Category Archives: Robotics

Advanced Image Robotics was founded in 2020 in an effort to let creators and producers focus on the content and not have to be IT experts. The founders were also looking to create a purpose-built platform that could broadcast an event without breaking the budget.

Scheduled to ship in Q4 of this year, the AIR One ecosystem allows a small production team (or even a single individual) to capture with a robotic 4K-cinema-quality camera, control with a simple iPad-based app, switch and edit via the custom-designed AIRCloud platform; and stream to viewers directly from the camera using a simple ethernet connection. It has already been used successfully on a variety of live-sports events, including NBA Summer League, Major League Rugby, and Brazilian jiujitsu tournaments.

Using robotic controls and machine precision to give provide greater accuracy in shooting, the camera equipment used in the AIR One system sets up and breaks down in minutes. In addition, direct cloud connection streamlines the camera-to-viewer workflow, enabling distributed teams through cloud production for a more efficient labor force.

SVG sat down with Founder and Chief Product Officer Nick Nordquist to discuss the how the idea for AIR originally came from his daughters soccer matches, where he sees the AIR One platform fitting into the overall live sports ecosystem, and how remote and distributed production models are changing the face of live production.

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SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Advanced Image Robotics' Nick Nordquist on How the New AIR One System Can Bring High-End Live Production Capabilities to...

GLEN ALLEN Coal miners had their canaries to sniff out deadly carbon monoxide before the gas could overcome them.

Now, with coal on its way out, nuclear plants are turning to a 21st-century warning system to shield workers from radiation: a robotic dog named Spot.

You cant see radiation, said Joshua Bell, a nuclear technology and innovation consultant with Dominion Energy. It is there and you can only detect it, so Spots a really good way to understand stuff you cant see before people have to go and experience it themselves.

A 70-pound contraption designed by Boston Dynamics and powered by a lithium-ion battery, the four-legged robot can be controlled remotely, equipped with up to 30 pounds of sensors, cameras and other tools, and programmed to carry out tasks. Since the engineering and robotics company introduced the technology in 2019, electric utilities like Dominion have increasingly been eyeing it as a way to reduce radiation exposure for workers at nuclear plants.

There are a few dozen utilities actively using Spot today, and were seeing more and more interest all the time, said Nikolas Noel, Boston Dynamics marketing and communications director, in an email.

Spot wasnt designed specifically for use at nuclear plants, Noel said. Instead, the idea was to create a general purpose industrial robot that was highly mobile and could perform useful work in a variety of areas, especially in places that might be dangerous or difficult for people to access.

Certainly nuclear facilities fit that criteria, he said.

Dominion acquired its own Spot in fall 2021. The company, which operates the North Anna and Surry nuclear plants in Virginia, each of which employs over 780 people, currently sources about a third of its electricity for state customers from nuclear and intends to keep the plants running for at least the next few decades as Virginia phases out fossil fuels.

The allure of the robot was straightforward: If I have a walking device that can use stairs and go around corners, I can reduce the amount of exposure I give to people, said Joseph Rigatti, Dominions manager of nuclear technology programs.

SInce then, the electric utility has been running pilots with the robotic Rover to see how it (Dominion employees agree Spot is an it, although he tends to slip into conversations after a while) can be integrated into the North Anna and Surry plants.

Bell and Rigatti, who are experimenting with Spot from the utilitys Innsbrook facility outside Richmond, describe a range of uses for the technology. It can be programmed to walk through a plant to monitor and map radiation or heat, detect leaks and verify test results. It can carry cameras for remote technicians to watch. It can take instrument readings. It can help move used nuclear fuel to onsite storage facilities, as it did in a recent pilot at Surry.

Spots just a wagon that can move itself, said Bell. We can use it with so many different instruments.

The robot may also allow utilities to collect data they otherwise wouldnt from high-radiation areas of plants where workers are barred except for occasional necessary checks to ensure equipment is operating properly.

Current practice is unlock the door, a guy runs in, does checks as fast as reasonable to get the information and comes out, said Bell. But with Spot, we can go in, we can take the time to do thermography on the whole space. We can take the time to get up-close visuals of individual components and do a real in-depth survey and gather data that (is) valuable, but not valuable enough to risk someone being in that space that long.

But despite its utility, worker reactions to Spot have been mixed.

Unlike other robots, the technology isnt intended to replace employees. But also unlike other robots, Spot doesnt seem well, quite robotic enough. At times, it seems downright doglike, capable of rolling on its side, trotting up hillsides and stretching.

There are just some that just the sight of it makes them nervous and they walk away, said Rigatti. And theres others that want to get right up and pet it like you would a dog.

Bell, who has spent hours with Spot, said that even though the contraption isnt voice-controlled, he still finds himself talking aloud to it, encouraging it around corners and up stairs with a cheerful, Come on, Spot, were going to go here.

Noel of Boston Dynamics said the robots canine design was no accident, but a product of how the company intended Spot to function.

Our robots end up moving like humans and animals not because we designed them to look like humans and animals but because we made them balance, he said. Balance and dynamic motion are characteristics we have previously only seen in animals, and people tend to associate them with lifelike movement.

Its precisely that functionality that lets Spot carry out tasks earlier-generation drones or other robots have been unable to undertake because of their inability to climb stairs or navigate tight spaces.

Even Spot is evolving, however. During an early trial at Surry, Rigatti recounted, he ran into a spot of trouble negotiating a tight turn on a stairwell and fell down the flight of stairs. Boston Dynamics has since rewritten his code specifically to improve his navigational abilities.

Any place a person can go, they want Spot to be able to go, said Rigatti.

The robots operational range at Dominions Virginia plants also is expanding. At the recent Surry pilot where Spot was used to move spent nuclear fuel, Bell said he realized that for the first time, he was operating the robot from roughly 100 feet away.

Really thats what were going for, he said, is being able to sit back, stay away and let the robot do the job as much as it can.

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The 21st centurys canary in the coal mine is a robotic dog named Spot - Virginia Mercury

Selecting an automated solution based on an understanding of how that solution benefits a customer's business operations, with accurate simulations and modeling, will lay the foundation for success.

Lowering the Barrier to Entry with "Robotics-as-a-Service" (RaaS)

Q&A with Mike Futch, CEO | Tompkins Robotics

Of the estimated 20,000 warehouses in the US, only 20% use some level of automation be it conveyor, robotics, automated storage retrieval systems ASRS, automated guided vehicles AGVs, or autonomous mobile robots AMRs. The fastest growing automation solutions are with AMRs and robotics. The robotics sector is anticipated grow annually at a CAGR above 11% for the next five years. With the shift in consumer habits and rise in E-Commerce and direct to consumer purchasing, Fortune 100 companies are forced to find a way to become faster and more efficient. Adopting automation has been the solution to increased customer expectations and demands. Smaller companies are slower to adopt new technology and automation is not necessarily the right solution for all firms.

Labor is the foremost driver for automation. Competition for labor, plus the rising cost of wages are becoming a major challenge for companies. Automation is shown to make work easier, more interesting and provide better health & working conditions for employees. This helps attract as well as retain employees to companies utilizing automation.

The growth in work content due to the rise in individual items picked for ecommerce orders and more real time replenishment throughout the network, adds even more pressure to the supply chain system. As the handling of individual items increases and the processing of caseloads diminishes, the old supply chain workflows breakdown and become inefficient. Consumer expectations are higher, old ways of working are slower, and inefficient businesses lose customers and revenue. Automation solutions that are flexible and scalable are key in allowing sustainable growth and profitability for a company.

Labor and system capacity concerns are adversely affecting the supply chain process. Automation provides increases in productivity, reduction of human error, more efficient use of existing space, and the ability for around the clock operations performing at peak performance levels. Changes in the workforce see todays employers struggle to retain quality employees while simultaneously attempting to hire new employees to deal with burgeoning demand placed upon the supply chain network. Employers who can automate processes remove repetitive and difficult job tasks from workers, elevating them to manage robotic fleets, and create value for their business, customers and workforce.

Two of the major barriers to implementation of robotics are change and misinformation. Company leadership that is not visionary or is unable to examine new technology and the data points associated with that technology greatly hinders automation success. The perception that automation is a long journey and creates inflexibility in the supply chain is a misconception. Selecting the right solution for the right requirements and situation can be highly successful when planned and managed effectively. Being fearful of change and not viewing their supply chain as a profit center or way to gain a strategic advantage against market competition are other narrow-minded thoughts that prevent adoption to automation.

Misinformation or bad data points also contribute to implementing automation. The assumption that robotic technology is expensive and requires tremendous capital outlay is inaccurate. There are CapEx, lease and OpEx (Robots as a Service or RaaS) options available in the market. Inaccurate comparisons using unrealistic cost of labor numbers result in flawed budget comparisons. Only using planned costs per hour as a data point is short-sighted when not including real costs like turnover, training, sick days, reduction in productivity over a shift, human errors, etc. Also, the thought that every robotic solution requires new talent and costs like an expanded IT department or engineering staff, are not usually the case. Selecting an automated solution based on an understanding of how that solution benefits a customer's business operations, with accurate simulations and modeling, will lay the foundation for success. Finally, selecting the right solution provider that can demonstrate proven successful and measurable results, is always a requirement to achieve the planned results.

Tompkins Robotics designed our tSort autonomous mobile robot (AMR) sortation solution to be elegantly simple and provide a great point-of-entry for companies that have a limited budget, limited space, and limited resources to implement and manage automation. The lifecycle service and total cost of ownership is also simple, easy-to-use, reliable without the need for a highly sophisticated maintenance, IT or engineering staff. Purchasing options like RaaS allow for companies to implement the robotic automation with capacity they require today, but with the flexibility to scale as the business grows.

Mike Futch, President and CEO, Tompkins RoboticsMike is the President, CEO and one of the original leaders that has created Tompkins Robotics and brought the tSort sortation system to life for global customers. tSort is the worlds leading robotic, truly scalable, portable, and intelligently adaptable automated sortation system that is changing the way firms execute in their supply chains. He has been involved from day one in the evolution of this unique and innovative system recognizing the potential, designing the applications, and creating the value proposition for Tompkins Robotics customers. He continues to lead the design and forward movement of the company. He drives much of the new application development, new product conceptualization, and the integration with partners solving unique problems with complimentary robotic automation. His focus is to deliver Tompkins Robotics and its systems to customers across the globe to maximize their service, performance, and operations in ways never before thought possible. Mike has had a long, successful, prior career in the US Air Force and as a leader in consulting practices at several firms. He now brings that same level of success to the leadership of Tompkins Robotics and its customers.

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The FAULHABER stepper motor AM3248 raises the bar in terms of performance and dimensions. Offering up to 10,000 rpm, it achieves five times the speed of comparable stepper motors. Combined with a gearhead reduction of 100:1, it supplies a torque of 5 Nm. With a diameter of just 32 mm, it is suited for a wide range of applications in areas such as aerospace, laboratory automation, the semiconductor industry, robotics and 3D printing. Learn more!

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Lowering the Barrier to Entry with "Robotics-as-a-Service" (RaaS) | RoboticsTomorrow - Robotics Tomorrow

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Medical Robots Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product, Application, and End User, and Geography" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global medical robots market is projected to reach US$ 25,443.36 million by 2028 from US$ 9,189.70 million in 2022; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.5% from 2022 to 2028.

Factors such as increasing number of surgical procedures and rising number of product launches & approvals drive the overall growth of the medical robots market. However, the high cost of surgical procedures and installation hampers the medical robots market growth.

Medical robots are professional service robots used in and out of hospitals to improve overall patient care. They reduce the workload of medical staff, allowing them to spend more time directly caring for patients while developing substantial operational procedures that provide efficacy and lower-cost investments in healthcare amenities.

Medical robots are used in a variety of applications, including telepresence robots for remote caregiving, disinfectant robots to reduce hospital-acquired infections, and robotic exoskeletons for rehabilitation training that provide external support and muscle training. Medical robots are used in hospital settings to deliver medications and other sensitive materials. A medical robotic system ensures precision and is used for remotely controlled, minimally-invasive procedures.

The current systems comprise computer-controlled electromechanical devices that work in response to controls manipulated by the surgeons. Robots offer various advantages in the medical field. They reduce procedure times and reduces stay in hospitals, minimize the risk of surgical site infections, and limit pain and discomfort. In addition to these advantages, it helps in better recovery & faster recovery time, and blood loss and transfusion are lessened.

Nanorobots play an important role in bio-medicine, majorly for treating cancer and cerebral aneurysms, removing kidney stones, and eliminating defected parts in the DNA structure. The current stages of medical technologies and therapy tools are used to treat cancer successfully.

For successful treatment, efficient drug delivery is important to decrease the side effects of chemotherapy. Nanorobots with implanted chemical biosensors are used to detect the tumor cells in the early stages of cancer development inside a patient's body. Nanosensors are utilized to find the intensity of E-cadherin signals.

Drugs can cause side effects in many cancer cases because they cannot differentiate between cancer cells and healthy ones. Nanorobots target only tumors and do not cause clotting elsewhere in the body. Therefore, side effects can be avoided in cancer treatment.

Manufacturers and scientists have been investing in innovative technological developments. For instance, in collaboration with researchers from the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Arizona State University scientists have programmed nanorobots to shrink tumors by cutting off their blood supply. They have developed the first fully autonomous DNA robotic system for a precise drug design and targeted cancer therapy.

Moreover, the medical robots market is experiencing various changes in the technology landscape that enable players to develop innovative products. State-of-the-art products may assist in conferring improved health conditions, thereby allowing people to live better lives. Leading companies consolidate the market through various R&D activities to offer modern products.

For instance, in December 2021, Inrobics Social Robotics introduced an AI-based robotic device to aid health rehabilitation. In addition, in April 2022, SS Innovations launched its SSI multi-arm revolutionary telerobotic assistance surgical system in India for US$ 0.54 to US$ 0.68 million (INR 40-50 million). As a result, the rising product launches support market expansion during the forecast period.

The surgical robot segment is estimated to account for the largest market share during the forecast period. Robotic surgeries are surgical procedures done by using the surgical robotic system. The surgical robots are self-automated and computer-controlled medical devices that are programmed to assist in the positioning and manipulating the surgical instruments.

These surgical robots helps surgeons to perform complex surgical procedures. Surgical robots enhance the capabilities of surgeons performing open surgery. Surgical robots provides more precision and control during the surgical procedure. Therefore, the surgical robots are allowed to perform the complex and advanced surgical procedures with increased precision through minimally invasive ways.

However, the rehabilitation robots segment is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Rehabilitation robotics is a field of research dedicated to understanding and augmenting rehabilitation through the application of robotic devices. There is an increase in the demand for rehabilitation robots due to a rise in the number of elderly or disabled population.

Therefore, during the therapy, the optimization in the devices is done for providing rehabilitation therapy to disabled or older people. These robots provide both the control of movement and measurement reliability, making them the ideal instruments to help neurologists and therapists find a solution for the problem related to neuro-rehabilitation.

The rehabilitation robots can be categorized into two major segments - actuated robotic limbs and the robotic suits that enfolds the affected limb, such as an exoskeleton frame.

Key Market Dynamics

Key Market Drivers

Market Restraints

Market Opportunities

Future Trends

Companies Mentioned

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Global Medical Robots Market Analysis/Forecast 2022-2028: Development of Micro-swimmers & Opportunities in the Evolution of Nanorobots for Cancer...

During the first two industrial revolutions, mechanical engineering got consolidated as a profession for designing, building, and managing machinery. Broadly, its central body of knowledge evolved to include materials, mechanics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, machine design, and manufacturing. It is the predecessor as well as the beneficiary of other forms of engineering. It will continue to be enriched by them to conceive, design, build, and manage more sophisticated machinery with enhanced complexity, flexibility, connectivity, and automation. The fourth industrial revolution is now making this body of knowledge much more interdisciplinary as compared to the earlier industrial revolutions. Some key technologies of this revolution are AI and ML, IoT, Robots and Cobots, Big Data, 5G, Augmented and Virtual Reality, 3D and 4D printing, etc.

Machines help in scaling up the production and services and also take a share of dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs. They transform and expand our culture not only by simplifying or altering our work, but also by creating new kinds of works, environments, businesses, experiences, and even social structures. From ancient times, machines were common in many civilisations. Their monuments, textile, and handicrafts would not have been possible without the use of several machines and accessories. In ancient India, Yantramatruka, knowledge of instruments and machines, was recognized as one of the sixty-four art forms. Until the fifteenth century, China was probably the world leader in building machines.

Machines with automation mechanisms have existed since pre-historical times. Traps for hunting animals were probably the first self-operating machines. The Egyptian water clock, Persian windmill, and Chinese south-pointing chariot are examples of a few ancient self-operating machines. There were intense teaching and research activities on automatic devices from the third century BC in Alexandria. Heros Pneumatics having several innovative design descriptions became a fundamental reference for automatic machine design. Building upon this foundation, the Arab world produced several treatises on machine design during the medieval period. More than a thousand years ago, the Chinese and Japanese built some interesting self-operating machines, designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, for recreational and other purposes.

Machine renaissance started in Italy in the fifteenth century and soon spread to other parts of Europe. Several books were written on machine design and the printing press made them easily accessible. Hydraulics saw a spectacular evolution.Many innovative war machines, business machines, e.g., saw, winemaking, cloth washing, flour mills, as well as domestic machines, e.g., fountains and fanning mechanisms were developed. The first industrial revolution that started in the UK in the eighteenth century was characterized by steam energy, machine tool industry, and mechanised factories. The Jacquard loom, invented in 1802 used punched cards to specify the weaving of patterns and pictures. The second industrial revolution in the next century saw oil, gas, electricity, internal combustion engine, communication technologies, control systems, electricity-powered assembly line factories, etc. Many new machines with greater capacity and power were developed using innovative mechanisms, diverse energy sources, and electromechanical instruments for automation and industrial process control.

The third industrial revolution was ignited by micro-electronics, digital computers, and programmable controller-based automation. Machine-systems now started getting transformed into mechatronic systems. The control mechanisms became faster, more reliable, and flexible, and the machine-systems became more sophisticated, efficient, smaller, and lighter. The ongoing fourth industrial revolution is characterised by fusions of physical, cyber, and biological worlds and smart automation.

New frontiers of industrial automation

The word automation was introduced in 1953 at Ford. Today, the advantages of industrial automation extend far beyond labour reduction and include several benefits like increased productivity and throughput, better designs, easier capacity expansion, reduced inventory, quality consistency, improved downtime, reduced setup time and transition cost, improved preventive maintenance, increased equipment life, increased safety, easier failure detection, and rectification, product flexibility, reduced energy, and wastage, etc. Automation engineersapply diverse technologies to streamline, improve, and automate manufacturing, electricity generation, warehouse, mining, and many other processes. As per the 2020 report on the Future of jobs by the World Economic Forum, robotics and industrial automation are likely to be adopted by more than 60% of companies. A McKinsey Global Survey of 2021, showed that 70% of global respondents say that their companies are piloting automation.According toMcKinsey, by 2025 smart factories will generate $37 trillion. In a 2022 report, Acumen Research and Consulting have estimated that the GlobalWarehouse Automation Marketwill exceed 64 billion USD by 2030.

Industrial automation broadly includes two aspects process automation and factory automation. Though the concept of a digital computer controlling a manufacturing plant appeared in 1948, the actual applications became available after a decade. Automation software incorporates a mix of static reasoning and AI-based dynamic reasoning. As per a forecast by Maximize Market Research, the global market for automated process control is likely to exceed 27 billion USD by 2027.

In the initial years of the third industrial revolution, in 1969, the term mechatronics was coined by Tetsuro Mori. Mechatronic systems and robots gradually became critical components for factory and logistics automation. The term robot comes from the Czech word, robota, and was first-time used in a play in 1923. Industrial robots are either fixed in place or mobile. General Motors was the first company to install an industrial robot, Unimate, in 1961 and also the first to use machine vision in an industrial setting in 1970. The 1960s and 70s saw the development of many industrial robots.

Robots are used not only for assisting or replacing human operators for dull, dirty, and dangerous work, but also for higher precision and quality work. The robotics and mechatronics applications go far beyond industrial and logistics sectors and cover construction, agriculture, defense, healthcare, infrastructure, retail, leisure and entertainment, law enforcement, etc. A 2022 report by Market Research Future estimated that with the availability of low-cost and energy-efficient robots, the total robotics market will cross 214 billion USD by 2030.In a 2022 report, The Business Research Company has projected that the global machine vision market is likely to exceed 18 billion USD by 2026. According to a Reportlinker report of 2022, the global market of AI in manufacturing will go beyond 21 billion USD by 2028.

The new manufacturing plant is emerging as an intelligent network of systems that enables facilities, machines, and logistics chains to be managed automatically with minimum human intervention. Industrial IoT makes it possible to track the operations at all levels and gather relevant data from machines and assets in real-time, making them fully visible throughout the production chain. A powerful data analytics environment can generate meaningful insights related to preventive maintenance, asset utilization, employee and asset safety, reducing energy and material needs, reducing downtime, etc. Statista has projected that the Industrial IoT market will surpass USD 1.1 trillion by 2028. The real-time data and other sources are also being used to create digital twins and continuously analyse them across their life cycles. As per a 2921 Verified Market Research report, the digital twin market is expected to exceed 108 billion USD by 2028.

According to a recent report, the engineering services outsourcing (ESO) industry has noticed a paradigm transformation from core-engineering services to embedded engineering solutions, combining automation, robotics, AI, ML, analytics, IoT,etc., and the global ESO market is projected to surpass 9 trillion USD in 2030. Indian companies can benefit a lot from this exponential growth, creating a lot of career opportunities for our engineering graduates with the right competencies.In order to serve in this area, students should develop the ability to conceive, design, implement, and manage automation systems by using principles and tools of machine design, process control, mechatronics, cyber-physical systems, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

The vision of Make-in-India, Atma-Nirbhar Bharat, and Developed India cannot be fulfilled without transforming our manufacturing facilities with automation and robotics. A large number of automation and robotics jobs are set to be in demand in India as well as overseas. Rapidly expanding global demand for robotics and mechatronic systems should be urgently leveraged by many large Indian industrial equipment, machinery, and automobile manufacturers, to make large investments in developing and manufacturing automation equipment and robots. Industry 4.0 is about the fusion of various diverse technologies, making inter-disciplinarity and systems thinking critical competencies for engineers, along with technical skills, lifelong learning, complex problem solving, critical thinking, interpersonal skills, and the ability to work in multidisciplinary teams. Some Indian engineering universities are responding well by creating many such interesting fusions in their engineering curricula.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Enriching mechanical engineering education with automation and robotics - Times of India

As the world emerges from the global pandemic, retail is growing at levels not seen in the last two decades. Retail sales grew by 7 percent in 2020 and by over 14 percent in 2021, which is in stark contrast to the 3.7 percent annual growth between 2010 and 2019.

The increased demand for retail has put a strain on supply chains and retail operations worldwide. As a result, retailers and stakeholders are turning to automation solutions such as mobile robotics for operational ease.

According to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, worldwide commercial robot revenue in retail stores will have a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 25 percent from 2022 to 2030 and exceed $8.4 billion by 2030.

Adhish Luitel, senior analyst, supply chain management and logistics at ABI Research, says: There is the continued adoption of diverse technologies in the retail space.

We can see incoming retail solutions within various points of the retail value chain, such as order fulfillment, in-store inventory check, coordination between store associates, or last-mile delivery. These solutions can directly or indirectly impact the wider supply chain management to retailers for the better.

Technologies such as contactless checkout, in-store mobile robotics, wearables, and smart carts are getting a lot of traction, with major retailers adopting these incoming solutions to enhance operations and contribute to a more streamlined supply chain management.

Companies like Zebra Technologies, Simbe Robotics, and Seoul Robotics have been providing various automation solutions such as wearable computers, handheld devices, LiDAR devices, and in-store robots that can be used for inventory scanning, floor care, or security purposes.

While companies such as Mashgin and Cloudpick offer frictionless checkout in stores by combining proprietary computer vision, deep learning, sensor fusion, and edge computing technologies.

Luitel says: Given their obvious operational benefits of enhanced customer experience, streamlined task/employee management, price management, or automated item monitoring, the impact of these technologies on the wider supply chain management for retailers cant be understated.

Beyond enabling rapid fulfillment/restocking or automated inventory management, these technologies also provide additional data points for precise demand and procurement planning.

This can also lead to an enhanced omnichannel presence for retailers and stronger partnerships with suppliers, shippers, distribution center operators, and other supply chain stakeholders through enhanced communication and synergy.

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Revenues from robotics implemented in retail stores to cross $8.4 billion by 2030 - Robotics and Automation News

Aug 29 (Reuters) - North American companies snapped up a record number of robots in the first half of this year as they struggled to keep factories and warehouses humming in the face of an extremely tight labor market and soaring compensation costs.

Companies ordered a record 12,305 machines in the second quarter valued at $585 million, 25% more units than during the same period a year ago, according to data compiled by the industry group the Association for Advancing Automation. Combined with a strong first quarter, the North American robotics market notched its best first half ever, the group said.

"Companies need to get product out the door and so they need" new automation, said Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation, known as A3.

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Eaton Corporation PLC (ETN.N), for example, is working on 150 different robot installations over the next year and a half in its electrical equipment factories in North America.

The incentives for companies to pursue a robot-enhanced workforce are obvious in the current tight labor market. With nearly two open jobs for every unemployed worker, employers are bidding up wages: Total U.S. labor costs - covering wages and benefits - surged 5.1% year over year in the second quarter, the most since the Labor Department began tracking it in 2001.

Yet if robots are designed to make workers more productive, that is not evident so far: Those thick order books come as U.S. productivity fell in the second quarter at its steepest pace on an annualized basis since the government began reporting it in 1948.

One possible explanation is the distortions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis saw huge shifts in the workforce, including an exodus of workers during the darkest days of the crisis who are only slowly filtering back into jobs. It is normal for workers to be less productive if they are moving into new careers or changing jobs in their existing fields.

Moreover, much of the latest employment gains have come in lower-productivity service sectors like leisure and hospitality, which also may mask the improvements robots may be making elsewhere.

A3s Burnstein said it also takes time for companies to fully implement new machinery to maximize its potential. "Theres a learning curve," he said.

This is especially true in sectors adopting entirely new technologies, such as the auto industry's turn toward electric vehicles. A3 found nearly 60% of the robots ordered in the second quarter went to automotive companies.

Mike Cicco, CEO of FANUC America, the U.S. division of the Japanese robotics manufacturer, estimates half of his industrys sales to carmakers are currently earmarked for new electric-vehicle factories.

"This is all investment for plants that wont be up and running for several years now," he said, so it is not surprising that those robots are not yet contributing to higher productivity.

The rush to add robots is part of a larger upswing in investment as companies seek to keep up with strong demand, which remains elevated even as the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates to rein in inflation.

Knapheide Manufacturing Co is among companies investing in new robots including a new production line for flatbed truck bodies slated to go into its Quincy, Illinois, factory this year. The new line will use robots to feed steel parts through an automated welding process.

Mike Bovee, the engineer overseeing the installation, said the new robots should help ease a chronic shortage of welders. Knapheide currently recruits those workers from as far away as Texas.

"Well always need as many welders as we can find," he said, but they can be redeployed to other parts of production at the 1,500-worker plant.

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Reporting by Timothy AeppelEditing by Nick Zieminski

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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North American companies send in the robots, even as productivity slumps - Reuters

Discover what tomorrow may hold for the future of robots, drones and droids of all kinds

Look to your favorite sci-fi movie and youll get a good sense of how Hollywood sees robots of the future: Most communicate with us. Some even look like us. But the future of robots doesnt just lie in more lifelike, human and helpful drones, droids and automatons, which well increasingly encounter at every turn. It also lies in smaller, smarter and more self-aware high-tech helpers that will aid and assist with nearly every facet of everyday life.

Alone, robots designed for industrial purposes are projected to be a $35.68 billion market by 2029, per Fortune Business Insights. The market for medical robots is anticipated to trail closely behind. And other areas of robotics, such as self-driving delivery robots, aerospace robotics and hospitality robots, are poised to be billion-dollar sectors.

Like the metaverse (essentially a digital world), real robots will play a bigger role in our lives in the coming years, thanks to continuing advancements in robotics. Likewise, theyll also continue to provide technological and productivity gains in an ever-growing assortment of industries. Artificial intelligence (AI) and the deep learning technology that powers robotswhich attempts to mimic the human brains thought processes (hence AIs ability to be biased)will be ongoing game changers, says Martin Ford, author of Rule of the Robots: How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Everything.

As he describes it, these advancements are poised to transform virtually every facet of the global economy. In fact, the main argument in my book is that AI will eventually become so ubiquitous that it will evolve into a utility not unlike electricity, Ford points out. [It will be] a resource that can be easily and inexpensively deployed to solve almost any problem.

Before we take a closer look at what the future of robots holds, lets start with a definition of robot. Any automatically operated machine that replaces human effort is a robot.

Robots can resemble human beings, but dont necessarily have to, and are capable of taking on any appearance and performing all types of functions. Humans or computers can program them, but they can also possess their own AI software routines that allow them to ingest and process information, and make decisions, as a living creature might. Some are even capable of self-learning through machine learning, a type of technology that allows robots (or computers of any kind, really) to get smarter with and learn from each interaction.

While classic TV shows like The Jetsons and movies like Star Wars often conjure images of helpful robot maids and bleeping droids, real robots come in all shapes and sizes. In fact, you may already have adopted some in the form of interactive pets that you can play with or robot vacuums capable of self-navigating through your home.

Lest you think youll escape the robot revolution, experts suggest the machines will be ubiquitous in the coming years. Findings by Pew Research Center indicate that by 2025, AI and robotics will be integrated into nearly every aspect of most peoples daily lives. Marc Prensky, director of the Global Future Education Foundation and Institute, posits that within just a few years, the future of robotics and AI will include a world where robots are as omnipresent as cell phones. Nilofer Merchant, co-founder of The Intangible Labs, further suggests that most fundamentals of daily life, from grocery shopping to driving, will also be automated by this time.

As you might imagine, the future of robots holds potential upsides and downsides. Like many tools of technology, what we get out of robots will be a direct reflection of how we choose to use them. The following are just a few benefits and drawbacks of a reliance on robots.

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Experts expect robot technology to grow by leaps and bounds. Well see advances in robots ability to use natural language processing solutions, allowing them to process and interpret conversations more accurately. Well see major gains in AI and machine learning, with experts anticipating that more self-aware and self-learning devices will hit the market.

Computer vision, which empowers high-tech devices to spot, recognize and process still and video images as the human eye would, should also improve robotic performance. Droids of all kinds are also steadily enjoying access to better-performing self-navigation capabilities, requiring less input and guidance from humans to get around. Many companies, in fact, now offer the ability to train robots on digital simulations, allowing them to process millions of data points and improve their artificial intelligence and machine learning with each passing instance.

In other words, tomorrows robots wont just think, act and respond more naturally. Theyll also enjoy quicker response times and better fine-motor skills.

Come 2050, interacting with robots of all kinds will feel like second nature, and well increasingly encounter them at every turn. Theyll take on the role of bartenders, valets, chauffeurs and countless other professions. Thats before you consider their growing presence in the workplace as well, with warehouses and shipping centers increasingly being staffed by helpful droids.

Devices like robots that use AI and machine learning to boost productivity and performance are crucial to the workplace of the future, according to Ford. Looking ahead, their importance to organizations [of any and all kinds] will only grow, he says.

Those that are slow to adopt these new technologies and make the most of them are almost certain to fall behind competitively and decline in relevancy in coming years, Ford suggests. In contrast, he says, those organizations that act now have an opportunity to enjoy a significant first-mover advantage.

Its an almost certain bet that youll see more smart home technologythink robot vacuums, robot mops and automated lawnmowersappearing in the next several years. You can expect to see more robots popping up around offices, on factory floors, in industrial centers and at retail outlets across the nation. Thats because robots are increasingly capable of helping lighten humans workload, dont need lunch or rest breaks and are often capable of producing more predictable results with less downtime and error.

Mind you: This may mean that certain elements of todays workforce, such as factory line workers who perform the same task repeatedly throughout the day, may find themselves in danger of being replaced by drones and droids. But that doesnt mean humans are looking at a future of fewer jobs. Instead, the workforce will experience a shift.

Well need more skilled workers to program, maintain and operate all these robots, and well need data scientists and researchers to help them process, analyze and interpret information. Overall, robots will take over for humans in performing dangerous, burdensome or redundant tasks. At the same time, theyll also create new opportunities for those interested in making the most of this exciting new technology.

And dont forget the many new and exciting applications for robotics: allowing a surgeon to use a remotely controlled arm to operate on a patient from thousands of miles away in real time, or helping an art teacher, using a similar device, instruct students in the art of drawing or painting using distance-learning solutions.

In effect, the future of robots will encompass all sorts of forward-looking developments, such as surgical robots and telehealth technologies, and all manner of innovations that help support companies in every field. Havent yet had a package delivered to your mailbox by a drone or a self-driving truck? The day is rapidly approaching when you will.

As exciting as AI-powered helpers like robots are, according to Citrixs Work 2035 study, the answer is a resounding no. Robots and advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning will not replace humans. And AI isnt poised to take over your job.

Rather, robots will serve as everyday partners in crime, making working with these high-tech solutions more of a collaboration than a takeover. In fact, robots are expected to make us smarter, more productive and increasingly efficient.

Moreover, robots can help make the work of myriad professionals and industries simpler, faster and more cost-efficient. In fact, todays most advanced robots can do everything from sprint through rugged terrain, capturing data and information, to patrol for criminals like police dogs made of metal. (If you live in Massachusetts, you might also spot Boston Dynamicss robot patrol dogs keeping police company.) Robots may soon play very prominent roles as household helpers, co-workers and even public security and education providers.

At the moment, the worlds most advanced robot appears to be a realistic humanoid known as Ameca, which can blink its eyes, smile and mimic human expression and interaction. Going forward, humans will continue to deploy humanlike robots in increasing numbers and with increasingly realistic stylings, though were still many years away from those that will be indistinguishable from real people.

Put simply: While the future of robots may not look exactly like R2-D2 or WALL-E, odds are that youll soon be welcoming them with open arms.

Robots, and the rise of the AI and machine-learning technologies that power them, represent the dawning of the next Industrial revolution, suggests Oren Etzioni, CEO of the Allen Institute for AI. As he points out, The speed, power and breadth of [this] technologys impact across society will be unprecedented.

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The Future of Robots: How Robots Could Change the World - Reader's Digest

Saturday's Dow Red Stick Rumble pitted 20 FIRST Robotics competition teams from Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi against each other as they showed off their 120-pound robots in a bid to win the Red Stick Rumble Trophy.

The event included 14 teams from Louisiana.

FIRST is a global robotics community preparing young people for the future and the world's leading youth-serving nonprofit advancing STEM education.

The competition, sponsored by Dow Chemical, has been held annually since 2013 and has brought in thousands of students from across the South, inspiring them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and robotics. Attendees can watch the competition and tour the Red Stick Rumble pits where all the teams work to prepare and repair their robots.

Theres nothing like seeing students excited about STEM. Classroom learning is important, but students who are part of a robotics team are learning real world skills like design, manufacturing, and programming that cant be taught through a textbook or a lecture, said Michael Simmons, director of the Denham Springs High School STEM and Robotics Center.

The event is free and open to the public. Food will be sold at the Denham Springs High School Snack Bar. More information can be found at http://www.dsstem.org/rsr.

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20 teams compete with 120-pound robots in 9th Dow Red Stick Rumble at Denham Springs High - The Advocate

BRISTOL At the office of MOVIA Robotics, a white robot the size of a small kitchen appliance with perfectly spherical neon blue eyes and an upturned mouth guides me through a series of activities.

We start with a game the robot, named Kebbi, which looks like it could have come out of the film Wall-E, directs me to tap the falling snowflakes on an iPad screen and melt them with my fingers. Good job, Emilia! said Kebbi.

Then we move to a lesson on numbers. I am to count by fives, dragging each little circle with the number 5, 10, 15, 20 to the center of the screen in the right order.

Kebbi is one of four robots the company has programmed to work with children with special education needs and, in particular, children with autism. The robots are used in schools, group homes and therapists offices to help children with their social skills and encourage them through school lessons.

Tim Gifford, founder, president and chief scientist of the company, said that the company came out of his research into how human behavior and human interaction with the world can be used to inform the way that people program artificial intelligence.

Gifford said that his interest in using psychology to program the behavior of robots goes back to his time at Syracuse University, when he was a student in the computer science department with a minor in psychology. At UConn, he ran a robotics lab in the psychology department. Gifford said he began thinking about the use of robots in teaching neurodiverse children after speaking with his wife, a teacher.

She was telling me about the large numbers of kids that were presenting with autism and how there wasnt really a tool other than one-on-one interactions and its just not possible, particularly in the public schools, he said. And so I thought if we can get this out of the lab and into the classroom, that could really make a difference.

Gifford gathered researchers at UConn and began working on the idea in 2008 after receiving a grant from the National Institutes of Health. He launched MoviaRobotics in 2010. He works with a team of software engineers and specialists in special education, and experts in early childhood, to develop the software. He said they studied learning techniques like Applied Behavior Analysis a type of one-on-one therapy that helps autistic children with social skills and embodied cognition, which examines the role of the bodys interactions with the world and how that contributes to thought processes.

Gifford said it was important that their robots constantly drew children in and made them want to engage.

Its really important that it not only works one time and the child enjoys it, but that it continues to be effective, said Gifford.

In addition to academic help Kebbi can guide students through lessons on counting, days of the week, colors and letters of the alphabet it also teaches these social skills. For example, one lesson about staying focused on work presents children with a drawing of a student who is studying at a desk and another of a student holding a paper airplane. Kebbi asks the child to point out which student is staying focused and which isnt.

The software also allows teachers to create individualized plans for each student based on their abilities, and collects data on each student and produces a report on how the student is performing. According to Gifford, children who have worked with the robots have improved their skills

Gifford said the robots are currently being used in more than 70 schools including Bristol, Wallingford, Hartford, Middletown and Suffield public schools as well as with families, in therapy offices and in organizations for people with intellectual disabilities.

In addition to pre-programmed lessons, Gifford said that a teacher or a therapist can also program the robot to say specific things or engage in a dialogue with a child. Gifford said the robot can also be used to guide a child through de-escalation techniques, like taking deep breaths and counting to ten.

The therapist can actually use the robot to lead the child through different discussions and interactions in a dynamic way.

Movia doesnt build robots the company buys them from manufacturers in China, Taiwan and Japan, and then programs them with their software. The important thing for the robots, Gifford said, is that they are sturdy enough to withstand being handled by a child at an affordable cost for parents or school districts. He said that they also prefer robots that have some human features, like faces and movable limbs.

Muniba Masood, the CEO of Movia, said that children tend to respond to the robot with tenderness and to form relationships with the robot quickly.

They tend to be gentler. They tend to be kinder because of the physicality and because the robot can say their name and they know the robot by name, she said. A lot of times what we hear and see is, individuals with autism have difficulty with human interaction and eye contact. With the robot being so consistent and nonjudgmental and repetitive and almost calming in its tone and effect, that really lends itself to being a great intervention.

The cost of a Kebbi with software is about $2,400 for the first year for a family, or $5,000 for an institution. After that, the cost drops to about $1,000 per year for a family. Gifford said that the company also provides an hour to an hour and a half of training for the teachers or the parents who will use it.

Gifford said the company is working on developing a Spanish-speaking version of the software, something they have received requests for. He said they also wanted to create more programs for older users and adults, along with lessons that have kids engage with more tools than just a tablet.

Masood said that the robot doesnt replace a therapist or a teacher it works in tandem with them, giving them more time to focus on assessing the childs progress and cutting down the time a teacher would normally have to spend refocusing the child on task.

Were wanting to meet the individual where they are, and we know how technology-centric we are, said Masood. So this is a great example of using technology for good and using technology in a way thats powerful and impactful improving lives.

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Bristol-based MOVIA Robotics Develops Tools for Special Education and Children with Autism - CT Examiner