Monthly Archives: July 2021

The lessons we learn from self-driving will drive our robotics future – VentureBeat

Posted: July 7, 2021 at 2:48 pm

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Robotics is entering an exponential growth phase. There are increasingly new and diverse applications for robots, both the inspiring and the mundane. Just within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic response, robots have been deployed in novel ways disinfecting public spaces, handling infectious materials, and providing medical care to patients.

But the horizon for new robotics applications is ever expanding, and it is AV (autonomous vehicle) development that will further accelerate this growth. Why? Because the challenge that self-driving cars present is the same challenge that acts as a barrier for most other kinds of robots. The AV industry, with its concentration of talent, infrastructure, and capital, is primed to meet this challenge.

Even as the use of robots has become more widespread, its applications have remained somewhat limited. For decades, one-armed giants performed highly scripted tasks and were built for a single purpose, like spot welding or adding threads to the end of a pipe. They were not flexible enough to perform a variety of tasks or respond well in unstructured environments. Even when deployed in less structured environments, like those used in surgical settings or even aerial drones, robots have functioned primarily as a remote-controlled extension of a human actor, with limited autonomy.

AVs, on the other hand, inherently require a great deal of autonomy; there is literally no human being behind the wheel, and the stakes are high. AVs need the ability to sense, plan, and act in highly dynamic, unstructured environments such as the chaotic streets of San Francisco. They need to respond to humans other drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, that guy on a motorized skateboard and make collaborative decisions with them.

Consider one of the common yet more challenging traffic scenarios that humans regularly encounter: a four-way stop. Despite the laws that govern how drivers should stop and proceed in their turn, the reality is that most of the time, people navigate these intersections via nonverbal communication with each other. They make eye contact, nod, wave each other on. Without the capacity to communicate using these cues, an AV must still decipher the intent of other drivers and communicate its own for instance, creeping forward slowly to convey its intent to proceed through the intersection all while obeying traffic laws and making safety-critical decisions. This choreography cannot be scripted in advance. AV decision-making must conform to human-like social expectations in real time based on the current situation and potential evolution of all the relevant actors in the scene, including itself, for some time into the future.

The crux of the challenge involves making decisions under uncertainty; that is, choosing actions based on often imperfect observations and incomplete knowledge of the world. Autonomous robots have to observe the current state of the world (imperfect observations), understand how this is likely to evolve (incomplete knowledge), and make decisions about the best course of action to pursue in every situation. This cognitive capability is also essential to interpersonal interactions because human communications presuppose an ability to understand the motivations of the participants and subjects of the discussion. As the complexity of humanmachine interactions increases and automated systems become more intelligent, we strive to provide computers with comparable communicative and decision-making capabilities. This is what takes robots from machines that humans supervise to machines with which humans can collaborate.

As robotics has grown as an industry, costs have fallen, enabling adoption across a broad variety of contexts. In some cases, the technology is familiar but the application is novel. While drones arent new, companies deploying them to inspect power lines or to collect information for insurance claims is. Same for the one-armed giants now employed as hotel concierges or baristas instead of spot welders.

Commerce has benefited greatly from automation. Materials handling in particular has been ripe for automation via self-guided vehicles, largely because its such a dangerous sector for human workers. Robots equipped with lidar, cameras, and a bevy of other sensors like those that enable AVs perception systems can safely and quickly navigate loading docks and factory floors while avoiding collisions with workers. These robots, however, still rely on a fairly structured and predictable environment (markers on the ground help them navigate) and lack dynamic responsiveness. During the last few years, some have argued that injuries in some fulfillment centers have resulted from robots moving at a faster pace than the humans working alongside them.

Robotics in healthcare environments has become commonplace, too. Robot-assisted surgical systems like Intuitives da Vinci are used in 90% of prostatectomies instead of traditional laparoscopic tools. But robots are increasingly valuable not just in the operating room but throughout hospitals and nursing homes, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Robots are helping caregivers lift patients and performing other tasks as well as providing social interaction to the elderly. Robotics have increasingly been used with children as well, not just as trendy tech toys but legitimate STEM educational tools. Research into the treatment of children with autism using emotive robots has gained traction in recent years.

With more players in the field and increasing adoption, the $100+ billion global robotics sector has been growing by leaps and bounds, and according to IDC is expected to triple by the end of 2021. Much of this can be attributed to driver-assistance technologies now common in new vehicles, especially those at the higher end of the market. Companies developing fully autonomous technology, however, are poised to push the robotics envelope in the automotive industry and beyond.

As AV companies meet the challenge of human-robot collaboration at the level required to bring self-driving vehicles to market, the horizon for leveraging these solutions for other robotics applications only expands. Like a chess grandmaster, an AV must consider multiple possible moves and countermoves both for itself and other traffic participants and then make safety-critical decisions in a noisy and rapidly changing environment. It needs to take into account context like traffic laws and local norms; driving in a city like Houston is not the same as navigating Hong Kong. And a successful AV has to communicate its goals and its intent to humans in a way that feels natural and intuitive.

Developing the kind of decision-making needed for AVs to succeed will unlock complex critical thinking for other robotic applications, allowing a greater degree of autonomy and human-robot collaboration in both new and familiar use cases. Physical agents that can autonomously generate engaging, life-like behavior will lead to safer and more responsive robots. The shift from humans supervising robots to collaborating with them is the way forward for both AVs and the sector at large.

Rashed Haq is Vice President of Robotics at Cruise.

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The lessons we learn from self-driving will drive our robotics future - VentureBeat

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Robotic Warriors team benefits in education and technology – ECM Publishers

Posted: at 2:48 pm

Editor, The Caledonia Argus

An interest in technology and education benefits team members on the Robotic Warriors team 5914, and that benefit goes just a little farther with a donation made from a local family whose husband and father enjoyed those two topics.

Caledonia resident Sharon Hein and her family recently made a $1,050 donation in memory of Norlin, who had a great interest in technology.

Hein remembers her husbands interest fondly. He worked at the University of Missouri, helping to get computers in the offices when computers were just becoming common office equipment. After earning his PhD at the University of Minnesota, Hein moved to Columbia, Missouri where he was an agricultural economist at the university.

He worked with farmers that had computers on the farm. He was interested in getting youth back to the farm, returning to the farm program, Hein said. He was very interested in education, educating farmers, people and technology.

The donation stems from funeral memorials that families did not specify a place where money should go to, so Hein and her family decided memorials that they give will go to a program that benefits future technology. Robotics was the perfect fit.

The funds will benefit the whole team, coach Mike Konkel explained. Robot parts, upgrading technology, competition entry fees, hotel rooms for competitions can all benefit from the donation. It costs about $4,000 to $5,000 to enter the competitions. It costs about $40,000 per season with all expenses added up.

If the team makes it to the world competition, it can cost about $5,000justto attend. The team also has to ship the robot, travel, pay for room and board, bringing the total to about $15,000 to $20,000. The team has made it to that level of competition for the past three out of four years.

People like Sharon and our community support, Eitzen and Brownsville, is phenomenal for what it has done, he said, grateful for the donations.

Robotics opens up a lot of doors for kids, including those in athletics and not in athletics. Its not just the robot driving part that kids benefit from, but theres also a building team, electrical team, design team, computer programming team and business team that all have a part to play. More girls are starting to join the team as well. Kids from Spring Grove Public Schools are also welcome to join the team.

The Covid-19 pandemic also halted much of the teams activities. Recently, the team had an obstacle course driving day at the fairgrounds, and with the help of groundskeeper Craig Welch, the team had fun driving the robot under and around objects.

Other fundraisers and events throughout the year include demonstrations at local events, such as the Houston County Fair, Caledonia Founders Day and other community celebrations. The team also has an event with Big Boar BBQ that allows them to raise funds and show off the robot. Driving the robot at events is often a big hit with young kids.

People from this community are so generous, Konkel said. There are so many people involved that do so much for us.

Its not just the generosity of the community that has team members and mentors coming back for more each season, its helping kids learn.

Mentor Larry Basegio said the team is a positive thing.

Its a great bunch of kids, he said. It makes me feel good that I can contribute. Teaching kids to solder was interesting.

Mentors also help at competition events, which is an opportunity to teach time management to kids. After the first few events, team members become more independent with getting to events on time.

Mentor Mike Woyczik agreed and said the kids take the lead at events, talking to other teams about strategizing and coopertition (a cross between cooperation and competition). Coopertition is helping other teams out, and still having a competitive edge.

Woycizk said he likes seeing the kids grow in their abilities and teaching them life skills, such as how to use a power drill. He also enjoys the camaraderie with the team.

We just have a lot of fun hanging out ... getting the personality of how they are, he said. My fondest memory was at playoffs and we finished the game. We finished second at the event, we were second [place] twice, and it was amazing.

The FIRST organization that oversees competitions, rules and regulations also donated $83 million in scholarships so far to its worldwide roster of teams. Any student that is on a robotics high school team, that plans to go onto an engineering program can automatically get a scholarship for just being part of the program, Konkel added.

There is no star player. You have the drive team, theyre in the spotlight, but theres so much behind the scenes that kids contribute to, Konkel said.

Kids interested in joining robotics can talk to a current team member, coach or mentor. People interested in donating to the team can contact Konkel or a mentor or booster club member.

Booster club members include Dana White, Wendy Woyczik, Sheila Schroeder, Kristi Nolte, Jenny Standish, Linda Konkel, Leah Peterson, Deb Augedahl, Tria and Sean Meier, and Patty Stehr.

Additional mentors include: Jeff Babinski, Angela Denstad-Stigeler, Willy Hoskins, Jeffrey Denney.

Team members include: Dylan Schroeder, Lynzie Woyczik, Kole Woyczik (graduate), Dominick Konkel (graduate), James White, Drew Standish, Elijah Nolte, Jacob Woyczik, Brady Augedahl, Kaden Peterson, Malakai Jandt, Noah Stigeler, Jeremy Stehr, Linda Hang, Jack Babinski and Samantha Molling.

Check out the team on their Facebook page, at Caledonia Robotic Warriors FRC Team #5914.

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Robotic Warriors team benefits in education and technology - ECM Publishers

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Whos hiring in Pittsburgh? RE2 Robotics, CCAC, Bank of America and more 7/5/21 – NEXTpittsburgh

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Hiring?Post your jobhereto get in front of 35,000 local job seekers weekly. And check back every Monday and Thursday for the latestjobopenings in Pittsburgh.

Marketing and Communications

Beverlys Birthdays seeks a Development and Marketing Assistant to manage donor relationships, maintain donor records, contribute to social media content, assist with event planning and coordinate volunteers.

Human Services

Milestone Centers is hiring an Executive Director to provide organizational leadership and management for the center and ensure the delivery of health care, services and support systems.

Business and Finance

The Pittsburgh Foundation is looking for a Staff Accountant to manage day-to-day accounting functions for the finance and investment team that supports financial reporting.

Bank of America seeks a Business Bank Senior Relationship Manager to oversee a portfolio of commercial relationships, manage relationship selectivity and acquisition, deepen relationships through cross-selling, drive profitability and dialogue with a variety of clients.

IT and Engineering

RE2 Robotics is looking for a Mechanical Engineer to create lightweight, dexterous and powerful mobile manipulation systems for Department of Defense and commercial applications.

Deloitte has an opening for an AI Engineer to support the development of transformational AI capabilities for large clients.

Postal Service

USPS is hiring a City Carrier Assistant to deliver and collect mail on foot or by vehicle under varying road and weather conditions in a prescribed area and maintain public relations with customers.

Administrative

The Community College of Allegheny County seeks a Senior Secretary to perform administrative secretarial duties for a major campus department, including complex correspondence, reports, advertisements and news releases, filing systems and analytical assignments.

Advanced Manufacturing

Kurt J. Lesker Company is hiring a Detail Technician to clean, detail and package high technology products before they are shipped to customers.

The Allegheny County Airport Authority seeks an Auto Mechanic to determine repairs required by road testing and use of diagnostic equipment, replace defective parts, perform engine tune-ups and develop job safety analysis procedures.

Construction

EQT Corporation is hiring a Construction Specialist I/II to document the progress of construction projects, prepare scopes of work, supervise daily operations and more.

Job Fair

Every Child Inc. is hosting a Virtual Job Fair on July 22 from 1 to 2 p.m. for its Family Support services and from 5 to 6 pm for its Clinical services. Register here.

Sponsored

Operations Coordinator at Friends of the Riverfront: Friends of the Riverfront is hiring a Part-Time Operations Coordinator to support the organization and its trail programs. Friends of the Riverfront is a nonprofit organization that works to develop and steward the Three Rivers Heritage Trail and Water Trail in Allegheny County.Posted July 07, 2021

Data Coordinator at Partner4Work: Identify data and data process needs, collect, clean and maintain data from the Commonwealth Workforce Development System, a statewide workforce database, conduct research encompassing workforce issues and trends. Provide data evaluation services to program staff and the organization.Posted July 02, 2021

Operations Coordinator at P3R: P3R is the engine behind Pittsburghs greatest races. We strive to inspire any and all to run with us. Best known for organizing the acclaimed annual DICKS Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, P3R also organizes a variety of other high-quality races, training runs and health and fitness programs throughout the Pittsburgh region.Posted July 01, 2021

HR Assistant at Sarah Heinz House: Exciting opportunity to manage the outreach program and middle school age VEX IQ robotics teams for Sarah Heinz House. This includes managing participation in competitions, recruiting and retaining volunteers, and coaching and mentoring the team. Previous experience with robotics preferred.Posted July 01, 2021

STEM Instructor at Sarah Heinz House: The primary responsibility is to teach STEM and robotics classes to preschool and elementary school age youth while establishing, maintaining and nurturing positive professional relationships with the members, volunteers and staff. Associate or Technical Degree with 1 yr experience required.Posted July 01, 2021

PSL Player Experience Manager at PUMP: This full-time position with the award winning Pittsburgh Sports League (a program of PUMP) ensures a high-quality player and social experience before, during and after games; coordinates and supports leagues and officials behind the scenes and serves as the face of the organization at the games.Posted June 30, 2021

Junior Accountant at Fred Rogers Productions: Fred Rogers Productions is looking for an entry-level, FT Junior Accountant based in Pittsburgh. This position is a good fit for an enthusiastic self-starter with a sense of humor. This individual must be trustworthy, flexible and display a willingness to ask questions.Posted June 30, 2021

Marketing Assistant at Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras: TRYPO seeks a Marketing Assistant to be the primary storyteller for the organization. This role uses social media channels to help build strong and diverse online communities and elevate the organizational message. Join us if you have a sincere belief in the importance of music education!Posted June 24, 2021

Interested in seeing more job openings? Check our other recent listings here.

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This French robotics start-up may have the solution for the ageing population crisis – Euronews

Posted: at 2:48 pm

Across Europe, consistently low birth rates and rising life expectancy are transforming the continents age demographic.

The coming years will see older people make up a much larger demographic in Europe, a phenomenon that is already being felt in countries like Italy, Greece and Germany.

The prospect presents enormous challenges to policymakers tasked with meeting the healthcare needs of an ageing population, particularly in a situation where there may be fewer working-age people to support them.

As a result, policymakers in Europe are turning their attention to tech solutions and robotics in the hope that they can help make up some of this shortfall.

French start-up Kompa Robotics presented their latest innovation at the VivaTech conference in Paris - a robot that has been specifically designed for healthcare providers.

Its a multifunctional robot designed for vulnerable people. So that could be in retirement homes and also in hospitals, Marie Fromanger, a business developer at Kompa Robotics, told Euronews Next.

The idea is to help carers and the whole body of healthcare workers in the daily tasks that a robot can carry out.

Their new model has been designed for use in the home and is equipped with auto-navigation, meaning the robot is able to carry out surveillance sweeps and alert a support person by sending a photo if anything is amiss.

It can also do all kinds of art therapy, activities, and some meditation. It can transport people thanks to the fact that it can move on its own, said Fromanger.

The company is keen to stress that its robots are not intended to replace carers or health workers entirely. Rather the Kompa robot is an additional tool to relieve carers of the menial tasks that a robot can carry out autonomously.

Kompa is one of the many European technology companies working with the SHAPES programme, a large scale EU funded health care project which aims to assist people to remain independent as they age.

The programme is seeking to create an open platform for integrating digital solutions and technological infrastructure that will ultimately support healthy ageing across the continent.

According to Europes statistics agency Eurostat, it is projected that there will be close to half a million centenarians in the EU-27 by 2050.

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Reply Shapes the Future of Autonomous Mobile Robots with the Power of Microsoft Azure – Business Wire

Posted: at 2:48 pm

TURIN, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Reply announced today that it has developed an end-to-end solution architecture for autonomous mobile robots (AMR) on Microsoft Azure that enables new business applications across industries, reduces upfront costs and allows for the rapid implementation of customer-specific robotics use cases.

The solution combines Microsoft Azure services, the agility of Boston Dynamics' SPOT and Replys knowledge of intelligent cloud computing services, edge computing and artificial intelligence. To demonstrate the capabilities of a scalable and versatile robotics platform, Reply implemented an automated vehicle-damage-detection solution for rental or leasing companies that leverages this architecture. In fact, rental or leasing companies must inspect vehicles for any damage after they are returned in order to ensure the safety and quality of their fleet for their customers. This is usually done in the time- and cost-consuming manual process of walking around the car, visually inspecting it, assessing the severity of the damage and conducting a damage report.

Reply integrates Azure Cognitive Services, Machine Learning and DevOps as well as Power Apps and Power BI. Thanks to Azure's intelligent service foundation, agile workflows and machine learning, this process can be fully automated. Using computer vision, SPOT moves freely through the parking area and scans the license plates to find the right vehicle. Once detected, it walks around the vehicle to record its condition by continuously collecting visual data with its camera and sensors. This information is processed on the edge or transmitted to the cloud, where advanced image recognition and machine leaning algorithms perform the damage detection. All detected damages are saved in the return protocol, and they can be presented to the customer and the fleet manager for approval.

This platform sets the power of Microsoft Azure on the move by bringing it from the Cloud to the Edge and into highly advanced mobile robotic devices, giving them the autonomy to unlock novel business use cases. Thanks to the agile reference architecture, we are able to implement customer-specific use cases in various industries that include all types of mobile robots or drones, comments Filippo Rizzante, CTO Reply.

Reply is a long-term, trusted partner in delivering Azure IoT solutions, and were delighted to continue our collaboration on this new scalable robotics offering. By leveraging Microsoft Azure, we can help accelerate this transformation by making it easier for businesses to bring AI and analytics capabilities to these autonomous systems in a consistent and secure way, adds Lakecia Gunter, Vice President and GM, Global IOT Channel at Microsoft.

With their agility, autonomous mobile robots (AMR) are able to move independently from a central infrastructure on terrain that is not traditionally designed for robots. They can be used in hazardous environments and environments, that are harmful to people. According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, the global market for automated guided vehicle (AGV) and AMR is expected to reach $13.2 Billion by 2026 with a growth rate of around 35%. Both AGVs and AMRs collectively are going to cross the installed base of 1.5 Million in the next 5 years to make mobile robots a new normal in our day-to-day operational activities.

Reply

Reply [MTA, STAR: REY, ISIN: IT0005282865] specialises in the design and implementation of solutions based on new communication channels and digital media. As a network of highly specialised companies, Reply defines and develops business models enabled by the new models of AI, big data, cloud computing, digital media and the internet of things. Reply delivers consulting, system integration and digital services to organisations across the telecom and media; industry and services; banking and insurance; and public sectors. http://www.reply.com

Source Global Mobile Robots (AGV & AMR) Market:

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210115005190/en/Global-Mobile-Robots-AGV-AMR-Market-Expected-to-Reach-14B-by-2026---The-New-Normal-in-Our-Day-to-Day-Operational-Activities---ResearchAndMarkets.com

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How AI-Powered Robots are Helping the Food Industry – QSR magazine

Posted: at 2:48 pm

Thanks in large part to pandemic pressures,total revenuefor U.S. quick-service restaurants dropped down to $239 billion last year. Unfortunately, as quick-service restaurantoperators try to ramp up staff and sales now that health concerns are stabilizing, they are facing a massive staffing crisis. While posters promoting open positions and staff incentives crowd almost every restaurant and drive-thru window across the country, foodservice workers are not lining up in droves.Thousands of entry-level foodservice workers moved on to other positions in the delivery arena like DoorDash or Amazon during the pandemic, and unstaffed quick-service restaurantpositions are slowing down the economic recovery for food operators.Yet, many technology naysayers still cling to the robots replace humans argument in an effort to keep quick-service restaurantoperators from investing in food robotics to keep pace with the next era of food service.

Robotsdo not put human jobs at risk in the foodservice industry. The foodservice industry (like every industry) will continue to be led and managed by human staffin fact, human staff plays an absolutely integral role in the food robotics evolution for quick-service restaurants. Working closely with key partners likeWalmartandJambafor initial Blendid kiosk locations in California, weve seen firsthand how robots are helping expand accessibility and availability at all hours of a day to healthy food options, especially where hiring and staffing limitations would typically make it incredibly cost prohibitive. So heres how real people fit into the food robot mix:

The quick-service restaurantdynamic is rapidly changing.Consumers now want access to healthier food optionsanytime, anywhere and, thanks to COVID, with as little human intervention as possible. It might sound like prepacked, shelf-stable food choices would be a way to meet those demands, but todays consumers also want those healthier and freshly prepared fast-food options to be totally customizable and dont forget, they still want it at near dollar-menu prices. However, quick-service restaurantoperators arein a constant battle to recruit, train, and retain staff, especially for tedious foodservice and food-prep roles. Robots add a layer of consistency that can help reduce the costs and headaches of trying to fill (and continuously refill) these roles.

Robots expand the potential quick-service restaurantfootprint.Robotic platforms create more favorable economicsfor operators and a much wider potential footprint by eliminating high-traffic return on investment restrictions, making it easier to justify staffing, stocking and servicing fresh, customized food options at low- and medium-traffic locations.

Robots make stellar coworkers.Many entry-level food service workers have absolutely no real interest in preparing food, sanitizing food surfaces, doing endless piles of dishes, or interacting with others. Robots can take on those tedioustasks, from contactless ordering and counter service, to precise measurements, food prep and even much of the cleaning so human workers canfocus on a range of new and rewarding positions. Better yet?There are no forced or awkward conversations to manage when a robot is the one by your side.

Technology is cool.Even better than picking up the mundane tasks and roles most workers dont want to take on, robots also add an element of futuristic fun to the work environment. (I know that I love getting to say that I work with robots.) As millennials and zoomers (GenZ) take over the food service workforce, tech natives will readily embrace new automation platforms not just for the cool factor, but because they are comfortable relying on, and often even expect, technology to make their day-to-day tasks easier.

For quick-service restaurantnavigating ever-tightening operating margins and unable to fully staff their current operations, meeting changing consumer demands for rapid, contact-free access to affordable, fresh, healthy food on the go is a daunting, and often futile, effort.However, food automation platforms powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced visual and robotics technologies are changing the fast-food dynamic.Forward-thinking leaders investing in new robotic food automation platforms now will be able to give consumers (and employees) what they want both today and in the years ahead.In the not-so-distant future, these robotic food stations will line the checkout areas of major retailers and the hallways of airport terminals, hospitals, universities and shopping malls around the globe. AI-powered robots will bring the future of highly personalized, healthy, fresh, and delicious food options to life.

Vipin Jain is CEO and co-founder ofBlendid. Blendid offers a proprietary food automation platform (foodOS) to efficiently and safely prepare and serve a range of healthy, fresh and delicious options.

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Robotics Latest Innovations in Robotics Set to Transform Industry 4.0 – Analytics Insight

Posted: at 2:48 pm

According to a report, Top Robotics Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis, the market size of Robotics is expected to reach US$176.8 billion in 2025 with a CAGR of 18.2%. Robotics has opened a plethora of job opportunities as well as set to transform Industry 4.0 with its efficient and effective assistant to the existing employees. Latest innovations in Robotics have attracted huge interest from children, adults as well as reputed organizations for entertainment as well as professional purposes. The dreams of having different types of robots as highly flexible companions are finally coming true. The Robotics future is here in the 21st century! Educational institutes have started offering mechatronics to drive students towards Robotics to innovate new models or robots in the nearby future. Lets take a glance at some of the latest innovations in Robotics set to transform Industry 4.0 efficiently.

Energy-efficient Robots

The world is experiencing global warming in these recent years due to the large carbon footprint present in the atmosphere. New energy-efficient robots are thriving in Industry 4.0 to reduce energy consumption for a smaller carbon footprint. These smart and energy-efficient robots assist in the cost-efficient production of renewable energy equipment.

AROUND-B Robot

The AROUND-B robot is designed by Kim Seungwoo and Kyumin Ha that helps to enhance the customer experience in bookstores. The robot is known for following a user and offering a comfortable place to keep books instead of carrying those around the store. Then AROUND-B will carry the books to the cashier for seamless transaction efficiency.

Bossa Nova Robot

The Bossa Nova robot is created to help retail stores in tracking inventory as well as maintaining product displays on shelves. It has the ability to scan the shelves with its hi-tech sensor through 2D as well as 3D depth-detecting cameras. It also uses RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags and barcodes for efficient inventory management and supply chain management in manual restocking duties.

Zenbo Robot

Zenbo robot is innovated to help people remember to complete daily tasks each day, especially for elderly people. It can also monitor the surroundings to detect any emergency case by connecting to smart devices such as CCTVs, door locks, and many more. Asus created this Zenbo robot to understand verbal commands from its user.

Delivery Droid Robot

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has instigated Cristina Borras to create a home-delivery robot for contactless deliveries of parcels in Australia. This robot is known as a delivery droid and has been successfully tested by the Australia Post with over 100 packages after sunset. The implementation of modern technology can help to avoid obstacles on its way on pavements.

Amazon Scout Robot

The pandemic has also motivated Amazon to produce delivery robots for efficient delivery services within a promised date. Scout robot is an electric cooler-sized rover to help in promoting contactless delivery during the pandemic. Amazon has successfully trialed the Scout robot in different US localities for a year. Six smart robots are operating in daylight working hours from Monday to Friday, only for Amazon Prime Members.

Digit Robot

Ford and the Agility Robotics team is set to launch Digit Robot as a delivery robot that can come in to get the package from autonomous self-driving cars to the doorstep of recipients. It consists of a humanoid aesthetic along with a bipedal design to carry parcels up to 40 pounds.

RoBeetle Robot

RoBeetle is a tiny robot, created by Nestor Perez-Arancibia, Xiufeng Yang, and Longlong Chang, that can be powered by methanol. This efficient beetle-like robot weighs just 88 milligrams with four legs two fixed rear ones and two flexible front legs. Those two front legs are attached to the transmission to receive commands for movements. It can walk efficiently for a long time with an unexpected fuel source.

Care Robots

The demand for care robots is booming in Japan to take care of elderly or disabled patients with their daily routine alarm for medication, emotional support, interactive sessions, and many more. These care robots also assist nurses and doctors in medical duties on an hourly basis.

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A Review of the 2021 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards – Robotics Business Review

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In this session, Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman are joined by Dan Kara, VP of the Robotics Group at WTWH Media, to discuss how the RBR50 has evolved over the years, how the 50 winners were selected, and teh many forms of innovation.

By RBR Staff | July 6, 2021

Welcome to Episode 45 of The Robot Report Podcast, where each week Robot Report editor Steve Crowe and Mobile Robot Guide editor Mike Oitzman review the latest robotics, automation and intelligent systems news and announcements, and interview leading roboticists, leaders of innovative robotics companies, and other key members of the robotics community.

You can subscribe to The Robot Report Podcast on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify and more. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review!

Sponsorship OpportunitiesFor The Robot Report Podcast sponsorship opportunities, please contact Courtney Nagle.

Episode 45 of The Robot Report Podcast recaps the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards, which were announced earlier by publication Robotics Business Review. The RBR50 awards honor technology, business, and market innovations, as well as the robotics and automation organizations worldwide that were responsible for them.

In this session, Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman are joined by Dan Kara, VP of the Robotics Group at WTWH Media, to discuss how the RBR50 has evolved over the years, how the 50 winners were selected, and the many forms of innovation. They each also share three of our their favorite winners, breaking down the innovations and what they mean for each respective company and the market(s) they operate in. To view the complete list of RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award winners, click HERE. A digital edition of the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards Digital Edition can be found HERE.

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A Review of the 2021 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards - Robotics Business Review

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Cloud computing can drive collaboration and workflow efficiency for oil and gas companies – JWN

Posted: at 2:47 pm

Cloud computing can answer many challenges facing oil and gas companies by ensuring ideal data sets and visualization tools are fully accessible to relevant team members.

But it can be a difficult decision to transition from a traditional (monolithic) IT infrastructure where the organization controls management and security of all hardware, software, databases and applications, towards buying each of its infrastructure, platform and software as a service, according to a new white paper released by the Daily Oil Bulletin and geoLOGIC systems ltd.

There is a compelling case for many companies to migrate data workflows to the cloud, said geoLOGIC chief executive David Hood. It can reduce infrastructure investment and the need for IT expertise to manage and troubleshoot. It enables efficient access to data and visualization tools for asset teams wherever and whenever they may need it. And it is scalable to fit the purpose and offers companies the flexibility to access only the data they need.

Many oil and gas companies have been relatively slow movers to cloud solutions compared to other technology-reliant sectors. Forty per cent of industry respondents to a DOB survey indicate their data is cloud-based. Among this number, some companies have totally moved to the cloud, while others are running hybrid systems with some data cloud-based and some hosted internally. Results from the survey informed the white paper, entitled: Strategies for data-driven value creation within oil and gas.

Companies that have migrated data and intelligence tools to the cloud say it provides improved security and lowers costs. Savings are being driven by the reliability of cloud computing, with less downtime experienced by users due to the automation of many processes, and with data updates and software updates completed without outages.

Other key benefits to cloud computing cited by survey respondents include accessibility, flexibility, data and intelligence sharing, and collaboration opportunities.

Given the COVID-19 pandemics impact on the employee work environment, the ability to remotely access data and business intelligence tools from anywhere at any time via an Internet browser has become a major positive upside in favour of cloud computing. Accessibility to the same data for all employees across disciplines and departments is seen as vital by both leadership and employees. Related to accessibility, the flexibility to share data across disciplines to collaborate on projects via a single platform is also a major benefit.

Post-pandemic, it will be interesting to see what happens when it is safe for all workers to return to the office, added Hood. It is possible the industry could see a hybrid work environment with employees splitting their time between the office and working from home. If this happens, shifting at least some data workflows to the cloud could become an essential process for many companies.

There are several reasons companies say they havent fully transitioned to the cloud. Cyber-security remains an obstacle. While many companies are willing to access third-party data and intelligence tools via the cloud, they perceive the need to maintain control over internally generated data and tools, said survey respondents. Legacy investment in IT infrastructure is also seen by some as an impediment to a purely cloud-based future.

Some larger companies perceive the benefits of the cloud but believe the large volume of data and internal infrastructure they currently manage could make the transition more expensive and time-consuming. Meanwhile, many smaller companies including oilfield service companies are concerned they lack critical mass to justify the switch.

geoLOGIC recently launched its gDC Cloud platform to answer these concerns. The gDC Cloud is a secure, web-based platform that provides flexibility for lighter data users within large companies who may only use a handful of data sets in their regular workflows, said Terry Jbeili, geoLOGICs president and chief operating officer.

For smaller operating companies the gDC Cloud provides the benefits of seamless access to geoLOGICs premium data and advanced visualization tools as well as the benefits of cloud computing without the expense of maintaining a legacy system, he said. The same holds true for oilfield service companies looking to leverage data and business intelligence to gain an edge in what remains a hyper-competitive market.

Click here to download the white paper: Strategies for data-driven value creation within oil and gas.

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Cloud computing can drive collaboration and workflow efficiency for oil and gas companies - JWN

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Schmidt; The real identity of liberty, and the Libertarian Party – Seguin Gazette-Enterprise

Posted: at 2:46 pm

This past Saturday, the Libertarian Party of Guadalupe County participated in Seguins Biggest Small-Town Fourth of July Parade, and despite our entry having far fewer participants than previous years (due to prior commitments), Guadalupe County Libertarian Party County Chair Darren Pollok, Guadalupe County Libertarian Party County Treasurer Julian Mardock, and I promoted the same message of personal and economic freedom that the Libertarian Party advocated for 50 years (and growing) loud and proud.

The foam boards that Darren and I held throughout the parade route represented individuals who advocated for libertarianism since the Libertarian Partys founding in 1971. These figures depicted the partys founder David F. Nolan; Tonie Nathan, the first woman in American history to receive an electoral vote due to a faithless elector back in 1972; former Congressman Ron Paul, who is a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party and was the presidential nominee for the party back in 1988; Mark Tippetts, the record-breaking 2018 Libertarian candidate for Texas governor; Jo Jorgensen and Spike Cohen, the 2020 Libertarian Party presidential and vice-presidential candidates; and finally, the late John McAfee, the famed cybersecurity entrepreneur who ran for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination in both 2016 and 2020.

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Nolan Schmidt is an independent filmmaker, and serves as Vice Chair for the Guadalupe County Libertarian Party.

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Schmidt; The real identity of liberty, and the Libertarian Party - Seguin Gazette-Enterprise

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