The upgraded CVGC carbon vacuum gripper has a variety of customizations, including sizing, configurability, and compatibility. | Source: Coval

Vacuum grippers are a popular option for manufacturers and warehouse operators hoping to get the most payload capacity out of their robots. These grippers can provide between four and 10 times more power than their electromechanical counterparts, making them good at lifting heavy weights, said Coval Inc. The provider of vacuum automation technology has released its redesigned CVGC carbon vacuum gripper. 

Coval it designed this upgraded gripper with feedback from its customers, integrators, manufacturers, and operators. The Raleigh, N.C.-based company said it also took into account current and future trends in the collaborative robot market. These trends include greater application diversity, growth in the number of manufacturers, increased co-presence with operators, and handling of heavier loads. 

The new CVGC offers a number of advantages, claimed Coval. First, thanks to its carbon design, the gripper is ultra-light and compact. It’s also compatible with a wide range of cobots and has a range of configuration possibilities, making it highly versatile, said the company, whose global headquarters are in France.

Coval offers two standard versions of its grippers: the M2 Version with a vacuum generator, and the CVGC GO Version without a vacuum generator. The M2 version is a plug-and-play system that Coval designed to adapt to all models of cobots. It integrates the necessary gripper functions under a protective cover for optimal use, the company noted. 

The CVGC gripper is designed for versatile configurations. Source: Coval

The GO Version can be used with an independent vacuum generator, said Coval. It is equipped with a VRU-series vacuum rotary union, which the company said ensures vacuum supply to the gripper via an external source. From these two versions, customers have different options when it comes to size and configurability. 

Coval aims to provide maximum flexibility

On request, Coval said its design team is available to develop customized vacuum grippers. The CVGC is available in three sizes to meet customer’s precise needs — 240 x 120 mm (9.45 x 4.72 in.), 320 x 160 mm (12.6 x 6.3 in.), 350 x 250 mm (13.78 x 9.84 in.).

The gripper is available with a choice of three mounting options and six connection cables. It also has comes with suction cups or foam gripping interfaces.

Coval built its foam Interface for the handling of rigid products and gripping textured or uneven surfaces. It has flow control nozzles and two standard hole diameters, 12 mm (.47 in.) and oblong 27 x 12 mm (1.06 x 0.47 in.). 

The CVGC Suction Cup Interface can handle flexible products and comes with a wide range of cup options. It also offers flow-control nozzles in multiple diameters and has two types of standard suction cups measuring 25 mm (0.98 in.) and 33 mm (1.3 in.). 

Coval added that its upgraded CVGC vacuum gripper is aimed at a range of industries, including food processing, packaging, plastics processing, and more. The company said it designed the gripper to be a versatile tool for all manufacturers, integrators, and users of cobots for palletizing, gripping boxes, plastic parts, and a wide variety of other applications.

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Medical device developers can now use RTI Connext and NVIDIA Holoscan. Source: Real-Time Innovations

Devices such as surgical robots need access to distributed, reliable, and continuous data streaming across different sensors and devices. Real-Time Innovations, or RTI, today said it is collaborating with NVIDIA Corp. to deliver real-time data connectivity for the NVIDIA Holoscan software development kit with RTI Connext.

“Connectivity is the foundation for cutting-edge technologies, such as AI, that are transforming the medtech industry and beyond,” stated Darren Porras, market development manager for medical at Real-Time Innovations. “We’re proud to work with NVIDIA to harness the transformative power of AI to revolutionize healthcare.”

“By providing competitive, tailored solutions, we are paving the way for sustainable business value across the healthcare, automotive, and industrial sectors, marking an important step toward a future where technology enhances the quality of life and drives innovation,” he added.

Founded in 1991, Real-Time Innovations claimed that it has 2,000 customer designs and that its software runs more than 250 autonomous vehicle programs, controls North America’s largest power plants, and integrates over 400 defense programs. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company said its systems also support next-generation medical technologies and surgical robots, Canada’s air traffic control, and NASA’s launch-control systems.

RTI Connext designed to reliably distribute data

The RTI Connext software framework enables users to build intelligent distributed systems that combine advanced sensing, fast control, and artificial intelligence algorithms, said Real-Time Innovations. This can help developers bring capable systems to market faster, it said.

“Connext facilitates interoperable and real-time communication for complex, intelligent systems in the healthcare industry and beyond,” according to RTI. It is based on the Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard and has been proven across industries to reliably communicate data, the company said.

Product teams can now efficiently build and deploy AI-enabled applications and distributed systems that require low-latency and reliable data sharing for sensor and video processing. Connext, which is available for free trials, allows applications to work together as one, said RTI.

NVIDIA Holoscan gets advanced data flows

RTI Connext provides a connectivity framework for the NVIDIA Holoscan software development kit (SDK), offering integration across various systems and sensors to complement its AI capabilities. 

“Enterprises are looking for advanced software-defined architectures that deliver on low latency, flexibility, reliability, scalability, and cybersecurity,” said David Niewolny, director of business development for healthcare and medical at NVIDIA. “With RTI Connext and NVIDIA Holoscan, medical technology developers can accelerate their software-defined product visions by leveraging infrastructure purpose-built for healthcare applications.”

Connext now integrates with NVIDIA’s AI sensor-processing pipelines and reference workflows, bolstering data flows and real-time AI processing across a system of systems. With capabilities for real-time visualization and data-driven insights, the technologies can help drive more precise and automated minimally invasive procedures, clinical monitoring, and next-generation medical imaging platforms. They can also help developers create smarter, integrated systems across industries, said the partners.

NVIDIA said Holoscan offers the software and hardware needed to build AI applications and deploy sensor-processing capabilities from edge to cloud. This can help companies explore new capabilities, accelerate time to market, and lower costs, said the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company.

NVIDIA Holoscan now supports interoperability with a wide range of legacy systems, such as Windows-based medical devices, real-time operating system nodes in surgical robots, and patient-monitoring systems, through RTI Connext.

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Organization: Glidance Inc.
Country: U.S.
Website: https://glidance.io/
Year Founded: 2023
Number of Employees: 2-10
Innovation Class: Application

In the U.S., around 1 million adults are blind. Yet, only 2% to 8% use a white cane for navigation. Most instead rely on guide dogs or sighted companions, according to the Perkins School for the Blind. This reliance limits independence and mobility, a challenge that Glidance, winner of the 2023 RoboBusiness Pitchfire Competition, aims to address through robotics.

The company’s flagship product, Glide, offers autonomous mobility assistance for the visually impaired. It incorporates advanced guiding technologies and a unique mechanical design to foster independence.

Glide’s innovation provides haptic and audio feedback for safety. The product has garnered praise from industry experts, particularly for its potential to serve an underserved market segment. CEO Amos Miller, himself blind, brings a firsthand perspective to Glidance’s mission.

The Seattle-based company plans to sell the device for about the cost of a new cell phone. It will also offer subscription plans that enable feature updates and options that will make Glide easily configurable for each user’s needs.

With a battery life of up to eight hours and quick user adaptation, Glide promises to revolutionize mobility for the visually impaired. Founded by Miller and Mike Sinclair, Glidance represents hope for those seeking greater freedom and autonomy in navigating the world.

Miller noted that more than 50,000 individuals lose their sight every year, yet worldwide there are only 10,000 working guide dogs any year. This leaves a huge gap and providing the opportunity for a device like Glide to make a huge difference in users’ lives. It can cost up to $50,000 annually to train and care for a guide dog throughout its working lifetime with a person who is blind.

Register now.

Explore the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards 2024.

RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards 2024

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The Misso robot will help surgeons with personalized pre-planning and precise cutting for joint replacement. | Source: Meril

Meril Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. this week unveiled its Misso surgical robot for simplifying orthopedic procedures.

The India-based company announced on LinkedIn that it is developing surgical robot for total knee procedures. It said it designed Misso to help surgeons with personalized pre-planning and precise cutting for joint replacements.

Misso has an optical tracking sensor, a six-axis articulated robotic arm, and “superior” safety systems, claimed Meril. The surgical robot can help physicians perform real-time gap checks and modify a surgical plan intraoperatively, it explained.

Various cutting options are available on the Misso, including full and partial cutting based on surgeon preference. Cutting guides are not required, and the system can perform a tibial cut and a fully finished femur with all the cuts, including peg holes, according to the company.

Misso includes safety features

Meril designed Misso with bone-movement monitoring to ensure safety during procedures. If bone movement is observed, the resection process stops.

The resection will continue with automatic recovery of the bone position. If the robotic system’s tools contact the patient or other object, the collaborative robot arm will immediately stop moving.

Misso uses optical tracking-based navigation and robotic assistance to ensure accurate results in shaping and aligning artificial knee joint components. The company aims to improve post-operative outcomes, reduce complications, and promote faster patient recovery.

Meril joins competitive surgical robot market

Founded in 2006, Meril said it is dedicated to the innovation, design, and development of novel, clinically relevant devices. Its product portfolio includes vascular intervention devices, orthopedic implants, robotics, endo-surgery, ENT products, and in-vitro diagnostics. 

The company has joined the growing surgical robotics market, where it will compete with orthopedic surgical robot developers such as Stryker and Zimmer Biomet. Stryker launched its its Mako surgical robot in 2017 and introduced a joint-replacement offering in February 2024.

Also in February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared Zimmer Biomet’s Rosa surgical robotic platform for shoulder and hip replacement procedures. The FDA had cleared it for partial knee replacement for partial knee replacement in April 2021.

Editor’s note: This article is syndicated from The Robot Report sibling site MassDevice.

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Zebra’s portfolio includes FlexShelf robots for parts fulfillment. Source: Zebra Technologies

Only 1 in 6 manufacturers has a clear understanding of its own processes, according to a new study from Zebra Technologies Corp. The report also found that 61% of manufacturers expect artificial intelligence to drive growth by 2029, up from 41% in 2024.

Zebra said the surge in AI interest, along with 92% of survey respondents prioritizing digital transformation, demonstrates manufacturers’ intent to improve data management and use new technologies that enhance visibility and quality throughout production.

“Manufacturers struggle with using their data effectively, so they recognize they must adopt AI and other digital technology solutions to create an agile, efficient manufacturing environment,” stated Enrique Herrera, industry principal for manufacturing at Zebra Technologies. “Zebra helps manufacturers work with technology in new ways to automate and augment workflows to achieve a well-connected plant floor where people and technology collaborate at scale.”

Zebra commissioned Azure Knowledge Corp. to conduct 1,200 online surveys among C-suite executives and IT and OT (information and operational technology) leaders within various manufacturing sectors. They included automotive, electronics, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. Respondents were surveyed in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

The fully connected factory is elusive

Although manufacturers said digital transformation is a strategic priority, achieving a fully connected factory remains elusive, noted Zebra Technologies. The company asserted that visibility is key to optimizing efficiency, productivity, and quality on the plant floor.

However, only 16% of manufacturing leaders globally reported they have real-time, work-in-progress (WIP) monitoring across the entire manufacturing process, reported the 2024 Manufacturing Vision Study.

While nearly six in 10 manufacturing leaders said they expect to increase visibility across production and throughout the supply chain by 2029, one-third said getting IT and OT to agree on where to invest is a key barrier to digital transformation.

In addition, 86% of manufacturing leaders acknowledged that they are struggling to keep up with the pace of technological innovation and to securely integrate devices, sensors, and technologies throughout their facilities and supply chain. Zebra claimed that enterprises can use its systems for higher levels of security and manageability, as well as new analytics to elevate business performance.

Technology can augment workforce efficiency

Manufacturers are shifting their growth strategies by integrating and augmenting workers with AI and other technologies over the next five years, found Zebra’s study. Nearly three-quarters (73%) said they plan to reskill labor for data and technology usage, and seven in 10 said they expect to augment workers with mobility-enabling technology.

Manufacturers are implementing tools including tablets (51%), mobile computers (55%), and workforce management software (56%). In addition, 61% of manufacturing leaders said they plan to deploy wearable mobile computers.

Across the C-suite, IT, and OT understand how labor initiatives must extend beyond improving worker efficiency and productivity with technology. Six in 10 leaders ranked ongoing development, retraining/upskilling, and career path development to attract future talent as high priorities for their organizations.

Automation advances to optimize quality

The quest for quality has intensified as manufacturers across segments must do more with fewer resources. According to Zebra and Azure’s survey, global manufacturers said today’s most significant quality management issues are real-time visibility (33%), keeping up with new standards and regulations (29%), integrating data (27%), and maintaining traceability (27%).

Technology implementation plans are addressing these challenges. Over the next five years, many executives said they plan to implement robotics (65%), machine vision (66%), radio frequency identification (RFID; 66%), and fixed industrial scanners (57%).

Most survey respondents agreed that these automation decisions are driven by factors including the need to provide the workforce with high-value tasks (70%), meet service-level agreements (SLAs; 69%), and add more flexibility to their plant floors (64%).

Zebra Technologies shares regional findings

• Asia-Pacific (APAC): While only 30% of manufacturing leaders said they use machine vision across the plant floor in APAC, 67% are implementing or planning to deploy this technology within the next five years.
• Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA): In Europe, reskilling labor to enhance data and technology usage skills was the top-ranked workforce strategy for manufacturing leaders to drive growth today (46%) and in five years (71%).
• Latin America (LATAM): While only 24% of manufacturing leaders rely on track and trace technology in LATAM, 74% are implementing or plan to implement the technology in the next five years.
• North America: In this region, 68% of manufacturing leaders ranked deploying workforce development programs as their most important labor initiative.

The Manufacturing Vision Study provided insights around digitalization and the connected factory. Source: Zebra Technologies

Zebra to discuss digital transformation

While digital transformation is a priority for manufacturers, achieving it is fraught with obstacles, including the cost and availability of labor, scaling technology solutions, and the convergence of IT and OT, according to Zebra Technologies. The Lincolnshire, Ill.-based company said visibility is the first step to such transformation.

Emerging technologies such as robotics and AI enable manufacturers to use data to identify, react, and prioritize problems and projects so they can deliver incremental efficiencies that yield the greatest benefits, Zebra said. The company said it provides systems to enable businesses to intelligently connect data, assets, and people.

Zebra added that its portfolio, which includes software, mobile robots, machine vision, automation, and digital decisioning, can help boost visibility, optimize quality, and augment workforces. It has more than 50 years of experience in scanning, track-and-trace, and mobile computing systems.

The company has more than 10,000 partners across over 100 countries, as well as 80% of the Fortune 500 as customers. Zebra is hosting a webinar today about how to overcome top challenges to digitalization and automation.

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Realtime Robotics demonstrates a multi-robot workcell during Mitsubishi Electric’s visit. Credit: Eugene Demaitre

BOSTON — As factories and warehouses look to automate more of their operations, they need confidence that multiple robots can conduct complex tasks repeatedly, reliably, and safely. Realtime Robotics has developed hardware-agnostic software to run and coordinate industrial workcells smoothly without error or collision.

“The lack of coordination on the fly is a key reason why we don’t see multiple robots in many applications today — even in machine tending, where multiple arms could be useful,” said Peter Howard, CEO of Realtime Robotics (RTR). “We’re planning with Mitsubishi Electric to put our motion planner into its CNC controller.”

The company last month received strategic investment from Mitsubishi Electric Corp. as part of its ongoing Series B round. Realtime Robotics said it plans to use the funding to continue scaling and refining its motion-planning optimization and runtime systems. 

Last week, a high-ranking delegation from Mitsubishi Electric visited Realtime Robotics to celebrate the companies’ collaboration. RTR demonstrated a workcell with four robot arms from different vendors, including Mitsubishi, that was able to optimize motion as desired in seconds.

“Mitsubishi Electric is a multi-business conglomerate, a technology leader, and one of the leading suppliers of factory automation products worldwide,” said Dr. Toshie Takeuchi, executive officer and group president for factory automation systems at Mitsubishi. “I see this partnership as the perfect point where experience meets innovation to create value for our customers, stakeholders, and society.”

She and Howard answered the following questions from The Robot Report:

Mitsubishi Electric, Realtime Robotics integrate technologies

How is Realtime Robotics’ motion-optimization software unique? How will it help Mitsubishi Electric’s customers?

Takeuchi: Realtime Robotics’ software is unique in many ways. It starts with the ability to do collision-free motion planning. From there, the motion planning in single robot cells as well as multirobot cells can be automatically optimized for cycle time.

Our customers will benefit by optimizing cycle time to improve production efficiency and reducing the amount of engineering efforts required for equipment design.

Howard: Typically, to provide access for multiple tools at once, you need an interlocked sequence, which loses time. According to the IFR [which recognized the company for its “choreography” tool], up to 70% of the cost of a robot is in programming it.

With RapidPlan, we automatically tune for fixed applications, saving time. Our cloud service can consume files and send back an optimized motion plan, enabling hundreds of thousands of motions in a couple of hours. It’s like Google Maps for industrial robots.

Does Mitsubishi have a timeframe in mind for integrating Realtime’s technology into its controls for factory automation (FA)? When will they be available?

Takeuchi: We are starting by integrating RTR’s motion-planning and optimization technology into our 3D simulator to significantly improve equipment and system design.

Our plan is to incorporate this technology into our FA control systems, including PLCs and CNCs, and this integration is currently under development and testing, with a launch expected soon.

Howard: We’re currently validating and characterizing for remote optimization with customers. We’re also doing longevity testing here at our headquarters.

In the demo cell, you couldn’t easily program 1.7 million options for four different arms, but RapidPlan automates motion planning and calculates space reservations to avoid obstacles in real time. We do point-to-point, integrated spline-based movement.

Toyota asked us for a 16-arm cell to test spot welding, and we can add a second controller for an adjacent cell. We can currently control up to 12 robots for welding high and low on an auto body.

Mitsubishi Electric recently launched the RV-35/50/80 FR industrial robots — are they designed to work with Realtime’s technology?

Takeuchi: Yes, they are. Our robots are developed on the same platform which seamlessly integrate with RTR’s technology.

Howard: For example, Sony uses Mitsubishi robots to manufacture 2-cm parts, and we can get down to submillimeter accuracy if it’s a known object with a CAD file.

Cobots are fine for larger objects and voxels, but users must still conduct safety assessments.

MELCO’s Dr. Takeuchi changes optimization parameters during RTR demonstration by Kevin Carlin, chief commercial officer. Source: Realtime Robotics

RTR optimizes motion for multiple applications

What sorts of applications or use cases do Mitsubishi and Realtime expect to benefit from closer coordination among robots?

Takeuchi: Our interaction with and understanding from customers suggest that almost all manufacturing sites are continuously in need of increasing production, efficiency, profitability, and sustainability.

With our collaboration, we can reduce the robots’ cycle time, hence increasing efficiency. Multi-robot applications can collaborate seamlessly, increasing throughput and optimizing floor space.

By implementing collision-free motion planning, we help our customers reduce the potential for collisions, thereby reducing losses and improving overall performance.

Howard: It’s all about shortening cycle times and avoiding collisions. In Europe, energy efficiency is increasingly a priority, and in Japan, floor space is at a premium, but throughput is still the most important.

Our mission is to make automation simpler to program. For customers like Mitsubishi, Toyota, and Siemens, the hardware has to be industrial-grade, and so does the software. We talk to all the OEMs and have close relationships with the major robot suppliers.

This is ideal for uses cases such as gluing, deburring, welding and assembly. RapidSense can also be helpful in mixed-case palletizing. For mobile manipulation, RTR’s software could plan for the motion of both the AMR [autonomous mobile robot] and the arm.

Members of Realtime Robotics and Mitsubishi Electric’s teams celebrate their collaboration. Source: Realtime Robotics

Mitsubishi strengthens partnership

Do you expect that the addition of a member to Realtime Robotics’ board of directors will help it jointly plan future products with Mitsubishi Electric?

Takeuchi: Yes. Since our initial investment in Realtime Robotics, we have both benefited from this partnership. We look forward to integrating the Realtime Robotics technology into our portfolio of products to continue enhancing our next-gen products with advanced features and scalability.

Howard: RTR has been working with Mitsubishi since 2018, so it’s our longest customer and partner. We have other investors, but our relationship with Mitsubishi is more holistic, broader, and deeper.

We’ve seen a lot of Mitsubishi Electric’s team as we create our products, and we look forward to reaching the next steps to market together.

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As shown at CVPR, Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX microservices generate high-fidelity sensor simulation from
an autonomous vehicle (left) and an autonomous mobile robot (right). Sources: NVIDIA, Fraunhofer IML (right)

NVIDIA Corp. today announced NVIDIA Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX, a set of microservices that enable physically accurate sensor simulation to accelerate the development of all kinds of autonomous machines.

NVIDIA researchers are also presenting 50 research projects around visual generative AI at the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, or CVPR, conference this week in Seattle. They include new techniques to create and interpret images, videos, and 3D environments. In addition, the company said it has created its largest indoor synthetic dataset with Omniverse for CVPR’s AI City Challenge.

Sensors provide industrial manipulators, mobile robots, autonomous vehicles, humanoids, and smart spaces with the data they need to comprehend the physical world and make informed decisions.

NVIDIA said developers can use Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX to test sensor perception and associated AI software in physically accurate, realistic virtual environments before real-world deployment. This can enhance safety while saving time and costs, it said.

“Developing safe and reliable autonomous machines powered by generative physical AI requires training and testing in physically based virtual worlds,” stated Rev Lebaredian, vice president of Omniverse and simulation technology at NVIDIA. “Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX microservices will enable developers to easily build large-scale digital twins of factories, cities and even Earth — helping accelerate the next wave of AI.”

Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX supports simulation at scale

Built on the OpenUSD framework and powered by NVIDIA RTX ray-tracing and neural-rendering technologies, Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX combines real-world data from videos, cameras, radar, and lidar with synthetic data.

Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX includes software application programming interfaces (APIs) to accelerate the development of autonomous machines for any industry, NVIDIA said.

Even for scenarios with limited real-world data, the microservices can simulate a broad range of activities, claimed the company. It cited examples such as whether a robotic arm is operating correctly, an airport luggage carousel is functional, a tree branch is blocking a roadway, a factory conveyor belt is in motion, or a robot or person is nearby.

Microservice to be available for AV development 

CARLA, Foretellix, and MathWorks are among the first software developers with access to Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX for autonomous vehicles (AVs). The microservices will also enable sensor makers to validate and integrate digital twins of their systems in virtual environments, reducing the time needed for physical prototyping, said NVIDIA.

Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX will be generally available later this year. NVIDIA noted that its announcement coincided with its first-place win at the Autonomous Grand Challenge for End-to-End Driving at Scale at CVPR.

The NVIDIA researchers’ winning workflow can be replicated in high-fidelity simulated environments with Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX. Developers can use it to test self-driving scenarios in physically accurate environments before deploying AVs in the real world, said the company.

Two of NVIDIA’s papers — one on the training dynamics of diffusion models and another on high-definition maps for autonomous vehicles — are finalists for the Best Paper Awards at CVPR.

The company also said its win for the End-to-End Driving at Scale track demonstrates its use of generative AI for comprehensive self-driving models. The winning submission outperformed more than 450 entries worldwide and received CVPR’s Innovation Award.

Collectively, the work introduces artificial intelligence models that could accelerate the training of robots for manufacturing, enable artists to more quickly realize their visions, and help healthcare workers process radiology reports.

“Artificial intelligence — and generative AI in particular — represents a pivotal technological advancement,” said Jan Kautz, vice president of learning and perception research at NVIDIA. “At CVPR, NVIDIA Research is sharing how we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible — from powerful image-generation models that could supercharge professional creators to autonomous driving software that could help enable next-generation self-driving cars.”

Foundation model eases object pose estimation

NVIDIA researchers at CVPR are also presenting FoundationPose, a foundation model for object pose estimation and tracking that can be instantly applied to new objects during inference, without the need for fine tuning. The model uses either a small set of reference images or a 3D representation of an object to understand its shape. It set a new record on a benchmark for object pose estimation.

FoundationPose can then identify and track how that object moves and rotates in 3D across a video, even in poor lighting conditions or complex scenes with visual obstructions, explained NVIDIA.

Industrial robots could use FoundationPose to identify and track the objects they interact with. Augmented reality (AR) applications could also use it with AI to overlay visuals on a live scene.

NeRFDeformer transforms data from a single image

NVIDIA’s research includes a text-to-image model that can be customized to depict a specific object or character, a new model for object-pose estimation, a technique to edit neural radiance fields (NeRFs), and a visual language model that can understand memes. Additional papers introduce domain-specific innovations for industries including automotive, healthcare, and robotics.

A NeRF is an AI model that can render a 3D scene based on a series of 2D images taken from different positions in the environment. In robotics, NeRFs can generate immersive 3D renders of complex real-world scenes, such as a cluttered room or a construction site.

However, to make any changes, developers would need to manually define how the scene has transformed — or remake the NeRF entirely.

Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and NVIDIA have simplified the process with NeRFDeformer. The method can transform an existing NeRF using a single RGB-D image, which is a combination of a normal photo and a depth map that captures how far each object in a scene is from the camera.

Researchers have simplified the process of generating a 3D scene from 2D images using NeRFs. Source: NVIDIA

JeDi model shows how to simplify image creation at CVPR

Creators typically use diffusion models to generate specific images based on text prompts. Prior research focused on the user training a model on a custom dataset, but the fine-tuning process can be time-consuming and inaccessible to general users, said NVIDIA.

JeDi, a paper by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, and NVIDIA, proposes a new technique that allows users to personalize the output of a diffusion model within a couple of seconds using reference images. The team found that the model outperforms existing methods.

NVIDIA added that JeDi can be combined with retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG, to generate visuals specific to a database, such as a brand’s product catalog.

JeDi is a new technique that allows users to easily personalize the output of a diffusion model within a couple of seconds using reference images, like an astronaut cat that can be placed in different environments. Source: NVIDIA

Visual language model helps AI get the picture

NVIDIA said it has collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to advance the state of the art for vision language models, which are generative AI models that can process videos, images, and text. The partners developed VILA, a family of open-source visual language models that they said outperforms prior neural networks on benchmarks that test how well AI models answer questions about images.

VILA’s pretraining process provided enhanced world knowledge, stronger in-context learning, and the ability to reason across multiple images, claimed the MIT and NVIDIA team.

The VILA model family can be optimized for inference using the NVIDIA TensorRT-LLM open-source library and can be deployed on NVIDIA GPUs in data centers, workstations, and edge devices.

VILA can understand memes and reason based on multiple images or video frames. Source: NVIDIA

Generative AI drives AV, smart city research at CVPR

NVIDIA Research has hundreds of scientists and engineers worldwide, with teams focused on topics including AI, computer graphics, computer vision, self-driving cars, and robotics. A dozen of the NVIDIA-authored CVPR papers focus on autonomous vehicle research.

“Producing and Leveraging Online Map Uncertainty in Trajectory Prediction,” a paper authored by researchers from the University of Toronto and NVIDIA, has been selected as one of 24 finalists for CVPR’s best paper award.

In addition, Sanja Fidler, vice president of AI research at NVIDIA, will present on vision language models at the Workshop on Autonomous Driving today.

NVIDIA has contributed to the CVPR AI City Challenge for the eighth consecutive year to help advance research and development for smart cities and industrial automation. The challenge’s datasets were generated using NVIDIA Omniverse, a platform of APIs, software development kits (SDKs), and services for building applications and workflows based on Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD).

AI City Challenge synthetic datasets span multiple environments generated by NVIDIA Omniverse, allowing hundreds of teams to test AI models in physical settings such as retail and warehouse environments to enhance operational efficiency. Source: NVIDIA

About the author

Isha Salian writes about deep learning, science and healthcare, among other topics, as part of NVIDIA’s corporate communications team. She first joined the company as an intern in summer 2015. Isha has a journalism M.A., as well as undergraduate degrees in communication and English, from Stanford.

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Seatrec’s infiniTE float is a subsurface ocean profiling platform that uses new power-generation technology. | Source: Seatrec

Around 80% of the ocean floor remains uncharted today, and for good reason. The deep sea is an unforgiving environment. Between intense pressure, zero visibility, and extremely cold temperatures, individuals and organizations looking to shed some light on the area have massive challenges to overcome. 

Robots will likely be a key driver of this exploration, but they have their own limitations. One of the most pressing among these is power. Batteries in subsurface sensors often rely on solar energy or any other kind of renewable energy. This means when the batteries die, they’re either left dead in the water or recharged by a ship that can cost up to $50,000 a day to operate. 

Seatrec Inc. hopes to provide a new kind of power source using technology created at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California and licensed from the California Institute of Technology. The Vista, Calif.-based company said its technology can allow robots to work in the open ocean indefinitely and without any intervention. 

Yi Chao, the company’s founder and CEO, spent 15 years at JPL studying the ocean from space after earning his doctorate in ocean sciences. At NASA, he could see firsthand how difficult it is to access many of the world’s open oceans. 

“I really had an opportunity to know the challenges of underwater robotics, and especially energy, and settled on this particular bottleneck that I want to address,” Chao said.

NASA’s Aquarius instrument aboard the joint U.S. and Argentinian Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas mapped the surface salinity of Earth’s oceans. To calibrate the instrument, a JPL team distributed robotic floats. The experience helped inspire Yi Chao’s invention of an inexhaustible power source. Credit: NASA

Robots to be powered by their environment

With the help of two JPL colleagues, funding from JPL, and then a JPL contract with the U.S. Navy, Chao set out to find a different kind of power source for subsea robots. The team is using phase-change material to generate power. 

Phase-change materials are substances that can transition between phases, usually between solid and liquid, at certain desirable temperatures. Chao’s team is taking advantage of the volume change that comes with a change in state to generate power. 

“We use the kinetic energy from that volume expansion to spin the motor and then turn the mechanical energy into electricity, and now you can recharge your battery,” said Chao.

This concept is similar to the way a steam engine works by using water’s expansion into steam to turn a motor. The solid-to-liquid transition, however, only creates about a 10% expansion. This means the team has to make the most of the small amount of energy the transition generates. This is why the method has been unused for so long. 

When used in a robot, the material’s temperature changes when the robot rises and falls through the ocean, something it will typically do anyway. When exploring the deepest parts of the ocean, robots still need to occasionally surface to determine their position via GPS and transmit the data they’ve collected to satellites. 

The team chose a common industry-grade, paraffin-family material with a melting point of around 50ºF, right between the typical ocean temperature of about 40ºF and the surface of around 70ºF. While this material is ideal for the average ocean temperatures, it can be swapped out to better fit different environments. 

Chao and his colleagues tested a prototype float at JPL in 2011 and then tested an underwater glider that operated under the same principle but could also move horizontally. Later, Chao exclusively licensed the invention from the California Institute of Technology, which manages JPL. He founded Seatrec in 2016. 

Seatrec sees a growing market for its technology

Seatrec is currently selling its first power module for diving floats to research labs, universities, government researchers, and the military. Chao said he expects a lot of growth in the market. Possible customers include:

• Communications companies that are interested in laying transoceanic internet cables
• Companies drilling for oil and gas, or building wind farms offshore
• Environmental conservation groups that want to learn more about the locations of marine habitats
• Companies managing offshore operations, including oil wells, wind turbines, and fish farms, that need underwater sensors to monitor conditions and equipment
• Any company laying cables or mining for rare-earth elements on the seafloor. These companies need to asses the local environments and wildlife before these operations.

Moving forward, Seatrec plans to commercialize a system to power underwater gliders using its solid-to-liquid phase-change technology.

The company also plans to develop a power station that would cycle a liquid-to-gas phase-change material through ocean depths. This could create an order of magnitude more energy, allowing users to recharge more robots at sea, it said.

Seatrec has a grant from the Navy to develop a power station on the Arctic ice, where it can take advantage of the difference between water temperatures and the colder air above the ice. 

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The industrial robot market is expected to grow by ~3.7% per year between 2024 and 2028. | Source: Interact Analysis

Overall global industrial robot shipment volumes exceeded 500,000 units in 2023, Interact Analysis reports. The global market research firm says the industry is starting to bounce back from a 2023 low point. 

Industrial robot shipments are similar to levels seen in 2022, although the average price of industrial robots decreased last year. The market saw record highs in 2021, and lows in revenues and shipments in 2023. 

“The average price per unit of an industrial robot is on a downward trajectory, following a rise for two consecutive years, and we expect a price decline of around 3% per year between 2024 and 2028. The COVID-19 pandemic coupled with high energy prices and inflation caused an average price increase in 2022,” Maya Xiao, research manager at Interact Analysis, said. “We originally expected robot prices to decrease again in 2023, but ongoing supply chain and inflation issues resulted in prices creeping up to levels close to those seen in 2022. This increased “price effect” was also partially due to the market trend towards heavy payload robots, which are materially a more expensive product.”

In the long term, however, the outlook remains positive. Interact Analysis expects the global industrial robot market to grow on average by 3.7% per year between 2024 and 2028.

Breaking down the industry by region

Breaking down the industry by region, sales of industrial robots to the automotive industry in the Americas faced significant pressure in 2023. This resulted in slow growth for this segment of the market, one of the largest downstream industries for industrial robots in the region.

According to Interact Analysis, Mexico, in particular, is highly dependent on the automotive industry, creating a greater impact on industrial robot sales in the region. Growth of industrial robots in the Americas dropped by 17.3% in 2023. In comparison, APAC saw a slight increase in growth, and EMEA remained stable. 

The American markets accounted for around 17% of global industrial robot revenues, compared to 62% for APAC and 22% for EMEA. In the Americas, the industrial robot market saw strong growth immediately post-COVID in both the automotive and non-automotive industries. This is because these manufacturers were continually looking for ways to improve their production processes and reduce manufacturing costs by adopting the technology. 

3 common applications for industrial robots

The top three most common applications for industrial robots are material handling, welding, and assembly, according to Interact Analysis. These accounted for over 70% of industrial robot market revenues in 2023, with material handling accounting for one-third on its own. 

This application is particularly dominant in the Americas and Europe. The American market has the highest market concentration globally, where the top 5 suppliers share nearly 80% of revenues and over two-thirds of unit shipments.

“It is important to note that our robotics forecasts are underpinned by the Interact Analysis Manufacturing Industry Output (MIO) Tracker,” Xiao said. “We can see from our data that the growth profile for industrial robots reflects the manufacturing slowdown during the pandemic era and the subsequent downturn in 2023. If we take a look at the manufacturing output figures for China, Europe and the Americas, the historic manufacturing contractions are synonymous with the decline in growth for the industrial robot market that we have observed in recent years.”

According to the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), robot sales continue to be slow in North America. A3 said robot sales in North America were down 6% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Companies purchased 8,582 robots from January through March for a total of $494 million, A3 said.

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Siemens Industry is expanding its 1FK7 servomotor family, with the introduction of a new high-inertia style. The higher rotor inertia of this design makes the control response of the new 1FK7-HI servomotors robust and suitable for high- and variable-load inertia applications.

Siemens said these self-cooled 1FK7-HI servomotors provide stall torque in the 3 Nm to 20 Nm range and are offered in IP64 or IP65 with IP67 flange degree of protection, with selectable options for plain or keyed shaft, holding brake, 22-bit incremental or absolute encoders, as well as 18 color options.

A mechanical decoupler between the motor and encoder shaft protects the encoder from mechanical vibrations, providing a long service life. In cases where the encoder needs to be exchanged, the device automatically aligns the encoder signal to the rotor pole position, enabling feedbacks to be changed in the field in less than five minutes.

These new Siemens 1FK7-HI servomotors also feature the unique Drive-Cliq serial bus and electronic nameplate recognition, allowing virtual plug-n-play operation when paired to the Sinamics S drive platform. All servomotors in this new line are also configured to interface with Siemens Sinumerik CNC technology for machine tool applications and the motion controller Simotion for general motion control use.

Selecting the proper motor to suit the application is facilitated by the Siemens Sizer toolbox and compatible 3D CAD model-generating CAD-Creator package. For more information, visit www.usa.siemens.com/motioncontrol.

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ROBOTIS designed its Dynamixel-Y line of high-precision modular actuators forobotics applications. | Source: ROBOTIS

Robots including humanoids are complex and typically require components from multiple suppliers. Tokens.com Corp., now known as Realbotix, this week announced a strategic partnership with ROBOTIS Inc.

The companies said the agreement designates robotics and artificial intelligence developer Realbotix as an official partner to facilitate integration with technologies from ROBOTIS. As part of the agreement, Realbotix will have preferred purchaser status and pricing for ROBOTIS components, including its DYNAMIXEL line of actuators and motors.

The collaborators claimed that these actuators and motors allow for smoother, more human-like movements for Realbotix’s robot line.

ROBOTIS provides parts for a range of robots 

Seoul, South Korea-based ROBOTIS is a manufacturer of robotic hardware. It specializes in components and full robot platforms for use in all fields of study and industry. It has also offered systems based on the Robot Operating System (ROS) and educational robotics kits for all ages and skill levels. 

The company’s DYNAMIXEL line of modular actuators comes in various sizes, power levels, and features. 

In addition to its robot components, ROBOTIS also offers an indoor and an outdoor delivery robot. It said these robots are capable of autonomous deliveries of food, beverages, and parcels in urban areas, apartment communities, hotels, and offices. 

Inside Realbotix’s human-like robots

“Partnering with ROBOTIS Inc., a leader in advanced robotic technologies, allows us to integrate their state-of-the-art motors into our innovative customizable robots,” stated Andrew Kiguel, CEO of Realbotix.

“This collaboration enhances our product capabilities and expands our market reach,” he added. “Together, we are poised to push the boundaries of what’s possible in robotics and deliver exceptional value to our customers.”

Realbotix is a developer of humanoid robotics and relationship-based AI. The San Marcos, Calif.-based company said it is creating customizable robots with human-like appearance and movements. 

In addition, Realbotix asserted that it specifically developed its proprietary AI for human companionship. It asserted that its strength is in the integration of companionship AI and robotics to improve the human condition through connection, learning, and play. Realbotix said its algorithms are also customizable, allowing users to choose how their robots behave and speak.

Realbotix’s robots have a modular structure, which the company says allows for easier maintenance, support, and upgrades. The company offers customizable faces, created with human-synthetic skin, that have 14 movable points. Having more moveable points means the robots can show off a wider range of facial expressions. 

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igus has acquired Atronia, its partner for the iSense EC.W sensor. Source: igus

The combination of sensing with motion plastics, which eliminate the need for lubricants, promises easier-to-maintain machinery for Industry 4.0. igus, a global leader in motion plastics and moving cable management systems, last week acquired the majority stake in Atronia Tailored Sensing.

“The acquisition of Atronia by igus is a promising partnership that will undoubtedly lead to further breakthrough innovations and improved technology integration,” stated Carlos Alexandre Ferreira, manager at Atronia Tailored Systems. 

Gafanha da Nazaré, Portugal-based Atronia develops wireless products for measuring and monitoring applications. The company said it supports product-development strategies including innovation, renewables, and sensing.

Since 2016, Atronia has supported igus with smart plastic sensors. These sensors monitor the condition of the product, whether it needs to be serviced or replaced, or whether a problem is occurring. igus said this strategic acquisition is intended to help expand its market offerings for for networked plastic components.

Industry 4.0 demands mass production of critical sensors

Industry 4.0 encompasses automation, artificial intelligence, and networking for greater productivity, agility, and safety. igus said its goal is to mass-produce next-generation products and make them accessible to small and midsize businesses (SMBs).

For years, igus has invested in research and development for new types of smart plastics. The Rumford, R.I.-based company‘s lines include plain bearings, energy chains, and cables that are equipped with sensors and integrated into the Internet of Things (IoT).

“Intelligent predictive-maintenance software calculates optimum maintenance times and alerts technicians in good time via e-mail and text message in the event of critical conditions to prevent expensive system failures,” explained igus. The company recently won an RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award winner for a gripper for its ReBeL collaborative robot.

Michael Blass, CEO of igus e-chain Systems, and Carlos Alexandre Ferreira, manager of Atronia Tailored Systems, celebrate the development of new Industry 4.0 products together. Source: igus GmbH

Atronia acquisition part of igus strategy

“By acquiring Atronia, we can harmonize the processes, systems, and teams of both companies even better, which will lead to synergies and efficiency gains in the long term,” said Michael Blass, CEO of e-chain Systems at igus. “This allows us to start series manufacturing for the Industry 4.0 era and make the products accessible to small and medium-sized companies with limited budgets and little experience.”

The collaboration between igus and Atronia resulted in the iSense EC.W sensor. Mounted on energy chain crossbars, it records the chain’s state and remaining service life.

Customers have given positive feedback about the sensor’s cost-effectiveness and intuitive design, said Atronia and igus. The partnership plans to jointly create more products in the future.

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The 2023 CyberTractor Challenge included a large number of participants. | Credit: CyberTractor Challenge

This week, top tractor manufacturers in the United States, including John Deere, CNHI, and AGCO, will hold the annual CyberTractor Challenge. This event encourages college students to try to breach the security of both the firms’ cloud-based solutions and physical hardware such as tractors, smart tools, and different IoT devices.

The CyberTractor Challenge is a five-day event aimed at students passionate about cybersecurity. It provides a platform for practical experience and professional guidance. During the event, industry experts emphasize the importance of diversity, hands-on experience, and professional mentorship. They also highlight the convergence of technology and agriculture, underlining the need for professionals with expertise in both fields. This event addresses the significant shortage of cyber talent and showcases the potential synergy between cybersecurity and agriculture, given the complexity of modern agricultural equipment.

Earlier this year, John Deere announced a new partnership with SpaceX and Starlink to bring high-speed internet to rural areas around the world to help connect all of the various smart devices on the modern farm to the cloud.

CyberTractor Challenge expands beyond John Deere

John Deere started the CyberTractor Challenge in 2022 as a sister event to the more well-known CyberTruck and CyberAuto challenges. College and university students gather on a real farm in Iowa to work with real equipment and real cybersecurity and engineering professionals. As the idea for CyberTractor grew, the challenge’s goals and scope changed from just focusing on the famous green and yellow tools to including peers from the industry. CyberTractor Challenge is now a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and aims to enhance the overall security of the agtech industry.

“Industry experts, professors, and tractor company employees will be guiding them every step of the way,” said Ethan Luebbering, director of recruiting for the CyberTractor Challenge. “Our plan is to prepare them with all the skills and tools they need to be effective during the event and all of the experiences required to start a career in Cyber Security.”

The primary goals of the CyberTractor Challenge are:

• Educating students about cybersecurity in the agriculture industry through hands-on learning and expert training.
• Attracting and developing the next generation of cybersecurity talent for the agriculture industry.
• Fostering collaboration between universities and agriculture companies on cybersecurity issues.
• Identifying potential vulnerabilities in agricultural equipment and systems through a hackathon-style event.

Throughout the event, students gain knowledge in embedded software engineering and protocols like CANbus used in modern agricultural equipment. Working with industry professionals from the tractor companies, students learn cybersecurity topics such as penetration testing and red teaming techniques for finding vulnerabilities.

Many modern tractors and smart implements could be considered robots, sitting at the intersection of technology and agriculture. This weeklong hackathon provides the students with real-life, hands-on skills for identifying potential bugs or vulnerabilities. The companies benefit by identifying any vulnerabilities in a controlled environment, and farmers benefit because the agtech solutions are hardened against nefarious vulnerabilities.

Register now.

The event attracts students from universities across the country with interests in fields such as electrical engineering, computer science, and cybersecurity. The organizers also recruit professors from partner universities who teach cybersecurity courses and help educate the students. Participating institutions include Iowa State, Colorado State, and Dakota State University. Employees from the sponsoring agriculture companies conduct educational sessions, interact with the students, and evaluate any findings.

A weeklong hackathon

The week-long event kicks off with two days of educational sessions where industry experts and hackers teach students about embedded systems, protocols, and penetration testing techniques. Over the next two days, students apply their knowledge to develop hypotheses and test for potential vulnerabilities in the equipment in a hackathon-style setting. On the final day, students present any bugs or vulnerabilities they have discovered to the sponsoring companies.

Key outcomes of the CyberTractor Challenge include:

• Identifying potential vulnerabilities in agricultural equipment cybersecurity.
• Attracting and developing top cybersecurity talent for the agriculture industry by exposing students to career opportunities.
• Fostering collaboration and information sharing between universities and agriculture companies on cybersecurity best practices.
• Advancing cybersecurity standards and regulations for the agriculture industry through discussions among participating organizations.
• Building awareness of the importance of cybersecurity in agriculture and attracting diverse talent beyond traditional IT fields.
• Providing hands-on, experiential learning for students that complements their academic studies.

Catch up with the latest in agricultural autonomy on The Robot Report Podcast. Chris Padwick discusses John Deere’s use of machine vision and AI in episode 149, and Marc Kermisch from CNHI talks about digitization and autonomy in agriculture on episode 138.

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Levita is using Real-Time Innovations’ Connext with its robotics surgical system. Source: Levita Magnetics

Real-Time Innovations today announced that Levita Magnetics has chosen RTI Connext to provide real-time connectivity for MARS, a surgical robotics platform that uses magnets.

Levita said it designed the magnetic-assisted robotic surgery, or MARS, system to improve patient outcomes and clinical efficiency in high-volume abdominal surgeries. Command and control in minimally invasive therapies must receive data communications correctly, said the Mountain View, Calif.-based company. Levita said it needed reliable, robust, and scalable software to transfer data in real time, ensuring patient and system safety.

“RTI Connext enables advanced controls and visualization in the surgical field, enriching the surgeon’s experience as well as patient care,” stated Chauncey Graetzel, vice president of research and development at Levita Magnetics. “We will continue to push boundaries through leading-edge innovation in surgical robotics while maintaining unwavering commitment to safety and security standards.”

Register now.

Levita readies MARS with AI, AR

Surgeon Dr. Alberto Rodriguez-Navarro founded Levita Magnetics in 2011. The company said it has developed the proprietary Levita Magnetic Surgical System and MARS to minimize the footprint of surgery and improve patient outcomes such as shorter recovery times, less pain, and better cosmetic results.

Levita said it has completed hundreds of successful surgeries in the U.S. and Chile. It completed its first cases with MARS in October 2023, and the system has U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.

As artificial intelligence continues to grow in the healthcare industry, Levita claimed that it is the first company to use augmented reality (AR) for abdominal surgery. It is planning for AR to act as an accessory to MARS to improve visualization, enhance minimally invasive techniques, and promote collaboration within the medical field.

All of the most popular AR headsets will work with MARS, providing surgeons with comprehensive images and more accurate analysis of patients, said the company.

RTI facilitates robot communications

Founded in 1991, Real-Time Innovations said it provides the software infrastructure for smart distributed systems. Connext is based on the Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard. It enables secure real-time information exchange, modular application development, and rapid integration of distributed systems, said the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company.

RTI said its Routing Service enables communication between two disparate communication protocols. This allows teams to efficiently design a flexible and holistic architecture to accelerate the development of clinical solutions, it claimed.

“The convergence of robotics, AI, data analytics, and visualization technologies is paving the way for a new era in MedTech with connectivity at the core,” said Darren Porras, market development manager for medical at RTI. “To fully leverage new technologies, robotically-assisted systems need to be designed with architectures that allow for rapid evolution while also addressing demanding and simultaneous requirements for reliability, cybersecurity, and performance.”

“We’re proud to work with Levita to leverage the power of magnets to reduce incisions and make surgery less invasive, delivering a triple impact that benefits patients, surgeons, and hospitals,” he said.

Connext users can build systems that combine advanced sensing, fast control, and AI algorithms. With 2,000 customer designs, RTI said it has expertise getting customers to production. In March, RTI said it was working with Cogniteam for robotics management.

RTI software runs more than 250 autonomous vehicle programs and supports dozens of advanced driver-assist systems (ADAS) and software-defined architectures. The company said it controls the largest power plants in North America, integrates over 400 defense programs, drives robots and medical technologies, and underlies Canada’s air traffic control and NASA’s launch-control systems.

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SMAC’s linear rotary actuators can be used for precision screw insertion and tightening. | Source: SMAC

SMAC Moving Coil Actuators today introduced its LBR and LDR Series of linear rotary actuators. The company said it equipped these actuators with its Smart Screwdriver technology for precise screw insertion and tightening in automated manufacturing processes.

With these new actuators, Carlsbad, Calif.-based SMAC said it intends “to set a new standard for efficiency, accuracy, and reliability.”

The LBR and LDR actuators can be used in industrial applications such as electronics assembly, where small screws and delicate materials pose unique challenges, according to the company. SMAC claimed that its actuators tackle these challenges “head-on with their industry-leading capabilities and advanced features.”

“Companies choose SMAC linear rotary actuators for their screwdriving needs due to the unique challenges posed by small, delicate screws and the demand for zero-defect production,” stated Ed Neff, founder and CEO of SMAC. “The LBR and LDR are game changers in automated manufacturing, offering unmatched precision, flexibility, and real-time feedback.”

SMAC designs for precision handling

Founded in in 1990, SMAC said it aims to replace older technologies such as pneumatic cylinders and electric ball screw actuators. It manufactures a wide range of precision programmable electric actuators based on its patented moving-coil technology. 

The company asserted that its electric actuators are unique because force, position, and speed are all programmable. SMAC designed them to perform at high speeds or very low speeds with sub-micron accuracy and repeatability that can be validated with as precise as 1 ms response time. 

SMAC said these characteristics makes its actuators ideal for a wide range of positioning, measuring, inspection, and pick-and-place applications. 

Register now.

LBR and LDR promise thread match, zero-defect production

As manufacturers increasingly seek systems for handling small screws with accuracy and reliability, SMAC said its LBR and LDR lines will become a go-to choice. 

“Our LBR and LDR linear rotary actuators represent a significant advancement in automated manufacturing technology,” said Neff. “With their SMART DRIVER capabilities and unmatched precision, they are poised to revolutionize the way screws are inserted and tightened in a wide range of industries.”

These two lines of linear actuators can address a number of challenges. First, SMAC highlighted its ability to precisely handle items. Small screws are notoriously difficult to assemble, which often leads to issues like cross-threading and damage to tapped hole threads.

The company noted that LBR and LDR’s Smart Driver technology ensures precision screw insertion by detecting the screw top, verifying the thread match, and monitoring screw movement in real time. 

LBR and LDR also provide guaranteed thread match every time, eliminating cross-threading, SMAC said. Using a 1 um encoder, the actuator rotates counterclockwise, recognizes the drop in the first thread pitch, defines the thread, and then begins its clockwise rotation to tighten the screw. 

Finally, the actuators offer zero-defect production, according to SMAC. In industries like medical, aerospace, and automotive, where zero-defect production is non-negotiable, the LBR and LDR offer high reliability, the company said.

The actuators’ advanced capabilities allow for 100% verification of correct processes for flawless assembly every time, said SMAC. 

The company also offers a range of linear rotary actuators that can be used for anything from very small screws to large screws. It is also adding integrated closed-loop torque sensor options to its LBR and LDR actuators. 

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