ROBOpro - Issue 1 - March

BY ROBOPRO

A NEW AGE BROUGHT TO YOU BY ROBOPRO

We stand on the brink of a new age, where automation will change the very fabric of society.

And robots will be at the fore of this revolution, combining machine vision and artificial intelligence to create machines that will change how every human being lives, works and plays.

Which is why the team behind the highly successful media platform MVPro is launching a new B2B platform. Called RoboPro, it will have the same high standards as MVPro. It will provide hugely valuable insight into a sector which is developing on a daily basis. And as with MVPro, the new platform will consist of a print magazine, website, social media presence and email outreach programme which targets our unique industry global database.

In short, we offer a truly collaborative multi-media platform which is designed to disseminate state of the art research and products far more effectively than anyone else in the market. The platform, firmly operating in the digital age, is specifically intended for the next generation of thought leaders, sector investors, engineers and developers across academia and industry; those who have grown up in the digital age and for whom old fashioned trade-titles are no longer the most effective means of communication. It allows a unique knowledge exchange opportunity and a rare chance to create a new community.

And the robotics sector is firmly in the sights of global investors; institutions and individuals alike are waking up to the opportunities that exist at every level, from small start-ups to multi-billion dollar operations. RoboPro will focus heavily on the investment scene surrounding the industry.

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Investors are on the hunt for global growth situations that span robotics and automation applications. And these range across all the key industrial areas, from technology, manufacturing, transportation, defence and healthcare.

And although the robotics sector is changing on an almost daily basis, we should remember that it is still at an early age.

A recent report figured that worldwide spending on robotics and related services will hit around $135.4 billion in 2019.

Compare that to the $71 billion spent on global robotics in 2015. The compound annual growth rate is a forecast 17%.

Bear in mind that the robotics market includes everything from hardware components, to software and to robot services.

This latest report makes the point that the total spend on services (such as training, education and business consulting), will by 2019 have eclipsed the sales of the actual robots.

RoboPro intends to be there every step of the way, providing news, commentary, insight, features and authorative papers.

The platform begins life here, as a print supplement to MVPro, supported by its own website and social media presence. Following Automate in Chicago, RoboPro will also be published as a stand- alone print magazine, one that will quickly make its mark in this young sector.

The same team that brought you MVPro – Publisher Alex Sullivan, Business Development Manager Cally Bennet and Editor Neil Martin – are set to emulate the success of MVPro and be at the forefront of all the developments and changes.

Welcome to RoboPro, the place where you’ll read about the future of automation.

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NEWS

GLOBAL ROBOTECH FUND IS LAUNCHED

The AXA World Funds Framlington Robotech Fund has been launched by AXA IM. Domiciled in Luxembourg, the SICAV follows an active, unconstrained, multi-cap, robotics strategy. The managers aim to invest in global growth companies spanning robotics and automation applications across various areas including the industrial, technology, manufacturing, healthcare and transportation sectors.

Managers are Tom Riley and Jeremy Gleeson at AXA IM Framlington Equities.

Lead fund manager Riley said: “We are at the early stages of the robotics

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revolution, the robotics market is expected to grow by 10% a year until 2025. While this is an emerging multi-decade theme, it is already an investible area from which we aim to select 40 to 60 fast growth companies to build a global portfolio diversified across market cap and sectors. Robotics will continue to have a significant impact on society for years to come and an increasing number of new listed small and mid-cap companies will become investment opportunities over time.”

Global Head of Framlington Equities at AXA IM Mark Beveridge said: “AXA IM have a long history and track record in thematic equity investing

(e.g. technology, healthcare, biotech, listed property etc.). We have been early adopters of the robotics trend and have been investing in areas such as industrial automation, autonomous vehicles and robot assisted surgery for a number of years in other strategies.

We fundamentally believe you need an active manager to access new growth areas such as robotics – there is no broadly used standard robotics benchmark that you can try to replicate. We have great momentum in an uncrowded space; demand for our robotics strategy has been incredible from clients in Japan and we are excited that we can now offer this strategy more widely.”

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NEWS

OFFSET TAX LIABILITIES IN CURRENT TAX YEAR BY INVESTING IN HIGH GROWTH ROBOTICS COMPANIES, SAYS KEEN Dominic Keen, founder of Britbots, describes how the SEIS “carry back” facility can be used to offset income tax liabilities in the 2016/17 tax year by bringing a mixed-basket of some of the most promising British robotics stocks into your portfolio.

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) has been recently described by Mark Brownridge, Director-General of the EIS Association as “one of the most tax advantageous schemes in the world” on account of the five highly attractive tax benefits that have been wrapped into a single scheme. A normal higher-rate tax payer can have almost 70% of the risk of an SEIS-qualifying investment underwritten by HMRC and, if they have taxable capital gains to offset, the risk cover increases towards 85%. Once this very high level of tax shielding is combined with the potentially unlimited upside of investing in ultra-high growth businesses, it should be seen as an extremely important component of any longer-term investment portfolio.

With this in mind, funds are being launched to give investors access to the UK’s most promising new businesses, mitigating the inherent risks of angel investing by leveraging the tax-efficiencies of the SEIS wrapper.

Robotics For example, the British Robotics Seed Fund has recently been established to exploit one of today’s most exciting growth themes, robotics. As technical advances in automation and artificial intelligence continue to leap forward, robotics represents one of today’s most exciting investment areas. The UK is already home to a great deal of expert talent in this field.

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As evidence, the first commercial flights of Amazon’s parcel delivery drones anywhere in the world began in the England this December. There’s every chance that a number of the world-leading robotics businesses of the future are currently being created in this country. The British Robotics Seed fund looks to give investors access to some of these attractive companies which have the potential to deliver multiple-fold returns to their early-stage backers in the years ahead.

Over and above the many tax incentives of SEIS, another feature of the scheme, “carry back”, represents an extra benefit for tax planning.

Funds, such as the British Robotics Seed Fund, that are now currently raising capital will deploy the money being raised into investee companies through the first six months of the 2017/18 tax year.

“Carry back” Investors in the fund, however, are permitted to “carry back” these investments for the purposes of the 2016/17 tax year. This means that their investment can be used to offset tax liabilities in the current period thereby allowing investors to be more precise in their tax mitigation activities as the tax year-end approaches.

Furthermore, SEIS funds like the British Robotics Seed Fund may use additional tactics to further reduce risk and improve returns. Robotic technology can be applied to wide range of sectors including logistics and warehousing; agriculture; construction & civil engineering; low-volume manufacturing; domestic; facilities management and security; and specialist medical equipment.

Consequently the fund actively looks to spread the investments it makes across a broad range of these sectors

and to back a variety of business types so that it can balance the companyspecific risk to the fund investors. The British Robotic Fund also provides operational support from a proven, experienced mentor to each robotics team that it backs. In many cases, this allows technically proficient roboticists to gain access to broader business skills and, thereby, to become more likely to deliver a substantial cash exit to investors in the fund.

SEIS tax-advantaged An investment in a SEIS fund is increasingly being seen as an important component of any growth-orientated personal portfolio that’s being built for a longer-term (five-year plus) horizon. Thanks to various risk reductions arising from the SEIS tax-shielding and the other mitigation strategies, these funds have a much lower risk profile than most other forms of equity investing and certainly carry significantly less risk than more conventional investments in unquoted businesses.

Whilst the nature of the investment class means that investors’ capital will be tied up for a number of years, the tax-adjusted returns have the potential to be extremely large and, given the inheritance tax exemption under SEIS, an investment may well be as suitable for an alternative retirement planning strategy as it is for investors who wish to shield against large income tax liabilities in the current tax year.

The marriage of the attractive tax benefits of SEIS with ultra-fast growing investment areas such as robotics seems to have created an exciting new investment class that ought to provide new avenues for investment portfolio planners to consider.

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3D VISION GUIDED ROBOTIC ASSEMBLY -

KINEMETRIX Using HALCON's surface-based 3D matching technology and 3D point cloud data, the position and orientation of parts on an automated clip assembly cell are determinded.

Kinemetrix, based in Lexington, KY, specializes in advanced solutions for robotic automation. Using the HALCON machine vision software, they recently built a automated clip assembly cell in which parts are fed onto a conveyor in arbitrary 3D orientation, then picked and rotated by an articulated robot so that a plastic clip can be inserted.

The system uses a Ranger 3D laser triangulation sensor from SICK to create a 3D point-cloud of the parts as they pass by on the conveyor. The parts' position and orientation is determined from this point cloud data using HALCON's surfacebased 3D matching technology. The parts are found within a close tolerance that allows the robot to correctly align them with the clip assembly mechanism. Based on the 3D pose returned by HALCON, the system determines which parts are in a suitable orientation to be picked for assembly. The remaining parts are recirculated.

Jim Peyton, President of Kinemetrix, attested to the time and cost saving benefits of using HALCON stating: "We've learned that successful random-fed robotic picking requires careful design of system, gripping, vision, and path planning. HALCON provides extremely fast, robust, and powerful tools for 3D vision that allow us to focus more on the mechanical and system-level design elements. A noteworthy example from this project is the absence of a re-grip station. With attention to system calibration, we achieved 1mm volumetric accuracy directly from a random pick. That allowed us to meet the required cycle time using only one robot and eliminated part-specific tooling. As a result, we were able to provide our customer with a future-proof, agile system at a cost that's competitive with fixed automation."

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS APPLICATION AND OTHER INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS BY KINEMETRIX, VISIT: WWW.KINEMETRIX.COM

3DiVi Inc. is the leading 3D intelligence company, specialising in 3D computer vision software development.

Our solutions enable Natural User Interface (NUI) applications for new generation of Android and iOS smart devices. Our clients and licensees are the leading international companies in the areas of VR, AR, SmartTV, IoT, digital signage, and robotics.The company has offices in San Francisco (HQ), Russia (R&D) and Shenzhen (SCM).

Our products: VicoVR - Full Body Motion Controller for Mobile Virtual Reality, SmartTV and IoT Seemetrix - Audience measurement solution for digital signage and retail Nuitrack - Gesture recognition software for Android and iOS Face SDK - Face recognition software

VicoVR is a Bluetooth accessory that provides wireless full body motion and positional tracking to mobile VR. It is compatible with Samsung Gear VR, Google Daydream View and any other Android or iOS headset. VicoVR solves one of the key problems of Mobile VR - the lack of Positional Tracking. It processes depth input inside the sensor and recognises 19 body joints of two people in real time, works both for standing and sitting poses! The data is sent wirelessly to any Android or iOS HMD without consuming processing power of your Mobile HMD, because all processing is done inside VicoVR! No wires, no wearables, no PC or gaming consoles.

http://vicovr.com/ info@vicovr.com

CUSTOM PRODUCTION, MADE TO MEASURE QUALITY

I am sure that you have often seen robots “at work”. They are constantly moving. They twist and turn and they get on with things without complaining regardless of whether it is hot or cold or if they are exposed to water or chemicals. There is no doubt that a robot needs to be able to stand up to rough treatment. The same goes for the cables used in them. Particularly in the automotive industry, robots are now an indispensable part of production lines.

As automation advances, the demand for perfectly adapted robot cables is constantly increasing. That is why, in addition to its well-known standard ÖLFLEX® ROBOT cables, Lapp Group also supplies special robot cables developed for individual requirements and applications.

For the world-famous paint system manufacturer Dürr from Stuttgart, Lapp Group developed special robot cables for wiring the painting robots. This involved performing the required torsion and bending tests in Lapp’s in-house test laboratory, in close consultation with the customer. To guarantee 100% functionality, customer-specific test adapters were even produced and used.

Dürr’s painting systems use cables that can withstand extremely high bending and torsion cycles (+/- 600 degrees per metre /10 million cycles) and are both flame retardant and oil resistant. The conductors are made of ultra fine copper braids with high quality TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) compound insulation. Teflon films keep the friction between the different elements to an absolute minimum. The special cables also employ special stranding techniques and use high quality polyurethane for the outer sheath.

In the case of the Dürr painting systems, there are nine different special robot cables, from BUS lines to sensor leads to servo motor and feedback cables.

The particular challenge and complexity of special robot cables lies in the fact that a tailored solution has to be developed for every application. The research and development team at Lapp Group has state of the art laboratories and testing facilities. All robot cables are developed in close consultation with the customer and all requirements in terms of cross-sections, movement and the surrounding location are incorporated into the development process. A prototype cable is normally developed first and then tested in every detail.

In the case of Dürr, the first prototypes were produced in just three weeks.

After a successful trial period of several weeks, the cables were approved for series production.

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Scorpion Vision 3D Stinger is an industrial vision system for automation. The camera is available in a number of formats, as one-size definitely does not fit all when it comes to 3D machine vision.

The most utlised product type at the moment is the stereo vision camera with random pattern projection laser.

This camera has many different application areas but a strong area is in robot vision. The system can be used with any robot brand and is a first class 3D robotic guidance system that can overcome many of the issues presented in today’s manufacturing environment where size and shape is something that needs to be measured in near real time.

For example, the profiling of organic type products that don’t conform to a standard shape, or sacks of food based products that don’t stay neatly stacked, or in their original shape. These can be nightmare scenarios for the machine builder and robot integrator.

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With Scorpion 3D Stinger, this need not be the case, as in one process the Scorpion Vision system can: LOCATE

PROFILE

CREATE A 3D MODEL

MEASURE

INSTRUCT THE ROBOT

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This does away for the need to utilise multiple sensors in a robot cell.

Many 3D vision systems require the subject or the camera to move in order to create a scan of the object.

There are many scenarios where this is impractical. Then there is also the time taken to scan something, which could be in the order of several seconds - this is valuable robot cycle time. The Scorpion 3D Stinger system can locate and create a 3D picking coordinate for the robot in a few hundred milliseconds and accuracy can be in the order of a millimetre or better, depending on the size of the object to be picked.

The 3D picking coordinate doesn’t just include X, Y and Z but also roll, pitch and yaw and therefore the object plane - so full 6 degrees of freedom in space.

Scorpion Vision Ltd, Unit 5, Dell Buildings, Milford Road, Lymington SO41 0ED, Hampshire Tel : 01590679333 Email: sales@scorpionvision.co.uk

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THE GOVERNMENT'S DIGITAL STRATEGY: GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE BRAVE NEW WORLD? Here’s the good news: the UK Government has launched its post Brexit digital strategy.

Now the bad news: the strategy is lacking in detail and not enough money is being pledged.

The digital strategy comes at a time when in the post-Brexit world, the UK is worrying that it might become a global billyno-mates as the world gets ready for future changes that are coming with the rapid development of robot technology.

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Karen Bradley Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Karen Bradley trumpeted: “The UK's world-leading digital sectors are a major driver of growth and productivity, and we are determined to protect and strengthen them.

Like it or not, the robots are coming and we are facing the biggest change in work practices since people left the land en-masse for the cities.

“This digital strategy sets a path to make Britain the best place to start and grow a digital business, trial a new technology, or undertake advanced research as part of the government's plan to build a modern, dynamic and global trading nation.”

So, to quell nerves, the UK Government does what any group of politicians do when they see an electorate anxious for decisive action: they announce a new strategy. Cue drum roll and a lot of flag waving.

As with all such announcements from Government these days, the spin doctors had been hard at work days before this announcement so all the major initiatives had been wellflagged in the media.

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The initiative centres around offering digital skills to millions of people, businesses and organisations by 2020. It centres on creating five technology hubs in emerging markets, ones which will allow UK companies to stay ahead of the game.

environment has to be right – start-up entrepreneurs and their workforces need to know that they are being supported and given the conditions to thrive, and much of that will be driven via continued development of artificial intelligence.

Ambitions

And the Government is coughing up just over £17 million to oil some wheels for some AI and robotics research at British universities. But, this is a mere drop in the ocean.

The Government needs to get its cheque book out and start spending some serious money. Brexit is going to make it harder for UK companies to stay ahead in these fields, so they will need financial support to help them not become isolated in the global market.

All good so far. Who would disagree with those ambitions?

Then the Government listed a number of pledges from private companies which talked about how they would contribute to training people with fundamental digital skills.

But, this is where the hot air balloon is starting to lose some of its air. Experts point out that this initiative is pure window dressing, a recognition of the problems the UK is facing as a country in terms of its ill-prepared workforce, but actually not going far enough to introduce a radical strategy in which everything had to be re-booted and started again.

What the country needs is a completely new approach from top to bottom, rank and file, and not just a soundbite which allows the Government to fend off any criticism of being asleep at the wheel as the work revolution sweeps in.

Robotics

Applauded So, yes, we have some good intentions from the Government, which has to be applauded.

And, I as write this piece, there’s word of a further £500 million support for the tech industries, details of which are in the UK Spring Budget.

But one thing is for sure, what we need now is some real leadership, some real support as we prepare for a very brave new world.

Robotics was signalled by the Government as a special area of interest. The UK tech sector wants to be at the forefront of the robotics industry, with all the advantages that will come its way should we get it right. The UK tech sector is ideally positioned, despite Brexit, to ride the robotics rocket, but the

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MB Kit Systems Inc. has over twenty years of experience providing custom mechanical solutions for automation and robotics applications. Our engineers are experts designing and assembling custom dynamic solutions utilizing extruded aluminum profile. From Cartesian robots to multi-axis linear motion systems, MB Kit Systems can provide mechanical solutions for even the most complex XYZ application.

Our in-house engineers work with over 350 different structural aluminum profiles and 3000 modular components to design solutions for a wide range of projects. Extruded aluminum profile allows for increased modularity through T-slotted grooves - providing rigid connections that can still be adjusted to fit frequently changing needs. The high straightness tolerance and precision of aluminum extrusions enables MB Kit Systems to design & build custom beltdriven linear actuators with travel from a few inches to over one hundred forty feet in length. Loads for our dynamic mechanical solutions range from a few ounces to thousands of pounds, depending upon configuration. The T-slot groove allows for flexibility in attaching sensors, vision systems, and other accessories for a pick and place robots or machines. The modular principles of this system allow for the pick and place machine design to be modified as needed.

MB Kit Systems designs custom automation solutions that integrate single and multi-axis belt-driven linear actuators directly onto machine frames and bases. Additional linear capabilities include designing & building ball screws up to about 120 inches with five and twenty pitch screws.

We also offer hard guarding and specialty enclosures that can protect robotics production equipment or an entire assembly, manufacturing or automation cell.

Extruded aluminum can be configured to create significant Cartesian robots that can reach every single point within a given envelope. Even the most complex applications can be improved with the help of structural aluminum and industrial robots. Using a Cartesian robot to complete a linear motion process makes for a quick and precise outcome. And using structural aluminum to support these robots mean that you can make changes and innovations faster than you could with traditional welded steel structures. In the end, the combination results in faster, more accurate processes and lower end-to-end costs for your operations.

MB Kit Systems also offers in-house machining, panel routing, CNC cutting of motor mounts, base plates and other metal components to exact customer specifications. Our in-house technicians can assembly or sub-assemble your automation solutions, gantry, or Cartesian robots to your exact specifications.

Learn more about MB Kit Systems robotics, mechanical solutions and automation capabilities at http://www. mbkitsystems.com/linear-motion.html

www.lappgroup.co.uk E: sales@lapplimited.com T: 0208 758 7800

CONNECTING

YOUR ROBOTICS BUY ONLINE AT WWW.LAPPGROUP.CO.UK