Robotics

With the rapid growth of e-commerce and e-grocery, automation in the warehousing and logistics chain is becoming necessary in more scenarios. Based on the market research report "Mobile Robotics in Logistics, Warehousing and Delivery 2022-2042", IDTechEx summarizes four reasons why mobile robotics is becoming the industrial trend for warehouse automation.

GlobalDWS is a Canadian company that functions as a systems integrator and provider of consultancy and technologies including AI, IoT, and service robots.

Founded in 1998, Ecovacs Robotics is headquartered in Suzhou, China, specializing in service robots and clean household appliances, such as washing machines, dryers, robotic vacuum cleaners, and many others.

Stretch is a versatile, mobile robot that unloads floor-loaded trailers and containers for safer and more efficient warehouse operations. The robot works with a wide range of package types and sizes, from standard brown to highly graphical boxes, and can handle cases up to 50 pounds. With advanced mobility and a footprint the size of a pallet, Stretch is built to maneuver in and out of trucks and tight spaces in a warehouse.

A study unveils a new platform for discovering cellular signatures of disease that integrates robotic systems for studying patient cells with artificial intelligence methods for image analysis. Using their automated cell culture platform, scientists at the successfully identify new cellular hallmarks of Parkinson's disease by creating and profiling over a million images of skin cells from a cohort of 91 patients and healthy controls.

IDTechEx had an interview with Ritukar Vijay, Founder and CEO at Ottonomy. Ottonomy is a robotics company providing services of airport and kerbside delivery. To date, the company has raised US$1.4 million in funding, and the company employs 25 people as of March 2022.

Accerion was founded in 2015 and now is based in the high-tech region of the Netherlands. The company has developed a unique localisation solution for different warehousing mobile robots (AGVs and AMRs). Their customers are OEMs of mobile robots for both logistics and manufacturing. The company's technology has been used by thousands of mobile robots at ~55 sites in Europe, and they are now expanding into the US and China.

The current state of 5G has seen less technological innovation than might have initially been expected. There is certainly more scope for technical development and hence opportunities for several technologies and materials, a critical one of which is the semiconductor technology with wide bandgap semiconductors.

German drone delivery pioneer Wingcopter has announced the signing of a strategic partnership agreement with ITOCHU Corporation. ITOCHU joins Wingcopter's Authorized Partnership Program and will act as a dedicated distributor and lessor for the Wingcopter 198, Wingcopter's new eVTOL delivery drone, in Japan. On top, the Japanese conglomerate also decided to make a strategic investment in Wingcopter.

The Artificial Intelligence-Guided Ultrasound Intervention Device (AI-GUIDE) is a handheld platform technology that has the potential to help personnel with simple training to quickly install a catheter into a common femoral vessel, enabling rapid treatment at the point of injury.

Microwave Journal Media Director, Pat Hindle, talks with IDTechEx Technology Analyst, Dr. James Jeffs, about current automotive radar technical trends and future developments as 4D radar sensors are hitting the market now.

Engineers and scientists have paved the way for a robot that can reach some of the smallest bronchial tubes in the lungs - to take tissue samples or deliver cancer therapy. Known as a magnetic tentacle robot, it measures just 2 millimetres in diameter, about twice the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. Magnets on the outside of the patient will be used to guide the magnetic tentacle robot into place.

This premium article introduces warehouse material picking robots, looking at case picking robots and mobile manipulators with relevant comparisons. It will explore the key market players, as well as looking into examples of both case picking robots and mobile picking manipulators.

Intuition Robotics announced the official commercial launch of its digital care companion, ElliQ which is now available for purchase. The robot accompanies older adults on their journey to age independently while motivating them to live healthier lives.

Developed in Norway, the C Disc is a mobile and efficient diver-operated tool that can be used for harvesting various species from the seabed. The technology is designed to increase the catch rate, compared to traditional hand-picking by divers. With improved efficiency, the C Disc could help make sea urchin harvesting a sustainable and commercially viable venture in Newfoundland and Labrador.

This premium article gives an introduction to Level 4 heavy duty autonomous trucks. It will look into the key market players and their market readiness, as well as examples of Level 4 autonomous trucking companies.

The LightWeeder is a world-first eye-safe, herbicide-free, carbon neutral, commercially viable weeding system delivered by lightweight autonomous field robots via UK agri-robotics company and Agri-EPI Centre member, Earth Rover.

The MWC event in Barcelona earlier this month gathered more than 60,000 mobile experts from all around the world. From digital applications to network infrastructure, IDTechEx was there to cover major developments in the industry! Here are some of the key trends we observed at MWC2022 Barcelona.

Engineering researchers have invented an advanced brain-computer interface with a flexible and moldable backing and penetrating microneedles. Adding a flexible backing to this kind of brain-computer interface allows the device to more evenly conform to the brain's complex curved surface and to more uniformly distribute the microneedles that pierce the cortex. The microneedles, which are 10 times thinner than the human hair, protrude from the flexible backing, penetrate the surface of the brain tissue without piercing surface venules, and record signals from nearby nerve cells evenly across a wide area of the cortex.

Friendly Robots is an American start-up founded by Xiao Xiao, a previous Apple engineer who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.