Category Archives: Robotics

Founders of AI/robotics companies, including Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, OpenAI) and Mustafa Suleyman (Googles DeepMind), call for autonomous weapons ban, as UN delays negotiations.

Leaders from AI and robotics companies around the world have released an open letter calling on the United Nations to ban autonomous weapons, often referred to as killer robots.

Founders and CEOs of nearly 100 companies from 26 countries signed the letter, which warns:

In December, 123 member nations of the UN had agreed to move forward with formal discussions about autonomous weapons, with 19 members already calling for an outright ban. However, the next stage of discussions, which were originally scheduled to begin on August 21 -- the release date of the open letter -- were postponed because a small number of nations hadnt paid their fees.

The letter was organized and announced by Toby Walsh, a prominent AI researcher at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. In an email, he noted that, sadly, the UN didn't begin today its formal deliberations around lethal autonomous weapons.

The open letter included such signatories as:

In reference to the signatories, the press release for the letter added, Their companies employ tens of thousands of researchers, roboticists and engineers, are worth billions of dollars and cover the globe from North to South, East to West: Australia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, UK, United Arab Emirates and USA.

Bengio explained why he signed, saying, the use of AI in autonomous weapons hurts my sense of ethics. He added that the development of autonomous weapons would be likely to lead to a very dangerous escalation, and that it would hurt the further development of AI's good applications. He concluded his statement to FLI saying that this is a matter that needs to be handled by the international community, similarly to what has been done in the past for some other morally wrong weapons (biological, chemical, nuclear).

Stuart Russell, another of the worlds preeminent AI researchers and founder of Bayesian Logic Inc., added:

Ryan Gariepy, founder & CTO of Clearpath Robotics was the first to sign the letter. For the press release, he noted, "Autonomous weapons systems are on the cusp of development right now and have a very real potential to cause significant harm to innocent people along with global instability."

The open letter ends with similar concerns. It states:

The letter was announced in Melbourne, Australia at the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), which draws many of the worlds top artificial intelligence researchers. Two years ago, at the last IJCAI meeting, Walsh released another open letter, which called on countries to avoid engaging in an AI arms race. To date, that previous letter has been signed by over 20,000 people, including over 3,100 AI/robotics researchers.

Originally posted here:

Leaders Of Top Robotics And AI Companies Call For Ban On Killer Robots - HuffPost

5 Passive Cooling Alternatives Using Robotics and Smart Materials

The IAAC (Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia) has developed a series of advanced materials and systems for air conditioning and passive ventilation, allowing homes to reduce interior temperatures up to 5 degrees lower while saving the electricity consumption caused by the traditional air-conditioning. The systems are made from long-lifespan materials, which lower the costs of maintenance in the long-term and can be used as low-cost alternative building technologies.

The projects highlightedare the Breathing Skin, Hydroceramics, Hydromembrane, Morphluid and Soft Robotics - all developed by students of the IAAC's Digital Matter Intelligent Constructions (conducted by Areti Markopoulou). The passive air-conditioning of spaces is investigated using a combination of new materials that mimic organic processes, adaptive structures and Robotics that help regulate temperature and create sustainable micro climates.

Facades and light structures like Hydroceramics, Breathing Skin or Hydromembrane have been developed by the IAAC during recent years. By creating a series of systems that act like a second skin in buildings, IAAC transforms a buildings thermoregulation to imitate the human body -transpiring water to regulate the temperature.

Hydroceramics is a faade system made of clay and hydrogel panels capable of cooling building interiors up to 5 degrees. Hydrogel capsules have the capacity to absorb up to 500 times their own weight in water to create a construction system that "breathes" through evaporation and perspiration.

Unlike Hydroceramics, parallel inventions Hydromembrane and Breathing Skin are based on compounds made with fine membranes and intelligent fabrics for buildings that act as a second "respiratory" skin for constructions capable of self-regulating the humidity and climate of indoor and outdoor spaces.

Each system uses materials that have a high capacity of water absorption, which is later released by evaporation - creating a cooling effect in warm environments. As an example, Breathing Skin absorbs up to 300 times its volume in water in a relatively short period of time thanks to the presence of superabsorbent polymer called sodium polyacrylate.

IAAC has also designed more alternatives that focus on structures and applied robotics in the new bioclimatic architecture. Morphluid or Soft Robotics (SORO) are created as passive shading systems using "live roofs" that regulate the amount of light and heat entering the spaces.

Soft Robotics is a lightweight and sensitive robotic shading device that attempts to create microclimate by controlling sunlight, ventilation and temperature to humidify the atmosphere. This robotic prototype adopts different sizes and shapes as the artificial "sunflowers" that project shade the moment its integrated liquid element is evaporated by the heat of the sun.

Morphluid is also based on the transition of liquids as an activator that modulates the roof and adjusts the environment by means of shading. Morphluid integrates two water tanks into a movable structure (a roof, a window) that tilts when the water in one of the tanks evaporates, allowing shade to continuously project and refresh the environment.

The IAAC academic director and project manager, Areti Markopoulou, highlights "the potential of advanced systems and materials to help us have the most pleasant temperature in our homes through more sustainable buildings that breathe and behave the living things and interact with their environment." Markopoulou Also highlighted the importance of this innovation to energy saving, since "passive air-conditioning materials and systems are based on principles of physics such as evaporation to cool spaces."

To learn more about eachproject, check out the gallery below:

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5 Passive Cooling Alternatives Using Robotics and Smart Materials - ArchDaily

Seppe Terryn/Science Robotics

Poke a hole in a human and something remarkable happens. First of all, you go to jail. But meanwhile, the wound heals itself, filling in the missing tissue and protecting itself from infection. Poke a hole in a robot , however, and prepare for a long night of repairs. The machines may be stronger than us, but theyre missing out on a vital superpower.

Until now. Researchers at Belgiums Vrije Universiteit Brussel report this week in Science Robotics that theyve developed a squishy, self-healing robot. Cut it open, apply heat, let it cool down again, and the wound heals itself. While self-healing materials are nothing new, their application in so-called soft robotics a relatively new kind of pliable machine that uses pneumatics or hydraulics to movecould be big. Think Terminator-style robots that automatically heal bullet wounds. OK, maybe dont think of that.

Seppe Terryn, Science Robotics

To build their squishbot, the researchers crafted an elastomer, a elastic variety of polymer. Its network of microscopic chains are held together by something called a Diels-Alder reaction , which is temperature-sensitive. So these bonds break when you heat them and reform as they cool. On the microscopic level, there is enough mobility to seal the gap, says electromechanical engineer Seppe Terryn , lead author on the paper. And then if we decrease the temperature again the entire network will be formed again. Think of melting down a cube of Jell-O, then putting it back in the fridgethe difference being that this polymer goes back to its original shape and strength after injury. Also, its more expensive and less tasty.

Now, of course itd be ideal if the soft robot could heal itself without the application of heat, but in a way theres an advantage here. This means also that we can do the healing in a controlled way, says Terryn. So in the long term, the robots can decide when is the best time to start the healing and start heating up.

That, though, would require that the robot knows its injured. So what the team is working on next is a material loaded with sensors that could tell exactly where a wound opens up, then deploy targeted heat to the area to heal it. The robot could even start preemptively healing if it detects microcuts from normal wear and tear.

Seppe Terryn, Science Robotics

This system, then, very much mimics the way an animal seals up a wound. That's opposed to other self-healing materials already out there which, for instance, use embedded microcapsules to release healing agents. (These are better for rigid structures like glass, not floppy robots. That and they don't need temperature changes to work.) What Terryn and his team are doing instead is adapting an existing technology. "They're taking these Diels-Alder polymers that have been shown before to have reversible covalent bonds and making use of them in these very biomimetic applications," says North Dakota State University's Michael Kessler, who also works in self-healing materials.

In addition to this system needing heat to work, another downside is that the healing isnt wildly efficient. The main concern with the material proposed in this paper is the time and the heating required for healing, says roboticist Pietro Valdastri of the University of Leeds. Depending on the application, 40 minutes at 80 degrees centigrade plus cooling time can be too long to wait.

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But thats now. Self-healing will only get better from here, and surely will be essential for soft robots, which today are typically made of fabrics like polyester. After all, the whole point of a robot soft is it can interact with humans without killing them and pick up squishy objects like tomatoes.

That and they pack well: A four-foot-long soft robot arm can deflate and ship in far less space than a traditional robot arm. And thats important because soft robots are going places. Having a robot that doesn't need to be pulled out for repair, says roboticist Jon Pompa of soft robot outfit Pneubotics , if you could identify some failure modes and have the materials of the robot do some kind of self-repairing stuff, that would be a really excellent argument why to use them in extreme environments.

For instance, if you pack a soft robot in a rocket and fire it to Mars to do some construction ahead of human habitation, youre screwed if it springs a leak and deflates mid-mission. But what Terryns team has shown is that you could theoretically have an injured soft robot deflate itself and heat up to repair the wound. That would save you a lot of money and heartache.

So get ready to see a lot more soft robots and, at some point, soft robots you can stab without getting in trouble. Sorry, I'm still thinking about Terminator .

Originally posted here:

The Robots Will Be Soft and Cuddly and Heal Their Own Wounds ... - WIRED

While we usually see robotics applied to industrial or research applications, there are plenty of ways they could help in everyday life as well: an autonomous guide for blind people, for instance, or a kitchen bot that helps disabled folks cook. Or and this one is real a robot arm that can perform rudimentary sign language.

Its part of a masters thesis from grad students at the University of Antwerp who wanted to address the needs of the deaf and hearing impaired. In classrooms, courts and at home, these people often need interpreters who arent always available.

Their solution is Antwerps Sign Language Actuating Node, or ASLAN. Its a robotic hand and forearm that can perform sign language letters and numbers. It was designed from scratch and built from 25 3D-printed parts, with 16 servos controlled by an Arduino board. Its taught gestures using a special glove, and the team is looking into recognizing them through a webcam as well.

Right now, its just the one hand so obviously two-hand gestures and the cues from facial expressions that enrich sign language arent possible yet. But a second coordinating hand and an emotive robotic face are the next two projects the team aims to tackle.

The idea is not to replace interpreters, whose nuance can hardly be replicated, but to make sure that there is always an option for anyone worldwide who requires sign language service. It also could be used to help teach sign language a robot doesnt get tired of repeating a gesture for you to learn.

Why not just use a virtual hand? Good question. An app or even a speech-to-text program would accomplish many of the same things. But its hard to think less of the ASLAN project; taking an assistive technology off the screen and putting it in the real world, where it can be interacted with, viewed from many angles, and otherwise share the physical space of the people it helps, is a commendable goal.

ASLAN was created by Guy Fierens, Stijn Huys and Jasper Slaets. Its still in prototype form, but once its finalized the designs will be open sourced.

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This 3D-printed robotic arm is built for sign language - TechCrunch

By@SimonCocking

Describe the company the elevator pitch

Fastbrick Robotics Limited (ASX:FBR) is an Australian robotic technology company developing and commercialising digital construction technology solutions.

Fastbrick Robotics revolutionary bricklaying machine, the Hadrian X, represents the first application of our underlying intellectual property portfolio.

The Hadrian X is a globally patented 3D robotic bricklaying system, and marks the transition of automated machinery from the secure and controlled nature of indoor factories and laboratories to the dynamically stabilised robots (DSR) that operate outdoors in uncontrolled environments.

Fastbrick Robotics is committed to improving the safety, speed, accuracy, cost and waste management in the global construction industry through utilising the worlds latest innovations in mobile robotic technology.

How are you different?

The robotics sector globally has tremendous growth and presents significant opportunity for those with relevant intellectual property, and the underpinning technology that enables the Hadrian X associated with dynamic stabilisation, has widespread potential applications beyond robotic bricklaying.

While the Hadrian X is not the first robotic bricklaying machine, it is the first machine that is fully-automated from start to finish meaning that the entire brickwork of a house could potentially be completed in as little as 15 hours without the need for human intervention.

Fastbrick Robotics is pleased to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: https://t.co/8swHPHlJ1c pic.twitter.com/JVKjmVDkpj

Fastbrick Robotics (@_Fastbrick) August 16, 2017

Why will the company/product do well?

Fastbrick Robotics has a suite of protected intellectual property that extends well beyond the Hadrian X bricklaying machine and we have hardly scratched the surface in exploring other possible markets and applications for this technology. We are therefore very excited by the unquantifiable potential for the company and its technology and about the additional applications and opportunities beyond the Hadrian X. Having said that, the delivery of the Hadrian X is certainly the companys priority at the moment.

The Hadrian X represents a quantum leap in digital construction technology and this breakthrough threatens to shake up one of the oldest and largest industries in the world, the construction industry. We know that the digital age of construction is here right now and that the use of robots outside factory walls for purposes including construction is also a reality right now. We intend to lead the charge in this emerging space of digital construction and also explore other markets and applications for our enabling technologies. While many people around the world once objected to automation and the use of robots in factories, so it is that this technology presents as disruption to markets such as construction. The prevalent use of robotics in factories today speaks for itself and we can not only see the same evolution happening with robots outside but we are leading the charge. Our dynamic stabilisation technology now makes this a reality.

People need houses and the world has a shortage of them along with bricklayers. With the valuable end prize of reducing cost, time, and waste while improving safety and accuracy in the building process, the world is watching this technology very closely as it threatens to shake up the way houses and other structures are built.

The industry and the market we are addressing with the Hadrian X is extremely large and the commercial prize is very big, and we are a long way ahead of any other company in terms of the technology we have developed. The potential applications for our enabling technology are potentially endless and we are currently exploring these as part of our broader company strategy.

With the market now closed, Fastbrick Robotics $FBR finishes a stellar day as one of the biggest movers on the @ASX. pic.twitter.com/KUDeqxAQjJ

Fastbrick Robotics (@_Fastbrick) August 16, 2017

Where are you based?

Perth, Western Australia.

When was the company launched?

Fastbrick Robotics was publicly listed on the ASX in November of 2015 via an oversubscribed reverse takeover, and subsequently raised AUD $5.75 million.

What have been your biggest wins to date?

At the end of 2016, we were named Western Australian Innovator of the Year. This success continued in 2017 when we won the Most Disruptive Technology category at the WAITTA INCITE Awards, and most recently when we announced an agreement with industry giant Caterpillar (see our website atwww.fbr.com.au), and when Caterpillar became a shareholder of Fastbrick Robotics Ltd as part of the same deal.

What type of people (market segment) are you trying to attract to your product?

Weve had a significant amount of interest from both individuals, companies and governments of countries around the world. As a result, we are still working through the details of a fully integrated market strategy that may now be influenced by our recent agreement with Caterpillar Inc.

Tell us about your team?

Our team is primarily made up of both mechanical and software engineers that have been working extremely hard to develop the underlying technology behind the Hadrian X. While we have a reasonably young team, our engineers represent the peak of innovation and have established themselves as leaders in their respective fields. The technical teams are led by founder/Executive Director/Chief Technical Officer Mark Pivac.

We also have a very strong commercial managerial team led by our Managing Director, Mike Pivac, who are leading the company towards the commercialisation of our technology and ensuring a secure and profitable future.

What are your long-term plans for your product/company?

The overall long-term plan is to cement our position as a global leader in the field of robotics, particularly in relation to digital construction solutions. However, our primary focus now is commercialising the Hadrian X and bringing this unique technology to the world.

How do people get in touch with you?

The best way to contact us is via the contact form on our website atwww.fbr.com.au. Alternatively, you can keep in contact with us through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Facebook:www.facebook.com/fastbrickrobotics

Twitter:www.twitter.com/_Fastbrick

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at [emailprotected] or on Twitter: @SimonCocking

AustraliaBusiness ShowcaseFastbrick RoboticsRobotics

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Business Showcase : Fastbrick Robotics - Irish Tech News

The robotics team from Hartford Union High School took time to give fairgoers a shot at controlling one of their award-winning robots through some obstacles near the Dodge County Fair grandstand.

We think its really cute because the kids get to drive the robot, said team member Maddy Jacobi, 15.

The team is called Oriole Assault (Team 1091), which is part of the FIRST Robotics. The organization is meant to bring mentors and young students together to build science, engineering and technology skills. The 15-year-old team is composed of 21 high school students and more than seven mentors. It took the team six weeks to construct its robot.

Near the fair grandstands Thursday morning, the team maneuvered its robot through a set of obstacles. The robot could transport a large yellow gear from one station to another and is able to hoist itself off the ground, making it look like the machine is doing a pull-ups. All of the obstacles gain the team points in competition.

This year, the team took third place overall in the Seven Rivers Regional in La Crosse, and it took third place in the Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee. According to the teams website, it has competed in nine FIRST Robotics Challenges.

Its our teams goal to one year make it to nationals, Jacobi said.

Oriole Assault is the first group of its kind to host a robotics demonstration at the Dodge County Fair. Jacobi said the team wanted to do a demonstration at the fairgrounds because, compared to other teams, they are small and they want to get their work in front of people.

In addition, she said the team is mostly boys and its important for her to show girls that they can work on a team like Oriole Assault.

Read more:

Hartford robotics team teaches at the Dodge County Fair grandstands - WiscNews

The auto industry seems to be ready for disruption. It is an industry that has functioned largely without changes for the past hundred years, but with the emergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence, self-driving and robotics, the basic paradigm of the industry is expected to change.

Robotics, for example, has been used for a long time in the auto industry, but not at the rate that it are being applied currently. Tesla, the biggest disruptor in the automotive industry, has set the trend for increasingly robot-run factories.

The Tesla Gigafactory 1 is located at a site which was previously a General Motors automotive factorythat employed more than 50,000 people. In contrast, the Gigafactory 1 employs just 10,000 people and uses robots and automation to make its cars, such as the newly launched Model 3. The company employs robots such as the self-navigating Autonomous Indoor Vehicles (AIVs).

It also uses a lot of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) which are used for transporting equipment from one section to the other.

The car assembly is done with the help of robotic arms instead of by tool-wielding humans.

While the Tesla Gigafactory 1 is just one of many examples of auto companies increasingly employing robots in production, it is the strongest indication that as the auto industry moves towardautomation and robotics, human employment in the industry is set to decrease. In other words, the auto industry will not be a large scale employer and as the industry progresses and competition with brands such as Tesla rises,companies will increasingly opt for robot-run factories like the Gigafactory 1.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will also play a large part in the future of the automotive industry. According to the Information Handling Services (IHS) Technology's Automotive Electronics Roadmap Report, the use of AI based driver-assistance systems in vehicles is set to jump from 7 million a couple of years ago to 122 million by 2025.

"An artificial-intelligence system continuously learns from experience and by its ability to discern and recognize its surroundings. It learns as human beings do, from real sounds, images and other sensory inputs. The system recognizes the car's environment and evaluates the contextual implications for the moving car," said Luca De Ambroggi, IHS Technology's principal analyst for automotive semiconductors, according to a report by Computerworld.

AI-based systems are set to become basic systems for vehicles and in combination with technologies such as speech recognition, gesture recognition, eye tracking, driver monitoring and virtual assistance, these systems are expected to make driving safer and also more automated.

Since cars are increasingly expected to be equipped with hardware such as camera-based machine units, radar-detection units and driver evaluation units, AI will serve as the connecting interface between the regular car machinery and such hardware e.g., advance brake warnings using object detection feedback from the onboard cameras.

This technology is expected to change the way we drive. According to Gartner, there will be 250 million connected vehicles on the roads by 2020, which will be using AI in some way or other.

Self-driving, a technology which is still not mainstream and yet has major auto and tech players investing in it, is set to change the auto industry in the biggest of ways. With many car makers aiming to achieve full autonomy by 2021, the end of driving as we know it might be near.

With cars such as the Tesla Model 3 equipped with semi-autonomous features, which let the car be driven using automation on highways, the move toward the end of human driving seems to have begun.

Apart from taking overcontrol from human drivers, self-driving has the potential of changing the notion of car ownership as it stands. Currently, you buy a car and drive it yourself or hail a cab.

The problem with lending out cars is, in some ways, due tothe inconsistency of human driving. Once driving becomes safer, thanks to a universal standard of safety followed by self-driven cars, this might not be an issue.

Think about a world in which driving is no longer necessary. Since the cars will be driven via automation, chances are that people might actually lend their cars out when they are not using them. These cars could be used by ride-hailing services such as Uber and returned to the owner at the time of his/her usage.

Another paradigm is that since self-driven cars would be available 24 hours, a person could simply order a car to his/her doorrather than keepone in the driveway. Automotive transport could transform into a utility like electricity or water supply.

According to the MIT'sMilken Institutes AgeLab, When the brightest-eyed autonomous vehicle advocates talk about self-driving cars transforming society as we know it, what theyre imagining, first and foremost, is the death of car ownership.

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How Self-Driving, AI And Robotics Will Transform The Auto Industry - International Business Times

Over the last decade or so, automated labor has grown as a robust presence throughout the state and its impact is starting to be more directly seen and felt, both commercially and politically

This week, the Brookings Institute released a new study looking at the regional locations of industrial robots. Or, in the institutes phrasing, 'automatically controlled, reprogrammable machines capable of replacing labor in a range of tasks.

A closer look at the Brookings study shows where, exactly, in Ohio these robots are most likely to be found. Both Toledo, with nine robots for every 1,000 people, and the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman metro area, with 4.5 robots per 1,000 people, rank in the top 10 of the 100 largest metro areas from the study.

The Youngstown-Warren area is a bit more interesting, though. While that metro are has famously struggled with the shrinking steel manufacturing economy, its beginning to see success in more high-tech jobs, like the Youngstown Business Incubator which has a focus on additive manufacturing (aka 3D printing).

And its that sort of development that could help serve a region that, as The Daily Beast notes, is already home to thousands of companies producing metals, plastics, and polymers as well as the regions biomedical, automotive, and defense industries.

But this isnt the only area of robotics thats made a big impression in Ohio. Gov. Kasich made a big push to set aside a few stretches of highway throughout the state as Smart Mobility Corridors, including a stretch near Columbus.

There are also efforts to bring such tests to corridors throughout Northern Ohio, too.

The central Ohio hub, a 35-mile stretch of State Route 33 around Marysville, is being wired with fiber optic cables for data collection. Ohio State and Honda are both nearby, as are the Transportation Research Center and NHTSA Vehicle Research Test Center. And Wind River, a subsidiary of Intel, has already announced a program with OSU, the TRC, and the city of Dublin to test self-driving vehicles on this stretch of road.

As for the larger impact of robot labor, the Brookings study points toward, but stops short of, larger conclusions behind the placement of these industry robots, including economic anxiety around robots taking human jobs and the political impact.

And that political impact is certainly worth paying attention to. That Daily Beast story highlights the disconnect between the growing high-tech industry in Youngstown and the manufacturing plans that President Trump has touted for the area, promising that cracking down on the unbalanced steel trade of other nations will magically revive an industry that many consider long gone from the area.

To see the other side of the impact of robotics, though, look no further than the Carrier plant near Indianapolis. Despite President Trumps boast of saving jobs at the factory last fall, it was later determined that many of those supposedly saved jobs will be lost to automation at the plant. More robots.

Brookings plans to release another study later this year that more closely examines the disruption to metro areas brought by the changing robotics world. We can only hope that Brookings doesn't hire robot researchers to taint the data.

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Robots Have Quietly Become Ohio's Booming Workforce - Cleveland Scene Weekly

The Hants Journal

KES Robotics Club comes first in national competition after disaster averted, heading to worlds The Hants Journal After weeks and months of intense coding and late nights of robot building, a scrappy team from King's-Edgehill School in Nova Scotia ended up placing first against 12 other teams from Quebec and Ontario during the Canadian qualifier for the World ... and more »

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KES Robotics Club comes first in national competition after disaster averted, heading to worlds - The Hants Journal

Robotic Industries Association Posted 08/17/2017

Organization's Research Provides Guide for Robotics and Automation Sales, Likelihood of Additional Growth in 2017

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN The Association for Advancing Automation (A3), the leading global advocate for the benefits of automating, announced today the results of its research on robotics and automation trends, sales, and growth. A3 provides quarterly statistical reports to its members for benchmarking and business intelligence purposes. As expected, many records were set in the areas of robotics, machine vision, motion control and motor technology for the first half of 2017.

A snapshot of some of A3's research findings includes:

Robotics The North American robotics market had its best opening half ever to begin 2017, setting new records in all four statistical categories (order units, order revenue, shipment units, and shipment revenue). In total, 19,331 robots valued at approximately $1.031 billion were sold in North America during the first half of 2017, which is the highest level ever recorded to begin a year. These figures represent growth of 33% in units and 26% in dollars over 2016. Automotive related orders grew substantially in that time, increasing 39% in units and 37% in dollars, while non-automotive orders also grew 21% in units and 10% in dollars over the first half of 2016.

Motion Control & Motors For the first half of 2017, orders for motion control and motor products amounted to $1.622 billion, up 14% over the first six months of 2016. Shipments totaled $1.757 billion, up 10% over the first half of 2016, and the fastest growing categories in that timeframe, in terms of shipments, were Motion Controllers (21% to $97 million), Sensors & Feedback Devices (20% to $76 million), Actuators & Mechanical Systems (17% to $318 million), and AC Drives (17% to $199 million).

Vision & Imaging In 2017, the machine vision market in North America also posted its best first half performance compared to any other year. A total of $1.241 billion was sold in the first six months of the year, with an increase of 11% over the same period in 2016. Machine vision component markets were up 11% in total to $177 million and systems increased 10% to $1.058 billion. Some notable growth rates were: Lighting (20% to $35 million), Smart Cameras (16% to $183 million), and Optics (16% to $20 million).

Experts expect software to trend up, cameras, lighting, and imaging boards to be flat, and optics to trend down over the next six months. Additionally, expectations are for Application Specific Machine Vision (ASMV) systems to increase and smart cameras to remain flat in the next two quarters.

A3 Expertise A longtime advocate for and supporter of the robotics, machine vision, motion control and motor markets, A3 is comprised of three sister associations: the Robotic Industries Association (RIA); the Advancing Vision + Imaging Association (AIA); and the Motion Control & Motor Association (MCMA). A3 is currently at a record combined membership of 1,064 as of July 31, 2017.

"Year over year, our membership has been on a steady growth trajectory, the result of more companies understanding, and embracing, the direct impact automation can have on their bottom line," said Jeff Burnstein, president of A3. "We look forward to the continued advancement of our industry and helping companies of all sizes access the connections, information, and training they need to succeed with automation."

A3 On the Road A3 will host several events in the fall of 2017 that support the organizations and industries noted in its research findings. They include:

For more details or to sign up, visit the A3 website.

About Association for Advancing Automation (A3) The Association for Advancing Automation is the global advocate for the benefits of automating. A3 promotes automation technologies and ideas that transform the way business is done. A3 is the umbrella group for Robotic Industries Association (RIA), AIA - Advancing Vision + Imaging, and Motion Control & Motor Association (MCMA). RIA, AIA, and MCMA combined represent over 1,060 automation manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users, research groups and consulting firms from throughout the world that drive automation forward.

For more information, visit: A3. RIA. AIA. MCMA.

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Robotic Industries Association - Robotics Online (press release)