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Power Grab: Warehouse Robots Take Materials Handling To Next Level
No longer content to release videos of humanoid robots doing backflips, Boston Dynamics this week unveiled something logistically incredible: a prototype of its new box-moving machine.
Retailer A.S. Watson implemented a fleet of IAM Robotics' Swift robots, seen here lined up for duty ... [+] at its Benelux e-commerce fulfillment center in the Netherlands.
But the world right now is begging for robots to lend a helping arm. That's because e-commerce demands currently are overwhelming retail distribution centers, and fulfillment centers. Also included in the taxonomy of stressed-out supply-chain settings: shipping hubs such as the one FedEx runs out of Memphis, as well as a variety of warehouse/sorting facilities of all sizes.
Food Delivery Via Autonomous Robots Has Rolled Into Miami - Eater Miami
Miami-based startup Reef Technology and robotics startup Cartken have partnered up to bring electric-powered delivery robots to Miami. The robots now deliver dinner orders from Reef's network of delivery-only kitchens to recipients located within a 3/4-mile radius in Downtown Miami. They plan to expand the robots to other neighborhoods in the following weeks.
"The rising demand for delivery has created a bottleneck during peak dining hours that slows efficiency," said Matt Lindenberger, chief technology officer at Reef. "We're looking at our robot delivery service as a long-term solution that can advance the delivery ecosystem by offering speed, quality, and scale while reducing congestion and carbon emission."
Here's what's been happening:
Is Boston Dynamics becoming a boring robotics company? – TechTalks
Boston Dynamics has made a name for itself through fascinating videos of biped and quadruped robots doing backflips, opening doors, and dancing to Uptown Funk. Now, it has revealed its latest gadget: A robot that looks like a huge overhead projector on wheels.
It's called Stretch, it doesn't do backflips, it doesn't dance, and it's made to do one task: moving boxes. It sounds pretty boring.
But this could, in fact, become the most successful commercial product of Boston Dynamics and turn it into a profitable company.
Swiss robots use UV light to zap viruses aboard passenger planes | Reuters
UVeya, a Swiss start-up, is conducting the trials of the robots with Dubai-based airport services company Dnata inside Embraer jets from Helvetic Airways, a charter airline owned by Swiss billionaire Martin Ebner.
Aircraft makers still must certify the devices and are studying the impact their UV light may have on interior upholstery, which could fade after many disinfections, UVeya co-founder Jodoc Elmiger said.
Still, he's hopeful robot cleaners could reduce people's fear of flying, even as COVID-19 circulates.
Robot dog gets trained to follow the leader | ZDNet
A company spun off from the maker of Vespa scooters wants robots to follow the leader. To that end, it has equipped a famous robot dog, Boston Dynamics' Spot, with proof-of-concept technology to enable it to follow humans around.
"Most robotics companies look at the world as a world of obstacles," said Greg Lynn, PFF's chief executive officer. "At PFF, we adopted the opposite approach and this philosophy has fueled our research of how humans and robots physically move through space. We design behaviors that understand people and help automate tasks so you don't have to build complicated hardware.
Even without a brain, metal-eating robots can search for food | Penn Today
When it comes to powering mobile robots, batteries present a problematic paradox: the more energy they contain, the more they weigh, and thus the more energy the robot needs to move. Energy harvesters, like solar panels, might work for some applications, but they don't deliver power quickly or consistently enough for sustained travel.
James Pikul , assistant professor in Penn Engineering's Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, is developing robot-powering technology that has the best of both worlds. His environmentally controlled voltage source, or ECVS, works like a battery, in that the energy is produced by repeatedly breaking and forming chemical bonds, but it escapes the weight paradox by finding those chemical bonds in the robot's environment, like a harvester.
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US Air Force base takes delivery of Black Mirror-style semi-autonomous 'robot dogs' – photos https://t.co/jMXWJSMG3G SputnikInt Tue Mar 30 18:50:00 +0000 2021
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