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Despite advances in robotics, certain professional tools are still missing from the industry. There is room for acceleration in the field by connecting various individual developments. The Rocking Robots team discussed this with Christine Fraser, CEO of Asimovo, a robotics-focused DevOps platform. In her keynote she talked about collaboration between academia and industry and the impact of AI on robotics.

Shenzhen Han’s Robot is set to introduce a new line of collaborative robots tailored for the Southeast Asian market during the upcoming Industrial Transformation ASIA-PACIFIC (ITAP) 2024, which will take place from October 14 to 16 at Singapore EXPO. As part of its strategic expansion into the region, Han’s Robot is focusing on meeting the growing demand for automation and smart manufacturing solutions in Asia’s rapidly evolving industrial sector.

YASKAWA has announced a cooperation agreement with Fizyr, focusing on a non-exclusive go-to-market strategy in Europe. The collaboration aims to facilitate the implementation of robotic automation in warehouse logistics by leveraging AI-based computer vision. The target areas include high-speed item picking, automatic parcel sorting, palletizing, depalletizing, and trailer unloading, which involve handling objects of various sizes and shapes. The use of AI in vision systems is considered crucial for overcoming past difficulties in automating these processes.

WorkFar has introduced a new initiative allowing businesses to lease its humanoid robots without requiring an initial payment. The program is designed to make advanced robotic technology accessible to manufacturing and logistics companies, helping them boost productivity while contributing to the development of WorkFar’s artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms.

Uber and Avride have announced a strategic partnership aimed at integrating autonomous technology into both delivery and mobility services. This multiyear collaboration will leverage Avride’s delivery robots and autonomous vehicles within the Uber platform, initially focusing on Uber Eats deliveries in select U.S. cities.

Laser Photonics, developer of industrial laser systems, has released a visual concept showcasing the integration of its laser cleaning technology with Brokk’s 110 robot. Brokk, maker of remote-controlled machines used in sectors such as construction, mining, and metal processing, collaborated with LPC to introduce this new system.

Through 2027, generative AI (GenAI) will spawn new roles in software engineering and operations, requiring 80% of the engineering workforce to upskill, according to Gartner. “Bold claims on the ability of AI have led to speculation that AI could reduce demand for human engineers or even supplant them entirely,” said Philip Walsh, Sr Principal Analyst at Gartner. “While AI will transform the future role of software engineers, human expertise and creativity will always be essential to delivering complex, innovative software.”

Accenture and NVIDIA have expanded their partnership to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across enterprises globally. This collaboration includes the launch of a new Accenture NVIDIA Business Group, which will provide businesses with tools to scale AI initiatives. The initiative involves the training of 30,000 professionals globally to support clients in implementing AI agents and AI-driven processes.

As Fizyr prepares for the 2024 Automation & Robotics Conference, the Rocking Robots team visited Delft to get a glimpse of the ongoing preparations. In this video, CEO Ken Fleming explains the wide range of live demonstrations and the innovative solutions being showcased. Robots are now capable of detecting transparent and light-absorbing objects, which will be processed in a best-of-breed solution by participating partners such as Yaskawa, FANUC, Zivid, and Cognibotics.

Serve Robotics and Wing Aviation have announced a partnership aimed at expanding autonomous delivery capabilities by integrating Serve’s sidewalk robots with Wing’s drone technology. The collaboration is designed to streamline food delivery, combining the strengths of both companies’ technologies. Serve’s AI-powered, low-emission robots will collect orders from restaurants in dense urban areas and deliver them to Wing drones, which will then complete the delivery to customers up to six miles away.