Robots Reach Out And Touch CES Attendees

January 16, 2020 • Artificial Intelligence, Automation & Motion Control, Science, Technology

Robot makers put their new offerings on display at CES, showing how these mechanical devices interact with humans, from making pizza to reading emotions.

The new robots at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) came is a variety of forms and uses, but a common theme throughout was the touch-worthiness of these machines.
Cute Little ChuangChuang

ChuangChuang, an intelligent service robot self-developed by Chuangze Intelligent Robot Group (a high-tech enterprise from China), showed off one of the cutest robots at CES. Entering the showroom of Chuangze Group, you could see their latest series of intelligent commercial service robots, intelligent companion robots, intelligent large-screen robots, and intelligent medical robot. (Image source: Chuangze Intelligent Robot Group)
BONA’s Sweeping Robot

BONA Robots launched its own brand coayu, and launched a commercial sweeping robot BLNE01. The robot is equipped with an x-matching global navigation system. It was designed for complex and diverse indoor business environments with strong or weak light, strong or weak texture, and mapping technology. (Image source: BONA Robots)
Food Delivery Robots

PuduBot and BellaBot serve as food delivery robots. Following positioning and navigation instructions from PuduSLAM algorithm, the robots will reach designated tables after the waiter chooses the correct table number for the trays. PuduBots are currently working at over 2,000 restaurants of different categories in 200-plus cities in more than 20 countries. In a year, million trays of food are delivered to customers, which is equivalent to 3,000 waiters working for a whole year. (Image source: PuduBots)
The Guardian X0 by Delta Air Lines and Sarcos Robotics

Delta Air Lines has partnering with Sarcos Robotics to create employee technology fit for a superhero – a mobile and dexterous exoskeleton designed to boost employees’ physical capabilities and bolster their safety. Delta employees have worked directly with Sarcos to determine potential operational uses for the Guardian XO. (Image source: Sarcos)
Play Misty For Me

Misty Robotics, the creators of the Misty II platform robot, has launched the Misty as a concierge application template that provides developers with a robust starting point to build robot skills and quickly put Misty II to work. The Misty II application templates are open source code for developers to build upon and customize for a specific assignment or task. (Image source: Mysty Robotics)
Cruzr Comes to CES

UBTECH showed off its newest robots, including the latest updates to Walker, the intelligent humanoid service robot and an autonomous indoor monitoring robot AIMBOT, enterprise service robot Cruzr, and award-winning JIMU Robot kits for kids. (Image source: UBTECH)
Pizza Making Robot

Seattle-based Picnic, a food production technology and Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) provider, displayed its automated food assembly system. The robotics system served pizza to attendees at CES. (Image source: Picnic)
A Smart Arm And Emotion-Reading AI

Taiwan’s ITRI demonstrated AI and robotics technologies that included the Mobile Arm Robot System, a smart integrated service robot platform combining mobility, sensing, manipulation, and human-machine interaction functions; and GenkiCam, an AI camera that can identify a baby’s emotions, monitor its heartbeat and breathing, and immediately inform parents of any abnormality. (Image source: ITRI)
OMRON’s i4 Line Of Robots

OMRON introduced a new line of SCARA robots with sleek design and enhanced performance. Named the i4, the new generation of SCARA robot is designed to save space during installation and allow easier configuration into existing production lines. (Image source: OMRON)
FANUC Let Its Cobots Touch Attendees

FANUC let CES attendees interact with its robots in a wide range of demonstrations and contests including a selfie station, a voice-activated gift selection, hand-guided robot programming, and speed and dexterity challenges. (Image source: FANUC)

Rob Spiegel has covered automation and control for 19 years, 17 of them for Design News . Other topics he has covered include supply chain technology, alternative energy, and cyber security. For 10 years, he was owner and publisher of the food magazine Chile Pepper.

January 28-30: North America’s largest chip, board, and systems event, DesignCon, returns to Silicon Valley for its 25th year! The premier educational conference and technology exhibition, this three-day event brings together the brightest minds across the high-speed communications and semiconductor industries, who are looking to engineer the technology of tomorrow. DesignCon is your rocket to the future. Ready to come aboard? Register to attend !

Top 10 Electronic-Enabled Tech Highlights From CES 2020

January 15, 2020 • Alternative Energy, Artificial Intelligence, Consumer Electronics, Cyber Security, Design Hardware & Software, Electronics & Test, Gadget Freak, IoT, Medical, Science, Sensors, Sustainability, Technology

Not all cool tech involved robots and autonomous cars. Here’s a list of the other electronic tech featured at the show.

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020 featured a range of marvals enabled by electronic technologies covering application areas from smart cities, AI edge intelligence, body haptics, security systems, real-time accident reports, uncooled thermo cameras, wearables and more.

Here are the top 10 products and technologies that piqued the interest of the Design News editorial staff.
Smart Cities

Why do major Japanese car manufacturers like to build smart homes and now cities? Several years ago, Honda built a zero-net energy smart home in partnership with UC-Davis. At this year’s CES, Toyota announced it will build a smart city to test their AI, robots and self-driving cars. Toyota’s Woven City will be built at the foothills of Mt. Fuji in Japan. The city will be the world’s first urban incubator dedicated to the advancement of all aspects of mobility, claims Toyota.

The project is a collaboration between the Japanese carmaker and the Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). Houses in Woven City will have in-home robotics to help with the more mundane tasks of daily life. The homes will have full-connectivity, which will be needed for the sensor-based AI to automate many household chores, like restocking the refrigerator and taking out the trash. Power storage units and water purification systems will be hidden beneath the ground.
Intelligence At The Edge

Blaize is a computing company that optimizes AI at scale wherever data is collected and processed from the edge. The company enables a range of existing and new AI use cases in the automotive, smart vision, and enterprise computing segments. The company claims that developers can create new classes of products to bring the benefits of AI and machine learning to broad markets.

The company has developed a fully programmable GSP architecture that utilizes task-level parallelism and streaming execution processing to take advantage of very low energy consumption, high performance and scalability. Blaize claims that, in comparison, existing GPUs and FPGAs exert a much higher energy price, while CPUs cost more and scale poorly, and all are subject to excessive latency due to their sequential execution processing architectures.
Full-Body Haptics Suit

Haptics are all about the sense of touch. Now you can immerse your entire body – or at least 70 tactile points mainly around your torso – into the world of artificial experiences. The BHaptics Tacksuit provides an audio-to-haptic feature that converts sound into haptic feedbacks that are felt real time around your torso. For example, when a bomb explodes or you hear footsteps during a PC/VR game, you’ll feel the experience from the right direction. You’ll even be able to feel Samurai cuts and friendly hugs.
Security Comes In Many Forms

There are many ways to protect your PC data and applications, from hardware encrypted portable storage devices, backup solutions, file repair software, and data recovery, to digital forensics services. SecureData provides both products and services in these areas. At CES, the company demonstrated a secure UBS drive which they claimed was the only hardware encrypted flash drive in the world with keypad and Bluetooth authentication.
Wireless Six-Degrees Of Freedom (6DOF)

Atraxa’s system tracks 6DOF motion without the need for optical cameras or infrared markers to be placed around the room, or mounted externally to the XR headset or controller. And no line of sight—or wires—are required between the headset and controllers. Unhindered by wires or line-of-sight constraints, users can move freely in large spaces. Even move from room to room without any room mapping, or controller orienting (or reorienting) is required. Tracking starts immediately and lasts without interruption.

The tech combines electromagnetic (EM) and inertial technologies into a single sensor-fusion tracking platform. The IMU (inertial measurement unit) returns acceleration and angular velocity data. The EM tracker delivers true position and orientation data; it also establishes the tracking volume and local coordinate system. Atraxa is comprised of two main components: a tracker module and receiver module. The tracker module houses the IMU and an EM transmitter coil that generates the magnetic field (i.e. the tracking volume). The tracker modules are embedded into the handheld controllers (or other peripherals).
Real-Time Accident Report

Sooner or later, all of us get into an automotive accident. When that occures, wouldn’t it be great to have a record of what happened? Through the use of embedded acceleration sensors, MDGo generates a real-time report in the case of a car crash, detailing each occupant’s injuries by body region. The company’s technology enables accurate delivery of needed services and support by providing optimal medical care in the case of an emergency and supporting the claim process.
Smart Factory

Could a factory think for itself or autonomously design a better car or aircraft? Can it eliminate waste? All of these questions fit into the realm of manufacturing intelligence. One company with experience in this area is Hexagon, claiming that their technologies are used to produce 85% of smartphones, 75% of cars and 90% of aircraft.

Their Smart Factory approach aims to have fewer inputs, zero waste and high quality. All this is achieved through sensor, software and autonomous solutions that incorporates data feedback to improve work to boost efficiency, productivity, and quality across industrial and manufacturing.
A Cool “Uncooled” Methane Gas Detector

The FLIR GF77 Gas Find IR is the company’s first uncooled thermal camera designed for detecting methane. This handheld camera offers inspection professionals the features they need to find potentially dangerous, invisible methane leaks at natural gas power plants, renewable energy production facilities, industrial plants, and other locations along a natural gas supply chain. The gas detector provides methane gas detection capability at roughly half the price of cooled gas inspection thermal cameras, to empower the oil and gas industry to reduce emissions and ensure a safer work environment.
IoT Arduino Adds LoRaWAN Connectivity

You can now connect your sensors and actuators over long distances via the LoRa wireless protocol or throughout LoRaWAN networks. The Arduino MKR WAN 1310 board provides a practical and cost effective solution to add LoRa connectivity to projects requiring low power. This open source board can be connected to: the Arduino IoT Cloud, your own LoRa network using the Arduino LoRa PRO Gateway, existing LoRaWAN infrastructure like The Things Network, or even other boards using the direct connectivity mode.
Wearables, Ingestibles, Invisibles

One of the keys to a healthy life is nutrition. But what exactly constitutes ‘healthy’ food for a specific person? To answer that question, you need to measure and analyze the processes inside the complex human digestive system. Imec is working on prototype technology that is up to that task. It’s called ingestible sensors.

The company also develops wearables for medical and consumer applications that enable reliable, continuous, comfortable, and long-term health monitoring & management. This includes high-accuracy & low-power biomedical sensing technologies sometimes embedded into fabrics.

John Blyler is a Design News senior editor, covering the electronics and advanced manufacturing spaces. With a BS in Engineering Physics and an MS in Electrical Engineering, he has years of hardware-software-network systems experience as an editor and engineer within the advanced manufacturing, IoT and semiconductor industries. John has co-authored books related to system engineering and electronics for IEEE, Wiley, and Elsevier.

Manufacturing 2020: 5G, AI, IoT And Cloud-Based Systems Will Take Over

January 15, 2020 • Artificial Intelligence, Automation & Motion Control, Science, Technology

Technology vendors expect that 2020 will be a big year for manufacturing plants to onboard digital systems. But will it happen? While digital systems – IoT, machine learning, 5G, cloud-based systems – have proven themselves as worthwhile investments, they may not get deployed widely.

For insight on what to expect in 2020, we turned to Rajeev Gollarahalli, chief business officer at 42Q, a cloud-based MES software division of Sanmina. Gollarahalli sees a manufacturing world that will take solid steps toward digitalization in 2020, but those steps are likely to be incremental rather than revolutionary.

digital manufacturing, IoT, IIoT, artificial intelligence, AI, machine learning, ML, 5G, big data, data analytics

We’re going to see manufacturers make progress on digitizing their factories in 2020, but it won’t happen as quickly as vendors would like. (Image source: digital.gov)

5G On The Plant Floor

Design News: Will 5G increase the pace of digital factory transformation, and where it will have the most impact?

Rajeev Gollarahalli: We’ve started to see a little of 5G popping up in the factory, but it’s limited. It’s mostly still in the proof-of-concept stage. It will be some time before we see more, probably around the end of next 2020.

DN: Will 5G increase the pace of digital transformation?

Gollarahalli: Undoubtedly. Yet one limit is that in order to make accurate decisions, you need to be able to ingest high volumes of data in real-time. That’s been one of the limitations in infrastructure. When you can use 5G across the factory, you’ll have considerable infrastructure. That challenge with data is solved by 5G.

DN: What still needs to be done in order to deploy 5G?

Gollarahalli: You have the 5G service providers and 5G equipment manufacturers working together. Both are developing capabilities in their own silos. What has not yet matured is putting these together, whether it’s in health, discreet manufacturing, telecom, or aerospace. The use cases haven’t matured, but we are seeing more use cases piling up.

DN: What could spur equipment vendors and telecom to work together?

Gollarahalli: I think we’ll see an industry consortium. That doesn’t exist now. There are partners that are starting to talk. Verizon is working with network providers. You’re going to see two or three different groups emerge and come together to do standards. With the advent of 5G, and the emergence of IIoT, they are all going to come together. One of the limitations is the volume. We generate about a terabyte of data with IoT. The timing will be perfect for getting 5G utilized for IoT and get it widely adopted.

The Emerging Workforce Skilled In Digital Systems

DN: What changes in the plant workforce can we expect in the coming year?

Gollarahalli: The workforce will need a completely different set of skills to drive automation on the factory floor, and industry has to learn how to attract those workers People are saying manufacturing is contracting, but I’m not seeing it. Manufacturing seems to be stable. As for skills for the factory of the future, we need to be re-tooling our employees. The employees today don’t have the technical skills, but they have the domain skills. We need to get them the technical skills they need.

DN: Will the move to a workforce with greater technology skills be disruptive?

Gollarahalli: You’re not going to see mass layoffs, but you’re going to see retooling the skills of the employees. We can’t get them trained at the speed that technology is increasing. We’re going to see more employees getting ready in trade schools and with degrees. What you’re seeing is a convergence of data skills with AI and domain skills. An ideal skillset is someone who understands manufacturing and knows the data. For several years kids were moving away from STEM, wanting to learn the sexier stuff. But I think STEM is coming back.

Cloud-Based Systems For Security

DN: Will cloud-based systems be the go-to for manufacturing security versus on-premises security?

Gollarahalli: Five years ago, when I talked about cloud with customers, they asked whether it was real-time. That was when the infrastructure was not as secure. I have a network at home. That was unheard of 10 years ago in factories. Now that the infrastructure issue has been solved, the next step is security. I have always countered that you can’t secure data on premises as well as you can in a cloud. A lot of money has poured into cloud-based security. No single company can match that. It’s almost impossible to do it on premises.

AI, Machine Learning and Big Data Analytics

DN: Will advances in AI, machine learning, and analytics?

Gollarahalli: We’re seeing AI and ML (machine learning) is some areas. We’re seeing it implemented in some areas at 42Q. Most use cases are around asset management and quality. It’s used to predict the quality of a product and to take preventive actions in asset maintenance. AI and ML are also popping up in supply chain management. 2020 will be the year of AI and ML. It’s getting embedded into medical products. You’ll see it pop up everywhere, showing up on the factory floor as well as in our consumer products.

DN: Is AI and machine learning going mainstream yet or is it mostly getting deployed by large manufacturers who are typically the early users?

Gollarahalli: You’re going to see it move down the supply chain to tier 2 and tier 3 suppliers. I don’t think it’s just for the elite any more. It’s getting adopted quickly, but it is not happening as quickly as I thought it would.

The Role Of IoT In Manufacturing

DN: Will we see growth in IoT’s role in measuring and providing closed loop controls?

Gollarahalli: We’re going to see it in manufacturing, regulating the humidity in the room or the temperature on the floor. They need closed loop from IoT. They’re measuring with IoT, but the closed loop as not been adopted as quickly. We don’t have the right standards. How do you do close loop with a system that is throwing off data in milliseconds. You must be able to use the IoT and those algorithms. If you can make them more efficient for closed loop control, you’ll see a lot more of it going forward.

Rob Spiegel has covered automation and control for 19 years, 17 of them for Design News. Other topics he has covered include supply chain technology, alternative energy, and cyber security. For 10 years, he was owner and publisher of the food magazine Chile Pepper.

Nanowire Network Could Advance Design of AI

January 15, 2020 • Artificial Intelligence, Materials & Assembly, Science, Technology

An international group of researchers has made a breakthrough in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) with the design of a nanowire network capable of a complex brain-like functions.

The team of scientists at Japan’s National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS) created what is called a “neuromorphic network” by integrating numerous silver nanowires covered with a polymer insulating layer about 1 nanometer in thickness. The network functions because a junction between two nanowires forms a variable resistive element, or a synaptic element, that behaves like a neuronal synapse.

neuronetwork, Nanowire Network, AI, artificial intelligence, National Institute of Materials Science, NIMS, neuromorphic network

Diagram A shows a micrograph of the neuromorphic network fabricated by a research team at Japan’s National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS). The network contains of numerous junctions between nanowires, which operate as synaptic elements. Diagram B shows a human brain and one of its neuronal networks. (Image source: NIMS)

The network, then, is comprised of a number of these interacting synaptic element to form the larger network, which is triggered when a voltage is applied, causing it to find optimal current pathways—or the most electrically efficient pathways.

Using this network, the team was able to generate electrical characteristics similar to those associated with higher order brain functions unique to humans, such as memorization, learning, forgetting, becoming alert, and returning to calm.

The network is part of a larger scientific aim to improve artificial intelligence through what’s called neuromorphic computing, said Tomonobu Nakayama, research leader and deputy director of the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics. “Neuromorphic computing has been attracting much interest,” he told Design News, citing some recent developments in the areas such as the development of neural chips such as the Intel’s Nervana and IBM’s True North Chip. “These challenges are based on emulating biological signals in the brain using electric circuits, and beautifully simulate neural network modeling developed so far.”

Creating More Creative AI

The NIMS team has seen limitations in some of the neuromorphic computing work being conducted, however, with “fundamental features of the brain missing,” Nakayama told us. “The problem here is all AI technology at the moment needs massive sets of data connected to computer systems even for the neural chip-based systems,” he explained. “The. complexity of wiring is one of the issues to be solved, since the brain is allowing a single nerve cell to communicate with 10,000 other cells via 10,000 synapses while present semiconductor technology—lithography–cannot realize such a complex wiring using lithographic techniques.”

Also, the human brain can engage in self-organization and the creation of functions, “so we have associative thinking, creativity, intuition, and so on,” Nakayama said, something that is currently lacking in AI technology.

While the network developed by Nakayama’s team does not solve all of these problems, it does provide a starting point to develop more complex AI as well as introduces a “design-less” approach to neuromorphic nanowire networks that are “naturally emerging without. software programs,” he said. “So now we hope our work might be able to contribute to construct better hypothesis on the origin of our ‘intelligence’ and ‘creativity’ and to find a way to open a new type of information processors.”

Brain-Like Technology

Researchers published a paper on their work in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

The team is currently developing a brain-like memory device using the neuromorphic network material that they hope will operate using fundamentally different principles than those used in current computers. While computers are currently designed to spend as much time and electricity as necessary in pursuit of the most optimal solutions, the new memory device is intended to make a quick decision within particular limits, even though the solution generated may not be the absolutely optimum.

“For example, after we store shapes characters in a network only by providing a part of the shape of a character, the device would suggest possible ones without any programs,” Nakayama explained. “It’s a sort of associative or cognitive information processors; however, since it does not require any programs and computers, it would be energy-efficient processors.”

The network also makes it possible to develop energy-efficient autonomous systems

that dynamically make decisions in response to environmental changes, something AI does not currently. Ultimately, researchers hope their work provides a deeper understanding of how the brain works to inform future technology and applications.

Elizabeth Montalbano is a freelance writer who has written about technology and culture for more than 20 years. She has lived and worked as a professional journalist in Phoenix, San Francisco and New York City. In her free time she enjoys surfing, traveling, music, yoga and cooking. She currently resides in a village on the southwest coast of Portugal.

The 12 Best Innovations Of CES 2020

January 14, 2020 • 3D Printing, Alternative Energy, Artificial Intelligence, Automation & Motion Control, Battery/Energy Storage, Consumer Electronics, Design Hardware & Software, Electronics & Test, Gadget Freak, Government/Defense, IoT, Materials & Assembly, Medical, Science, Sensors, Sustainability, Technology

Forget new TVs and smartphones. These are the real game changers introduced at CES 2020.

Now that the smoke is cleared from CES 2020, we can take a step back and see which technologies were the real innovations of 2020. Let’s be honest, CES can be a black hole of vaporware, false promises, and concepts intended to be just that.

We’ve compiled a list of our favorite technologies introduced at CES 2020 – innovations that we’re sure will be having a lasting impact in 2020 and beyond.
AerNos AerSIP Gas Sensor

The AerSIP from AerNos is a 5 x 5-mm, mulit-gas sensing module that combines nanotechnology and machine learning algorithms to monitor indoor and outdoor air quality. The system-in-package (SIP) is an embedded plug-and-play solution that can be integrated into wearables, mobile devices, and other IoT devices and is capable of detecting hazardous gases and other dangers at parts per billion levels.

(Image source: AerNos/CES)
AMD Ryzen 4000 Series Mobile Processor

AMD’s Ryzen 4000 could be a literal game changer for high-end laptops users – particularly gamers and designers. AMD says its new Ryzen 4000 series is the world’s first 7-nanometer laptop processor. Designed for ultra-thin laptops, the Ryzen 4000 series features up to 8 cores and 16 threads and configurable 15W thermal design power. AMD pledges the Ryzen 4000 series offers up to four percent greater single-thread performance and up to 90 percent faster multithreaded performance than its competitors, as well as up to 18 percent faster graphics performance over competing chips.

(Image source: AMD)
Atmosic Technologies M3 Battery-Free Bluetooth 5 SoC

Atmosic says its M3 Battery-Free Bluetooth 5 SoC uses so little power that it can even eliminate the need for battery power entirely in devices such as wearables, keyboards, mice, asset trackers, beacons, and remotes. The M3 integrates Atmosic’s Lowest Power Radio, On-demand Wake-Up, and Managed Energy Harvesting technologies to deliver what the company says is 10 to 100 times lower power than other SoCs, while still complying with Bluetooth standards. The M3’s radio uses two “ears” – one for listening in a low-power state to perceive incoming commands, and another that only wakes when alerted. The SoC uses energy harvesting technology to gather power from radio frequency, photovoltaic, thermal, and motion.

(Image source: Atmosic)
Bot3 Zen-P VSLAM Deep Learning Module

Bot3‘s Zen-P VSLAM Deep Learning module integrates visual simultaneous localization and mapping (VSLAM) technology (a version of the same technology used in autonomous vehicles) into mobile robots ranging from industrial machines to smart home products. Bot3’s image processing algorithm, Pascal, allows for autonomous navigation without tracks as well as indoor mapping and positioning. (for instances such as warehouse applications).

(Image source: Bot3)
BrainCo BrainRobotics Prosthetic Hand

Many companies have been developing mind-controlled prosthetics for amputees and other disabled patients. What separates the prosthetic hand developed by BrainRobotics is the integration of AI technology. The BrainRobotics hand utilizes machine learning to allow the hand and its user to learn from each other over time – leading to more lifelike movements. The company is aiming to provide accurate and reliable prosthetics and at affordable price for all patients. BrainRobotics is a subsidiary of BrainCo, a software developer focused on brainwave measuring and monitoring.

(Image source: BrainCo/BrainRobotics)
Fluent.ai MultiWake Word and Voice Control Engine

Fluent.ai is a technology company focused on AI for voice interface and speech recognition. The company’s Multi-Wake Word and Voice Control Engine is an edge-based, noise robust, and multilingual speech technology that consumes minimal power and storage, allowing it to be embedded in small devices. The solution is Cortex M4-based and supports four separate wake words and 100 multilingual commands, according to Fluent.ai.

Fluent.ai has recently partnered with semiconductor designer Ambiq Micro to implement Fluent.ai’s software solutions into Ambiq’s ultra-small footprint, low-power microcontrollers. Ambiq’s MCU supports frequencies up to 96 MHz, and Fluent.ai’s solution requires only 16 MHz from the MCU. The new partnership means Fluent.ai and Ambiq will be releasing MCUs for OEMs looking for an easy way to add speech recognition and voice command functionality to their smart home devices and other products.

(Image source: Fluent.ai / CES
Intel Tiger Lake Chip

When Intel announces a new chip, the whole world takes notice. The chipmaking giant is launching its latest chip for consumers this year. Dubbed Tiger Lake, the new chip is said to be optimized for AI performance, graphics, and USB 3 throughput. Rather than desktops, the new chips will be focused on mobile devices such as ultra-thin laptops and tablets. The first products featuring Tiger Lake are expected to ship later in 2020.

(Image source: Intel)
Monster MultiLink Bluetooth Technology

Sometimes its the most straightforward ideas that can make the biggest difference. Most of us love our Bluetooth wireless headphones and earbuds. The problem is they don’t create a sharable experience. What if you want to show your friend the video you’re watching without disturbing the people around you? Monster has debuted a new technology called Music Share that uses MultiLink technology to allow devices to send Bluetooth audio to multiple devices in sync. The technology expands how Bluetooth headphones can be used and opens up new use cases ranging from air travel to fitness classes as well as new avenues for social interaction.

(Image source: Bluetooth SIG)
Murata Coral Accelerator Module

Working in partnership with Coral and Google, Murata Electronics has developed what it is calling the world’s smallest AI module. The Coral Accelerator Module packages Google’s Edge TPU ASIC into a miniaturized footprint to enable developers to embed edge-based AI into their products and devices. The new module forms an integral part of Coral’s integrated AI platform, which also includes a toolkit of software tools and pre-compiled AI models.

(Image source: Murata Electronics Americas)
Pollen Robotics Reachy Open-Source Robot

Reachy is a robot developed by Pollen Robotics, in collaboration with the INCIA Neuroscience Institute in France, that is fully open source. The robot, which can be programmed using Python, is modular – employing a variety of 3D-printed grippers – and comes with prepackaged AI algorithms to allow developers to customize it for a variety of applications ranging from customer service and assisting the elderly or disabled.

Read more about Reachy, and the rise of open-source robotics, here.

(Image source: Pollen Robotics)
VRgineers 8K XTAL Headset

VRgineers, a maker of premium VR headsets for enterprise applications in industries ranging from automotive to defense and military, has released a major upgrade to its flagship XTAL headset. The latest version of XTAL features 8K resolution (4K per eye), improved lenses with a 180-degree field-of-view, and a new add-on module for augmented reality and mixed reality functionality. The headset also still includes eye tracking as well as integrated Leap Motion sensors to enable controller-free navigation and interactions.

(Image source: VRgineers)
zGlue ChipBuilder

zGlue is a software company that develops tools for chipmakers and designers. Its latest offering, ChipBuilder 3.0 is a design tool to for building custom silicon chips and accelerating time to market. The software suite features an expansive library of chipsets and allows engineers to capture schematics, route and verify designs, and download netlists. The tool allows engineers to create realistic 3D models and code their own chips and even place orders for physical chips via zGlue’s Shuttle Program.

(Image source: zGlue / CES)

Chris Wiltz is a Senior Editor at Design News covering emerging technologies including AI, VR/AR, blockchain, and robotics

Want To Build An Open Source Hardware And Software Robot?

January 13, 2020 • Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Automation & Motion Control, Design Hardware & Software, Electronics & Test, Gadget Freak, Science, Technology

The 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is full of engineering marvels. Many of these marvels are manifested as advances in robots. For example, consider UBTech highlights are this year’s show. The company’s intelligent humanoid service robot named “Walker” won the Best of CES 2019 and will be back with additional features at the 2020 show. According to the company, Walker will be faster and demonstrate more human-like walking as well as yoga poses that show its huge improvement in motion control. The robot will also demonstrate the ability to push a cart, draw pictures, and write characters, plus showing improved static balance with full-body compliance control.

There’s another robot system that the technical community might find equally interesting if a bit less flashy. France’s Pollen Robotics is displaying their “Reachy” robot at CES2020. In collaboration with the INCIA Neuroscience Institute in France, the company has developed a 3D-printed robot arm that’s 100% open source. Reachy is billed as an expressive humanoid service robot specializing in interacting with people and manipulating objects. This robot is built with prepackaged AI and modular robotics that should easily accommodate many real-world applications, such as extensions for disabled people (human augmentation), helping out at events (like CES), assisting small businesses and even as a receptionist.

According to the company, Reachy can be easily programmed in Python and offers ready-to-use operational environments for game play, serving coffee, making music, handing out specific objects, and more. The robot is also fully customizable with open hardware, software and data!

The company invites developers to join their open source community and participate on Github, although the company explains that Reachy is currently still under development. The open source hardware, software and data won’t be released until the robot is ready, toward the end Q1-2020.

Image source: Pollen Robots / Reachy

But what does it really mean to say a company or platform supports open hardware and software/

Mobile Robot Companies You Need To Know

January 8, 2020 • Artificial Intelligence, Automation & Motion Control, Science, Technology

Here’s a broad look at the commercial mobile robot market. Most of these robots are designed specifically for manufacturing and warehouse tasks, while others provide specialized tasks, such as cleaning or carrying medical care items.

McKinsey describes mobile robots as autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). AGVs and AMRs are not fixedly installed but mobile. Navigation is either onboard (camera or laser based) or external (path based using magnetic tape, wire, or rails on the ground). Application mobile robots are used for logistics and delivery as well as for moving pieces, such as boxes, pallets, or tools, in industrial settings between machinery, transfer points, or storage areas.

According to IDTechEx, automated guide carts and vehicles (AGC and AGV) have been in use for a long time. They are reliable and trusted to handle all manner of payloads. Their installation is however time-consuming, and their workflow can be difficult to adapt.

The landscape of mobile robots was set on fire when Amazon acquired Kiva Systems in 2012. The event set off a wave of start-ups, and Amazon has continued to develop mobile robot technology and acquire mobile robot companies. IDTechEx forecasts that between 2020 and 2030, more than 1 million mobile robots will be sold.
Clearpath Robotics (Otto Motors)

The OTTO 100 is a small, powerful self-driving vehicle designed to move boxes, carts, bins, and other human-scale payloads through dynamic environments. OTTO navigates spaces just like a person does. It maintains a map of the environment in its memory and uses visual reference points to always know its position. No guides, infrastructure, or predefined paths required. (Image source: Otto Motors)
6 River Systems

The Chuck robot from 6 River Systems is built from the same technology and sensors as autonomous vehicles. Chuck uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to navigate. The robot leads users through their work zones to help them minimize walking, stay on task, and work more efficiently. Chuck integrates with warehouse management systems so it can be used in all put-away, picking, counting, replenishment, and sorting tasks. (Image source: 6 River Systems)
NextShift Robotics

The TM-100 from NextShift Robotics is designed to recognize humans and other obstacles in its path. It is designed to stop to give way to people and smart enough find a way around obstacles. The TM-100 is built to handle normal warehouse conditions; obstacles, dirt, dust, and temperature extremes. With its rugged industrial design, it can navigate uneven floors, bumps and dropped items. (Image source: NextShift Robotics)
GrayOrange

The Butler from GrayOrange helps users with the volume and mix of orders common in warehouses. For many companies, flexible automation is the only viable solution. The autonomous mobile robots from GreyOrange are designed to meet these needs. (Image source: GrayOrange)
Swisslog

Swisslong uses customized Kuka robots to provide traditional high bay warehouse robot-based material handling solutions. Swisslog offers a range of traditional and out-of-the-box technologies for automated warehousing. The company offers modular, flexible and software-driven material handling technologies. The warehouse solutions are customized for optimal flow of goods at a low cost-per-pick. (Image source: Swisslog)
Seegrid

The Seegrid Smart Platform combines self-driving vehicles and fleet management software for a connected materials handling solution. On a Seegrid AGV, a series of stereo cameras work in unison to continuously capture and build a three-dimensional, computer-generated view of the work environment. Which means, when something in the environment changes, Seegrid AGVs compute thousands of up-to-the-moment reference points to continue successful navigation, uninterrupted. (Image source: Seegrid)
Diligent Robotics

The Moxi from Diligent Robotics is a hospital robot assistant that helps clinical staff with non-patient-facing tasks like gathering supplies and bringing them to patient rooms, delivering lab samples, fetching items from central supply, and removing soiled linen bags. Automation helps hospitals maintain consistent care workflows and gives staff more time for patient care. (Image source: Diligent Robotics)
Locus Robotics

LocusBots are designed to increase in productivity. The Locus solution works with any type of tote, box, bin, or container needed. The robots can use multiple tote types at the same time to meet changing needs, products, or order profiles. The LocusBots are deisgned to make it easy to consistently increase units-per-hour and lines-per-hour rates, fulfill more orders, and scale on demand, compared to traditional cart or motorized cart systems. (Image source: Locus Robotics)
MiR (Mobile Industrial Robots Corp.)

MiR develops and markets a line of autonomous mobile robots that manage internal logistics. Founded and run by Danish robotics industry professionals, MiR is headquartered in Odense, Denmark In April 2018 was acquired by American company Teradyne. (Image source: MiR)
AutoGuide Mobile Robots

AutoGuide Mobile Robots designs, develops and manufactures high-payload industrial autonomous mobile robots for assembly, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution operations. AutoGuide’s Max N10 modular mobile robot platform is a natural feature guidance platform with a number of application-specific configurations available, including tugger, conveyor deck, car mover and pallet stacker. AutoGuide was acquired by Teradyne in late 2019. (Image source: AutoGuide Mobile Robots)
KUKA

KUKA mobile robots navigate autonomously, act in swarms and offer flexibility for industrial manufacturing. This is especially important for internal logistics. KUKA offers a mobility portfolio, from manually movable to autonomously navigating solutions. The fully autonomous variants work without any induction loops, floor markings, or magnets. (Image source: KUKA)
Omron

Omron mobile robots are fundamentally built to serve human workers. Designed to meet the industry requirements, Omron mobile robots interact with people to promote a collaborative, safe working environment. Safety lasers and sonar allow our robots to detect obstacles in their path and prevent collisions. (Image source: Omron)
iRobot Corp.

iRobot is the company that produces the Roomba. Roomba robots use Dual Multi-Surface Brushes to help thoroughly clean your floors. One brush loosens and agitates dirt, and the other moves in the opposite direction to extract and pull it in. (Image source: iRobot)
IAM Robotics

IAM Robotics designs robots that act autonomously without the help of humans. This requires tight integration of acute perception, autonomous navigation, manipulation, and artificial intelligence. Te company designs operations that are optimized for both humans and robots. (Image source: IAM Robotics)
Fetch Robotics

Fetch Robotics provides a cloud-driven AMR solution that addresses material handling and data collection for warehousing and intralogistics environments. The Fetch Robotics AMRs are designed to reduce costs and improve throughput, efficiency, and productivity, while working alongside people. Image source: Fetch Robotics)
Aethon (TUG)

Aethon’s TUGs can generate digital maps, routes, and delivery points, and the charging stations are simply plugged into the wall. An AGV often require fixed specialty signifiers like tracks, wires, tape, or reflectors to navigate. AMRs like TUG feature technology that includes camera- and laser-based navigational systems to allow safe operation in indoor environments. (Image source: Aethon)
Balyo Robotics

Balyo robotic trucks are developed in conjunction with material handling company, Hyster Yale Group. Balyo’s range of robots are designed to perform in autonomy in tasks such as load transfer to floor, pick-up and placement of pallets on machines (conveyors, wrapping machines, etc.), medium and full-height storage, logistics train, barcode scanning, and storage in very narrow aisles. (Image source: Balyo Robotics)
Waypoint Robotics

Waypoint Robotics offers autonomous mobile robots with AMR architecture. The company has created a lineup of industrial-strength robots designed to be set up and operated by the workforce on the job today. The company can build customized mobile robots for a wide range of intended applications. (Image source: Waypoint Robotics)
Canvas Technology

Canvas Technology was acquired by Amazon last year, one of a number of mobile robot acquisitions Amazon has made, beginning with the company’s acquisition of Kiva Systems in 2012. Kiva was rebranded as Amazon Robotics. The online retailer had rolled out more than 100,000 robots internally. (Image source: Canvas Technology)
Material Handling Systems (MHS)

MHS provides operational expertise and systems integration experience to put mobile robots to work as effective parts of complete systems. The company’s technology is designed to enable robots to build their own maps of the operating environment and use onboard sensors and cameras to process their surroundings, self-locate, and navigate based on real-time conditions. (Image source: MHS)
Brain Corp.

Brain has created intelligent, self-driving technology. BrainOS enables commercial cleaning machines to work seamlessly alongside teammates. The machines are powered by BrainOS, which can autonomously navigate complex and dynamic environments with the goal of safety and cleaning performance. (Image source: Brain)
Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics offers a wide range of mobile robots. Some can walk, while others roll. The company combines the principles of dynamic control and balance with mechanical designs, electronics, and software for high-performance robots equipped with perception, navigation, and intelligence. (Image source: Boston Dynamics)
Realtime Robotics

Realtime Robotics’ initial invention was a proprietary computer processor that quickly solved how to get a robot or vehicle to its desired target without collisions. The goal was to solve the problem of conventional motion planning which has been too slow for robot and AV applications in dynamic environments. The company is working on applying its robotics autonomy to autonomous vehicles. (Image source: Realtime Robotics)

The Bosch Virtual Visor Dynamically Blocks The Sun From Your Eyes

January 8, 2020 • Artificial Intelligence, Automotive, Automotive and Mobility, Gadget Freak, Science, Sensors, Technology

Bosch engineers are prepared to deliver us from the heartbreak of intrusive sun visors, with an LCD panel that dynamically shades only the driver’s eyes from sun glare while remaining otherwise transparent.

Though it seems that we struggle mainly to see traffic signals while waiting at a red light with the visor deployed to block the sun, a pair of University of Toronto researchers say that the risk of life-threatening crashes is 16 percent higher when the sun is bright, so the Bosch Virtual Visor has potential as a life-saving technology.

The visor itself is a single transparent LCD panel fitted with a driver-facing camera and backed by artificial intelligence facial detection and analysis software. The AI locates the landmarks on the driver’s face, identifying the eyes so that it can darken the sections of the visor that cast a shadow on the eyes.

“We discovered early in the development that users adjust their traditional sun visors to always cast a shadow on their own eyes,” said Jason Zink, technical expert for Bosch in North America and one of the co-creators of the Virtual Visor. “This realization was profound in helping simplify the product concept and fuel the design of the technology.”

Bosch proudly points to the ability of its employees to come up with an idea and gain corporate backing to develop it to this stage as evidence of what the company calls an “innovation culture.”

Image source: Bosch

“We’ve built a culture around empowering our associates by putting them in the driver’s seat,” said Mike Mansuetti, president of Bosch in North America. The Virtual Visor was developed by a team in North America as part of Bosch internal innovation activities. “As a leading global technology provider, we understand that innovation can come from any level of an organization, and we want to see that grow.”

Zink and his colleagues Andy Woodrich, Arun Biyani, and Ryan Todd toiled to win budget approval to work on his idea for an active sun visor. “It was an inspiring idea,” recalled Zink. “The only part of the sun visor that needs to do any blocking is where the sun hits your eyes. The rest of it can be totally transparent.”

The team of engineers, who work in Bosch’s powertrain department, pursued this idea far outside their own area with creativity. “Like many early-stage ideas, we were working with limited capital and resources,” said Zink. “The original prototype, we used to first pitch the concept, was made from an old LCD monitor we recovered from a recycling bin.”

The Virtual Visor has since been moved to the Bosch Car Multimedia division, which demonstrates that it has graduated from an engineer’s crazy notion to a production-ready device.

Dan Carney is a Design News senior editor, covering automotive technology, engineering and design, especially emerging electric vehicle and autonomous technologies.

Lamborghini Says, "Alexa, Go 200 Miles Per Hour"

January 8, 2020 • Artificial Intelligence, Automotive, Automotive and Mobility, Consumer Products, IoT, Science, Technology

Image source: Automobili Lamborghini

Why have a plain old boring stationary cylindrical Amazon Alexa when you could have a wedge-shaped Alexa packing 640 horsepower and the ability to rocket to more than 200 mph? That’s what you get with the 2020 Lamborghini Huracan EVO, which adds Alexa integration to its 5.2-liter V10 powerplant, all-wheel drive and dynamic suspension set up.

While other carmakers have already installed Alex artificial intelligence, this is the first time it will be available in a super sports car. Also, this version will be the first to give drivers control of the car’s systems through Alexa.

Others will let you adjust your connected home thermostat using voice commands while driving, but the Huracan EVO lets you do the same thing with the car’s own climate control system. You can also cabin lighting, seat heaters, and the setting of Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Integrata (LDVI), Lamborghini’s dynamic suspension system.

Of course, the usual Alexa capabilities are there too, so you can play music or ask about the weather as with any Alexa-enabled device. But the companies say they have ambitious plans to expand the collaboration, so not only will Alexa’s capabilities be updateable in the Huracan, but they are working on further connectivity and integration with Amazon Web Services for still more features in the future.

Image source: Automobili Lamborghini

“Our vision is for Alexa to become a natural, intuitive part of the driving experience, and Lamborghini has embraced that by integrating Alexa directly into its onboard infotainment systems,” adds Ned Curic, vice president of Alexa Auto at Amazon. “The integration will enable Lamborghini owners to enjoy the convenience of an intelligent voice service while focusing on the joy of the Lamborghini driving experience, and we expect it to set a new standard for in-car voice experiences when it ships this year.”

This doesn’t mean the Huracan is reduced to a mere vessel for delivery of Alexa services, fortunately, Lamborghini promised. “The Huracan EVO is an outstanding driver’s car, and connectivity enables our customers to focus on the driving, thus enhancing their Lamborghini experience,” says Stefano Domenicali, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Automobili Lamborghini.

Image source: Automobili Lamborghini

Lamborghini has also announced that it will introduce a $208,571 rear-drive version of the Huracan EVO to appeal to purists, so we look forward to put the Raging Bull’s latest developments to the test soon.

Dan Carney is a Design News senior editor, covering automotive technology, engineering and design, especially emerging electric vehicle and autonomous technologies.

Hyper Automation, Multi Experience, And Securing AI (Or Baby Yoda)

January 7, 2020 • Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Cyber Security, Electronics & Test, IoT, Science, Technology

If you google “technology trends,” one of the companies that will appear in the top 10 hits will be Gartner. The research and advisory firm not only analyzes numerous markets in terms of technical innovations but also covers business aspects of technology for C-suite professionals.

For 2020, Gartner has produced a number of predictive reports, including those covering digital and strategic technologies. From those lists, I’ve selected three trends that appear vaguely familiar from the recent past, albeit with new names. Do you agree? Don’t hesitate to ping me with your take on these trends at: [email protected]

Trend: Hyper Automation

Gartner: “Automation uses technology to automate tasks that once required humans. Hyper automation deals with the application of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), to increasingly automate processes and augment humans. Hyper automation often results in the creation of a digital twin of the organization. As no single tool can replace humans, hyper automation today involves a combination of tools, including robotic process automation (RPA), intelligent business management software (iBPMS) and AI, with a goal of increasingly AI-driven decision making.

My Take: Do we really need yet another word or phrase to represent the ongoing digitization process that will eventually enable a complete digital twin? One might just as well say that the creation of a digital twin – from improved modeling, simulations, sensors, etc. – have accelerated the pace of automation thus creating a new hypeautomoation or superautomation reality.

It’s really a chicken and egg perspective. Which came first – the creation of hyper automation systems that eventually result in a digital twin? Or did the creation of a digital twin from a sensor-rich ecosystem lead to improved automation of tasks previously performed by humans?

Regardless of the answer, there seems to be little doubt about the movement toward a more complete digital twin within the next decade. Mordor Intelligence predicts that the digital twin market is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 35.0% over the forecast period 2019 – 2024. Growth in IoT and cloud-based platforms, the surge in adoption of 3D printing technology in the manufacturing industry, and the objective to reduce project cost are some of the major factors, driving the growth for the digital twin market. Mordor notes that IoT sensors have created a potential space for engineers to test and communicate with sensors integrated with the operating products, hence delivering real-time prescriptive of system functioning and timely maintenance.

Which came first: Hyper automation or the digital twin? It’s your call.