by Gary Mintchell | May 9, 2025 | Robots
Last of a series of Automate show product announcements. More technology relative to robotics. And another one working to expand the function of Cobots to moving processes.
CoboMover is a robust linear track for cobots and small industrial robots launching at Automate 2025. At the show, Güdel is also showcasing a demo on how air bearings can eliminate the need for cranes or embedded rails, moving 3,800+ lbs on a cushion of air.
Güdel will unveil the Cobomover, a 7th-axis linear track purpose-built for collaborative and lightweight robots. Designed and manufactured in Switzerland, the Cobomover extends the working range of robots up to 5 meters (16.4ft), allowing them to operate multiple workstations and perform a variety of tasks without manual repositioning.
The CoboMover is compatible with over 60 cobots and small traditional robots. It offers mounting positions at 0° and 180°. The maximum payload, including robot weight, is 78 kg (172 lbs). Its drive system utilizes a toothed belt and Güdel’s HPG045 angular gearbox. Available stroke lengths include 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, and 5000 mm. The CoboMover has a maximum speed of 2 m/s and a maximum acceleration of 2 m/s², providing a repeatability of ± 0.05 mm.
by Gary Mintchell | May 9, 2025 | Robots
A number of releases regarding next week’s Automate show have just come my way from one of my favorite professional PR contacts. This one is robotic-oriented. It appears that this will be very much a robot show. A company I don’t know (Inbolt) partnering with one I’ve studied extensively as an analyst (FANUC). This is pretty cool stuff.
Inbolt and FANUC are enabling FANUC robots to perform production tasks on continuously moving parts at line speeds. With Inbolt’s AI-powered 3D vision, manufacturers can now automate screw insertion, bolt rundown, glue application and other high-precision tasks on parts moving down the line without costly infrastructure investments or cycle time compromises. The new Inbolt and FANUC integration allows the CRX cobot and other FANUC robot models to operate with real-time 3D vision and adaptive trajectory correction, even with part variation or imperfect environments.
General Motors is the first to adopt this new integration, while other leading brands, including Stellantis, Ford, Whirlpool, ThyssenKrupp Automotive, and Toyota, use Inbolt’s technology across various applications.
This solution combines FANUC’s streaming motion capabilities, which enable real-time trajectory input via Ethernet, with Inbolt’s lightweight, robot-mounted vision system and ultra-fast AI model.
- Real-Time 3D Guidance: Inbolt’s proprietary localization AI refreshes at a high rate continuously identifying object orientation and adapting robot paths on the fly, enabling high-speed screwdriving and part insertion without indexing.
- Flexible Deployment: Operates in low-space environments, with no need for fencing. Ideal for General Assembly stations.
Significantly lowering the barriers to high-performance automation, this integration eliminates the need for specialized lighting or custom jigs, making it easier to deploy robots in complex, real-world environments. A single robot can now handle over 100 part models with real-time accuracy, even on continuously moving lines. Deployment is streamlined through Inbolt Studio, an intuitive platform that allows users to import CAD files, train the AI model, validate tracking in real time, and launch the program directly on the line.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 28, 2025 | Robots
Automate is coming to Detroit this year May 12-15. I cannot make it due to family events. When I began the phase of my career that included robotics, automation, and machinery, most of the trade shows were in Detroit due to the influence of the auto industry. There was a programmable controller show, vision show, and robotics show. All separate; all pretty big. Ah, for the good old days.
I have robot news previewing the show from all my friends in Denmark. OnRobot who continues to innovate in end effectors. I was positive that would never be a growth and innovation area, but they proved me wrong. Also more news from Universal Robots and Mobile Industrial Robots.
OnRobot to Showcase Effortless Automation Deployment
OnRobot will showcase its D:PLOY platform and latest gripper innovations at Automate 2025. In collaboration with integration partner EMI, OnRobot will offer attendees hands-on experience demonstrating how D:PLOY fully automates the deployment of robotic applications. This will be showcased through a live demo of a D:PLOY packaging application featuring OnRobot’s VGC10 gripper, set up rapidly in just hours with no programming.
D:PLOY is the first automatic development platform for cobots and industrial robots that enables the configuration of complete, Off-The-Shelf robotic systems for high-mix manufacturing applications. With full price transparency and same-day installation, D:PLOY gives manufacturers the freedom to adapt in real time, without relying on external experts or programming – and with typical ROI in less than a year.
Visitors will also experience the benefits of OnRobot’s One System Solution: seamless integration of the company’s end-of-arm-tooling across all major robot brands, and true plug-and-produce functionality. Tool changes happen in seconds – no rewiring or reprogramming – showing how easily manufacturers can scale across new applications.
A diverse range of OnRobot’s flexible grippers will be on display, including the new 2FG14, 3FG25, and VGP30. These tools are designed to easily automate diverse tasks, support quick workpiece changeovers, and empower operators to take control. Notably, the VGP30 high-payload pneumatic vacuum gripper is a powerful and robust solution for palletizing boxes, capable of handling cost-saving, thinner cardboard and irregular shapes and porous surfaces. It is ready for immediate deployment out of the box and features intelligent vacuum control that automatically adjusts to any box or interlayer, minimizing air usage and energy costs – ideal for high-mix palletizing applications. Additional OnRobot grippers, including the 2FG7, 3FG15, and Soft Gripper, will be showcased by EMI.
Universal Robots and Mobile Industrial Robots to Debut New and AI-powered Automation Solutions Across Integrated Industry Workflows
Joint showcase from Teradyne Robotics companies will feature comprehensive automation solutions across automotive, electronics manufacturing, and logistics zones, highlighting the power of collaborative and mobile robotics.
Universal Robots (UR) and Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) will demonstrate their joint commitment to empowering customers with increased productivity through a diverse range of automation applications at Automate 2025.
“Our combined presence is a powerful demonstration of how Teradyne Robotics addresses the complete spectrum of automation needs across diverse industries,” says Ujjwal Kumar, Group President of Teradyne Robotics. “The applications on display across automotive, electronics and logistics emphasize our holistic approach to automation that empowers businesses to optimize their entire workflow, from component handling to final palletization,” says Kumar, who will deliver the Automate keynote “Tech Hype vs Industrial Need: Separating Science Fiction from Scalable Solutions” at 9:00am on Thursday, May 15.
The Automotive zone will include a production flow, utilizing the same type of automotive workpiece across various applications. AI Automation will demonstrate painting with a new explosion-proof (ATEX certified) UR cobot; Mission Design will present dispensing applications; and 3D Infotech will feature a quality inspection process using a UR cobot and the new UR AI Accelerator toolkit to examine the part assembled by Mission Design, highlighting enhanced perception capabilities. Finally, Robotiq will demonstrate palletizing of the packaged workpiece.
The Electronics zone will feature Adaptive Robotics, performing cobot-assisted soldering of electronic components, alongside a hands-on demonstration of UR’s new OptiMove motion control algorithm that dynamically optimizes speed and acceleration within hardware limits, resulting in smoother cobot movements, reduced vibrations, and improved cycle times.
The AI Accelerator, UR’s new toolkit developed in close collaboration with NVIDIA, will also be hard at work in the Electronics zone, incorporated into Flexxbotics’ machine tending solution to provide improved part localization, and in Acumino’s innovative cobot training demo executing complex assembly of electronic components.
The Material Handling & Logistics Zone will underscore the combined strengths of UR and MiR to deliver fully integrated autonomous intralogistics solutions that are now powered by AI technology leveraging NVIDIA’s accelerated computing libraries:
MiR’s autonomous Pallet Jack – the MiR1200 – will demonstrate the movement of pallets within warehouses and production facilities with AI-driven perception systems for robust pallet recognition, even if pallets are broken or imperfectly loaded. The Pallet Jack will work with the MC600, a new mobile cobot that features a UR20 cobot mounted on a MiR600 AMR for increased payload and reach. This integrated MC600 solution, which just won an RBR50 award, will palletize and de-palletize the MiR1200.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 22, 2025 | Robots
People used to (actually, still do) respond to my answer about what I cover as automation, “Oh, robots.” And I’d say, “Yes, that, too.” The robot market was pretty stagnant for quite a time until the cobot flurry from Denmark. Then, quiet again for the most part. Something interesting does come my way at times. The current topic seems to be expansion of software control to make robotics easier to use and with expanded repertoire.
Flexxbotics announced the latest release of FlexxCORE, the patent-pending technology at the center of the Flexxbotics solution. The new release delivers more powerful capabilities for advanced robotic machine tending, robotic quality control, and robotic production lines by enabling robots—both industrial and collaborative—to run multiple machines with multiple operations for multiple part SKUs. These new FlexxCORE capabilities equip manufacturers to scale robotic production across the smart factory in a standardized way for greater plant capacity, quality, and EBITDA margins.
FlexxCORE now includes enhanced robot awareness, parallelized data pipelines, and greater data granularity which further extends the interoperable communication and coordination between robots, factory machines, inspection equipment, and other plant machinery.
- Enhanced Robot Awareness – Empowers robots in advanced tending scenarios to interpret each machines’ jobs, processing routines, operational status, and more
- Parallelized Data Pipelines – Leverages asynchronous, parallel pipelines for hyperperformant real time robot+multi-machine orchestration
- Greater Data Granularity – Expanded data model and event data capture for robotic operational context, pattern recognition, and machine learning
FlexxCORE is a low-code environment for composing and running Transformers – powerful translation driver connectors – which includes a secure, high performance run-time framework with data pipelines, protocols, class structures, method sets, and data models for development. Transformers enable bi-directional read/write between robots and all types of factory equipment for many-to-many interoperability.
FlexxCORE delivers compatibility with over 1000 different makes and models of robots, machines, other factory machinery and inspection equipment options, and enables 22x faster connector creation than conventional automation integration methods.
Now, global companies can roll out production robotics across the smart factory in a standardized way for advanced robotic machine tending to enable:
- Robot+Multi-Machine Orchestration—Robots control multiple machines simultaneously to achieve longer unattended robotic production for “lights out” manufacturing.
- Robotic Processing of Multiple Parts—Coordinated robotic production of numerous different part types or SKUs within a part family while managing multi-step processes.
- Robot Multi-Job Work Order Staging—Work order changeovers detect order completion – including FDA regulated Line Clear – and update part properties for the next order in-feed.
- Autonomous Process Control—Offset parameters adjusted in real time directly in the machine controller’s G-code for process control autonomy, improving quality and digital thread traceability.
- Future-Ready Agility—Enables the flexible adoption of new breakthroughs – such as AI-driven processes – to quickly adapt to new market realities and rapidly changing conditions.
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 18, 2025 | Robots
Teredyne is a conglomerate that has been snarfing up collaborative robotic assets. Many are based on Universal Robotics technology. This news expands AI-powered applications. Of course, AI is the entry point phrase for any new technology currently. That’s OK, it is an advancement in usability. And that’s a good thing.
Teradyne Robotics and its partners are set to unveil a suite of advanced, AI-driven robotics solutions at NVIDIA GTC 2025 March 17-21. The unveiling represents the first public demonstration of the AI Accelerator in commercially viable applications.
“Physical AI equips robots with the capacity to perceive and respond to the real world providing the versatility and problem-solving capabilities that are often required by complex use cases that have been out of scope until now,” says James Davidson, Chief AI Officer, Teradyne Robotics. “Instead of merely executing pre-programmed instructions, robots empowered by AI gain the ability to learn, adapt, and make informed decisions grounded in their sensory input,” he says.
Davidson adds, “Think of a logistics operation where robots navigate through a warehouse with constantly changing layouts and obstacles. Or a construction site where robots assist in assembly tasks within unpredictable and changing environments. The AI Accelerator helps our cobots better understand their surroundings, plan optimal paths, and execute tasks safely and efficiently in previously unmanageable spaces.”
The AI Accelerator is a toolkit designed by Teradyne Robotics company Universal Robots (UR) in collaboration with NVIDIA to enable the development of AI-powered applications by bringing AI acceleration to UR’s next-generation software platform, PolyScope X. The toolkit is powered by NVIDIA Isaac accelerated libraries and AI models, running on the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin system-on-module.
Partner displays:
- 3D Infotech – Dynamic Metrology: Showcasing a UR3e cobot that scans workpieces, compares them with CAD models, and highlights dimensional inaccuracies by projecting them onto the workpiece surface. The AI Accelerator enhances the perception capabilities of the cobot, allowing it to more accurately locate the workpiece for inspection.
- T-Robotics – GenAI Driven Programming: Demonstrating a UR5e cobot with LLM-driven CNC machine tending. With T-Robotics ActGPT, users can describe an application setup in natural language and have it translated into a robot program with the help of the AI Accelerator.
- AICA – Reinforcement Learning Assembly: Featuring a UR5e cobot executing single-arm gear assembly using reinforcement learning. The cobot locates a part using AI Accelerator-based perception and then uses a reinforcement learning skill to complete a contact-rich assembly process.
- Acumino – Bimanual Assembly: The AI Accelerator facilitates a bimanual UR5e cobot’s ability to learn complex manipulation tasks from human demonstrations. The system completes an electrical cable handling task and attendees can collaborate with the robot to solve the task.
- Groundlight – Workpiece Detection for Streamlined Picking: The AI Accelerator trains a model to detect a workpiece and generate a robot program for picking, then verifies that the robot workspace is ready, ensuring a robust and easily deployed solution.
While the AI Accelerator is primarily focused on UR cobots, the underlying AI and accelerated computing technology also benefit Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), another Teradyne company featured at GTC. The MiR1200 Pallet Jack uses 3D vision and the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin module for pallet detection, allowing the pallet jack to identify, pick up, and deliver pallets with precision in complex environments.
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 11, 2025 | Robots
The development of collaborative robots in the Odense, Denmark area led to important increases in the development of end-of-arm effectors. OnRobot became a leading developer of these tools. This new release marks OnRobot’s highest payload gripper to date, with intelligent control and seamless integration for palletizing and handling.
OnRobot’s new VGP30 vacuum gripper robust at 30 kg (66 lbs.) payload is designed to excel at palletizing boxes and handling irregular shapes and porous surfaces, even those constructed from cost-saving, thinner cardboard. The VGP30 is ready for immediate deployment out of the box and includes all the hardware and software needed for all leading robot brands.
Key features and benefits of the VGP30:
- High Payload: Capable of handling up to 30 kg (66 lbs.).
- Immediate Deployment: Ready to use out of the box, including all necessary hardware and software for seamless integration with all leading robot brands.
- Intelligent Vacuum Control: Automatically adjusts to any box size or interlayer, optimizing air consumption and reducing energy costs.
- Multichannel Capability: Provides failsafe and flexible operations. The VGP30 has two channels that can be operated together or independently, convenient for handling small boxes.
- Seamless Integration with D:PLOY: The VGP30 seamlessly integrates with OnRobot’s D:PLOY platform, the first automatic software development platform that enables the configuration of complete, off-the-shelf robotic systems for high-mix manufacturing applications.
