Daily Archives: June 15, 2017

Back in 2009, Sobeys found itself at a crossroads.

Labour costs were rising, employee productivity was waning and the grocer knew that it had to keep building bigger distribution centres to accommodate the growing number of items being sold in its supermarkets.

So instead of building out and hiring more workers, the national grocery chain built up and replaced many employees with robots.

"The combination of labour costs going up and SKUs (stock keeping units) being on the rise kind of forced us to start thinking outside the box and try to find a technology to help us resolve those issues," said Eric Seguin, senior vice-president of distribution and logistics for Sobeys, during a tour this week at the company's largest warehouse in Vaughan, Ont.

Eric Seguin, Senior Vice President of Distribution and Logistics, watches products go by at the Sobeys Vaughan Retail Support Centre, equipped with robotics for automation in Vaughan, Ontario on Monday June 12, 2017. (Mark Blinch/Canadian Press)

Sobeys is one of a small number of Canadian retailers that have embraced robotics technology. Others have been reluctant to follow suit, experts say, due to a lack of investment, a lack of access to the technology and for a long time, a lack of competition.

Today, Sobeys operates four robotics distribution centres: two facilities north of Toronto spanning 750,000 square feet, another in Montreal and one in Calgary that opened earlier this month.

Unlike its 21 traditional warehouses, the mostly-automated centres rely on robotics instead of workers to pull items off the shelves and pack them onto pallets to ship to its 1,500-plus grocery stores.

The robots, which whiz up and down rows of stacked products piled up to 75 feet high for 20 hours a day, have resulted in reduced employee costs and quicker and more accurate deliveries, Sobeys says. It's also allowed the Stellarton, N.S.-based grocer to double the amount of items that can be stored.

One robot does the work of four employees, according to Seguin.

Products go by at the Sobeys Vaughan Retail Support Centre, equipped with robotics for automation in Vaughan, Ontario on Monday June 12, 2017. (Mark Blinch/Canadian Press)

"The robots don't get tired," Seguin said.

"They always show up the morning after the Stanley Cup final. They are always there the morning after the Super Bowl. It doesn't matter if it's 35 (Celsius) and a beautiful weekend."

The company has spent between $100 million to $150 million on each of its robotics facilities. Seguin says retailers, especially those in the grocery industry, have been slow to adapt due to the high upfront investment costs.

But that attitude is changing and fast, says retail consultant Doug Stephens.

"Retail in this country has enjoyed for many decades a bit of a dearth of competition, which is coming to an end now," said Stephens, who recently wrote a book called Re-Engineering Retail.

"With the influx of U.S. players in the last decade and certainly with the presence and impact of Amazon, Canadian retailers are really having to awaken to the idea that if we don't adapt and change and compete we're going to be in big trouble."

Behemoth multinational corporations like Amazon and Walmart have raised the stakes for Canadian retailers, offering lower prices, as well as quick and often free delivery or pickup services.

A tray crane is seen in operation at the Sobeys Vaughan Retail Support Centre, equipped with robotics for automation in Vaughan, Ontario on Monday June 12, 2017. (Mark Blinch/Canadian Press)

Last year, Canada's oldest retailer, Hudson's Bay Company, said it was spending more than $60 million in robotic upgrades to its 725,000-square foot Toronto distribution centre. Online orders that would've taken up to 2 1/2 hours to locate and pack manually are being shipped out of the warehouse and onto a truck within 15 minutes.

"We're really just on the cusp of the capabilities of these technologies," said Stephens.

While manual labour jobs are being lost in retail, the types of positions that survive the wave of automation will evolve and likely be more focused on loyalty and analytics, says Marty Weintraub, a partner in retail at consulting firm Deloitte.

"Robots can be much cheaper to implement and execute, and they don't come with some of the challenges that humans would face such as making errors or having poor judgment," he said.

"But technology cannot replace certain skills that computers can't do today, like jobs that require problem solving, intuition, the art of persuasion and creativity."

A man operates a forklift at the Sobeys Vaughan Retail Support Centre equipped with robotics for automation in Vaughan, Ontario on Monday June 12, 2017. (Mark Blinch/Canadian Press)

According to documents obtained by The Canadian Press in March, federal government officials were warned that the Canadian economy could lose between 1.5 million and 7.5 million jobs in the next 10 to 15 years due to automation.

In a report, Sunil Johal of the Mowat Centre at the University of Toronto estimates that the retail sector employs about two million people and between 92 per cent to 97 per cent of those who work in sales or as cashiers are at risk of losing their jobs.

"We're just scratching the surface of how technology can affect the retail sector," said Johal. "That's a cause of concern."

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Rise of the machines: Canadian retailers on 'cusp' of using more robotics - CBC.ca

OCTOPUZ Inc. Posted 06/15/2017

OCTOPUZ Inc. has a new AE (Robotics Applications Engineer) project designed to allow each new AE employee to apply their skills they have gained through training and tutorials to a real-life example. The project is also very beneficial for co-operative education students that OCTOPUZ employs regularly from local universities like the University of Waterloo and the University of Guelph.

The project is a very important learning experience as it applies virtual theory to real-life circumstances. New hires apply their theoretical skills on robots in the OCTOPUZ Robotic Room, with brands like Fanuc, Kawasaki and KUKA making an appearance in the room.

Donovan Maudsley, a Mechanical Engineering Co-operative Education Student from the University of Waterloo recently completed his version of the project where a simple plaque with his name and title in addition to the OCTOPUZ O was milled with a Fanuc LR Mate 200iD. The LR Mate 200iD is a compact six-axis mini robot with the approximate size and reach of a human arm. It is also the lightest mechanical unit in its class, which enables it to be a flexible teaching tool for educational purposes.

All of the sides of Donovans plaque were curved in multiple directions, making it a difficult project to machine by hand. The toolpaths were programmed in MasterCam 2017, and combined were about 23,000 points long. He says that getting to use an actual machine was very rewarding. It was my first time ever machining something on a robot rather than a CNC machine. Working at OCTOPUZ Ive been taught about the strengths and weaknesses of robots machining, and getting to see these in action was great.

OCTOPUZ is very much a learning environment, and I feel my opinions and input are valued similarly to the rest of my team. The work I have completed at OCTOPUZ has always been interesting, and I learn a lot each and every day that I am here.- Donovan Maudsley

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Robotics Industry News - Robotics Online (press release)

A host of bizarre biomedical robots turned up at ICRA 2017,IEEEs flagship robotics conference, whichtook place earlier this month in Singapore. We saw swallowable robots that poke the stomach with needles and worm-like robots that explore the colon. Equal parts unnerving and fascinating, these bots aim to help peopleperhapsin ways we hope we never need. After sifting throughthis years presentations, werebringing you the five most terrifying and inventive videodemonstrations.

1. Swallowable biopsy robot of doom

This capsule robot innocuouslytumbles around inside your stomachuntil it reaches suspicious-looking tissue. Then, like an EpiPen on steroids, the soft-bodied bot whips out a needle and jabs that spot inside your stomach in ten fast pumping movements. But this swallowable needle doesnt inject anything. Instead, it suctions up samples of tissue that doctors can analyze for signs of cancer or other disease. Then it moves on to other suspicious spots inside the stomachjab, jab jab!

The biopsy technique, calledfine needle aspiration, is typically performed from outside the body. This capsule robot, designed by researchers at the physical intelligence department atMax PlanckInstitute for Intelligent Systems,in Stuttgart, Germany, movesthe technique inside the body. Thanks guys.

Previous swallowable biopsy robotdesigns only scrape at thesurface tissue, they argued at ICRA. Doctors need atool that willreally get in there, and this design will do it.They tested it out on fresh pork fat placed in a plastic human stomach model. The capsule is equipped with a magnet, allowing the researchers to guide the robotsorientation and jabbing motions while inside the stomach. Of course after the job is done,the robot, with tissue sample inside, has to be retrieved. Its inventors suggest pulling it back out of the throat by a tether. Thanks again, guys!

2.Smashable Fingers

Sure you can make an electronic prosthetic hand that is controlled by personsnervous system, but can you make one that can survivegetting smashed by a hammer? The Bretl Research Group, led by Timothy Bretl at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, decided this was a necessary feature of prosthetic fingers. So the group fabricated an insanely flexible model hand, hooked it up with sensors,and, using various finger torture devices, smashed, twisted andbent the fingers in every direction (with thevideo camera rolling). You might wince, but the deformed digits just bendright back into shape.

The key was to eliminate the weak spotscommon incommercial prosthetic hands. That would bethe pin jointsthehingesaround whichrigid prostheticfingers bend, but often break. So the Bretl group eliminated the fragile part, replacing it with flexible materials. For each finger, they3D-printed the bone with a flexible polyurethane material,routed it with pressure sensor wires, molded a silicone skin around it, and then inserted three layers of pre-stressed spring steel. The thumb is made similarly, but equipped with amotor.After being smashed with a hammer, the hand can pick up that hammeror a glass of wineor a pair of scissorsand use it like nothing happened.

3. The colonoscopy robot you never knew you wanted

This robotmoves like a worm, inching its way up the rectum and around theentirecolon. And yes, someday people may elect to put this device in their bodies. Its meant to serve as an alternative to traditional colonoscopy, an uncomfortable procedure in which a physician snakes a thin, flexiblecolonoscopethrough the large intestine to look for signs of colon cancer and other diseases.A small, controllable robot equipped with a camera and tools to collect tissue samples could do the same job, with less discomfort. I suppose thats some consolation.

Several research groups have built prototypes of colonoscopy robots, each with their own ick factor. There arelegged capsule robotsand treaded capsule robots. This one, developed by the Rentschler Research Group at the University of Colorado, Boulder,falls in the worm robot category. It has three body sections that scrunch up and expand, propelling it along the intestine in a peristaltic motion. Each body section of the robot contains three shape memory alloy (SMA) springs, which compress andexpand, and are cooled by forced air flow. It can move15 centimeters in 6 minutes. Perhaps its less painful than a colonoscopy, but this worm robotmight be a tough sell until someone gives it a better name.

4. Laser-assisted robot arm tries not to be a bull in a china shop

Its a little awkward and slow, but this robot arm will grab and retrieve that hard-to-reach object you need. All you have to do is aim a laser beam at it. (And hope that you dont bump into anything else along the way.)The invention, developed by researchers at the Robotics Labat University of Massachusetts Lowelland the Helping Hands Lab at Northeastern University, aims to aid people who use mobility scooters. Home robotic arms are expensive and often challenging to operate, and this team of engineers wanted to make something simple enough that any scooter ridercould use it.

So they mounted onto a mobility scooter a robot arm, and equipped both the scooter and the arm with depth cameras similar to the Microsoft Kinect Sensor, which is used with Xbox. When the user aims a laser beam at the object she wants, the robot arm moves to that object, the camera scans it, and the teams grasp detection algorithm determines how to maneuver itself in order to pick it up. The contraption got it right about 90 percent of the time, the team reported at ICRA. Unfortunately the thing is hugeand the arm tends to collide with other stuff in the room. That could be resolved by adding more depth sensors, the team reported.

5. Wearable vision system takes the ouch out of canes

A blind person walks into a crowded room and has a dilemma: He needs to find an empty chair to sit in, but doesnt want to go aroundboppingankleswith his cane as he tests all the occupied chairs first. To help, researchers at MITs computer science and artificial intelligence laboratorycame up with a guiding system based on vibration feedback. The system includes a depth camera, an embedded computer, a vibration belt, and a brail system. The user wears the camera and computer around his neck and the vibration belt around his torso. Based on thevibration feedback, he can discern the location of obstacles in the area before testing them out with his cane. It can even tell him which chair is empty. To test the system, the engineers sent blind volunteers wandering through the halls of their buildings and into mock-up spaces. The volunteers were more hesitant and walked more slowly when they wore the feedback system, but they were able to navigate without using their canes.

IEEE Spectrums biomedical engineering blog, featuring the wearable sensors, big data analytics, and implanted devices that enable new ventures in personalized medicine.

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A new study finds that prosthetic hands trigger the most eerie feelings compared to normal hands or robotic hands 13Nov2013

These tiny, starfish-like microrobots are designed to perform biopsies inside the human colon 3Jun2015

On 19 December, the president of Stony Brook University in New York announced that it had licensed technologies for virtual colonoscopy invented there--including a computerized technique that makes it possible to see colon walls without having to evacuate the bowels--to Siemens, one of the world's leading makers of medical devices. Virtual colonoscopy uses computerized tomography to create 3D images of the colon, eliminating the need for the fiber optic endoscope that is snaked through the gastrointestinal tract in a conventional colonoscopy. Stony Brook researchers recently patented a refined electronic colon cleansing technique that will allow clinical radiologists to delete 22Dec2008

DARPAs HAPTIX program aims to develop a prosthetic hand thats just as capable as the original 28Apr2016

The heart hugger, the drug doser, and flexible forceps show how malleable machines will work safely inside the body 31Mar

Molecular robot brings us one step closer to mimicking cellular behavior 7Mar

With new design advances, nanorobots are inching closer to medical use 1Mar

Clever use of magnetic fields can selectively actuate individual microbots 15Feb

An implantable sleeve mimics the motion of the heart and reverses heart failure in pigs 18Jan

Implanted in the body, a tiny micromachine dispenses a dose of medication with each tick 4Jan

Team Cleveland took home the gold medal at the world's first Cybathlon 14Oct2016

The cyborg Olympics showcased robotic exoskeletons, brain-computer interfaces, and more 12Oct2016

A 16-year-old from Saudi Arabia develops an exoskeleton and control glove to revolutionize physical therapy for stroke patients 30Sep2016

The exoskeleton built for spinal cord injury patients is now cleared for stroke patients as well 30Sep2016

A hybrid delta biplane design results in efficiency, range, and pinpoint landings 20Sep2016

Patients regained some voluntary movements. Difficult to say which technology was the key factor 11Aug2016

This autonomous mobile robot helps to check in on patients more regularly 2Aug2016

But don't expect these robots to steer themselves through the body any time soon 26Jul2016

This could be the first robot ever to do the worm 25Jul2016

Teleoperated endolumenal bot can navigate inside the body, image and treat conditions without making incisions 7Jun2016

Read more:

A Colonoscopy Robot and Other Weird Biomedical Tech From IEEE's Biggest Robotics Conference - IEEE Spectrum

Jun 15, 2017, 2:42 pm EDT |By Tom Taulli, InvestorPlace Writer & IPO Playbook Editor

Robots may still seem kind of like a niche industry, but the reality is much different. Over the years, companies especially manufacturers have invested substantial sums on robotics. In fact, back in 2012, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) plunked down $775 million for Kiva Systems, a top robotics manufacturer for warehouses.

Source: Shutterstock

No doubt, the industry represents a nice growth opportunity. Lets face it, robotics are often cheaper than traditional labor.

But there are also powerful trends that are driving the growth. Just some include high-speed chips, sensor technologies, cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

So how big is the opportunity? According to research from IDC, the worldwide spending on robotics is expected to more than double by 2020 to a whopping $188 billion. Indeed, there is quite a bit of room for many players to reap hefty profits.

What are some of the companies to consider now? Lets take a look at the following tech stocks to buy:

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, http://investorplace.com/2017/06/4-tech-stocks-that-will-dominate-robotics/.

2017 InvestorPlace Media, LLC

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4 Tech Stocks That Will Dominate Robotics - Investorplace.com