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Elliptic Labs joins MIPI Alliance to drive innovation

Elliptic Labs has announced that it has joined the MIPI Alliance, a collaborative global organisation serving industries that develop mobile and mobile-influenced devices. The focus of the organisation is to design and promote hardware and software interfaces that simplify the integration of components built into a device. (more…)

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December 27, 2023

Posted by: Magda Dabrowska

Image from KUKA of a mobile harvesting robot in action

Mobile robots revolutionise apple harvesting for fruit farmers

KUKA, in collaboration with the Upper Bavarian company digital workbench, launched a cooperation at Agritechnica, a trade fair for the agricultural sector in Hanover, Germany. The primary objective of the collaboration is to boost assistance with the deployment of a mobile harvesting robot to support fruit farmers during the apple harvest.

“Both companies are contributing one of their most innovative new developments for automation in fruit growing to this cooperation,” Josef Schmidt, a founder and managing director of digital workbench gmbh, said. “With KUKA, we have an absolute specialist with many years of experience and sophisticated know-how in the field of robotics at our side. The result is a practice oriented collaboration that will provide us with many valuable insights for our next development steps with regard to automation in fruit growing.”

Schmidt added that “In the future, we want to test and further develop the interaction of our equipment and exploit synergies, especially with regard to apple cultivation. We are very much looking forward to this.”

Two KUKA small robots from the KR AGILUS series are mounted on the new Tipard 1800 multi-carrier platform from digital workbench.  In a pilot project that has been running since 2020, KUKA is already testing a customised version of the small robot specifically for apple harvesting. With a vacuum suction cup combined with artificial intelligence and vision technology, the extremely manoeuvrable precision artist has been used in harvesting test runs.

Compared to a conventional gripper, the vacuum suction cup can distribute the pressure more evenly over the surface of the apple and thus avoid unwanted pressure points. Cameras recognize important parameters such as ripeness, condition and size and, of course, the position of the apple. The carrier platform presented at the trade fair impresses above all with its high performance and almost endless multifunctionality. In addition, the Tipard 1800 takes digitization and automation to a whole new level.

Harvesting robots provide support where skilled workers are lacking 

In future, the robot arms will move autonomously across the fruit fields in specific practical projects. The mobile and smart automation solution of the two cooperation partners will then be used where previously harvesting machines with several harvesting assistants were used.

“We assume that harvesting robots will be used more and more in the future,” Alois Buchstab, a vice president at KUKA Business Development, said. “The technology still needs to mature for large-scale use and the plantations also need to be planted in such a way that the harvesting robot can work efficiently.”

The aim is to work with a digital workbench to develop a robot system that makes the most difficult tasks in agriculture easier. An automatic apple harvesting system that does not damage the crop is an important development in an industry that is dependent on seasonal labour. For KUKA and digital workbench, the key therefore lies in automation.

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November 23, 2023

Posted by: Anna Ribeiro

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Movella’s sensor modules enhance Advantech’s AMR and AGV applications

Movella and Advantech have partnered to develop advanced formulas that enhance the reliability and safety of autonomous mobile robots (AMR) and automated guided vehicles (AGV) applications. The collaboration combines Movella’s technique in industrial-grade Inertial Sensor Modules with Advantech’s proficiency in providing embedded guides and design-in service. (more…)

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November 8, 2023

Posted by: Magda Dabrowska

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ISPs can now advertise true 1Gbps speeds with CityFibre

CityFibre has introduced a new ‘True Gig’ 1.2Gbps wholesale broadband product. The move allows internet service provider (ISP) partners to offer advertised 1Gbps speed services throughout a footprint covering more than 3 million premises across the country. (more…)

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October 23, 2023

Posted by: Magda Dabrowska

Developers, robot work at laptop with magnifier. Industrial cybersecurity, industrial robotics malware, safeguarding of industrial robotics concept. Bright vibrant violet vector isolated illustration

How IoT manufacturers can build cyber resilience into their devices

As the appreciation of data-driven insights gathered from both consumer and industrial products continues to grow, IoT devices are proliferating globally. With the availability of high-speed connectivity spreading around the word – and the development of ever more capable products – many of the technical barriers that have previously restricted these devices are no longer a problem, writes Mozammul Ahmed, an edge and technology expert at Mobica.  (more…)

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October 11, 2023

Posted by: Magda Dabrowska

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Airbiquity and Tessolve join forces to simplify connected vehicle development

Airbiquity has announced a technology partnership with Tessolve delivering a pre-integrated hardware and software platform for secure and ‘sophisticated’ Over-the-Air (OTA) software updates and data logging. The two companies combine Airbiquity’s OTAmatic software management platform and LOGmatic data logging platform with Tessolve’s TERA family of devices to provide application gateways that can be integrated into vehicles. (more…)

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October 3, 2023

Posted by: Magda Dabrowska

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Skylo Technologies and O² Telefónica partner to enable IoT roaming

Skylo Technologies has announced its partnership with O² Telefónica. Together, the companies will enable businesses to roam ‘seamlessly and transparently’ between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTN) on IoT devices. (more…)

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September 28, 2023

Posted by: Magda Dabrowska

Laird Connectivity unveils Vela IF820 series for Bluetooth transition

Laird Connectivity announces a new addition to its Bluetooth portfolio, the Vela IF820 series. This range of dual mode flexible modules, adapters and DVKs (data verification kits) allows a single module to cover legacy Classic Bluetooth and migration to Bluetooth LE with a single part. (more…)

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September 26, 2023

Posted by: Shriya Raban

Silicon Labs supports Bluetooth Mesh features, standardised Networked Lighting Control profiles

Silicon Labs has announced their support for Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s (SIG) new feature enhancements for Bluetooth Mesh as well as their new Networked Lighting Control (NLC) standard. This seeks to provide a single standard for commercial and industrial lighting using Bluetooth Mesh. (more…)

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Posted by: Shriya Raban

ONE expands ecosystem with universal adapter support for diverse systems, data sources

One Network Enterprises (ONE) has announced expanded capabilities in its One Network ecosystem. In addition, the network’s adapters are designed to support all enterprise and legacy systems, including planning solutions, risk networks, other third-party networks, blockchain, and retail data repositories. The network also incorporates third-party live data sources such as internet of things (IoT), telematics, weather, traffic, and geopolitical data. (more…)

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Posted by: Shriya Raban