Robot Roundup Volume 3

Here is your weekly round up of the latest headlines in the world of robotics!

The latest addition to car factories... Autonomous robot dogs!

Gone are the analog car factories and facilities of the past. Now they house some of the latest on most intricate technologies to improve, promote and increase production. Evolution has been a huge topic in car factories over the years with the focal points being speed of assembly and and optimization of resources. Most assembly lines are like clockwork and can assemble a car in minutes, but autonomous robot dogs have been incorporated for control.

宝马 has incorporated SpOTTO, the curious robot dog to its staff at the Hams Hall factory in the UK. SpOTTO goes round collecting a variety of valuable data during his rounds at the factory. He supervises maintenance and on three levels is able to capture, analyse and interpret data to know if something is incorrect.

Of course this isn't the first time we've seen this robot dog, the Boston Dynamics creation has been present in other programmes, in this case the name SpOTTO is a hybrid of the robots name (Spot) combined with the name of one of BMW's founders, Gustav Ott.

Symbotic reshaping the supply chain...

HQ'd out of Wilmington Massachusetts, Symbotic has emerged as a leader in developing innovative solutions with the goal of improving supply-chain efficiency. Their "SymBots" are deployed in warehouses across North America and are autonomous AI-powered mobile robots.

Symbotic have taken a deliberate approach to make sure they get it right. Their proprietary algorithm directs robot-to-robot handoffs in a specific way that boosts the speed and efficiency of moving goods through the warehouse.

The algorithm was developed inhouse by Symbtoic after some underwhelming results with an external firm. After the results they looked inward, creating space for a different approach. An engineer developed the algorithm that accomplished exactly what was needed.

Chief Strategy Officer Bill Boyd has said; “We’ve had the time and the resources to make mistakes, get better, be thoughtful, and also look to the future,”

Realtime Robotics gets Series B funding from Mitsubishi Electric

Realtime Robotics, Inc. announced this week that they have secured a strategic investment from Mitsubishi Electric leading the recently opened Series B round. The company have said they intend to use the funding to refine and scale its robot workcell and runtime systems, which will help engineers reduce costs and increase productivity.

Peter Howard , CEO of Realtime has stated; “Realtime is helping manufacturers realize the next wave of efficiency improvements necessary to get the most out of their new and existing automation applications.”

Realtime are a leader in automatic, collision-free motion planning for industrial robots. In iterative design stages, the optimization software rapidly generates and evaluates hundreds of thousands of possible solutions.

The Boston-based company claimed that its systems expand the potential of automation, empowering multiple robots to work closely together in collaborative workspaces.

SK on invests $26m into Yuil Robotics

SK On is set to invest 36.7bn won/$26.7m into industrial robotics company Yuil Robotics. The investment is to secure a stable supply chain of robots necessary for factory automation and other "smart factory" needs.

Through the acquisition of Yuil, SK plans on accelerating the construction of spart factories and will apply robotic technology to its US factories. Based on the results of this plan, they will expand the application of related robotic technology to its global factories.

Following the capital increase, SK battery America will become the second largest shareholder in Yuil Robotics with a 14.6% stake, with CEO Kim Dong-Heon as the current largest shareholder.

Yuil robotics were established in 2011 and produce Cartesian robots, articulated robots, and collaborative robots. Its automation system portfolio includes the Auto Feeding System, a smart factory solution essential for factory automation, and cooling systems

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Thanks for taking a read into volume 3. Next week we have our first feature with Steve Mefford from 灵动科技 (北京) 有限公司 giving us insight into the differentiation between the ForwardX offering and what sets them apart in the industry of "Moving Material"!

Please don't hesitate to get in touch on any other topics at: ruairidh.barr@jacksonhogg.com