We’ve been watching the development of humanoid robots with interest, but Goldman Sachs has some sobering points to make. For one thing, humanoid robots can only work for an hour or two without recharging. While one of the great things about automation in general is the ability of machines to work steadily 24/7 with no… Read more »
Rexroth recently reported that 65% of electronic drive repairs in the UK are done by “gray repair” shops. That is, rather than providing factory repair with original parts, they just fix ’em up in their shop. Rexroth doesn’t sell parts to these shops. Just the words “gray repair shop” conjure unsettling images. It sounds like… Read more »
Tesla’s Optimus Prime humanoid robot was a disappointment, but a new outfit called Figure has something they think is a step up: Figure 1. We can say for sure that they are better at making videos their robot than Tesla was, but the video (which cannot be embedded here — sorry) doesn’t actually show the new robot… Read more »
Factory dust poses a major threat to worker health and safety due to its potential to cause a variety of health problems. Dust is a major by-product of industrial production and is created by processes such as cutting, grinding, sanding, and other activities that generate fine particles of dust. This dust can contain a variety… Read more »
Do women have special, different takes on robotics? We’re not sure, but we did read with interest an article from Packworld on the subject. Much of their discussion was about women in the robotics industry, and their needs for mentorship and sponsorship, and we’re all for that, but it’s not exactly robotics per se. Friendlier… Read more »
Many recent innovations in robotics center on new ways of helping humans and robots work together. Robots, trainable robots, AI-powered healthcare bots — many new and exciting ideas have turned up recently in proof of concept research. But how have robots affected humans in the real world, on the factory floor or the loading dock?… Read more »
Roboticists have been trying to build intelligent robots for a long time. Industrial robots are programmed to perform specific tasks, and they carry those tasks out flawlessly, but they aren’t really intelligent. An industrial machine isn’t going to be able to carry out non-programmed actions or even respond to unexpected scenarios or circumstances. With our… Read more »
Generation Z, or GenZ, is the cohort of individuals born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s. They have grown up in a world dominated by technology, which has had a significant impact on their learning styles and preferences. We’ve seen evidence that on-the-job training is one of the solutions to the skills gap and… Read more »
Exoskeletons offer a lot of potential in industrial situations. Recent research has identified another use case: improving balance. Researchers at Georgia Tech supplied healthy young people with robotic boots and then automatically but literally pulled the rug out from under them — using motion control and motors to move the floor they were standing on…. Read more »
Last summer Hyundai faced charges of employing children in its factories in Alabama. They cleaned up their act, but Labor Secretary Marty Walsh just got a letter from a group of legislators claiming that they’re back to their old tricks. “Clearly, there is a systemic effort within the Hyundai supply chain to recruit child labor… Read more »