The monthly magazine for the robotics and automation industry Issue 17 September 2018
CONSCIOUS COMPUTERS
Sensor Readings
Media is a tough business. But we’re surviving
S
Editorial
Contents
Abdul Montaqim, Editor ome readers might imagine that we make a lot of money with this magazine and its associated website, RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com. But, unfortunately, that is not true. We’re actually running at a loss – despite our best efforts. RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com is a subscription website and we carry ads, for which we ask visitors to switch off their ad blockers. Some readers might imagine that brings us a lot of money. But that’s probably because they don’t know what the media business is like – it’s very tough. There are literally millions of websites out there, actually hundreds of millions. Even in our specific, very niche market, there are many dozens of very reputable, high-quality and long-established sites. We are a new website but we are doing well. We are competitive. We have a lot of readers – more than 200,000 unique visitors last month – but that does not mean we make a lot of money. If you really want to know, we make around $500 a month from subscriptions and approximately $100 from automated ad networks which, needless to say, pay extremely low rates. That’s a total of $600 a month. It’s not much, but it’s something. If we didn’t ask for subscriptions and ask you to switch off your ad blockers, we’d make exactly zero income. So we are very grateful to those who become paying subscribers and read our site despite ads they’d rather not see. While many people probably unconsciously believe that websites should provide them with information free of charge, we don’t think that’s right or realistic in some cases. We’re not a propaganda outlet for any government or corporation or anything – we’re independent. The regular journalists and other professionals who work on this site each have around 30 years’ experience in the media. We understand it might be difficult from some readers’ point of view – there are so many sites and so many ways one can spend money. But we need your support to keep going. And we know for an absolute fact that the number of readers who appreciate the information we provide far outnumber the one or two who complain. But even the people who complain only complain about the money and are paying us a compliment in a way. To us, their complaints mean they like our site and want to read it, but want it to be free and not to have ads. We just can’t do that right now – we’d actually like to. Maybe in the future when we have more or better-paying advertising clients or enough subscribers to pay all our bills. For now, we ask that you understand that we are trying to keep this website and magazine going – and it will keep going – with your support. Thank you. l editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Singapore: Preparing for an AI transformation Artificial Intelligence What will save use when conscious computers take over?
Warehousing 30 warehouse and supply solutions Artificial Intelligence How AI is being used to translate some of the world’s most mystifying texts
News: Singapore sets up new robotics startup incubator China: Building a new trade empire Marketplace
Sensor Readings magazine
Editorial & Production
Managing Editor Anna Schmidt
Editor Abdul Montaqim
Art Editor Mark Allinson
Email annaschmidt@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Email abdulmontaqim@roboticsandautomationnews.com Email markallinson@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Marketing & Advertising
Advertising Manager Maria Santiago Email mariasantiago@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Advertising Executive Sam Francis
Email samfrancis@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Marketing Director David Edwards Email davidedwards@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Monsoon Media, London, United Kingdom Subscriptions: £10 per year (digital only) Single issue: £1 (digital version)
www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Sensor Readings
News
News
Singapore establishes new robotics and automation startup incubator
T
he tiny Asian island city-state of Singapore has opened a new incubator office and workshop to support startup companies in the robotics and automation sector. The “Robotics Centre” is the result of a partnership between Action Community for Entrepreneurship, a private sector organisation, and Advanced New Technology Incubator, the venture capital arm of PBA Group. PBA is an engineering company and technology integrator which specialises in providing motion control, robotics and automation products. While Singapore is known globally as a financial services centre, its industrial companies have recently turned their attention to the robotics and automation sector and there have been some notable developments in recent months. For example, last month, PBA Group partnered with South Korea’s Hanwha Robotics to establish a collaborative robot production facility in Singapore. And a few months ago, Singapore’s ST Engineering acquired US maker of mobile robots Aethon with a view to expanding into new markets. And HP opened its first smart manufacturing centre in Singapore towards the end of last year. This latest development, the establishment of an incubator for robotics and automation startups, is likely to accelerate innovation in the sector. And if it can emulate Singapore’s financial sector, the 5 million population on the very small island off the coast of Malaysia will likely become a go-to place for the Asian robotics and automation industry. As reported on OpenGovAsia.com, the new Robotics Centre was formally opened at a ceremony attended by Dr Koh Poh Koon, senior minister of state for trade and industry and national development, who is also ACE’s patron. As part of the collaboration, ACE will provide business-related support and editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
mentorship for the startups, while PBA will provide industry-specific expertise, resources and contacts in the sector. The centre will provide improved access to support services, innovative technologies and networks from Singapore’s startup community for startups in the robotics and automation space.
800 startups The community at LaunchPad, where the centre is located, houses about 800 startups and more than 50 incubators from a diverse range of industries. The majority of the companies based here are in the IT and media sector. Other industries include engineering, biomedical, financial technology and urban solutions. Individuals or companies looking to explore opportunities to collaborate with or tap into the support provided by the centre can register their interest with ACE. In addition to the resources and support provided to startups, the centre aims to generate greater awareness among companies and seed interest about robotics among individuals. It includes a display area that will showcase different robotics and automation solutions throughout the year. As part of the tour during the event, Dr Koh was introduced to PBA’s “Golden Retriever” automated robot systems (main picture).
PBA says the Golden Retriever is a patentpending technology designed for transporting items within production, warehouse, fulfilllment and distribution centres at a fraction of the cost of existing competitors. Derrick Yap, chief executive officer of PBA Group, said: “The LaunchPad Robotics Centre will be an integral part of our efforts to drive the development of the robotics and automation ecosystem in Singapore. “The initial phase of being a robotics startup tends to be the most difficult, and we are excited to work with ACE in providing the support required to help these companies succeed. “The display of innovative technologies and solutions will also help to encourage greater industry awareness and developments integral to driving greater overall adoption.” Edmas Neo, executive director of ACE, said: “As the national private sector-led organisation supporting the growth of Singapore’s startup community, ACE is delighted to be working closely with PBA Group, a company with a vast amount of experience in the robotics sector, to help spur the growth and development of more automation focused startups in the ecosystem. “This comes at an opportune time as the expected acceleration in the growth of the global robotics landscape will present many opportunities for many of our startups here to thrive and flourish.” l www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
News
Sensor Readings
News
ABB to drive innovation with new global digital solutions centre in Singapore
A
BB is expanding its presence in Singapore with the establishment of a new process control and automation hub for the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. ABB is setting up a new “Digital Solutions Center” in Singapore to drive innovation and bring pioneering solutions to its customers worldwide. Scheduled to open by the end of the first quarter of 2018, the center is part of ABB’s Control Technologies business. It will develop innovative solutions, merging cloud, information and operational (IT and OT) technologies. ABB says these developments will “help customers harness digitalization to improve energy efficiency and increase operational agility across a number of industries”.
Transformation journey Anne-JiaQi Yang, manager of ABB’s Control Technologies business for the Asia-Pacific region, says: “As more enterprises are exploring digital strategy to transform their business models and improve customer experience, we aim to be part of their transformation journey. “With this investment, we are able to build up local capability for application development and ensure we are well equipped to meet our customers’ increasing need for advanced Internet of Things solutions.” Focused on fast-paced, agile development for direct implementation in customer projects, the center will use a mix of ABB’s editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
own technology and new developments in research and development. This approach will allow customers to have access to the very best solutions fit for their needs, ahead of schedule, and under budget. It will include key technologies from the company’s comprehensive digital offering, ABB Ability, ranging from the leading distributed control system ABB Ability System 800xA to ABB Ability Data Center Automation for control, monitoring and optimization of mission-critical infrastructure. In addition, ABB Ability Manufacturing Operations Management offers end-to-end visibility of industrial operations. The center is the result of strong collaboration and ongoing support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). Lim Kok Kiang, assistant managing director, EDB, says: “We are pleased that ABB has chosen Singapore to anchor its global Digital Solutions Center. ABB’s latest investment is aligned with Singapore’s efforts to digitally transform our manufacturing industry. “We look forward to ABB partnering key industry partners in Singapore and the region to develop new digital solutions in the
“
ABB’s latest investment is aligned with Singapore’s efforts to digitally transform our manufacturing industry. – Lim Kok Kiang, EDB
Industrial IoT space.” Singapore was recently identified as the most digitally competitive economy by IMD. The center will support Singapore’s industrial transformation and growth journey by harnessing technologies and developing digital capabilities that will help it realize its “Smart Nation” vision.
Strategic presence The global Digital Solutions Center is the latest development strengthening ABB’s strategic presence in Singapore, adding to its advanced manufacturing footprint that already includes a Regional Robotics Application Center and Marine Collaborative Operations Center. ABB is also behind a number of pioneering projects that are changing Singapore’s infrastructure landscape, such as the VolvoNTU autonomous e-bus project, floating solar photovoltaic test-bed at the Tengeh Reservoir and the iconic Marina East Desalination Plant. ABB in Singapore employs over 1,000 people, of which about one-third work in digital and software areas. Ilpo Ruohonen, managing director of ABB’s Control Technologies business, says: “Singapore is a natural choice considering how the economy is willing to explore and adopt digital technologies to transform government practices and business models. “ABB will continue to deepen its commitment to Singapore as a key growth market and an important talent base to power growth.” l www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Insight
Singapore
Singapore prepares for transformation
Country insight: A number of global industrial companies that make heavy use of automation, as well as robot manufacturers, have been setting up operations and agreeing partnerships in Singapore
S
ingapore is so small that you could walk from coast to coast in less than an hour, with a coffee break halfway into your stroll. Located in southeast Asia, at the southern edge of Malaysia, Singapore island has a total land area of around 700 square kilometres. And its population is tiny too, numbering well under 6 million, 75% of whom are of Chinese background, 13% Malay, and 10% Indian, with “others” accounting for the rest. Yet, despite being tiny in so many ways, Singapore is a very powerful country and economy on the world stage. It doesn’t go in for politics much beyond ensuring stability so it can do business – and it does business editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
extremely effectively. The nominal gross domestic product of Singapore for 2018 is forecast to be way more than $300 billion, which when divided by its 6 million population is at least $50,000 each. This means that the average Singapore resident is the 10th richest national in the world. There are many sectors of the economy one could highlight to illustrate how Singapore excels, most famous perhaps is its financial sector. But this website is interested in industry and industrial technology – specifically robotics and automation technologies, as often seen in the manufacturing and logistics sectors. And in these sectors, you might not expect to find much activity in Singapore since its financial sector is so huge that you imagine it employing virtually everyone, leaving very few to work in factories and warehouses. Singapore is considered a global financial hub, on a par with Hong Kong, Dubai, Tokyo, London, Frankfurt and New York. www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Singapore
“
It is against this dynamic background that one of the world’s largest trade show companies is launching a new event in Singapore aimed at industrial companies.
But, surprisingly perhaps, according to the Singapore government’s Department of Statistics, the financial sector does not account for the largest share of GDP, as show in the list below.
Share of Singapore GDP by industry 1 Manufacturing: 19.2% 2 Wholesale and retail trade: 17.6% 3 Business services: 14.8% 4 Finance and insurance: 13.3% 5 Construction: 4.3% 6 Transportation and storage: 7.2% So, it’s manufacturing that is the biggest part of the Singapore economy, which may surprise some people outside the country who regularly see headlines about the country’s financial sector. If total GDP is $300 billion, then manufacturing’s 20% share would equate to around $60 billion. Not only is manufacturing the largest sector, it’s also growing quite fast. Last week, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry released figures that show the economy is growing at more than 4% a year, but manufacturing is growing at a rate of 10% as reported in the Financial Times. Moreover, Singapore has recently shown what appears to be a newly found enthusiasm for robotics and automation. Robotics and Automation News has reported stories recently about large, global industrial companies which either heavily use automation in their operations or editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Insight actually manufacture robots themselves have been setting up operations and agreeing partnerships in Singapore. Here are some interesting developments from recent months that we have covered: l ABB establishes global digital solutions centre in Singapore l Singapore establishes new robotics and automation startup incubator l Hanwha partners with PBA Group to open collaborative robot production facility in Singapore l Pratt & Whitney ups production at advanced factory in Singapore l HP opens first advanced manufacturing centre in Singapore l Universal Robots puts on a show in Singapore for people interested in its technologies It is against this dynamic background that one of the world’s largest trade show companies is launching a new event in Singapore aimed at industrial companies. Deutsche Messe is the German company behind the annual Hannover Messe and CeMAT shows, both of which take place in April, 2018. The venue for those shows is in Germany – Hannover Fairgrounds – and it takes up an area almost the size of Singapore. Now, Deutsche Messe has partnered with a Singapore company called Singex to organise the Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific event, scheduled for 16th to 18th October this year. The venue, Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre, is owned by Singex, and approximately 150 exhibiting companies and 5,000 visitors, as well as 25 speakers and 500 participants, are expected at the Industrial Transformation conference. The event is supported by government-connected organisations such as the Agency for Science, Technology and Research; Economic Development Board Singapore; and Enterprise Singapore. Being an international city-state, the show will naturally have a global outlook, but with particular attention on details such as smart factory developments, connected industry, and virtual technologies – much of which can be described by the umbrella term “Industry 4.0”. “Technological advancements are redefining manufacturing processes, design and production facilities, distribution systems and global supply chains,” says Singex. “Manufacturers and businesses in the region recognise that current business models are no longer sustainable. The time has come for companies to start, scale and sustain their adoption of Industry 4.0 processes and solutions. “Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific will be the engaging and inclusive event where stakeholders and targeted audience groups convene for networking and knowledge transfer opportunities for business success.” l www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Hanwha partnership to open production facility Insight
Singapore
Country insight: Hanwha has partnered with PBA Group to open a collaborative robot production facility in Singapore
H
anwha Robotics, part of the South Korean industrial giant Hanwha Group, is partnering with engineering company PBA Group to open a collaborative robot production facility in Singapore. The facility will be located at Yishun Industrial Park on the tiny island city-state, according to ChannelNewsAsia.com. PBA is a Singaporean company and has also reached an agreement with local engineering giant ST Kinetics – part of the group which recently bought Aethon – covering a wide range of activities relating to robotics and automation projects. Imports Currently, Singaporean engineering and industrial companies buy all of the robots they need from overseas companies, importing them when necessary. But once the HanwhaPBA facility is operational, at least one robotic machine will be available locally – the Hanwha collaborative robot.
Hanwha has only relatively recently entered the collaborative robot market, demonstrating its first model, the HCR-5. But then, the industrial collaborative robots market itself is relatively new, and a number of companies have entered the market. The collaborative robotics market is said to be potentially larger than the traditional industrial robot market.
This is because traditional industrial robots tend to be of the large, heavy type which are almost exclusively used in large factories, such as automaking facilities, and they tend to be caged off to separate them from human workers. Safe for humans Collaborative robots are smaller and are safe for humans to work with, much like any other power tool, although more sophisticated and with some level of autonomy. Singapore has a gross domestic product of more than $500 billion, despite the entire population of the nation being only 5 million people. Its manufacturing sector is said to make up approximately 20 per cent of the economy. Hanwha is a large industrial company, with annual revenues of more than $53 billion, for which robots are a relatively small of the overall operation. l
“
The collaborative robotics market is said to be potentially larger than the traditional industrial robot market. editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
China assembles a new trade empire Features
Belt and Road: China’s hugely ambitious Belt and Road initiative is much more than a revival of the ancient Silk Road
A
“
In terms of its trade with the European Union, China sells approximately double the amount it buys
lot has been written already about the so-called Belt and Road initiative or project, but it looks like this is just the beginning. On the face of it, the Belt and Road refers to a plan to create a logistics network that brings together Europe and Asia with road, rail, and sea routes. It’s an idea China came up with, and its leaders have made enthusiastic pronouncements about it, even though the project will cost an estimated $1 trillion over the next decade or two. But it’s an open-ended, complex project, so such estimates could just be Communist Chinese propaganda. The term “Belt and Road” is often used interchangeably with “One Belt One Road”, which is abbreviated to Obor. But whatever term or acronym is used, it means the same thing – the building or upgrading of infrastructure and access routes for smoother transport in Eurasia. Air routes are less often discussed, but that’s probably because there are fewer challenges there in terms of terrain and border crossings. Sea routes are also probably relatively straightforward. But road and rail routes are fraught with difficulty and it’s questionable whether anything worthy of the ambitious articulation of the idea is actually constructed. Of course, each country on the Eurasian landmass has its own road and rail transport network. Connecting them up is also to some extent already done. What the Belt and Road initiative appears to be suggesting is making that patchwork of connections into a secure, trouble-free network, perhaps with special agreements like the ones that exist between the European Union countries. EU countries, in principle at least, have freedom of movement rules which allow, for example, trucks and trains to cross borders with minimal fuss. In practice, it may be more complicated, but achieving any level of coherence or integration across the entirety of Eurasia would be nothing short of historic. In recent months, the first ever direct train services
editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
China
from China to Europe have completed their planned journeys. But road freight is yet to capture the headlines in the same way. It may be that there aren’t really many products that could be more suitable for road transport. Meaning, what could China send to Germany, for example, by road that it could not send by plane or train? There are many questions like these which demand details to be put on the Belt and Road plan, but there does seem to be momentum developing which would, at the very least, bring about significant improvements to the transport infrastructure of Eurasia.
Where is Eurasia? The Eurasian landmass stretches from the east coast of China to the west coast of France. It’s probably the world’s largest landmass so not being able to see the wood for the trees there is probably understandable. In the past – and we’re talking centuries ago – the Silk Road or Silk Route would be the way for Chinese traders to send their goods to the west, whether that was indeed silk or some other goods popular outside of the country, such as porcelain. Some people talk of the Belt and Road as the reopening or revival of the SIlk Road, although the old name was far more interesting. Generally speaking, the goods exported by China through the ages have tended to be manufactured items. Porcelain and silk may still make its way out of China, but these days, electronic devices are a big part of consignments. According to WorldsTopExports.com, the main exports from China in 2017 were: l Electrical machinery, equipment: US$599 billion (26.4% of total exports) l Machinery including computers: $382.9 billion (16.9%) l Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefab buildings: $89.8 billion (4%) l Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $73.6 billion (3.2%) l Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $72 billion (3.2%) l Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $70.6 billion (3.1%) l Plastics, plastic articles: $70.6 billion (3.1%) l Vehicles: $67.4 billion (3%) l Articles of iron or steel: $57.3 billion (2.5%) www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
China
l Toys, games: $55.3 billion (2.4%) In total, China shipped almost $2.3 trillion worth of goods around the world in 2017. In terms of its trade with the European Union, China sells approximately double the amount it buys, which, while still creating a big deficit, may surprise some people who might imagine China buys little or nothing from Europe.
EU-China trade in goods While the eventual aim is to create better transportation networks across Eurasia, the initial benefit to locals dotted across the entire region would be that their local Obor site will bring in money for construction – this is already happening in some areas. These construction projects are likely to improve the local infrastructure by upgrading or establishing such things as: l new roads and places where trucks can stop and drivers can rest and purchase supplies; l internet connections and improvements in telecommunications; l power and electricity distribution or generation. Many or all of these projects would put the Obor idea firmly within the market in which engineering giants such as Siemens operate. So it’s no wonder then that the Siemens CEO, Joe Kaeser, recently attended a high-powered business conference in China, where he met with many leading companies there. Siemens signed agreements with at least 10 Chinese companies – mostly from the engineering, transport and infrastructure sectors – relating to a number of areas such as: l power generation; editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Features
l energy management; l building technology; and l intelligent manufacturing. The conference was something of an achievement for Kaeser and Siemens, both in terms of its enormous scope and detail. Such initiative changes the perception of the Obor idea from what some consider a quixotic delusion, or at least an impossibly complex proposition, into a realistic series of business deals. ABB and many others could be considering similar manoeuvres relating to what may turn out to be lots of Obor projects all across Eurasia, but Siemens seems to have stolen a march on its rivals in this regard. Kaeser took the opportunity at the Chinese business conference to highlight Siemens’ “vast technology portfolio” which he said places the company in a unique position to help in the Obor project, something he noted has already proved to be a “powerful force for accelerating infrastructure development” in many participating countries. As well as the Chinese central government lending its weight to the Obor project, there are many satellite organisations working towards whatever goals might be related. One of them is the Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce, which is a transnational business confederation mainly composed of national commercial associations in the Silk Road regions. Jordi Yang, who is in charge of publicity and planning for the organisation, says on his LinkedIn page: “The SRCIC has over 110 organizational members from 75 countries, including state-level associations and millions of
“
Siemens recently signed agreements with at least 10 Chinese companies – mostly from the engineering, transport and infrastructure sectors
www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
China
HKTDC Research
Features
Inset picture: Chinese company Suningr has showcased a driverless truck
enterprises affiliated, forming up a community of shared interests, shared responsibilities and a shared future.”
Kings of the long roads On a reasonably straight road, you’re looking at a 10,000mile journey between Beijing and Berlin. The manufacturing zones of China are further down south. By plane, it takes more than 10 hours. By truck, it would take way more than 100 hours of constant driving, and a similar amount of time by train. There’s probably no feasible reason to take goods by road or rail from Beijing to Berlin, as there are probably closer places where the same goods can be bought from a wholesaler or something. But that is unlikely to stop people thinking about the idea and wondering how a variety of related issues can be resolved. One of the most important issues is finding people who would drive the truck. Inevitably, the discussion arrives at driverless trucks, two of which have recently been showcased – one by Chinese company Suningr, and the other by German company Daimler. Other companies such as Otto are developing driverless trucks and autonomous vehicle technology, and it’s quite possible that remote regions of Eurasia will be the first open transport networks traversed by commercially operational autonomous trucks made by these companies. One of the main issues relating to driverless vehicle technology is safety. Roads are busy everywhere and
editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
have a lot of humans on them, either as drivers or pedestrians. In the mining industry, or on private land, autonomous vehicles are generally not restricted in their operation. It could be that remote regions where very few people ever drive or visit could see the first driverless trucks carry goods through the area. But driverless does not mean completely lacking in any monitoring. Trucks can be monitored and even controlled from remote locations, from anywhere in the world. The closer they are to the data connection, however, the better. And this is an area which is also seeing development. Chinese company Citic Telecom CPC last year acquired a Netherlands-based company called Linx, which gave it access to a data network across many parts of what would be the Obor region. Stephen Ho, CEO of Citic Telecom CPC, says in an interview with Robotics and Automation News that the growth of the logistics network envisioned in the Obor project will necessitate faster and more reliable data connections, although not necessarily because of autonomous vehicles. Driverless vehicles need to make split-second decisions while on the move, which makes onboard computers essential – a remote connection would not be fast enough. However, they will still need good internet connections for many of the other functions, as will many companies and people all across the Obor network. l www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
RE.WORK The leading global events company in AI and deep learning. We create and organise globally renowned summits, workshops and dinners, bringing together the brightest mind in AI from both industry and academia. At each RE-WORK event we combine the latest technological innovation with real world applications and practical case studies. Learn from global pioneers and industry experts, and network with CEOs, CTOs, data scientists, engineers and researchers disrupting their industries with AI. We also provide an analysis of current trends and innovations, through podcasts, white papers and video interviews. We also have an extensive ondemand video library of presentations from world-leading experts in AI.
Voted #1 Best Artifical Intelligence Conference for Business Leaders in 2018
➤➤➤ Upcoming events
Opinion
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence versus natural stupidity Opinion: Ignorance is bliss. Sam Francis ponders on what will save us when conscious computers take over
T
heoretically speaking, computers can be programmed to mimic everything that a human says or does – or thinks. That might not be the reality now, but most people would probably accept that it’s only a matter of time before we see a fully-functioning humanoid robot, cyborg or android that is indistinguishable from the average human. But even when they are able to copy us in every way, editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
walking like us, talking like us, and so on, can they, in theory, become conscious? One problem with answering that question properly is that not everyone agrees on the definition of consciousness. For the purposes of this opinion piece, I will go with the dictionary definition rather than get into a philosophical debate about something most people intuitively understand in a commonsense way. Consciousness, according to the dictionary, is “the state of being conscious; awareness of one’s own existence, sensations, thoughts, surroundings, and so on”. www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Artificial Intelligence
Opinion But by most accounts, they are not thought to have passed the Turing Test.
The Uncanny Valley Another concept is probably more appropriate here, and that is something called the “Uncanny Valley”, which refers to the point at which a computer or robot displays some human-like features but is, ultimately, recognizable as a machine. And while Siri and its like might be impressive residents of the Uncanny Valley, the most creepy coterie has got to be the robots made by Boston Dynamics. Perhaps they just appear more spooky because we can see them walking, running, opening doors and so on in uncannily realistic ways, while Siri et al are just disembodied voices. But this is an area of technology that is progressing so fast that many are revising their forecasts as to when AI systems will not only leave their Uncanny Valley abodes but also drive past the Turing Test. Some argue that it’s already been passed by some systems, but we are discussing consciousness, so let’s stick to that for now. However, it would be interesting to make a couple of lists at some point in the future: one made up of conscious computers in science fiction – HAL9000, Skynet and so on; and another about their real-life equivalents, Siri, Alexa and so on. That’s not to say that Siri and Alexa will take over our smart home and lock us out or anything like that. No. It just seems they are the closest thing we have to the AI in sci-fi.
Another definition is “the thoughts and feelings, collectively, of an individual or of an aggregate of people”. And a third version is “full activity of the mind and senses, as in waking life”. By any of the above definitions, it could be argued that most animals are conscious. But let’s not make things too difficult and instead stick to computers and robots, which are more than convoluted enough.
The Turing Test The famous computer scientist from the 1940s, Alan Turing, who is regarded by some as the originator of artificial intelligence, devised what is now known as the “Turing Test”. To pass this test, a computer or robot is required to interact with a human in such a way that the human cannot tell it apart from another human. Chatbots, which mainly use text communication, and voice-only AI systems such as Siri, Cortana and so on, have come a long way towards being passable as humanlike in their conversation and most have even found their own homes in today’s “smart speakers”. editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
A still image from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The emergence of artificial consciousness There’s a relatively new area of research called “artificial consciousness”, also known as “machine consciousness” or “synthetic consciousness”. These terms tend to refer to both AI and robotics, or “cognitive robotics”, which just means a robot that learns. This area of research is probably opening up because of the tremendous advances in computing – both in terms of storage capacity and processing capability. In the past, these things would have been done on supercomputers or mainframes because they would be the only systems capable of the job. Now, not only are supercomputers and mainframes more readily available, cloud computing also offers another option for the heavy-lifting part of the development work. Additionally, both computing hardware and software is available that makes developing AI solutions relatively easy – for some people – than it would have been in the past. But while AI methods such as machine learning and deep learning can give software and the specially-made hardware that it runs on the ability to learn from vast amounts of data it collects and then use what it has www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Opinion
Artificial Intelligence
learned to behave in human-like ways, unfortunately, we return to that philosophical question: What is consciousness?
Consciousness, according to the dictionary, is “the state of being conscious; awareness of one’s own existence, sensations, thoughts, surroundings, and so on”.
Back to the source The reason we have returned is because it is indeed generally accepted that it is a matter of time before computers and robots pass the Turing Test, and a matter of time before materials science is able to produce synthetic flesh, bones and even organs which can form the hardware components of an android which cannot be differentiated from a human in any physical or behavioural way. What is left, then, is philosophy or religion and questions about the mind, heart and soul and so on, none of which have yielded answers that everyone agrees on – even after thousands of years of arguments and wars. Many people, or maybe most people, believe there is more to consciousness than simply being aware and being able to learn and adapt, and so on. But by the dictionary definitions that we used above, we give it less than a decade before humans are interacting with humanlike androids without realizing it. Maybe even less.
is indeed generally accepted that it is a matter of time before “Itcomputers and robots pass the Turing Test editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Unknown unknowns Perhaps what most people mean when they wonder if robots will ever become conscious is whether these super-intelligent, super-strong robots will realize that they could relatively easily make like Skynet did in the original Terminator film and start killing us all off. Certainly, it’s a theoretical possibility. Otherwise, why would there be so many films like Terminator? It seems that all these super-intelligent systems want to take over and kill us all – and there’s virtually no exception to that science-fiction rule. But our saving grace may be that we ask questions. While robots and AI may be able to work out all the answers faster and better than us, it may never be able to ask the profound questions that we do. This was something suggested by artist Pablo Picasso, who said: “Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.” And while the ability to ask questions can also be programmed into an AI system, we actually do not know the extent of our own curiosity. We do not know what questions we will ask – or will need to ask – in the future. Ignorance may or may not be bliss, but that very ignorance may be the quality – if it can be called that – which saves us from total annihilation by the arrogant, egotistical, self-important, self-aggrandizing, megalomaniacal robots of the future. l www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
3D DESIGN
Design your machine today. Receive it tomorrow Vention is a free web-based CAD loaded with industrial parts that ship next day.
Design and Build in Minutes A single environment to design, order and assemble industrial equipment
2
1
3
DESIGN
ORDER
ASSEMBLE
Create an assembly using Vention’s browser-based 3D MachineBuilder™ and library of modular parts.
Review your bill of material and order using a credit card or purchase order directly from Vention's website.
Receive your flat-pack box and assemble your machine as you would for IKEA™ furniture.
r
Hidden Features
Artificial intelligence
meanings Artificial intelligence: Sam Francis investigates how artificial intelligence is being used to translate some of the world’s most mystifying ancient texts
T
he ancient world is full of mystery. Many mysteries, in fact. Many mysteries indeed. Who built the monolithic and megalithic structures found all over the world? Why did they build them? How did they build them? What technology did they use? And perhaps most importantly from the point of view answering all the other questions: Where are the texts that the builders produced? We assume that if the ancients were capable of building structures that modern humans cannot replicate even now with the latest technology, they must have been a literate civilization which recorded and stored information.
But where is it? These are among the multitude of questions that have actively and specifically preoccupied archaeologists and historians for more than a century. A huge amount of progress has been made as a result of the dedicated pursuit of the answers. It has spawned a multibillion-dollar global tourism industry and some relatively well-funded academic projects. A lot of museums and films can also be said to be somewhat editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
beholden to this obsession with the ancient past. But in terms of definitively answering those big questions, progress has been rather slow and painstaking. The Rosetta Stone It would, of course, help if more artifacts like the Rosetta Stone were discovered. The Rosetta Stone, created in around 200 BC and discovered in the year 1800, is a black stone on which three different languages were written – Egyptian hieroglyphics, Greek, and a more common Egyptian language called Demotic. This stone enabled people studying ancient cultures to finally understand the Egyptian hieroglyphics which cover acres of surface area on pyramids and temples in the country. The presumption is made that the three statements on the Rosetta Stone are direct and literal translations of each other, but since academics have been studying it for a long time, we can probably safely make that presumption. Other ancient languages, however, are proving more evasive. The Indus Valley civilization, which is said to be one of the oldest ever discovered, used a language that is defying almost all attempts at translations because it has no established relationship with any other language on Earth, although it is pictorial in part. The Sumerian language is more amenable to translation because some Sumerian people appear to www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Artificial intelligence
Features shattering proportions is if and when they are applied to ancient texts. Almost all cultures which have ancient religions talk of “sky gods” and wars fought in the skies. Until recently, these stories were generally thought to be myths and allegory. But as new information is gathered, researchers are connecting the dots and the picture that is emerging is quite amazing.
have been bilingual, also speaking a contemporary language called Akkadian. Translation work has so far been undertaken by humans, but soon, artificial intelligence systems will, inevitably, be used to not only speed up the process, but also improve accuracy – and perhaps identify similarities and patterns across many languages that humans may not have the time or ability to interpret.
The greatest whodunnit in history Taken together, the global effort to learn about human history has become the greatest whodunnit in history. Optical character recognition has been around for some time and is typically used to scan a physical text document and create digital representations of the letters and words it contains. OCR technology has become near-enough flawless, which means that the old job of “copy typist” has pretty much disappeared. Unless, of course, the typist has to copy a handwritten document or, worse still, translate text from one language to another. Automated translation algorithms have made much progress and services such as Google Translate can save much time, although it’s probably advisable to check and edit what it produces as the translation. Where such translation software may help humanity to make discoveries of literally eartheditorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
“
Some people may be astonished when they first learn that the layout of the pyramid complex at Giza, Egypt mirrors the star constellation of Orion
Aligning with the stars Some people may be astonished when they first learn that the layout of the pyramid complex at Giza, Egypt mirrors the star constellation of Orion. The largest pyramid aligns with the largest of the three stars in Orion’s Belt. The smaller two align with the other two. This correlation was said to have first been spotted in modern times by Robert Bauval, in 1983, and it may have opened up the field of study to a whole new perspective, one which integrates the ancient structures with not only this planet but also many other celestial bodies very directly. Until recently, the pyramids are thought to have been 5,000 years old. But the last time the three stars of Orion’s Belt aligned perfectly with the three pyramids at Giza was around 10,000 years ago, which obviously means that these structures may be much, much older than previously thought. Hieroglyphs may shed some light on this, but given that some people believe hieroglyphs are the work of later civilizations, no one yet knows what information will emerge. Computer games giant Ubisoft last year partnered with Google on an interesting project which it announced at the time of the launch of its Assassin’s Creed Origins game. Ubisoft unveiled what it called “The Hieroglyphics Initiative”, a machine learning-based research project which uses Google’s TensorFlow technology. The company said it would simplify the decipherment of hieroglyphics, and made the project open source. “By making the Hieroglyphics Initiative an open source project, we aim to create a new connection between two things that we love at Ubisoft – history and technology,” said Pierre Miazga, Hieroglyphics Initiative Project coordinator at Ubisoft. Perrine Poiron, an Egyptologist based from the Sorbonne University, in France, said: “The Hieroglyphics Initiative not only has the potential to save us time as Egyptologists, it could unlock the magic of hieroglyphics for a new audience.” Image recognition is the specific technology that is being developed to translate the hieroglyphs, and this is categorized in the machine learning branch of AI. Meanwhile, or at least within 5-10,000 years or so of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, millions of clay tablets were inscribed with strange scripts. www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
“
Features
Only around 10 percent of all the discovered Sumerian texts have so far been translated, so the AI system being built by the academics has a lot of work to do.
Below left and right: Sumerian cuneiform and a Sumerian tablet
Artificial intelligence The text on a large proportion of these tablets is said to be in “cuneiform”, which features wedge-shaped impressions on the soft clay, making them look like a whole load of tiny golf course flags. Cuneiform could probably be said to be an abstract form, whereas earlier forms of Sumerian texts were figurative in that they used pictures, much like hieroglyphs. This figurative form of language or writing is called “logographic”, and is said to be part of the ancient Mesopotamian culture, sometimes referred to as “the birthplace of writing”, although this is probably debatable given the ongoing discoveries being made all around the world. In any case, the translation of ancient texts into modern languages is probably a tortuous process for even the most knowledgeable of academics, very few of whom specialise in this field. A new initiative that may help these long-suffering human translators of Sumerian clay tablets is being developed by a group of academics which includes Émilie Pagé-Perron, Maria Sukhareva, Ilya Khait, and Christian Chiarcos. Their paper, Machine Translation and Automated Analysis of the Sumerian Language, presents a newly funded research project which will use natural language processing – a recognized term in AI – to “create an information retrieval system for Sumerian”. The academics say the project is in response to the need to translate large numbers of administrative texts that are only available in transcription, in order to make them accessible to a wider audience. Only around 10 percent of all the discovered Sumerian texts have so far been translated, so the AI system being built by the academics has a lot of work to do. What we can read into this The 10 percent that has been translated are royal texts – written by and for the royal and ruling families in contemporary Sumerian culture.
editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
But they reveal some deep insights into not only the ancient world but also into space, which we are only now beginning to understand. More on this later. And although the 90 percent of Sumerian tablets that have yet to be translated are thought to be more mundane in nature compared with what has been already deciphered, being as they are legal and administrative, it’s very likely that they, too, will feed the fascination that many millions of people share about ancient cultures. The AI system of translation could obviously be applied to other ancient languages in time. But there may be some – like the Indus Valley language – that remain stubborn because they share no words or terms with other languages, which may close the door on further understanding until more artifacts and information is unearthed, perhaps literally by the archaeologists. Even with the door closed against them, some academics are using artificial intelligence to try and understand the ancient Indus Valley language. In their paper, Entropic Evidence for Linguistic Structure in the Indus Script, a group of academics is using artificial intelligence methods to try and find patterns in the language of the ancient Indus Valley inhabitants. The academics are Rajesh Rao, Nisha Yadav, Mayank Vahia, Hrishikesh Joglekar, R. Adhikari, and Iravatham Mahadevan. Interestingly, some researchers have speculated that the reason why the ancient Indus Valley disappeared relatively suddenly is that a nuclear war occurred thousands of years ago, pointing to evidence of radiation poisoning found in corpses at sites such as the Harappan region. Descriptions of nuclear weapons and their aftermath – the way they affect humans – can also be found in Hindu religious texts, which are written in Sanskrit, a language we do understand. While most people may be tempted to dismiss the ancient nuclear war hypothesis immediately, there are new discoveries being made that may explain what the
www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
“
Artificial intelligence
Features
A group of academics is using artificial intelligence methods to try and find patterns in the language of the ancient Indus Valley inhabitants.
The presumption is made that the three statements on the Rosetta Stone are direct and literal translations of each other
Hindu religious texts were referring to. While an actual nuclear war in the modern sense of the term is difficult to believe, what is undeniable is that these stories of terrible, destructive wars fought in the skies and featuring massive explosions also appear in other ancient texts which have no known direct connection with Hinduism – one example is the ancient Sumerian texts.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Without going into too much detail, in the Sumerian version, it’s interesting that an alien being called Enki is mentioned. Interesting because Enki is phonetically similar to the word Encke, which is a term modern scientists use as the name of a comet associated with something called the Taurids. The Taurids is a meteor shower that looks like it emanates from the star system Taurus. Some people – including myself – have probably never figured out why star constellations are said to resemble animal and human figures, except in the case of the Horse Head Nebula. But anyway, the Taurus star system is said to refer to the bull, which was a revered animal in ancient times, and still is in India. The comet Encke is on an elliptical orbit of the sun – which takes about three-and-a-half years – and its path crosses the Earth’s orbital path. Furthermore, the orbit path of Encke is strewn with debris from the explosion which destroyed what was probably a planet on that orbital path. editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Whatever it was that created the debris, the meteor showers associated with it can be seen with the naked eye from Earth twice a year. In other words, Earth crosses the Taurid orbital path twice a year and that is when the debris – in the form of small meteors – hits our planet. It’s possible that these were seen by the ancients and that is what they wrote about, and a particularly bad meteor shower could have destroyed their civilizations. What is to say that the pyramids were not gigantic weapons created to shoot death rays to destroy particularly large meteors or other large cosmic objects? Given that evidence is emerging to suggest that the Great Pyramid of Giza and other pyramids were actually designed not as tombs but as structures to concentrate and direct energy, and were interlinked somehow across the world, it’s possible. Who knows? The people who built them obviously did. But they seem to have taken their plans with them, or hidden them somewhere which has prevented them being found in literally thousands of years. If they are ever found, those will be the only user manuals that many people will ever read. l
“
The 10 percent [of texts] that has been translated are royal texts – written by and for the royal and ruling families in contemporary Sumerian culture. www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Features
Warehousing
Smart operators: 30 warehouse and supply solutions
Warehousing: While Amazon has been leading the way in warehouse and supply chain automation, many challenger systems and technologies are emerging
I
t took a while to get going, but after many years of relatively slow progress, now, the market for logistics and supply chain robotics and automation is in good flow. A significant number of companies have developed systems for automating warehouse operations – both in the area of software and hardware. But while Amazon has taken the lead in warehouse editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
automation by building its massive logistics operation around the Kiva Systems robots it acquired, other companies are catching up. Many of the new warehouse robots being released by new companies can do what Amazon’s Kiva robot does, in that it can, basically, move things around a warehouse. The details of each system can be omitted from this article since this is just a roundup of as many robotics and automation technologies as we can find in the area of logistics and supply chain. Actually, it’s more supply chain, as that involves warehouse operations. Logistics can encompass the same thing, but then so too can supply chain. Luckily, industry jargon is also beyond the scope of this article. www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Warehousing
Features NextShift Robotics The people behind this company – one of whom was NextShift CEO Mary Ellen Sparrow – are the ones who developed Harvest Automation’s autonomous vehicle, which was specifically aimed at the agriculture sector. NextShift, which specialises in this type of robot, developed the concept and now offers the TM-100 to a wide range of industries for their warehouse operations.
Omron Omron is a huge, sprawling and complex industrial automation company with a massive range of products, so its Mobile Robot LD is a relatively small part of its global operation. Nonetheless, it’s an important enough technology that Omron has established a separate website for the autonomous vehicle.
EiraTech Robotics This company specialises in developing automation solutions warehouses and e-fulfilment centres, and describes its EiraBot mobile robot as “one of the best performing, most efficient and safest” robotic vehicles on the logistics market.
Magazino This machine is different from the others on this list in some obvious ways. First of all, it is larger, and looks like a shelf unit in part. The way it works is different as well, and the company may have very specific markets in mind.
Basically, we’re talking about warehouse robotics and automation. We have not specifically made a distinction between automated and autonomous vehicles, but many companies are developing both. Also, we have excluded Amazon Kiva from the list because it is not available to the general market. But we have included some software towards the end because often that is what brings the whole system together, within a warehouse and beyond.
Kuka Kuka is, of course, famous for making industrial robotic arms seen in many factories around the world. But in the last year or so, the company has shown a growing interest in adding different types of robots to its range. The Kuka KMP 1500 – a mobile robotic platform vehicle for warehouses – is one of those robots.
Comau Another company better known for building industrial robotic arms, Comau recently released its own mobile robotic platform vehicle for warehouses, the Agile 1500. This is the first model within the company’s automated guided vehicles range. editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
“
While Amazon has taken the lead in warehouse automation by building its massive logistics operation around the Kiva Systems robots it acquired, other companies are catching up
inVia Robotics This startup has developed a warehouse vehicle which it claims is “the only goods-to-box logistics”. The inVia bot LD is already working away in Rakuten warehouses and in other facilities, deals which inVia CEO Lior Elazary would have been working on when we interviewed him.
Fetch Robotics Fetch Robotics is probably the most well-known warehouse robotics and automation solutions provider. The company recently expanded its VirtualConveyor range of Fetch autonomous mobile robots with the addition of CartConnect and RollerTop robots.
Clearpath Robotics Clearpath is another really well-known company. It produces a relatively large range of autonomous vehicles for a variety of different settings. For the industrial sector, it has developed two mobile platforms under the model name Otto, not to be confused with Uber’s Otto driverless trucks. Aethon Despite being a relatively new technology, Aethon has somehow managed to become an established part of many hospitals. Last year, the company was acquired by ST Engineering and its Tug mobile robots can increasingly be found lounging around in hotels. www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Features
Warehousing
IAM Robotics A rather sophisticated-looking robot which features an arm as well as a mobile platform, IAM’s mobile picking robot – or rather its underlying Swift Solution Suite – was awarded a patent for its invention towards the end of last year. The complete system is likely to be available to the wider market some time this year.
6 River Systems Established by some of the people behind the original Kiva Systems, before it was acquired by Amazon for more than $775 million, 6 River Systems raised $25 million for its warehouse robotics journey. The first product, Chuck, is said to offer pick rates that are two or three times faster than systems of the past.
Grenzebach A relatively long-established company in this space, Grenzebach provides automated guided vehicle system. It has also expanded into robotics, which has seen the company develop autonomous tuggers, forklifts and robotic arms on mobile platforms. It’s a company we should feature on this site at some point.
Balyo Another company we haven’t much featured on this site – except for mentioning them in passing for developing quite impressive-looking warehouse robots. There’s only so much we can do – we’re a small team, it’s hot, the air conditioning isn’t working, the internet’s down, the coffee’s run out, the dog ate my notes, and the aliens are interfering with galactic communication signals affecting our powers of concentration. Relevant web page.
Seegrid Seegrid makes warehouse robots that look similar to those we have seen on Balyo, although they probably have many technical differences that we don’t know about. Seegrid’s robots now have a new API which is said to make fleet management easier and more efficient. Plus One Robotics Plus One Robotics has been in stealth mode for some time while it develops an advanced, vision-based picking system. This is something that is proving far more difficult than the average person might appreciate if they don’t know how complex human movements are when they are converted to zeros and ones.
Swisslog Swisslog has featured on this site a few times because of various reasons. For one, it was acquired by Kuka, and then won an important contract with large, Asian logistics company Yusen. The Swisslog CarryPick system – which is basically an autonomous mobile platform – is now being developed jointly with Kuka.
editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
“
GreyOrange appears to be locked in battle, in Asia at least, with Geek Plus Robotics. Both are ambitious startups and both are enjoying tremendous success
AutoStore This is a company we have mentioned as part of larger features, such as our review of the Deliver e-logistics event, but it probably deserves more highlighting since its technology is often part of a larger package that is supplied by other companies, like Swisslog, for example. Basically, it’s a new type of automated storage and retrieval system, or ASRS in industry parlance.
GreyOrange GreyOrange appears to be locked in battle, in Asia at least, with Geek Plus Robotics. Both are ambitious startups and both are enjoying tremendous success. GreyOrange has recently launched Butler PickPal for what it describes as “auto-fulfilment” in logistics centres.
BlueBotics Quietly doing good business in some obscure corner of Europe is BlueBotics, which towards the end of last year launched a new version of its Ant autonomous vehicle guidance system. As well as that software, the company has developed its own hardware, called Mini, which it says is suitable for cleanrooms and light logistics. www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Warehousing
Features Geek Plus Robotics Geek Plus Robotics has been busy fulfilling orders from customers who often need a lot of guidance on how to actually implement robots in their operation. The company has recently added to its product range with a mobile robot – called the S20 – that has a bit of a conveyor belt attached to its top.
Kivnon Kivnon is a long-established provider of intralogistics solutions and is favoured by the large companies, many of which are automakers such as Seat, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, of course. In an interview with this website, Kivnon’s commercial director, Rob Keij, talked about the new robotics and artificial intelligence technologies the company has developed. Effidence Effidence appears to have developed a strong partnership with DHL. The company has supplied a number of robots for the logistics giant’s warehouses as well as its other operations, including the delivery of Formula E motor cars. Denis Niezgoda, robotics accelerator lead at DHL, gave this website an insight into the company’s thinking about automation.
Serva Transport Systems This is a company that worked with automotive giant Audi to develop a robot that can pick up a regular familysized car clean off the ground and move it and park it where it is required. The robot, called Ray, has won awards and the team behind it is said to be “obsessively improving” the system.
Vecna Robotics Vecna is another of the more well-known names on this list and appears to using its influence and technology to build partnerships with key companies, such as Topper Industrial and RightHand Robotics. Vecna’s mobile robots recently won a DHL logistics automation competition.
Mobile Industrial Robots Mobile Industrial Robots has been the subject of many headlines recently, partly because the Danish company was acquired by US industrial giant Teradyne, which also bought the other famous Danish robotics company, Universal Robots. MiR has released a new, heavy-load carrying intralogistics robot, the MiR 500, and specialises in this type of robot, according to its CEO, Thomas Visti. editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
“
Serva Transport Systems worked with automotive giant Audi to develop a robot that can pick up a regular family-sized car clean off the ground and move it and park it
Waypoint Robotics This company used to be called Stanley Robotics. With the name change has come numerous new technology launches, in software as well as hardware. It has also developed an innovative wireless charging system for robots with the help of WiBotic. The Waypoint Vector is probably the most suitable vehicle for warehouses.
Locus Robotics Another of big names, Locus was one of the very early entrants into this market after Kiva disappeared into the Amazon empire. The company recently released the third generation of its navigation system – called Puffin – for its robots.
Daifuku Wynright If we’re going to include a company like AutoStore on here, we should also mention Daifuku Wynright, the world’s largest material handling company. Daifuku Wynright has an ASRS called Shuttle Rack which is tremendously successful and its conveyor systems are probably the leaders on the global market. Giovanni Stone, director at Wynright Robotics, gave us an insight into the colossal company.
Warehouse management systems And just to round off the 30 – or thereabouts – we should mention warehouse management systems in general, the software. We did an article about them recently, which lists a few of the leading providers of what is now standard software in the industry. l www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Marketplace
Sensor Readings
Marketplace: companies p Associati A i tiions: Robotics and Automatiion
Robotics Society of o Japan sj.or.jp The Robotics Socieety of Japan promotes progress in academic ields and providess specialists with ith a venue for f an nnouncing i heir research and d exchanging echnical informattion.
euRobotics AISBL L eu robotics net eu-robotics.net
British Automation & Robot Association bara.org.uk
Acttuation t ti
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 b ti iindustry d t worldwide, ld id tto protect its business interests, to cause public awareness about robotics technologies and to deal with other matters of relevance to its members.
PHD PHD is a leading manufacturerr of industrial automation actuators, rs, designed to help companies across all industries optimize their manufacturing processes. s. phdinc.com
Witte enstein
ATC
From m machine tools or woodworking oodworking and packaaging machines through robotics and handling equip ipmentt tto ffood d processing, i pharm maceutical and medical techn nology or intralogistics, Wittenstein actuators keep you one step ahead of the competition. witten nstein-us.com
The Actuator Technology Company operatess independently and is located close to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. rt. W are acclaimed We l i d and d appreciated i t d for offering vital design support during FEED and detailed design stage (EPC). atc-actuators.com
IEEE Robotics and Automation Society ieee-ras.org
euRobotics AISBL is a Brussels based internationaal non-profit ssociation for all stakeholders n European robotics. euRobotics builds upon the su uccess of the European Roboticss Technology Platform and the academic a network of EURON N, and will ontinue the coopeeration between members of these two ommunity 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 Industriess Association obotics.org
China Robot Industry Alliance cria.mei.net.cn
The Robotic Industtries Association RIA) drives innovaation, growth, and safety in manu ufacturing and service industtries through g education, promottion, and advancement of roobotics, related automation technoologies, and companies deliverring integrated solutions.
CRIA is a non-profit organization composed of enterprises, manufacturers, universities, research institutes,, regional g or local robotic associations, related organizations as well as organizations in the fields of R&D, manufacturing, application and services of the robot industry.
editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Ham--Let More than half a century of excellence servicing the high purityy and process industries with designing, developing, producing and marketing of fluid system comp ponents. ham-let.com let.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 nk Robotics Our p patented SEA technology uses springs to advance the robot’s motioon control solution from one of rigid positioning to one of force contrrol. rethin nkrobotics.com
Parker Parker actuators come in a wide de range of construction types, ranging g g from compact p light g duty aluminum air actuators, motorized electric actuators, to heavy duty hydraulic designs. parker.com
www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Sensor Readings
Marketplace
Marketplace: companies Computing C ti & Software
Arduino Arduino is an open-source computer hardware and software com mpany, project and user commun nity that designs and manufacturess kits for building digital devices and d interactive objects that can sense and control the physical world d. arduino.cc
IIntegr t ration ti & Proce ess
Cogn nex No matter m what the machine vision n application, Cognex offers a complete mplete family of vision products—from standalone vision systeems to 3D vision software— that p provide unparalleled accuracy and repeatability. cognex.com
RoboDK
Raspberry Pi
Rockwell Automation
Offline programming has never been easier thanks to RoboDK. You don’t need to l learn b d brand-specific ifi lan l guages anymore. RoboDK handlles the robot controller syntax and a outputs the right program for your robot. robodk.com
The Raspberry Pi is a series of credit caardsized single-board d computers develooped in the UK b the by th Raspberry R b Pi Foundation F d ti with the intention of promoting the teaching of baasic computer science in schoolss. raspberrypi.org
Preferred in ntegration starts with using plug-and-play -and-play technology, which means ns robots connect through Ethernet/IP hernet/IP with software and d service i e interfaces i t f that simplify design, sign, operation and maintenance ce efforts to improve machine and nd overall line OEE. rockwellautomation.com tomation.com
Adept Adept pt has cultivated and maintained ntained key partnerships with indusstry-leading integrators, OEMs, and machine builders acrosss the globe and throughout numerous erous application segments. adept.com
Evana Auto omation
KUKA.WorkVisual Dassault Systemes Robotics Programmer p provides a 3D environment wheree robot programmers can create, program, simulate and vvalidate an entire robot workcell. 3ds.com
Programming. Coonfiguration. Loading. Testing. Diagnosis. Modifying. Archiving. KUKA. WorkVisual group ps all the steps of a project together in a homogenous offline development, online diagnosis and a maintenance environment environment. kuka-robotics.com m
Evana specializes alizes in designing and implementin ng robotics automation solutions thaat fit your specific manufacturing ing needs. Let our robotics eng gineering and robotics manufacturing ing experts develop a custom robotics otics automation solution that meets your requirements. evanaautom mation.com
NewBotic Corporation NewB Botic is a robotic systems integ grator, best known for its sp pecialized engineering services that designs advanced transsformative manufacturing and wareehousing processes for a wide variety of industries. industries newb botic.com
FANUC Autthorized Integrators
Aldebaran by Softbank ABB RobotStudio Aldebaran enables both novices and experts to use its roobots 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 p prrofitabilityy of your robot system m by letting you perform tasks succh as training, programming, and optimization without disturbing g production. abb.com
editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
An Authorized zed FANUC Integrator is ready to analyze your system requirements nts and provide a robotic solution olution that will improve quality, ality, throughput, and productivityy to g p give yyou the return on investment ent you are looking for. fanucamerica.com ica.com
Gene esis Systems Geneesis Systems Group designs, builds and implements p robotic arc welding w systems, assembly autom mation systems and robotic toolin ng, material handling solutions, non-d destructive inspection cells and robotic tic waterjet cutting systems like n nobody else. genesis-systems.com
www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Marketplace
Sensor Readings
Marketplace: companies Microcon Mi ntrollers t ll & Microcchips
Freescale Freescale F l Semico S i nductor d t enables bl secure, embedded d processing solutions for the In nternet of Tomorrow. Freesccale’s solutions drive a more innovvative and connected world, simplifying s our ives and making u us safer. reescale.com
Atmel Atmel Corporation n is a worldwide eader in the desig gn and manufacture of microcontrollers, capacitive touch soolutions, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio requency compon nents nents. atmel.com
Silicon Labs Silicon Labs is a team of hardwarre and software innovvators dedicated o solving our custtomer’s oughest g embeddeed design g challenges. silabs.com
S nsors Se Ranesas
Alphasense
Renesas Eleectronics Corporation, the world’s number n one supplier of m microcontrollers, is a premier su upplier of advanced semiconductor solutions including microcontroollers, SoC solutions and a broad rang ge of analog and power devices. renesas.com m
Alphasense has established a reputation as a reliable sourcee for a wide range of gas sensorr technologies. We supply high-quality Oxygen,CO2, toxic and flammable Gas sensors to many of the world’s leading industrial OEMs. alphasense.com
STMicroelectronics
4D Te echnology
Sensiron
A world lead der in providing the semiconducctor solutions that make k a positive iti contribution n to people’s lives, both today and in n the future. st.com
4D Teechnology designs and manu ufactures laser i t ferometers, interf f t surface roughness profilers and interfferometry accessories. 4dtecchnology.com
Sensirion is a leading sensor manufacturer, providing relative ve humidity sensors and flow sensor solutions with unique performance. sensirion.com
Infineon
Sano
Hansford Sensors
We provide semiconductor and system solutions, utions, focusing on three centraal needs of our modern society: Eneergy Efficiency, Mobility and Securityy. infineon.com m
Sano is a biomeetric sensoor and software company with a paten nted, breakthrough sensor that w will help people understand what’s happening inside their bodies es through continuously monitoring toring important markers in their bodies’ chemistry. sano co sano.co
At Hansford Sensors, we design, gn, develop and manufacture a wide range of high performance ce industrial accelerometers, vibration transmitters (loop powered sensors) and ancillary ry equipment. hansfordsensors.com
Texas Instruments
EMX
TI’s microcoontroller platform offers innovvative devices with integrated on-chip o architectures, unique intelllectual property, system expeertise in key markets, and a comp prehensive ecosystem y of software, tools and support. ti.com
EMX is one of the world’s leading ing innovators of specialty sensorss in the factory and process automation markets. Our sensors sors are used in automotive, packaging, ging, labeling, g, metal stamping, p g, p paper per and wood processing, plastics,, electronics and pharmaceutical al manufacturing. g emxinc.com
editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Synap ptics Synap ptics is a world leader in cap pacitive touch sensing p g techn nology. This patented techn nology is at the heart of our indusstry-standard TouchPad produ ucts and other solutions. synap ptics.com
www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Logistics 4.0 meets Industrie 4.0 Hannover Germany cemat-hannovermesse.com #HM18 #CeMAT
D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N
T CeMA r get he o t w no NOVER N A H with MESSE
P L AT F O R M S
MAN -MACHINE PAC K AG I N G LO G I ST I C S 4 .0 A U T O M AT I Z AT I O N IN COMMERCE
World’s leading trade show for intralogistics & supply chain management
Marketplace
Sensor Readings
Marketplace: companies Kawa ada
Kawasaki
SynTouch
For over 40 years,, Kawasaki has been improvin ng technology to meet the high demand of assembly applicattions. Kawasaki’s innovative hardwaare and software can help you solvee your complex assembly challenges. kawasaki.com
SynTouch LLC developed and makes the only sensor technology in the world d that endows robots with the ability to replicate - and sometimes exceed - the human sense of touch. uch. syntouchllcc.com
3D Robotics 3DR helps people see th heir world from above. As North Am merica’s largest personal drone company, c 3DR is a pioneer in making advanced, easy-to-use drone d technology. 3dr.com
Hond da Robotics
DENSO Robotics Yaskawa Yaskawa Motoman offerrs a wide range off industrial i d t i l robot b ttic ti arm models for high-speed p precision assembly and small parrt handling including high-performaance sixaxis robots; flexible seveen-axis manipulators; dual-arm m robots with 15 axes; and more. motoman.com
Universal Robots Universal Robots is a ressult of many years of intensive research in robotics. The product portfolio includes the collaborativve UR3, UR5 and UR10 robot arm ms named after their payloads in kiilos. universal-robots universal robots.com com
Vecna Vecna’s robotic logisticss solutions are a familyy of autonomoous mobile robots, built to operate within human-centric environments. vecna.com
Cutting edge technology, class leading prod ducts and groundbreaking systems ystems are only part of what you can expect when you choose h DENSO Robotics. R b ti densorobotics.com m
”Servving society throu ugh technology,” b has been Kawada’s mission since its inception in 1922. Our mission has been accomplished through techn nological innovations in a vast rangee of operations, including projeects involving transportation, energ gy, and information, all basic necessities of society. globaal.kawada.jp
Hond da has further advanced intellligence technologies enabling its ad dvanced humanoid robot ASIM MO to act autonomously and perfo form uninterrupted i t t d service i tto officee guests. hond da.com
SCHUNK SCHUNK iss one of the largest manufacturer f t rer for f automation t ti components, s, toolholders and workholding equipment. schunk.com m
Epson
iRobo ot
With over 45,000 robots installed in factories throug ghout the world, many of the top manufacturing companies rely on n Epson Robots every day to reducce production costs, improve prooduct quality, increase yields an nd help increase their bottom line. epson.com
iRobot’s ot’s home robots are revollutionizing the way people clean n – inside and out. More than 10 million home robots have been sold worldwide. www w.irobot.com
Robotiq Our goal is to enable all manufacturers rers to take full advantage of robotics. We work with robot manufacturers, system integrators and end-users to automate applications pplications that require fexibility fexibility. robotiq.com m
TEUN
Future Robot
TEUN is a compreehensive concept, based on n a smart unmanned machine, the PIQR. The concept has been developed to offerr a solution for the frequently q y com mplex p laborintensive and expeensive way of unloading contain ners. teun.com
We, Future F Robot, aim to create an exxemplary service robot markket. We deal with Coupon Advertising Robot, Mobile Infotaainment Service, Robot Event Serviice,, and manyy more.
editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Honeybee Robotics Since 1983, Honeybee has completed p over 300 p projects j for NASA, the U US Department of Defense, accademia, industry and artists. honeybeeroobotics.com
www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
Sensor Readings
Marketplace
Marketplace: companies Brain Corpo oration Energid
Stäub bli Stäub bli is a mechatronics solutions provider with three dediccated divisions: textile, connectors ectors and robotics, serving customers omers who want to increase their productivity in many indusstrial sectors. staub bli.com
Energid Technolog gies develops dvanced softwaree and robotic ystems for the aeerospace, griculture, manufacturing, ransportation, deffense, and medical industriess. energid.com
Brain Corpooration develops software, haardware, and cloud services forr consumer robotics. Our goal is to t make intelligent and useful m machines a part of everyday lifee with the world’s first training-bassed operating system for robots – BrainOS. braincorporration.com
Ekso Bionics
Bosch Robo otics
DMG Mori Ellison
Ekso Bionics helpss urvivors of strokee, pinal cord injury aand other forms of low wer extremity weakness k to t walk lk again. i ntl.eksobionics.coom
We are workking on Personal Robotics and the enabling technologies. Our interdisciplinary team conducts research on topics such h as mobile bil manipulation, i l ti navigation, p perception and semantic an nalysis of 3D data. bosch.us
DMG Mori Ellison Technologies is a provider vider of advanced machining solutions to North American metal-cutting manufacturers and th i global their l b l affiliates. ffiliates. ellisoontechnologies.com
ASI
DAIHEN
Autonomouss Solutions is a world leeader in vendor independentt vehicle automation systems. Frrom our HQ in Utah, we serve clients in the mining, agriculture, automotive, governmentt, and manufacturing industries w with remote control, teleoperatioon, and fully automated solutions solutions. asirobots.coom
The D DAIHEN Group makes it our m mission to provide products and services indispensable to primaary industries around the world d, including first and foremost the poower industry or so-called “lifeline” of society. daiheen.co.jp
Dyson Dyson recently invvested in a oint robotics lab with w Imperial College London too investigate ision systems and d engineer a generation of houssehold robots. dyson co uk dyson.co.uk
Clearpath Roboticcs
Axium m
We build the world d’s best unmanned vehiclees for research nd development. Our products will save time, money and headaches on your next project. learpathrobotics. p .com
Axium m designs, manufactures and in nstalls a complete range of autom mated solutions for robotic material handling (palletizing, depallletizing, case packing, and perip p pheral equipments) q p and transformation of plastic products. axium msolutions.com
Aethon Aethon is beest known for its TUG autonomouss mobile deliveryy robot which transports medications, meals and materials m through hospitals. aethon.com
editorial@roboticsandautomationnews.com
Aurotek Aurotek delivers high valueadded services and solutions, and helping customers achievee greater value through its introduction of advanced and quality components, acquirement ment of new technology concepts. robot.com.tw
Apex Automation and Robotics Apex Automation A A t ti and d Robotics R b ti s is an Australian company specialising in the design and manufacture of custom-built automation machines and robotic otic systems. apexautomation.com.au
Adept Adept systems provide unmatched ched performance and economic value throughout the production on lifecycle, enabling customers too achieve precision, quality and productivity in their assembly, handling and packaging processes. sses. adept.com
Reis Experts know REIS as creative pacemaker for process-oriented d system y solutions. Since 1957 our ur way has been going dynamicallyy up. The fundamentals: Inventive genius, nius, competence, innovative power, and reliability. reisrobotics.de
www.roboticsandautomationnews.com
SENSOR READINGS
Special Supplement
Agri Malaysia 2018 All the exhibitors from the premier agritech exhibition in Malaysia
19, Tkt 1, Jalan Ria, Taman Ria, 42600 Jenjarom, Selangor, Malaysia. (GST ID No.: 001485250560)
World Internationally Patented Palm Sickle
BIO Semi Organic Fertilizer
IRRIGATION SOLUTIONS DESIGN
BUILD
MANAGE
D r ip p e r
D r ip lin e
Im p a c t S p r in k le r F e r �liz e r In je c t o r S p ra y Je t
S p r in k le r
F ilt e r
西班牙肥水
2 1 -2 1 -2 1 5 -5 -3 1 0 -5 0 -1 3 0 -1 0 -1
1 + 0 + 0 + 0 +
T E
T E T E T E
Please Scan This QR Code & Visit Our Website
SENSOR READINGS the monthly magazine from RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com
Read the magazine at
https://issuu.com/roboticsandautomationnews
To advertise, email sales@roboticsandautomationnews.com
NEXT ISSUE
The monthly magazine for the robotics and automation industry
Issue 17 September 2018
CONSCIOUS COMPUTERS
SENSOR READINGS
Special Supplement
LogisWare 2018 All the exhibitors from the premier logistics exhibition in Malaysia
IS YOUR
PRODUCT AT
RISK?
Reliable, Robust & Low Cost
Multiple Alerts via Mobile App, SMS, Email, Phone Call or Siren
Compliant Data Logging
Easy data & report access from PC, smartphone or tablet
VISIT US AT BOOTH
A47
The #1 Award-Winning Enterprise Fleet Management Solution
The world’s most sophisticated telematics device QTelematics’ GO7 IVMS device is a powerful measurement tool with pinpoint accuracy on GPS vehicle tracking and is suitable for use on a diverse range of vehicle, including hybrids. It is easy to install and provides the richest collection of information from a vehicle possible. To date, there are more than 1.2 million active Geotab tracking devices worldwide! How GO7 IVMS Solution Benefits Your Business • Increase the productivity and safety of your vehicles with the ability to locate your entire fleet at any time. • Monitor and manage the behaviour of each driver. • Ensure compliance with Workplace Health & Safety legislation. • Reduce unnecessary vehicle expenses including fuel costs. • Improve the condition of your vehicles by reducing wear and tear.
The GO7 IVMS Features Include: • Real time monitoring. • Second-by-second tracking. • Driver behaviour (harsh acceleration, braking & cornering) measured via in-built accelerometer. • Unlimited geo-fencing, rules and notifications. • Accident reconstruction report. • Fuel economy reporting. • Automated reporting. • Over 50 standard reports, and allows you to customise your own reports. • Numerous expandability options (e.g. driver ID, panic button, reefer temperature monitoring).
+603 6201 7727
sales @ qtelematics.com w w w. q t e l e m a t i c s . c o m
Compressed Wood Pallet
www.jsintl.co.kr JSI GLOBAL SDN.BHD. (1039511-X)
Providing Essential Trade Information At Your Fingertips Malaysia Logistics Directory
Malaysia Marine & Offshore Industries Directory
Malaysia Food Business Directory
www.msialogistics.com
www.msiamarineandoffshore.com
www.foodbizmalaysia.com
Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Directory
Malaysia Source Book For Architects & Designers
Malaysia Builders Directory
www.micemalaysia.com
www.asiabuilders.com.my
www.asiabuilders.com.my
also availa ble online at
s www.timesdirectorie
.com
Follow us on Facebook: Marshall Cavendish Business Information
MALAYSIA Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Business Information Division, Bangunan Times Publishing Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. T. (603) 5628 6888 F. (603) 5636 9688 E. bizinfo@my.marshallcavendish.com
SINGAPORE Marshall Cavendish Business Information Private Limited 1 New Industrial Road, Times Centre, Singapore 536196. T. (65) 6213 9288 F. (65) 6285 0161 E. bizmktg@sg.marshallcavendish.com
HONG KONG Marshall Cavendish Business Information (HK) Ltd 10/F, Block C, Seaview Estate, 2-8 Watson Road, North Point, Hong Kong. T. (852) 3965 7800 F. (852) 2508 0603 E. bizinfo@hk.marshallcavendish.com
THAILAND Green World Publication Company Ltd 244 Ladprao 107, Bang Kapi, Bangkok 10240, Thailand. T. (662) 378 2388 F. (662) 769 8120 E. info@greenworldmedia.co.th W. www.greenworldmedia.co.th
HSM – the Expert’s Choice for Shredding and Compressing. Explore the latest world-leading solutions for compressing materials, shredding paper and electronic data media and for creating packaging materials. www.hsm.eu Your local HSM distributor:
www.B2Boffice.com.my TOLL FREE LINE: 1-300-222-800
We welcome you to LOGISWARE, Stand A40
Lock your energy cost. Be competitive. Our energy solutions for your ease of mind
Visit us at Booth A25, LOGISWARE 2018 T: +6 03 7957 8388 | F: +6 03 7957 8387 | E: info@pathgreen.com.my | W: www.pathgreen.com.my
Your Leading Systems and Solutions Provider WE OFFER SOLUTIONS THAT KEEP YOUR BUSINESS MOVING AT EVERY LEVEL!
Production Unit/ Manufacturing Barcode label printer & scanner Inventory Management Solutions Display real-time information Forecast production output
Retail / Front Office Document Management System POS System Interactive Kiosks
Toshiba E-Workflow
Logistics / Back Office
Automates workflow processes Cost efficient & saves time Remotely handle approvals & inputs
Mobile Delivery Management System (MDMS) Asset Tracking System Fleet Monitoring & Control
Instant status update & progress monitoring
Interactive Screen
Please drop by our booth at Multifunction Printer
A31
or visit us at www.toshibatec.com.my Barcode Label Printer
POS System
View The Digital Version Of Truck & Bus News @
www.truckandbusnews.net FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Linkedin - Truck & Bus News
@TruckBusNews
Truck & Bus News
For enquiries & subscriptions, please e-mail: kenny@tyreman.com.my Tel: (0060) 3-7781 1323 Fax: (0060) 3-7782 4215
SENSOR READINGS the monthly magazine from RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com
Read the magazine at
https://issuu.com/roboticsandautomationnews
To advertise, email sales@roboticsandautomationnews.com
NEXT ISSUE
The monthly magazine for the robotics and automation industry
Issue 17 September 2018
CONSCIOUS COMPUTERS