In collaboration with the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), ABB Robotics has developed an automated neutralising antibody testing method that provides the most accurate way to assess a person’s immunity to different strains of Covid. Thanks to this technology, between 15 and more than 1,000 neutralising antibody tests are performed every day. Automating the
Leading online retailer Amazon has unveiled a new industrial robotic arm capable of handling millions of different objects. It calls it the Sparrow robot, a new intelligent robotic device that speeds up the fulfilment process by moving individual products before they are packed, an important step towards cutting-edge technology and helping our workers. With considerable
Gate grinding, filing, polishing and other material removal operations rely substantially on physical labour and require skill and experience to perform correctly. These tasks seem difficult to automate due to their complexity and subtlety, according to a paper from ATI Industrial Automation. Removing material from curved, rounded or irregular surfaces presents several process difficulties that
The global move to electric cars presents enormous prospects for Japanese industrial robot manufacturer Fanuc. Compared to petrol cars, electric vehicles are quite different in design: they need fewer parts, for example. However, Yamaguchi pointed out that production lines for electric vehicles employ more robots than those for petrol vehicles. Recently, most of our major
Fanuc is showcasing new solutions for industry, including an enhanced ROBODRILL, the R-2000iC/190S high-precision machining robot, the ceiling-mounted SCARA SR-3iA/U robot and the latest iteration of the CR-35iB collaborative robot, demonstrating the company’s dedication to research and development. Tom Bouchier, managing director of Fanuc UK, says that technological innovation and a strong commitment to R&D
The vast majority of jobs still require manual programming, although new offline robot programming tools are evolving and becoming more widely used. The industry standard for CNC machine programming is to employ robust, easy-to-use offline software. As a result, overall manufacturing costs have been reduced, accuracy has improved, machine downtime has been reduced, more complex
Numerous statistics suggest that the majority of companies in a variety of sectors intend to increase their use of automation and robots. Seventy per cent of US companies are planning changes to their operations, with 37% planning to bring production back in-house and 33% looking to offshore and move their operations closer to home. ABB’s
The Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria is working on a project investigating the development of 3D printed concrete parts for construction. The project on additive manufacturing of concrete elements using robots (COEBRO) is investigating resource efficiency in the use of concrete with 3D printing. A multidisciplinary team of architects, engineers and materials
Through the monitoring of important assets and the elimination of repetitive and routine tasks, the integration of operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) has helped companies to better regulate their operations. Traditionally, IT and OT have been created independently, making it impossible to use operations and production data for better workflow optimisation and well-planned
Industrial robots are constantly being upgraded and improved as technology advances tremendously as we move forward in the automation industry. Force sensing and robot vision are combined in industrial robots to generate haptic intelligence. These procedures are continually being improved by manufacturers, who also manage to raise production quality while reducing prices. FANUC force sensors
