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CIOs must take time to consider “what if” scenarios to avoid being blindsided by social, behavioural and technological disruptions, according to Gartner. “Disruptions are fundamental shifts that create lasting change, and successful organisations will be those that are prepared to address them,” said David Yockelson, VP analyst at Gartner. “We need to keep asking “what if” to remain open to opportunities presented by disruptions.”

Realtime Robotics, provider of collision-free autonomous motion planning for industrial robots, today announced that it has teamed with Siemens to integrate its RapidPlan software with Siemens Process Simulate, in the company’s Tecnomatix portfolio.

Amazon has announced it will acquire Belgian firm Cloostermans, which builds robots for warehouses. Purpose of this acquisition is to build ‘next-generation supply chain mechatronics’. Cloostermans is already a supplier for the Amazon-warehouses. Recently Amazon announced another expansion in the robotics-space, by acquiring iRobot.

Badger Technologies, a product division of Jabil and provider of retail automation, has announced a production rollout of its Badger Technologies multipurpose autonomous robots with Busy Beaver Building Centers, operator of 25 full-line home improvement centers in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

The FTC will review the $1.7 billion takeover of robot vacuum maker iRobot by Amazon. It has to decide if the deal violates antitrust law. This review comes as the FTC is also conducting a monopolization probe of Amazon. The FTC is, among other things, investigating whether the data generated about a consumer by the Roomba vacuum will give it an unfair advantage over other retailers.

Researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) have developed a wearable assistive robot that can detect and prevent a fall before it happens, reducing the user’s risk of sustaining injuries.

Russian Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) offers a reward for the capture of a THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle by Milrem Robotics. Ukraine is the first country to deploy these robots in combat.

At IMTS in Chicago, September 12-17, OnRobot will demonstrate an automated, application-centered software platform for robotic deployment. D:PLOY is presented as a turning point in OnRobot’s strategic evolution that began with its line of intuitive robotic tools and software, expanding the concept of collaborative automation.

Roboverse Reply, the Reply Group company specialised in integration scenarios around robotics and the industrial metaverse, is the winner of the AIRA Challenge (Advanced Industrial Robotic Applications), an international competition to automate inspection in chemical production facilities by leveraging on robotics technology. The challenge was held during ACHEMA 2022 in Frankfurt am Main, the world’s largest trade fair for the process industry.

Prosegur Security USA has announced the integration of its newest security technology, a robot dog named Yellow, into its private and professional security offerings for perimeter patrol. Yellow has several applications. He can be deployed in situations that are too dangerous, or too difficult, for human entry. In addition, he can be deployed at events and with the help of facial recognition technology, can identify “friend or foe”, alerting security of potential threats.