Using AI to Streamline Robotic Warehouse Operations

Getting 800 robots in a warehouse to and from their destinations efficiently while keeping them from crashing into each other is no easy task. So, a group of MIT researchers who use AI to mitigate traffic congestion applied ideas from that domain to tackle this problem. Read on to learn what they built.

How Intelligent Battery Management Drives EV Buyer Confidence

Battery management systems are poised to become a key competitive differentiator in an EV market that is seeking to grow and thrive on a global level. And by tapping into smarter BMS, automotive manufacturers are future-proofing their resources by embracing, even anticipating, trends in EV battery design. Read on to learn more.

Optimizing Warehouse Logistics with Autonomous Mobile Robots

Material transport workflows for production and assembly lines are time-consuming, non-value-adding tasks for most manufacturers. AMRs provide a simple, efficient, and cost-effective way to automate material handling and in-house transportation tasks in nearly any situation where employees would previously have been required to push carts around the facility.

AI Model to Streamline Operations in a Robotic Warehouse

In the future, the researchers want to derive simple, rule-based insights from their neural model, since the decisions of the neural network can be opaque and difficult to interpret. Simpler, rule-based methods could also be easier to implement and maintain in actual robotic warehouse settings.

Wireless Electronic ‘Stickers’ Gauge Forces Between Touching Objects

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed electronic “stickers” that measure the force exerted by one object upon another. The force stickers are wireless, run without batteries and fit in tight spaces. That makes them versatile for a wide range of applications.

An Autonomous Battery-Free Microrobot Powered by Surrounding Light

Moving robots demands a lot of energy, and batteries, the typical power source, limit lifetime and raise environmental concerns. Researchers at the University of Washington have now created MilliMobile, a tiny, self-driving robot powered only by surrounding light or radio waves.

Executive Roundtable: Autonomous Mobile Robots

Autonomous mobile robots are one of the most exciting technologies in the robotics and automation sector. How important is the integration between the hardware and software? How will AI influence the next generation of AMRs? Tech Briefs posed these questions to five industry experts to garner their views on the current status and future outlook for AMRs.

Helping Machine Vision Go Beyond Human Programming

Facial recognition AI inspections will go beyond simple geometry. They will learn how makeup, tattoos, or clothing may conceal features that were previously used to identify someone.

An Algorithmic Planner Helps Delegate Tasks to Human-Robot Teams

The technology could be useful in manufacturing and assembly plants for sorting packages, or in any environment where humans and robots collaborate.

Detecting Counterfeit Parts with Additive Manufacturing

Researchers have developed a method of imprinting a hidden magnetic tag, encoded with authentication information, within manufactured hardware during the part fabrication process.

3D-Printed Sensors May Lead to Better Weather Research

Scientists have created the first completely digitally manufactured plasma sensors — also known as retarding potential analyzers (RPAs) — for orbiting spacecraft.

Time-of-Flight: Highly Reliable 3D Imaging for Challenging Applications

There are multiple technologies based on the ToF concept. Generally, all of them are synchronized with a light source and estimate the distance by calculating the time taken for the light to travel from the camera to the object and then back again.

An Algorithmic Planner Helps Delegate Tasks to Human-Robot Teams

The technology could be useful in manufacturing and assembly plants for sorting packages, or in any environment where humans and robots collaborate.

Powering the Automotive Sector Toward an Electrified Future with Simulation

Decarbonization goals across the globe are leading to an increased adoption of electric vehicles. With electric car sales soaring, even the most successful...

Forecast 2022 for Sensors/MEMS

This article is a marked departure from my annual reporting on the past year’s performance of the health of the MEMS industry vis-à-vis my MEMS Industry Commercialization Report Card. [1] Here, I have...

Painting 3D-Printed Objects

Engineers have created a highly effective way to paint complex 3D-printed objects, such as lightweight frames for aircraft and biomedical stents, that could save manufacturers time and money and provide new...

A Cost-Effective Way to Automate Industrial Processes

MBDA is one of the leading European manufacturers in the aerospace and armaments sector, specializing in the design of missiles and missile systems for the operational needs of the military....

Shaping Light with a Dynamically Tunable Smart Lens

The importance of optical image quality and the trend toward thinner smart-phones have pushed manufacturers to increase the number of cameras in order to provide cellphones with better zoom,...

Finding Welding Relief with Low-Cost Automation

How a German manufacturer of screening machines discovered a low-cost solution for a collaborative robot that assists in the welding process.

Secure to the Core

One major concern for manufacturers is how safe and secure it is to open the OT network’s doors to the internet.

Provisioning Smart Sensors for the IoT

The biggest challenge in the provisioning process: ensuring that a device and the connection to the network and server are secure.

SAE WCX Preview: Staying Ahead of the Curve

SAE WCX 2022 will convene the engineering community to connect, learn, and collaborate on the biggest issues facing the mobility industry.

Executive Roundtable: Sensing and IIoT

Four industry experts explore the future outlook for smart sensors and IIoT.

Bolstering Product Design Success with Supply Chain Strategies

In the high-tech sector, there's been a shift from “just-in-time” to “just-in-case” inventory strategies.

A Measured, Agile Response to Supply Chain Disruptions

Supply chains run best when all the stakeholders involved stay keenly focused on their core competencies, says Tom Vanderheyden from TTI Americas.

2021 OEM Photonics & Imaging Directory

See top suppliers and manufacturers in over 20 categories, including high-speed cameras, sensors, and optical components.

2021 Supplier Guide: Sensors

See leading manufacturers in a variety of sensor topic areas, including radar and encoders.

What Will 5G Do for the IoT/IIoT?

To find out about the impact of 5G mobile broadband service on the IoT/IIoT, I interviewed Jai Suri, Vice President, IoT and Blockchain Applications Development, Oracle, and Mike Anderson, Embedded Systems...