Category Archives: Robotics

Yaskawa Motoman Posted 06/06/2017

Dayton, OH The fast, six-axis MPX3500 robot offers superior performance and efficiently creates a smooth, consistent finish in painting and coating applications. It offers a flexible, compact design and is ideal for painting parts of nearly any size and shape, including recessed, curved or contoured surfaces.

The MPX3500 has a 15 kg wrist payload capacity and a 25 kg upper arm payload capacity, enabling spray equipment to be mounted directly on the robot arm. It also features a 2,700 mm horizontal reach and 0.15mm repeatability.

The MPX3500 features a hollow wrist with a large inside diameter of 70 mm which accommodates the mounting of spray equipment applicators with large hose bundles. Interference between the hoses and parts/fixtures is avoided, ensuring optimum cycle time, robot reach and part access.

The robots L-axis is designed with no offset - enabling installation of the manipulator close to a workpiece and higher density robot spacing - saving valuable floorspace. It can be floor-, wall- or ceiling-mounted to provide layout flexibility.

The MPX3500 robot and DX200-FM controller feature Factory Mutual (FM) approval for use in Class I, Div. 1 hazardous environments. An intrinsically safe pendant is available as an option.

The DX200-FM controller includes application-specific software for paint applications and coordinates operation of the robot and painting devices, including spray gun, color changer and gear pump. The controller supports standard networks (EtherNet, EtherNet IP, CC-Link, DeviceNet, EtherCAT and PROFINET), enabling connection to paint equipment controllers and production line controllers.

The DX200-FM is available with Category 3 Performance Level d (PLd) Functional Safety Unit (FSU), which supports safety-rated speed control, safety-rated soft axis and space limiting, and safety-rated monitor stop. In addition to enabling safe operation in shorter and narrower spray booths with adjacent manual operations, these safety functions can be utilized to save costs and reduce floorspace requirements.

About Yaskawa Motoman Founded in 1989, the Motoman Robotics Division of Yaskawa America, Inc. is a leading robotics company in the Americas. With over 360,000 Motoman robots installed globally, Yaskawa provides automation products and solutions for virtually every industry and robotic application; including arc welding, assembly, coating, dispensing, material handling, material cutting, material removal, packaging, palletizing and spot welding.

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Yaskawa Motoman MPX3500 Robot Creates Consistent Finish in Coating Applications - Robotics Online (press release)

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) - A robotics camp at the College of Southern Idaho is teaching children to program Lego robots.

High school students who compete in robotics taught kids 6 to 8 years old.

They said the kids may have struggled at the beginning, but it was fun watching them figure it out.

"It's just fun to see how their though process is and how they go about finding the solution to their problem," said Blake Miller, one of the instructors.

This camp is a two-day course where the kids learn to operate Milo the robot.

He has a sensor that interacts with a flower the kids built. He can move, make sounds and light up different colors.

The instructors said the kids, as young as 6, were learning STEM skills that will help them in their futures.

The group is also offering camps for older children and uses the fees to help pay for travel to their robotics competitions.

For more information on the camps you can visit CSI's website linked below in the right-hand column.

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Robotics camp teaches children to enjoy S.T.E.M. - KMVT - KMVT

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - A group of local high school students has an exciting trip planned this summer.

Team Titanium, a FIRST Robotics team with Lee's Summit West High School, was chosen as one of only 15 international teams to travel to China for a robotics competition. The China Urban Youth Robotics Alliance, or CUYRA, invited the team to this year's 4th China Robotics Challenge held in Zhengzhou.

The competition will be held July 26 through 29. CUYRA is contributing $15,000 towards Team Titanium's trip, but they still need to raise $10,000 more.

Team Titanium FRC 1989 took 2nd place in this year's FIRST Robotics World Championship Competition.

"They were just three points shy of being that World Champion," said coach Aaron Bailey. "We started the team back in 2007 and it has been getting better every year."

The competition looks like a life-sized board game with robots as the pawns.

"We have six weeks to build the robots to solve a problem that we are presented with at the beginning of January," said teammate Daniel Schnelle, a recent graduate looking to study mechanical engineering. "At the end of the six weeks we have to put the robot into a sealed bag and we cannot touch or work on our robot until we get to our competition."

Robots for this year's competition had to collect gears and move them to a central location, shoot balls into a tube and climb a rope before the round ended. Each of these tasks gains the team points.

"There's 3,000 teams," said Schnelle. "I don't know of any time where there's been two identical robots. We build with sheet metal, so ours is never like anybody else's."

"We love watching these kids work hand to hand with professionals to build, to fold metal, to wire robots, to learn these deep technical skills, but also know what it means to work really, really hard," said Bailey. "We want our kids to know there are great job opportunities right here, you don't have to leave our community. We want to make Lee's Summit a great place to live."

According to its mission statement, FIRST Robotics works to "inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting Mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation."

Many students who participate end up following the career path to technology and/or science jobs.

"A lot of our team is planning on going into multiple varieties of engineering. We have electrical, mechanical, civil, engineering management," said Schnelle.

To learn more about FIRST click here:https://www.firstinspires.org/

If you would like to help Team Titanium on their voyage to China there are two ways to do so:

GoFundMe:www.gofundme.com/titaniumtochina

Mail: Payable to "LSWHSRobotics", and sent toLSWHSRobotics, c/o NancySpatz,2600 SW Ward Rd., Lee's Summit, MO 64081

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Lee's Summit robotics team heads to China - KSHB

It feels like robotics kits are everywhere these days, as companies compete to figure out the best way to turn basic robotics, electronics, and coding concepts into a toy or game to get kids to learn STEM skills under the guise of having fun.

Boson, from DRFRobot, is the latest of these, and it has all the trappings of a STEM learning toy: colorful plastic, simple design, and powerful possibilities for those willing to learn the system. At its core, Boson is a block coding tool similar to Tynker or Blockly, but built in the real world with various physically connected blocks instead of virtual representations.

The Boson modules are divided into four kinds, easily identifiable by color: blue ones are for inputs, green for outputs, yellow for functions, and pink for power. Theres no coding or soldering necessary to use Boson just connect the blocks together, and youre good to go.

Boson also offers an impressive variety of over 50 modules across the four categories. There are sensors for heat, humidity, flame, conductivity, soil, IR, light, motion, touch, sound, steam, and more along with a variety of buttons and joysticks for inputs. Outputs offer things like motors, servos, fans, buzzers, LEDs, and an OLED monitor. Function modules allow for building out basic logic functions, like AND, OR, and NOT. And if the module blocks arent enough, Boson is also compatible with Arduino, making it possible to write more advanced programs with languages like Python and JavaScript.

The other selling point of Boson is the compatibility of the modules with other things. You can connect Boson modules to Lego bricks, screw them onto things, place them on a fridge with magnets, or velcro them to a wall.

DFRobot is selling four different kits of Boson modules, each focused on different projects a basic Starter kit for $45, a Science kit for $109, a Coding kit for $109, and an Inventor kit for $139. There are also bundles of the Science and Inventor sets for $219, and the Science, Coding, and Inventor sets for $309. DFRobot has been around for a while selling various microcontrollers and electronic components, and has successfully ran a previous Kickstarter, so backing Boson is probably safer than most crowdfunded campaigns. That said, as always, you should use your best judgement when backing.

DFRobot hopes to ship the Boson kits in September and October.

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The Boson kit is a modular robotics set that will teach kids STEM topics and coding - The Verge

Utah's new lab to use robotics to speed up rape kit testing (File photo: KUTV)

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (AP) Officials are hopeful Utah's major rape kit backlog will be reduced now that a new state crime laboratory has opened where robotic machines can extract DNA samples and deliver them to forensic technicians much faster than humans.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2s1wiRt ) a new Unified State Laboratory was opened Thursday in Taylorsville, where Lab Director Jay Henry says the robotics station does the repetitive work of extracting DNA, then delivers the data to forensic scientists. In addition to freeing up a technician to do more analytical work, the station is capable of extracting DNA faster.

The station is capable of processing 96 samples in less than eight hours, a task that took Henry three or four days when he worked as a lab technician.

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Utah's new lab to use robotics to speed up rape kit testing - KUTV 2News

The Stormgears FIRST robotics team had a solid performance in the World Championships, ranking 31 out of 68 teams in their division, during competition April 26-29 in St. Louis.

The team, whose members include students from Westford Academy, Blanchard Middle School, Acton-Boxborough High School, Chelmsford High School, RJ Grey High, Lawrence Academy and Minuteman Tech, won half of the games they participated in.

Earlier in April, the team won the New England Engineering Inspiration Award at the New England District Championship at the University of New Hampshire, qualifying them for the championship. At the championship, there were a total of six divisions with about 400 teams competing.

The team has competed in the World Championships every years since they started as a rookie team three years ago, and, although the Stormgears didnt advance to the final rounds, the team is already preparing for next year and actively recruiting new team members.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to show students of every age that science, technology and problem-solving are not only fun and rewarding, but are proven paths to successful careers and a bright future. In this years competition, FIRST Steamworks students built a robot that could collect balls and shoot them into a boiler steam, pick up and deliver gears to turn a rotor, and prepare for flight by latching onto a rope and climbing. Two opposing alliances of three teams competed in a 27-by-56-foot area in a series of three-minute matches that combined both autonomous and computer controlled robot action.

The team meets at SMC, LTD in Devens.

Link:

Stormgears team competes in international robotics competition - Westford Eagle

For the third consecutive year, a student team at the University of Alabama placed first at a NASA robotics contest.

Alabama Astrobotics took the top prize at the NASA Robotic Mining Competition, besting student teams from 45 other institutions in the challenge to build a robot capable of navigating and excavating simulated Martian soil, or regolith.

Winning the NASA Robotic Mining Competition for a third straight year is amazing and humbling, said team lead Joseph Kabalin, a recent mechanical engineering graduate from Loveland, Ohio. Our team knows how hard it is to get here and how much work it takes. It was truly a team effort.

The team has more than 60 students from across eight disciplines, including engineering and computer science, and it is the only team to win more than once in the contests eight years, placing first four times in 2012, 2015, 2016 and this year.

I am very proud of the team members, said Dr. Kenneth Ricks, team adviser and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. They bought into our process, put their individual needs aside for the good of the team, and dedicated themselves to excellence in every category, which was recognized by the competition judges.

Robots are judged on how much regolith they can dig and deposit into bins as well as their ability to operate on their own, or autonomously. This year, Alabama Astrobotics collected a record amount of regolith, and the robot was the first ever to complete its tasks fully autonomously.

The team placed first in five of nine categories that included mining, autonomy, technical presentation, effective use of communication with the robot and outreach project. Alabama Astrobotics placed in the top three of every category, racking up the most points in the contests history. In all, the students won $10,000 for use on next years robot.

The team designed and built a new robot, but stuck with the approach that netted the top prize the past two years. The students improved some of the robots mining capabilities, making it lighter and upgrading its ability to operate autonomously, Kabalin said.

The robot is called MARTE 2017, which stands for the Modular Autonomous Robotic Terrestrial Excavator 2017, and kept the bucket ladder excavator and an offloading conveyor belt. It also continued to use lidar sensors to scan in 3-D using 16 lasers to measure distance and determine an objects position. The sensors are a sort of radar that uses light instead of sound.

This year the team installed an electronic device called an inertial measurement unit to help make the autonomy more reliable.

The technology concepts developed by the collegiate teams for this competition could be used to mine resources on other planets, according to NASA.

The team received funding from the Alabama Space Grant Consortium, NASA, Dynetics, Fitz-Thors Engineering, Crank N Chrome, Ion Motion Control, Trailer Store Plus, SolidWorks and the University of Alabama.

Republished with permission of Alabama NewsCenter.

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University of Alabama robotics team claims third straight victory at NASA competition - Alabama Today

Mobile, Alabama native Lonnie Johnson, the creator of the Super Soaker, is using his platform to pay it forward by funding high school robotics teams through his non-profit organization, reports NBC News.

From NBC News:

Lonnie Johnson is now focusing on new battery technology, but his most rewarding pursuit may be sharing his knowledge with a new generation of engineers.

Now, hes getting serious about giving back. His nonprofit helps fund high school robotics teams. One of them the DISCbots from the nearby DeKalb International Student Center is made up of refugees from nine countries. Incredibly, in just its second year, the DISCbots qualified for the world-wide robotics competition in Texas.

According to the outlet Johnson, who grew up during the civil rights movement and once worked as a NASA rocket scientist during his career, says that he simply wants to make a positive impact.

SOURCE: NBC News

SEE ALSO:

Watch: Bridging The STEM Gap For Black Girls

Nations Largest School District Discusses Integrating Technology At EdTech Week

Read more:

'Super Soaker' Inventor Funds Robotics Teams Through Non-Profit - News One

Have a robotic startup or project? We want you on stage at TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics this July 17 at MIT. Were looking for students to demo and early stage startupsto pitch. If selected, both will get free tickets and exhibit space at the event. Use this form to apply.

This opportunity will put participants in front of the companies, founders and engineers driving the robotics field forward. Pitch-off participants will get several minutes to make their case in a competition for a chance to exhibit their creation at Disrupt SF. Selected participants will reveal their company to the audience and a group of expert judges who will ultimately pick a winner.

Students should apply for the demo slots, which feature more time on the main stage to tell their story. High school students to grad students should apply. Were looking for projects that can shift the industry. Please note, you must have a working robotic demo for this opportunity.

Over the last few weeks, TechCrunch has met with countless robotics companies in Boston, Pittsburgh and elsewhere.This event is going to be epic. The lineup of speakers and companies participating is amazing and theres still an opportunity to get involved. Drop us a line with speaker and topic suggestions.

Our aim is to bring together the key players in robotics. That includes the investors and founders focused on building the next iRobot, Kiva and Intuitive Surgical. Well stir into that mix the technologists, researchers and engineering students working on the latest stuff, like soft robotics, collaborative robotics, undersea and airborne robotics and that welcoming, all-purpose robot you always wanted to meet you at the door with a cold beer.

Tickets for the event are currently available. Seating is very limited so dont wait. Grab them while you can.

We are also happy to announce that MITs Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is a key sponsor. The event is absolutely global, but there is no better place to stage the gathering than Boston.

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We're looking for robotics companies to pitch and demo at ... - TechCrunch

ONTARIO >> At Woodcrest Junior High School, lunchtime means sandwiches, fresh fruit, robots and circuitry.

Here we go, said seventh-grader Adrian Agustin, 12, tossing a polystyrene ball at a hand-drawn target hooked up to a circuit board. The sensor behind Adrians target registered the impact, and on an attached 8-by-8 grid of lights, an illuminated +1 scrolled across. And another. And so on.

The kids have an opportunity to come in and explore, experiment, hang out with friends, have a safe environment to play with engineering, said Lisa Lista, an instructional coach at the school and one of the two women behind the schools lunchtime STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) lab.

The lab began in October, sharing space with another classroom, but soon became so popular that it needed a full-sized classroom of its own.

There are times when this classroom is so filled that we need to get help from other teachers, said Sarai Padilla, an instructional coach at the school and Listas partner in the lab.

Up to 30 kids will show up in the laboratory at a time.

I didnt know if kids would come, Lista said. Its during their lunch and their time for hanging out with their friends at the lunch tables. ASB usually has a lot of stuff going on: games, music. But thankfully, a lot of the kids want to come in. They want to do something, hands-on.

The lunchtime STEM lab participants run the gamut from special education students to honors students.

Its a safe place for everybody to come to, Padilla said. You dont have to have any engineering experience at all. They just come in and say Whats this about? and are curious.

The students build Lego Mindstorms robots, HyperDuino computer components and Little Bits modular electronics, like the ones Adrian was using.

Last year, I was using Little Bits in my classroom, with my fifth-graders, and wanted to be able to open up and branch out to other students instead of just my class, Lista said. We wanted a wider range of kids to be able to come.

While there are structured projects available, there are no grades and students are able to experiment and tinker with the labs technology.

We have a girl group who come in and they made an electronic nail file, Lista said, grinning. Its something that theyre interested in. Its easy for them to come in and explore and create.

One student has been so inspired that he and his brother now raid the trash from electronics stores for spare parts.

He has made a Bluetooth earphone set, Padilla said.

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Hes made a fan, Lista said.

... that you plug into your phone, Padilla said.

Hes made a cellphone charger, Lista said. He started here, with Little Bits.

It opened up a new world for him, Padilla said.

Thats awesome, Lista said.

Next year, the STEM lab will be back, sort of.

Its actually going to be a course, Lista said. Next year, its going to be an elective for the students.

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STEM lab serves robotics, computer programming for lunch at Ontario junior high - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin