by Gary Mintchell | Mar 8, 2024 | Automation, Robots
I have begun receiving enough press announcements from the MODEX 2024 show that I am beginning to think I should have made plans for Atlanta next week (March 11-14, 2024). It’s material handling, so lots of robotics news. This one from Kawasaki Robotics and Olis Robotics. Partnerships are how things get moved forward these days.
Olis Robotics, a leader in the remote error recovery for industrial robots, announces a new partnership with Kawasaki Robotics Inc., a leading supplier of industrial robots and automation systems, to offer their customers the ability to restart production faster, reduce troubleshooting and downtime costs by up to 90%, and gain access to expert support quickly.
Olis users connect directly to their robots through an on-premises device via a secure connection, avoiding the risks and complexities associated with cloud-based systems. To ensure physical safety, Olis is designed to always obey the robot controller’s safety restrictions.
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 6, 2024 | Automation, Robots
Some of the increased activity in industrial robots came from the collaborative (cobot) work in Denmark. There is also work with chips and software and safety. Another area of robotic innovation comes from the autonomous mobile robot (AMR) technology. This is news from Omron and Danish company ROEQ. These mobile robots require innovative top modules performing much the same function of the well known grippers.
OMRON is now launching its new mid-range AMRs, the MD-650 and MD-900 in the U.S. and Canada, with mobile robotic equipment (MRE) from ROEQ, delivering safe and reliable material goods transfer:
- TML500/TML750 Lifter is a versatile flat top lifter solution enabling the MD-series to safely pick up, transport, and drop off pallets and cargo up to 510 kg (1120lbs) with the MD-650, and 760 kg (1680lbs) with MD-900. A new ROEQ PR750 Pallet Rack is also available with a space saving Multi Rack option. An optional ROEQ Cargo Sensor Kit provides additional control to ensure goods stay in place on the AMR. The Lifter is available for both U.S. and Euro pallets.
- TR600/TR700 Roller is a heavy-duty top roller allowing the MD-series to pick up and deliver heavy goods, up to 675kg (1490lbs) between conveyor stations. The full solution includes the award-winning ROEQ GuardCom system which provides additional safety and efficiency when transferring between the top roller and the receiving station, using robust sensor technology.
- Both modules come with ROEQ Assist software for fast and consistent set up and are compliant with safety standards. A ROEQ cart solution, boosting the payload capacity of the MD-series, will be released later this year.
For the lifter solution, the ROEQ Assist software weaves the three building blocks – AMR, lifter module, and pallet rack – into a full solution working as one. The same goes for the roller solution, where AMR, roller module, and the GuardCom System all are configured by the same ROEQ Assist tool. The close integration delivers a smooth setup and installation experience and shows its real strength in daily high and reliable performance, resulting in overall better Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 5, 2024 | Automation, Robots
Two things. First, I cannot believe that ten years ago I lost interest in robotics thinking the whole genre was mature and not interesting. Second, I’m still getting executive visions for 2024. This news combines the two. Marc Segura, President ABB Robotics Division, identifies three drivers for robotics-driven AI solutions in 2024. The impetus relates to ABB’s continued expansion into new segments not previously served by robotic automation. Not to mention, ABB is celebrating 50 years of robotics innovation this year.
“The coming year will see a growing focus on the critical role of AI,” said Marc Segura, President ABB Robotics Division. “From mobile robots and cobots, to enabling new robotic applications in new sectors and creating new opportunities for people to learn and develop, these new frontiers for AI are redefining the future of industrial robotics.”
1 – AI will drive new levels of autonomy in robotic applications
Accelerating progress in AI is redefining what is possible with industrial robotics. AI is enhancing everything from robots’ ability to grip, pick and place as well as their ability to map and navigate through dynamic environments. From mobile robots to cobots and beyond, AI is giving robots unprecedented levels of speed, accuracy, and payload carrying ability, enabling them to take on more tasks in settings like flexible factories, warehouses, logistics centers and laboratories.
“AI-enabled mobile robots can transform sectors like discrete manufacturing, logistics and laboratories,” said Segura. “Robots equipped with ABB’s new Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (Visual SLAM) technology, for example, have advanced mapping and navigation skills, granting new levels of autonomy, while greatly reducing the infrastructure needed by previous generations of guided robots. This paves the way for a shift from linear production lines to dynamic networks, creating significant efficiencies and taking on more dull, dirty and dangerous tasks, to enable workers to take up more rewarding jobs.”
2 – AI will see robots enter new sectors
The potential offered by AI-enabled robotics is influencing sectors far beyond manufacturing. In 2024, these technologies are expected to bring substantial efficiency improvements to more dynamic environments, such as healthcare and life sciences, as well as retail. Another example is the construction industry, where AI-powered robotics can make a material contribution to boosting productivity, enhancing safety and sustainable construction practices while spurring growth.
“The construction industry is a great example of a sector where AI-powered robots will prove transformative, delivering real value by addressing many of the issues facing the industry today, including worker shortages, safety issues and stagnant productivity,” said Segura. “Abilities such as enhanced recognition and decision-making offered by AI, coupled with advances in collaborative robots enable safe deployment alongside workers. These advances also enable robots to perform key tasks such as bricklaying, modular assembly and 3D printing with greater precision and speed, all while contributing to more sustainable construction by lowering emissions, such as concrete mixing on site, to reducing the need to transport materials across far distances with on-site assembly”
3 – AI will offer new opportunities for education and working with robots
The advances being made in AI and robotics are significant for training and education, closing the automation skills gap and making robots more accessible to more people and businesses. With AI making programming easier, through lead-through and even natural language, education can shift more towards how robots can assist humans more effectively, rather than just teaching programming skills. This transition will make robots more approachable and bring them to a wider audience, leading to new job prospects while helping alleviate labor and skills shortages.
“A shortage of people with the skills needed to program and support robots has long been a hurdle to the uptake of robotic automation, especially in small to medium sized manufacturing companies,” said Segura. “We will see this increasingly being overcome as advances in generative AI lower the barriers to automation and expand the focus of education beyond programming. Developments in natural language programming, powered by AI in which workers can verbally instruct a robot in its task, will create a new dynamic in human-robot interactions.”
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 5, 2024 | Automation, Networking, Technology, Wireless
We all know that the Industrial Internet of Things and other wireless devices are straining the wireless spectrum. Spectrum turns out to be a scarce resource. With continually growing communication requirements, both data and voice, this is a problem searching for a solution. (Unlike many things floating around these days that are solutions searching for a problem.)
I am publishing this entire release regarding research into something called metasurfaces that could provide some of the solution to our spectrum strangling problem.
Recent advances in communication systems, such as the increase in mobile phone users, the adoption of Internet-of-Things devices, and the integration of smart sensors in applications ranging from smart homes to manufacturing have given rise to a surge in wireless traffic. Similar to how a roadway becomes congested with vehicles, the rising wireless traffic is resulting in congestion in the available frequency bands. New frequency bands have been introduced to accommodate more communication signals to operate wireless devices without severe interference with each other.
However, supporting a broad spectrum is challenging. There are only a limited number of frequency bands available. Additionally, it increases the complexity of wireless devices and infrastructure. One possible solution for accommodating signals within existing frequency bands is to tune them in a way to further distinguish them.
Now, in a new study published in Nature Communications, a team of researchers from Japan, led by Associate Professor Hiroki Wakatsuchi from Nagoya Institute of Technology, along with co-authors Ashif Aminulloh Fathnan and Associate Professor Shinya Sugiura of the University of Tokyo, has designed a metasurface that can distinguish wireless signals based on their frequency and pulse width.
In simpler words, metasurfaces are engineered surfaces that can manipulate incident electromagnetic waves to achieve specific modifications leading to the generation of different signals. This ensures that signals are separated and do not interfere with each other, reducing the likelihood of congestion-related issues. These materials can be integrated into radio-frequency devices like antennas and filters to accommodate more users and devices within the same frequency spectrum.
The metasurface developed by researchers in this study distinguishes signals more effectively than traditional materials. “Conventionally, when the number of frequencies available was N, electromagnetic waves and related phenomena could be controlled in N manners, which is now markedly extended to the factorial number of N (i.e., N!),” explains Dr. Wakatsuchi.
The developed metasurface consists of several unit cells that respond to specific frequencies. By activating multiple unit cells, it becomes capable of handling signals across multiple frequency bands. The metasurface can be thought of as a filter that selectively transmits signals based on specific frequency sequences. The researchers liken this to frequency-hopping, where devices switch frequencies rapidly to avoid interference. However, in this case, the metasurface can be tuned to alter incoming signals based on their frequencies. This property makes it possible to receive and distinguish a variety of signals of different frequencies from wireless devices.
As a result, with the new metasurface, the number of signals that can be distinguished grows from a linear relationship to a factorial-based one. “If four or five frequencies are available, the number of signals to be distinguished increases from four or five to 24 or 120,” remarks Dr. Wakatsuchi, adding further, “Going ahead, this could help in more wireless communication signals and devices being made available even with limited frequency resources.”
According to the researchers, the number of devices connected to wireless networks per square kilometer is projected to increase from a million in 5G to 10 million in 6G by 2030. This substantial increase will inevitably strain existing frequency bands. However, with their capability to distinguish wireless signals, metasurfaces represent a novel approach to operate numerous Internet-of-Things sensors and communication devices without severe interference.
In the long run, this will be important for next-generation communication services, such as autonomous driving, smart factories, digital twin, cyber-physical systems, and behavior recognition systems!
Dr. Hiroki Wakatsuchi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering at Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech), Japan. He completed his Ph.D. from The University of Nottingham, UK whereupon he did his postdoctoral research at UC San Diego, USA. His research interests include electromagnetics, electronics, and communications. He has so far published 62 papers (49 papers between 2005 and 2023) with over 800 citations to his credit. Dr. Wakatsuchi was also a part of the Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology (PRESTO) in the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) until March 2023. Currently, he is involved with Fusion Oriented Research for Disruptive Science and Technology (FOREST), another JST program.
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 1, 2024 | Automation, Operator Interface, Standards, Technology
Modern flow control software driver based on FDT/DTM technology extends standardized device management to mobile and OPC UA applications.
Glad to see movement with the latest technology from the FDT Group. It certified the first Device Specific DTM based on FDT 3.0 standard supporting the HART protocol from Flowserve Corp. The newest certified Logix 3820 Series DTM is deployable using their positioners supporting HART 6 / 7, tackling flow control challenges designed for modern IIoT architectures.
FDT DTM certification to the FDT 3.0 specification and webUI is a process whereby rigorous compliance testing using dtmINSPECTOR5 ensures the viability of the states of the DTM; its correct installation, de-installation, and multi-user environment capability; mandatory and optional user interface functionality and robustness; network scanning communication performance and the ability to import and export the topology; and the audit trail capability.
FDT 3.0 DTMs are crucial to unlocking universal device integration with essential advantages such as platform independence, mobility solutions, and a contemporary development environment to reduce costs and expedite the DTM certification process. Users can use secure and seamless data exchange/interrogation from the sensor to the cloud and achieve new levels of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) integration.
“This certification is a milestone in market penetration and technology development,” says Steve Biegacki, FDT Group managing director. “Flowserve has always been a leader in flow control using DTM technology and now offers the first flow control management DTM standardized for IIoT architectures based on FDT 3.0 for HART applications. HART users can deploy this new DTM and reap the benefits by using an FDT 3.0-based device management tool, such as PACTware 6.1, and can enjoy an IT/OT data-centric model by deploying an FDT Server, extending the data reach to mobile applications and the enterprise.”
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 1, 2024 | Business, News, Security
New OT threat groups include VOLTZITE linked to Volt Typhoon; ransomware attacks grew 50 percent; state actors and unsophisticated hacktivist groups gained ground against OT systems.
Cybersecurity companies busily conduct surveys and issue reports. This news concerns Dragos’ release of its sixth annual OT Cybersecurity Year in Review report.
The report named the emergence of three new threat groups, including VOLTZITE linked to Volt Typhoon, and found that ransomware continued to be the most reported cyber threat among industrial organizations with a nearly 50% increase in reported incidents. 2023 also saw the first time a hacktivist group achieved Stage 2 of the ICS Cyber Kill Chain.
Based on data gathered from annual customer service engagements conducted by Dragos’s cybersecurity experts in the field across the range of industrial sectors, the top challenges industrial organizations need to address are:
- Lack of Sufficient Security Controls: 28% of service engagements involved issues with improper network segmentation or improperly configured firewalls.
- Improper Network Segmentation: Approximately 70% of OT-related incidents originated from within the IT environment.
- Lack of Separate IT & OT User Management: 17% of organizations had a shared domain architecture between their IT and OT systems, the most common method of lateral movement and privilege escalation.
- External Connections to the ICS Environment: Dragos observed four threat groups exploiting public-facing devices and external services and issued findings related to externally facing networks such as the internet in 20% of engagement reports.
