Material Handling
Do cobots replace people in manufacturing?
The debate has been long — and shall continue — whether automation replaces humans or increases productivity, quality and safety
Top 5 Plant Engineering articles August 31 to September 6, 2020
Articles about global manufacturing outlook, energy efficiency as a service, robotics market outlook, virtual commissioning and Ethanol-based hand sanitizers were Plant Engineering’s five most clicked articles from August 31 to September 6, 2020. Miss something? You can catch up here.
Robotics, machine and motion control market outlook positive for 2021
While the market is down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the market outlook for 2021 is positive according to a report by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) and ITR Economics.
Robotic software improves robot health
Industrial robotic software, industrial networks and cloud-based technologies are helping to improve industrial robotic health, improve robotic uptime and better manage robotic assets.
Researchers giving robots human-like perception of their physical environments
3D Dynamic Scene Graphs gives robots spatial abilities that could enable them to work with people on the plant floor or in other dangerous environments.
Project collaboration for robot applications in outer space
Maxar Technologies has announced over $2 million in funding for the Robotic Technology Center at West Virginia University for a project called Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robot (SPIDER), which will be a part of NASA's OSAM-1 mission.
Cockroach-inspired robot designed to work in applications with limited space
A University of Colorado researcher has created HAMR-Jr, a robot modeled after cockroaches and designed to crawl and easily move into dangerous places such as airplane engines or other spaces where mechanics can’t reach to conduct needed inspections.
Building resilience with robotics
Will the COVID-19 pandemic accelerate the speed adoption of robotic and automation across the industrial sector? There are many factors at play.
Study finds robots help some manufacturers even while workers struggle
A study co-authored by an MIT professor shows firms that move quickly to use robots tend to add workers to their payroll, but overall employment drops.
The rise of robots-as-a-service in manufacturing operations
Robots-as-a-Service uses a cloud-based system which allows for easier requirement changes.