Connector Driver
Flexxbotics (Boston, MA) has released an enhanced MQTT connector driver within the Flexxbotics open-source project on GitHub. The updated MQTT connector driver expands real-time industrial messaging capabilities to support scalable, event-driven data pipelines and normalized interoperability across heterogeneous factory environments. The connector driver provides production-ready publish/subscribe connectivity for streaming machine telemetry, process events, quality data, and operational metrics between factory equipment, edge systems, enterprise software, and cloud platforms. The update standardizes topic structures, data payloads, security configurations, and performance tuning to operationalize MQTT consistently across industrial deployments. It normalizes vendor-specific implementations and equips non-MQTT enabled factory assets with the ability to connect and communicate using MQTT avoiding costly point-to-point custom integrations. The enhanced MQTT transformer supports high-throughput telemetry streaming, reliable event delivery, secure TLS-based communications, and bi-directional data exchange for closed-loop optimization and autonomous process control.
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Crossed Roller Bearings
IKO International (Parsiappany, NJ) has introduced its LCRB series — an ultra-lightweight crossed roller bearing (CRB) series with a unique inner and outer ring construction that provides significant weight and energy savings for many low- to medium-precision applications. The LCRB series features stamping press-formed inner and outer rings made of heat-treated chromium molybdenum steel sheets. Like other IKO CRBs, the LCRB’s rollers make greater roller contact with the raceways than other bearing types. With this construction and roller arrangement, LCRB series bearings can have as much as 60 percent less mass than equivalently sized alternatives, helping designers downsize equipment, maximize operating efficiency and reduce cost. Additional highlights of the LCRB series include easy mounting with built-in flanges that allow bolt-on mounting, which eases maintenance and minimizes the risk of mounting errors; fast response as the LCRB’s lightweight means less energy is needed to accelerate and decelerate rotation; and compact size as bolt mounting gives the LCRB a lower sectional height when mounted.
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Strain Wave Gearboxes
GAM’s (Mount Prospect, IL) GSL series zero-backlash strain wave gearboxes use harmonic gearing to provide zero-backlash and high torque in a small, lightweight gearbox. The key features include train wave harmonic gears for high precision, backlash ≤ 0.5 arcmin (≤ 30 arcsec), high reduction ratios in a single stage: 50:1 to 160:1, simple design for integration into a mechanism or machine, and high torque density with low inertia. The GSL-CM incorporates an integrated motor mount, simplifying the gearbox + adapter + motor stack into a much cleaner path from concept to build. Its has three basic parts: wave generator, flexspline, and circular spline. Wave generator is made up of an elliptical cam and a ball bearing. The inner ring of the bearing is fixed around the cam causing the bearing to deform to an elliptical shape. The deformation of the flexspline into an elliptical shape causes the teeth to sequentially engage and disengage the teeth of the circular spline. This results in the flexspline rotating at a significantly slower speed producing the gearbox’s high ratios.
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Motion Sensor Platform
Immersive XR systems, agile robots and wearables rely on motion data that remains stable even when environments become dynamic. Bosch Sensortec (Sunnyvale, CA) has introduced the BMI5 platform, a new generation of inertial sensors designed to provide consistent, high-precision performance across multiple device classes. Built on a shared hardware foundation and adapted through intelligent software, the platform launches with three variants — BMI560, BMI563, and BMI570. At the core of the BMI5 platform is Bosch’s latest MEMS architecture, which defies thermo-mechanical stress effects, provides ultra-low noise, exceptional vibration robustness and twice the full-scale range of the previous generation. A latency of below 0.5 ms, combined with a time increment of approximately 0.6 µs and a timing resolution of 1 ns, ensures responsive and reliable motion tracking in highly dynamic environments. A compact industry-standard LGA package further simplifies integration. A programmable Edge-AI classification engine supports always-on functionality by analyzing motion patterns directly on the sensor, reducing system power consumption and accelerating customer-specific use cases.
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Wearable Exoskeleton
Comau (Turin, Italy) has introduced MATE-XT GO, a new wearable exoskeleton designed to support workers’ arms and shoulders during repetitive or overhead tasks. Weighing less than 3 kg and easy to use, it can be put on in 30 seconds and taken off in just 10 seconds, allowing for easy integration into daily activities without interrupting workflows. Certified as Category II Personal Protective Equipment, which allows use in regulated work environments, MATE-XT GO reduces muscle and perceived effort by up to 50 percent, improving comfort, endurance, and posture throughout the workday without restricting natural movements. The new exoskeleton delivers higher assistance in a lighter solution while preserving natural movement and comfort throughout the workday. The reduced overall weight and increased comfort of MATE-XT GO during prolonged use supports seamless integration into normal operations without disrupting established workflows. It is also more economically accessible for all, as its fully passive design requires minimal maintenance and lower lifecycle costs.
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Compact Clutch/Brake
Force Control (Fairfield, OH) presents the POSIDYNE® size #1.5 clutch/brake which provides precise repeatability and control for drives up to 5HP, featuring oil shear technology that allows rapid and precise stopping, starting, reversing, speed changes, and positioning. These motion control devices allow higher cycle rates to increase production rates with lower downtime. This compact clutch/ brake includes mounting features such as double C-Face arrangements for fast and easy installation, and a split-clamped quill to eliminate keyway damage common with competitive clutch/brake models. A multiple disc design produces high torque from a small package, boosting accuracy, cycle rates, and lifetime, making it ideal for applications with frequent start/stop cycles, such as conveyers, packaging machines, food processing applications, and more. It features an innovative split-clamped quill feature, which reduces shaft and keyway damage to the motor shaft associated with competitive clutch/brakes.
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