Information briefs for the week check out Squishy Robotics and its soft-landing robots that went from NASA Moon undertaking to first responder aids on Earth; then how Locus Robotics upgraded its product line of LocusBots to supply new-age options to ever-accelerating warehouse calls for; then China’s newly developed, robot-assisted, laparoscopic surgical system scheduled to compete with business chief Intuitive Robotics utilizing 3D glasses as an alternative of a standard monitor and hood; and at last, why is it that robots have been so sluggish to disrupt the garment business?

“What’s occurring?” Ask Squishy Robotics

In catastrophe situations, situational consciousness, or “What’s occurring?” throughout the catastrophe space, is many instances info that could be very exhausting or not possible to come back by.

Squishy Robotics (based mostly in Berkeley, CA), a derivative from a undertaking initially funded by NASA (2014) to develop new methods of touchdown rovers and different forms of tools on the Moon, has give you a robotic for first responders to make use of in catastrophe conditions that gives situational consciousness, the place nobody must be put in danger. It additionally supplies important on-the-ground info a lot prior to first responders might.

Berkeley researcher, Alice Agogino’s first thought for her $500,000 NASA grant requested the query: Why not make the robotic itself the touchdown system? In that approach, there can be no want for a separate lander to convey a rover right down to the floor. Answering that fundamental query is how she developed her startup firm Squishy Robotics.

As Agogino remembers it: “We thought, wow, if we will do that on the Moon, we should always be capable to do it on planet Earth and avoid wasting lives.”

Her thought was to create a sphere-shaped skeleton of rods and elastic cables, based mostly on the design precept of rigidity integrity, or “tensegrity”. The time period itself was coined by Buckminster Fuller as a portmanteau of “rigidity” and “integrity” in 1955.

Functionally, the sphere-shaped robotic skeleton is dropped from a drone right into a catastrophe state of affairs or perhaps a rescue state of affairs that’s troublesome to entry by first responders. The robotic’s sensors and different information-gathering devices would reside within the middle of the robotic, and when dropped, the drive of the impression can be unfold throughout the skeleton, conserving the important payload protected.

Locus Robotics upgrades AMR fleet

Suppliers of AMRs for the logistics and e-commerce industries have been shifting quick to broaden their cellular robotic platforms and operational software program to accommodate the accelerating churn and number of warehouse logistics.

To not improve dangers being bypassed by an business that’s already in excessive gear and accelerating ever extra to satisfy the mega calls for of e-commerce.

Massachusetts-based Locus Robotics, extremely profitable provider of its LocusBots, has been constructing out to satisfy these wants since 2021 when it acquired Waypoint Robotics. Heavyweight chassis, bigger kind elements and enhanced capabilities of the Locus Vector and Max (rebranded from Waypoint) together with the beforehand launched Locus Origin, make up the corporate’s new product line, lately launched for the EU at Amsterdam’s Ship 2023 convention held June 7-8.

Clever AMRs are the wave of the longer term and Locus now has three. Locus buyer DHL Provide Chain will see Locus Origin deployed to its 1,500 warehouses and distribution facilities by the tip of 2023, claims Locus.

“We’re excited to showcase our newest expertise improvements at Ship 2023 to our world and European prospects,” mentioned Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “Along with our superior LocusONE warehouse Automation Platform, we’re reworking the way in which warehouses function.”

3D glasses for China’s newly-launched surgical robotic

The world is headed towards minimally-invasive surgical procedures. And surgical robots are forecast to be the platform of option to ship a safer, minimally-invasive operation with far much less post-operative trauma.

Though over a dozen builders have marketed, or are within the course of of promoting a surgical robotic, U.S.-based Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci robotic has been the surgical crown jewel since its debut in 2009, even at over $2.5 million a system, plus over 1,000,000 {dollars} in components and provides yearly. Now, nonetheless, opponents from the EU (the Versius Surgical Robotic System) and, most lately, China are difficult Intuitive’s dominance.

Weigao Group, headquartered in Weihai, Shandong province, has turn out to be the first Chinese language developer for a robot-assisted laparoscopic surgical system (2021). “We at present have 20 models at hospitals for scientific analysis which might be concerned in quite a lot of surgical procedures, comparable to urological, liver, and thoracic procedures,” mentioned Wang Bingqiang, basic supervisor of Weigao Group’s medical instrument division. “Our robotic system will probably be on the market for basic surgical use from June (2023).”

With 20 methods in use, Weigao nonetheless has an extended strategy to go to even start to contest Intuitive’s over 6,000 deployed da Vinci methods worldwide. In line with Fosun Worldwide Securities, of the 189 robot-assisted laparoscopic surgical methods presently in use in China (barely 5% of the world market), Intuitive has almost a 100% share.

Distinctive amongst robotic surgical methods, Weigao’s surgical robotic is operated utilizing 3D glasses—somewhat than the usual monitor and hood utilized by all others—which the corporate says reduces physician fatigue. “Docs also can talk extra simply with different docs and nurses within the working room,” added Wang.

Robots sluggish to disrupt garment business

There aren’t too many industries nowadays that robotics has had a tough time disrupting, however the garment business appears to be one which’s been notably elusive.

Nonetheless, there’s a fortune awaiting people who succeed. Income within the attire/garment marketplace for 2023 is $343 billion! Automating even a small a part of the business might save billions in productiveness beneficial properties and make use of tens of hundreds of robots, particularly in stitching items of attire collectively.

There are 10-20 completely different steps wanted to make a easy T-shirt; 70-80 for a long-sleeve gown shirt.

Though laser chopping of cloth has unfold all through garment making, the laser-cut items nonetheless have to be joined right into a completed piece, and therein sits the issue for robots. Human arms are nonetheless relied upon for ending.

Germany-based Robotextile is one in all a number of corporations making an attempt to convey extra automation to garment making.

“Textile researchers at Germany’s RWTH Aachen College estimate that in manufacturing a chunk of clothes, dealing with time — as distinct from the chopping or stitching steps — accounts for about 80% of manufacturing time and roughly 80% of manufacturing facility prices.”

The Robotextile fabric-sorting work cell makes use of an ordinary KUKA Scara robotic with a working diameter of 1600mm and 5kg payload (cobot may also be used). Relying on the format and basic circumstances, cycle instances of two to 4 seconds per material layer are doable.

However let’s make no mistake, the bell is tolling for handbook labor within the garment biz. Nonetheless, for now, Asian arms nonetheless gown most everybody worldwide.

The video under amply shows the daunting problem dealing with automation.