warehouse or factory as the function of guidewires, magnets and QR codes is replaced by sophisticated navigation software. They are also designed to be collaborative and have multiple built-in

safety features including dynamic safe zone monitoring that ensures the robots manoeuvre efficiently around people and objects, even in highly dynamic environments.

ROBOROCK TARGETS EUROPE

Chinese intelligent home robots company Roborock is targeting Europe as it plans for significant growth over the next two years.

The company was founded in 2014 with investment from Xiaomi amongst other investors, and specialises in the research, development, and production of smart home appliances, specifically robot vacuum cleaners.

Roborock’s products include the bestselling robot vacuums in China. Since launching its flagship model, the Roborock S5, and its E series line-up internationally in 2018, the company has experienced significant growth, with 173% increase in sales revenue year-on-year and net profit equivalent to 10% of revenue.

“European consumers are very tech-savvy and have high disposable incomes that they are willing to spend on welldesigned, effective devices that make their homes smarter, freeing up more time to live their lives better,” said Richard Chang, founder and CEO of Roborock.

“Roborock is now focused on expanding its footprint in Europe with the belief that we can add value to a market where there is growing demand for smart home devices and in particular, robot vacuum cleaners. Our upcoming product launches will focus primarily on key European countries and promise to demonstrate real innovation in areas of intelligence, powerful cleaning, and convenience,” added Chang.

The company already has a presence in Europe through a number of retailers, including Amazon, MediaMarkt and Fnac Darty.

ROBOTIQ INTRODUCES NEW PRODUCTS

Gripper company Robotiq has introduced its newest products for manufacturers looking to automate packaging, palletising, and sanding applications.

Included in the new lineup is an expanded range of highquality grippers. The company said that its AirPick and EPick give manufacturers full control over their automation process, while being easy to programme, fast to install and fully customisable.

Robotiq also explained that its new Sanding Kit turns a multi-hour, multi-day programming job into a five-minute task. It said the only hardware and software solution for Universal Robots that enables manufacturers to save hours of programming time, increase quality and productivity and ensure consistent force is applied at each cycle.

Jean-Philippe Jobin, CTO and co-founder of Robotiq, said: “AirPick, EPick and the Robotiq Sanding Kit were all engineered with helping manufacturers start production faster in mind. We wanted to support manufacturers in automating their cobot applications by offering solutions that are easy to use, safe, and flexible.”

WINNERS OF THE 2019 ENGELBERGER ROBOTICS AWARD ANNOUNCED

The Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry’s North American trade organisation, has announced the winners of the 2019 Engelberger Robotics Awards.

It is considered the world’s most prestigious robotics honour.

The winners are Catherine Morris, group leader and director of automotive sales at ATI Industrial Automation and long-time RIA board member and former chairperson, and Dr Howie Choset, robotics professor at Carnegie Mellon University and co-founder of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute.

The award is named for Joseph F Engelberger, known throughout the world as the ”father of robotics.” Engelberger was founder and president of Unimation., the world’s first industrial robot manufacturer.

The Engelberger Robotics Awards are presented to individuals for excellence in technology development, application, education and leadership in the robotics industry. Each winner receives a $5,000 honorarium and commemorative medallion with the inscription: “Contributing to the advancement of the science of robotics in the service of mankind.” The awards recognise outstanding individuals from all over the world. Since the award’s inception in 1977, it has been bestowed upon 128 robotics leaders from 17 different nations.

Catherine Morris is honoured in the category of Leadership. “I can think of very few people in the history of the robotics industry who have been as committed to the growth of our industry as Catherine,” said Jeff Burnstein, RIA President. “In addition to helping build ATI into a global leader in robotic accessories and robot arm tooling, she has been a tireless advocate of robotics and the important role that groups like RIA play within it. In fact, over the past two decades she’s found time to hold virtually every key position in our trade group, from Membership Committee Chair, to Automate Show Committee Chair, to overall Chair of RIA (the first and only woman to hold that role to date), and now serves as a board member of our parent group, the Association for Advancing Automation. She’s also been an outstanding role model and mentor for women in robotics — getting more women involved in robotics will be a key to the long-term success of the industry. In her role at ATI since 1995, she has positively impacted the success of robotics end users, robot manufacturers, and system integrators through her high degree of process and mechatronic knowledge.”

Dr Howie Choset will receive the award for Education. “In addition to being an inspiring professor in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon, Dr Choset has lead key research efforts to help solve significant problems in diverse areas such as surgery, manufacturing, infrastructure inspection and search rescue,” Burnstein said. “Additionally, he has co-founded several companies, including Medrobotics for surgical system, Hebi Robotics for modular robots, and Bito Robotics for autonomous guided vehicles. His FDA-approved surgical snake robot has been in use in the US and Europe since 2015. Add to that his role as a co-founder of the ARM Institute that is aimed at advancing technology development and education for robotics in manufacturing, and his role as a founding editor of the journal Science Robotics, and you see that Dr Choset is well-deserving of our industry’s highest honor.”

BIG DATA SITS ALONGSIDE THE MCDONALD’S BIG MAC

McDonald’s is about to super size its artificial intelligence.

The famous fast food chain is buying Israeli start-up Dynamic Yield for a rumoured price tag of some $300m. For that its gets AI which can automatically change menus to suit the time of day and weather. The idea is that it will bring data-driven mean choices for its huge, global customer base, which numbers over 60 million every day.

The system would be able to tell customers which of its products are trending on a particular day, at a particular hour. It will also use camera recognition technology to spot the cars of regular customers and provide them with their usual choices.

US drive-through outlets are thought to be implementing the technology first. McDonald’s chief executive Steve Easterbrook is keen on the technology mainly because it will help flatten out the peaks and troughs of food demand, and the help his outlets develop a much more personalised service.

William Hill and IKEA have been past users of Dynamic Yield technology.

RARUK INTRODUCES PICK-IT M-HD HIGH DEFINITION 3D CAMERA

RARUK Automation has introduced a high definition 3D camera to its Pick-it 3D Robot Vision system which was launched at last year’s PPMA Show.

The Pick-it M-HD high definition 3D camera can detect almost any small and medium size objects, made from any material, with even higher accuracy said the company.

Pick-it allows any camera supported automation application to be built without expert help. There’s no need for complicated programming. And Pick-it guides the robot to see, pick and place products from bins, boxes, pallets and tables onto a CNC machine, assembly line, conveyor belt, welding station or work bench.

RARUK told RoboPro Magazine that simply show an example part to the plug-and-play camera, save this into the teach detection engine, tell Pick-it where to look with a click and drag tool and Pick-it will guide the robot to the nearest pickable part. A typical detection cycle takes less than a second and Pick-it can find multiple parts in one cycle.

The system can also be connected to the internet for remote monitoring, extending Pick-it’s potential for lights out operation and integration into the smart factory environment. And as Pick-it can find parts in any location and layout there is no need for a bulky feeding line with inflexible and expensive elements.

As with the other Pick-it cameras in the range, the new M-HD model uses structured light to calculate the 3D images. The big advantage of this over the traditional 2D camera is that it does not require special lighting and is immune to reflections.

CIMCORP TO OPEN NEW OFFICE IN CHENNAI, INDIA

Cimcorp (Ulvila, Finland) a manufacturer and integrator of turnkey robotic handling solutions, will open a new office in Chennai, India, this June.

It will, Cimcorp told RoboPro Magazine, enable the company to serve Asian customers better and faster, and, as an addition to the group’s existing locations in Asia, the new Indian office supports its growth strategy.

Masatoshi Wakabayashi, CEO at Cimcorp: “The decision to expand our presence into India is a logical step at this point. Our office is located in Chennai to enhance our ability to serve both current and future customers in India. The facility will also be our customer support location for Indian clients,enabling us to expand the comprehensive service network we provide in partnership with our parent company, Murata Machinery Ltd.”

The company added that its decision to establish a base in Chennai is in response to growing demand for automation in India’s tire industry and strengthens the company’s position as a leader in material flow automation for tire manufacturing.

Cimcorp has appointed Pekka Natri as Head of Operations in India. He has a long track record in international business, and has worked in India before – first during the 1990s and then for a longer period in 2007-2011. “I am excited to step into this role and help Cimcorp to reinforce its presence in Asia,” he said.

THE MEARM ROBOT ARM KIT LAUNCHES

The MeArm robot arm kit has been launched to inspire children and adults to enter the world of robotics engineering.

Kitronik, its creator, is an electronics company that specialises in developing project kits for schools and the maker community Kitronik said that The MeArm is an easy to build robot arm kit which can be built with nothing but enthusiasm and a screwdriver. The only tool necessary is a hex key which comes with the kit! It enables users to build, code and then control their own robotic arm, similar to those used in engineering and manufacturing. Imaginations can run wild as the power of the MeArm robot is set to work on functional tasks when combined with other models and construction kits.

It has been designed from the ground up to be easy to build and use and to be relevant to all experience levels, with simple coding capability which means enthusiastic schoolchildren (and their teachers!) can begin coding the device as soon as it is built. Its compatibility with the BBC micro:bit, Arduino and Raspberry Pi ,and its use of different coding editors, means that MeArm can suit every ability level.

The MeArm can be controlled directly through the onboard joy sticks or it can be made to move using one of the programming languages supported by the BBC micro:bit, Arduino or Raspberry Pi.

Kitronik co-Founder and Director, Kevin Spurr said: “What better way of inspiring children to become interested in robotics, technology, engineering and programming than by enabling them, with the help of their teachers, to create their own version of a piece of technology that is used in the real world, and in careers that they could be inspired to enter into.”

“We believe that children should begin to learn to code as early as possible and have therefore deliberately kept the coding language simple and accessible. We hope that everyone will enjoy this introduction into the world of robotics.”

The MeArm has been developed over the last five years by Dr Ben Gray who has since joined Kitronik to oversee the product’s further development. Kitronik has struck an exclusive deal with Dr Gray to manufacture and distribute the MeArm as part of their range of BBC micro:bit, Adruino and Raspberry Pi compatible electronics kits and accessories.

Dr Gray added: “I am pleased to see the MeArm project come to life and I look forward to seeing more students and makers using the device. My aim for the MeArm was for it to be accessible and easy to build so I am confident that enthusiastic electronics experts of the future will have fun with the device and, hopefully, develop a love for robotics and coding.”

FANUC UK EXPANDS M-20ID AND ARC MATE 120ID SERIES

FANUC UK has expanded its range of industrial robots with two new models: the M-20iD/25 handling robot, and the ARC Mate 120iD welding version.

Controlled by the R-30iB Plus Controller, both new robots are characterised by higher axis speeds and a large working area relative to previous models.

The M-20iD/25 is suited to handling tasks including loading and unloading machines, and parts manipulation. Its slim, lightweight design, combined with a compact arm and wrist, is designed to provide maximum reach even in crowded production environments.

It is capable of lifting payloads of up to 25kg at a range of 1,831mm. It also has an IP67 protection rating, suitable for applications under adverse environmental conditions, such as grinding or deburring.

The ARC Mate 120iD, in possession of a maximum payload and range identical to that of the M-20iD/25, is designed for welding applications. As with the M-20iD/25, the ARC Mate 120iD has a slim, articulated design, allowing it to weld in narrow machine tools and jigs.

“With its superior dynamics and seamlessly integrated welding equipment, the ARC Mate 120iD will ensure that customer productivity increases,” FANUC’s UK Sales and Marketing Manager, Andy Armstrong said. “Customers can also be confident of reduced assembly effort and lower operating costs thanks to smooth surfaces and recessed bolts, which aid in preventing dirt build-up.

“The introduction of the M-20iD/25, alongside the ARC Mate 120iD, represents our determination to provide customers with a comprehensive range of robot solutions. Both robots are uniquely suited to operating in tight environments, able to reach closer to their own base than predecessor models with an active stroke range of 1,585mm.”

TECHMETICS LAUNCHES TWO NEW LINES OF AUTONOMOUS ROBOTS IN THE US

Singapore-based Techmetics has launched two new lines of autonomous robots in the US.

The company told Robopro Magazine that with the Techi Butler and Techi Cart series, they hope to “..revolutionize service in the hospitality and healthcare industries.”

Using its proprietary technology, the Singapore-based said it has introduced the first-ever fleet of multi-point delivery robots with a multilevel fleet management system in the US.

The robots are programmed to navigate autonomously through multiple floors and ride the elevators, transforming the way people receive room service while efficiently assisting housekeeping departments and kitchen staff with bulk delivery needs.

The robots are divided into two main groups:

• Techi Butlers deliver guests packages, food and beverage orders, linens and towels. They engage with users through a touch screen interface which allows them to speak in different languages as well as call or text users to their cell phones;

• Techi Cart series consists of a food cart, linen cart and a high payload cart which autonomously pick up and drop off linens and food carts. Each cart model can facilitate back-of-house services from areas such as laundry rooms, kitchens and housekeeping departments. The Techi Carts can deliver between 220 pounds to 550 pounds depending on the model.