-Manufacturing & Cobot Roundup 
-ABB to acquire AB Rotech
-UR10 serves cotton candy 
-Plant-carrying, stunt-performing & applause-generating robots
-And much more! 

Manufacturing & cobot roundup

 KUKA's LBR Med Robot Assistant cobot picked up an award at The 14th International IERA Award for Robotics and Automation.  

Caption: The LBR Med has seven axes and sensors designed for human-robot collaboration.  Credit: KUKA 

 Via Control Design: 

In laboratories, clinics or operating theatres, the lightweight robot takes over various tasks depending on the tool and program - for example, during medical interventions, treatments or scientific test procedures.

Experts from GM, FANUC and the Robotic Industries Association, appeared on Autoline TV to answer the question "What is a collaborative robot?" 

(Note: For Robotiq's answer to the same question (from "way back" in 2015), check out this post.)

ABB is to acquire AB Rotech, a privately-owned company headquartered in Bursa, Turkey, with nearly 20 years of experience in robotic welding solutions and services for the automotive industry.  The value of the deal --which is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close later this year-- has not been disclosed. (H/T Reuters.) 

Doosan showcased one of its cobots being used for wheel bolt fastening... 

Robotics & Automation News explored "4 Reasons Why Collaborative Robotics Is The Answer To SME Automation": 

1.  Enhanced human safety

2.  Easy deployment

3.  Improved flexibility

4.  Extremely cost-effective

Universal Robots took a fresh look back at Automatica 2018... 

MIT Technology Review reported on a giant new warehouse and fulfillment centre in Shanghai, which has only four employees.  Owned by JD.com, one of China’s biggest e-commerce companies, the facility's employees are used for robot servicing. 

Mobile Automation installed a UR10 cobot from Universal Robots in at Rockpress in Queensland, Australia at Rockpress. The cobot works on welding tasks and can handle welding 8 assemblies at a time with little assistance from a human colleague... 

 Meanwhile, "For the world’s second-largest economy [China] to realize its technology ambitions, it needs to start coming up with original solutions," says Asia Times;  robots are settling into life in Europe's warehouses (H/T JLL Real Views);  and, according to data from global job site Indeed, there has been a 186% rise in the number of Indians looking for employment in robotics between May 2015 and May 2018, with Maharashtra offering most of the jobs in the sector.  

New video shows a Renishaw Equator flexible gauge integrated into a cell with a Mazak turning centre and a cobot from Fanuc.  This combination of technologies allows parts to be cut, handled and gauged in an automated cell without guarding... 

Bridging the STEM skills gap in the United States will require both education and industry commitments, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Northeastern University professor Taskin Padir is leading a new project "to bring collaborative robots developed at the university into processing plants at America’s busiest fishing port, located in New Bedford, Massachusetts."  The goal of introducing cobots is to "to increase production and efficiency, keep workers safe, and stimulate local job growth," News @ Northeastern reported. 

Trade disputes with the United States "will not hamper China's ongoing move to become an advanced manufacturing power with intensified research and development efforts and international cooperation," according to experts quoted in ECNS.  

OCTOPUZ delighted kids and adults alike by programming a UR cobot fitted with a Robotiq gripper to serve cotton candy... 

Elsewhere...

Chinese roboticist and entrepreneur Sun Tianqi has modded a six-legged toy robot made by his consumer robot firm Vincross so that it can carry a potted plant on its back. 

The mod enables the robot to transport plants to the optimal position for sunlight.  The device also stomps its "legs" when the plant needs some water.  (H/T The Verge.) 

Caption:  Vincross is turning plants into cyborgs, one piece of robotic enhancement at a time.  Credit:  Tianqi Sun. 

South Korean telecommunications company KT Corp. has unveiled a new "next-generation platform for disaster and safety management." 

Credit:  KT Corp. 

Via UST: 

The SKYSHIP platform operates a special unmanned airship and a mobile communication center to remotely control drones and robots that carry out search and rescue operations for disaster survivors. Rescuers on the ground are also assisted with augmented reality glasses that have a direct line of communication to doctors at nearby hospitals for assistance delivering emergency treatment. 

Michael Milford and  Jonathan Roberts from the Queensland University of Technology, experts in bio-inspired systems, shared some of their insights into robot vision in a fascinating piece for The Conversation.  

If you're in the mood for a quick history of robotics, Interesting Engineering published "15 Engineers and Their Inventions That Defined Robotics."

According to Europe's The Parliament magazine, "robotics needs AI and AI needs robotics."  

Finally, all of us can appreciate a little positive affirmation every now and then.   But unless you're a performer an enthusiastic round of applause is something few of us will ever get to experience.  

Thankfully, to meet this need (and a few others in the service robotics space) there's a new robot that can provide you with an uplifting round of applause whenever you like and, quite frankly, whether you deserve it or not.  Now that's progress... 

I'll be back next week with more robotics news!  Until then... 

Five vids for Friday 

1.  MIT's Cheetah 3 robot can now leap and gallop across rough terrain, climb debris-littered staircases, and swiftly recover its balance when yanked or shoved and all without relying on complicated vision systems --a repertoire of skills that could prove useful in disaster zones. 

2.  Get out the popcorn, folks.  The popular foodstuff has proven itself to be a cheap, biodegradable way to provide a robot with once-off actuation.  (H/T IEEE Spectrum.) 

3.  SoftBank Robotics' humanoid service bot Pepper explained to a Business Insider reporter why we don't need to be afraid of advanced robots.  The pair's conversation also encompassed the age-old philosophical problem of feelings vs. tacos. 

4.  CGTN visited the China International Robot Show in Shanghai to explore the future of the robotics industry. 

5.  Disney Imagineering released stunning new video of it autonomous, robotic stunt doubles in action.