By Frank Tobe, Editor and Publisher, The Robot Report “The future of automation lies in direct cooperation between humans and robots. In order for a robot to be able to work safely with humans, a whole new robot generation is required: the machines must be sensitive and compliant.“ — Dr. Albrecht Hoene, KUKA Labs All over the world…
Are there any big ideas [about robotics] the mainstream is still missing?”
By Frank Tobe, Editor, The Robot Report A The Robot Report reader asked a question that addresses a subject I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about — “are there any big ideas you think the mainstream is still missing [about robotics]?” When PCs became available in the early ’90’s, key software that people wanted was…
17% CAGR forecast for home cleaning, remote presence and home entertainment robots
A recent Business Insider article, Beyond Factory Robots: Market Forecast and Growth Trends for Consumer and Office Robots, concludes that for the period from now until 2019, consumer and office robots will grow at a 17% CAGR – 7 times faster than the market for manufacturing robots. The report sees a shift toward new non-industrial and…
Biggest Maker Faire held at San Mateo Event Center, May 17 – 18
Maker Faire, held at the San Mateo Event Center May 17-18, was the biggest Maker Faire Bay Area to date with over 1,100 makers exhibiting their projects, hobbies, products, and innovations. There was also over 200 presentations from the maker movement’s experts, thought leaders, and motivators across 8 stages; and the widest variety of topics on tap…
Small Unmanned Systems Business Expo (May 8-9, San Francisco)
“sUSB Expo 2014 showed signs of a maturing drone industry,” said Antoine Martin of Unmanned Vehicle Systems Consulting. The sold-out 2nd annual sUSB Expo 2014, held in San Francisco earlier this month, focused on small UAVs for commercial use. A large foreign representation (mostly from Europe), supplemented attendees from the movie industry, UAV manufacturers, insurance companies, public users,…
Hydrogen and Power
Hydrogen make up about 92% of all mass in the entire universe. It’s everywhere. Ask any astronomer. All that interstellar gas? Hydrogen. All the stars in the universe? Hydrogen. Elemental hydrogen is what fuels the sun. It is a giant ball of hydrogen gas that is sufficiently dense to have enough gravity to hold together […]
Titan Medical secures $34.8 million from public offerings
Titan Medical, a publicly-traded Canadian start-up company developing a robotic surgical system for minimally-invasive surgeries, announced the completion of two rounds of public offering totally $34.8 million. The funds will enable Titan to focus totally on bringing their new system to commercialization in late 2015. Titan Medical’s Single Port Orifice Robotic Technology (SPORT™) will be a…
Electric Motors Make Things Go
Electric motors make things go. Better motors mean better go power. What constitutes “better” and what to do about it, is the subject of a great deal of investigation. Better motors generally mean 2 things, higher efficiency and greater torque produced for a given amount of input power. The Department of Energy has spent incredible […]
America’s dominance in military robotics is starting to crumble
Foreign Policy Magazine's recent examination of “The Looming Robotics Gap” by University of Pennsylvania International Relations Associate Professor Michael C Horowitz, and recent Pentagon insider on national security issues, is an up-to-date review of the world-wide state of military robotics. Besides comparing Chinese and American look-alike unmanned flying robots that can land on an aircraft carrier, and…
Robots begin to attack waste and dirt
In Finland, there's an army of robots sorting, selecting and processing trash, while in Cincinnati bactobots are targeting and neutralizing bacteria in waste water. Here's a review of what is happening in the commercial world of cleaning and waste: Waste recycling: Helsinki-based ZenRobotics has installed the first robotic waste sorting system in the world. Each robot…
World’s Largest Truck is Hybrid Electric
The world’s largest earth moving vehicle is about to hit the dirt running. The Belaz truck company of Belarus recently announced the completion of their biggest dump truck ever. You want a truck with some power? Check out the drivetrain specs; all wheel drive using 4 drive motors at 1600 horsepower each. 6400 horsepower in […]
The Future of Electric Motors
The electric motor is everywhere. Even more so in the age of the electric car, wind turbines and solar tracking systems. Electric motors use more than 60% of all electricity consumed by the industrial sector. Air conditioning, refrigerators, and washers and dryers are major electrical load in tens of millions of homes. So the topic […]
Notices and Awards
Steadily the service robotics movement is gaining traction. Contracts are being given, funding is arranged, companies are expanding, partnerships are happening and all the while a stream of youths are inspired to enter STEM career paths. Here are a few recent developments and awards: Universal Robots, manufacturer of the UR line of one-armed collaborative robots, has moved…