A robot for $22,000?

Baxter is a $22,000 robot from Rethink Robotics that performs repetitive tasks at modest speeds. Force-sensing technologies make it extremely safe for operation around human beings.

Pat ReynoldsVP Editor Emeritus

Feb 4th, 2013

Rethink Robotics

2206 Web Features

Making the Choice: Cables & Connectors

Though they don’t often receive the attention given to other automation technologies, cables and connectors are critical to the power and data transmission needs of industry’s digital transformation.

This image depicts how MQTT Sparkplug can be used to reduce the complexity of industrial device communications and connectivity. Source: Eclipse Sparkplug Working Group.

Plug-and-Play Coming to Industrial IoT

Launch of the Sparkplug Compatibility Program enables automation technology suppliers to certify compatibility with the Eclipse Sparkplug protocol and MQTT-based Internet of Things infrastructures.

The Paperless Process Recorder records process parameters like temperature, flow, and pressure, and uses the Legendary cloud-based software to securely store those records.

Digital Recorder Replaces Cumbersome Paper Charts

With its Paperless Process Recorder and cloud-based Legendary software, Anderson-Negele aims to digitalize—without necessarily reinventing—the recording of process parameters in food and beverage plants.

Why OEE Still Matters

Though some say OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) is outdated, its use to continuously improve production operations across industry prove the value provided by this key metric.

Ubs D3m6 L 720 62a1270c62211

UR5E Cobot with 3D Scanner for Metrology Inspection

Universal Robots exhibited how its UR5E Series collaborative robots can be equipped with 3D scanners to automate metrology inspections at Automate 2022.

Cognex In-Sight 2800 | Machine Vision Made Simple

Cognex In-Sight 2800 | Machine Vision Made Simple

Cognex In-Sight 2800 vision system enables users of all skill levels to use the power of deep learning to automate error detection. See for yourself by entering for your chance to win one of five In-Sight 2800.

Getty Images Fingerprint

A Digital Fingerprint to Combat Counterfeit Goods

Alitheon’s optical artificial intelligence system can authenticate products by simply taking a picture.

Brian May Hi Res Photo

Manufacturing in the Metaverse

The emerging metaverse continuum will transform how people interact with each other and with business data. Find out how this might impact industrial and manufacturing operations.

The HG-KR23K servo puts motion control logic within the drive itself, taking the load off of the PLC and simplifying programming.

Precise Automation Required for Pick-and-Pack Machine

使用三菱电机伺服电机和易达利gent drives enabled Hamrick Manufacturing to create a machine with a lower cost controller that reduced changeover times by nearly 98%.

Screen Shot 2022 06 06 At 10 50 17 Am

Creating the Monetary Information to Measure Equipment Efficiency Improvements

This column presents a simple example of the type of information needed to address the common deficiencies in typical financial accounting information.

Screen Shot 2022 05 19 At 12 42 59 Pm

Palletizer Upgrade? It’s Likely Overdue

Learn what you can to do upgrade and maintain your palletizing machines.

Screen Shot 2022 06 06 At 10 21 27 Am

Siemens Digital Industries Software Focuses on Digital Transformation

Lean about what what shared at Siemens Digital Industries Software's analyst/media event this year.

The Raytek Marathon MM infrared temperature sensor from Fluke Process Instruments.

Sensors Help Increase Batch Capacity

Non-contact infrared sensors enabled global plastics and rubber processor Ilpea Industries Inc. to increase yields and reduce cycle times.

Michael Lehrich

The Significance of Historians

As the importance of data grows across industry, more attention needs to be paid when picking a data historization platform.

The Evolution of Robotics Engineering

Otto Motors and HP offer simulation and 3D printing technologies to improve robot performance.

Getting supply chain management and planning right is one of the most effective shock absorbers any food and beverage processor can have, shielding them from fluctuations in availability and demand.

How to Tame an Unpredictable Supply Chain

Supplies are being disrupted both coming and going for food and beverage manufacturers. Shifting philosophies, combined with a range of digital technologies, could help make operations more predictable and resilient.

Digital Twin image. Source: Siemens Digital Industries Software

Digital Twin Application Considerations

From the reach of the digital twin technology you choose to costs and data preparation issues, there are a number of factors to consider when looking to put a digital twin into practice.

Ladder Diagram example. Source: automationprimer.com

PLC Programming Language Decisions

When it comes to evaluating PLC programming languages, it’s important to realize you’ll likely use more than one. That’s why it’s key to pick the right programming tools for the job.

Enabling Human-Centric Manufacturing through Digital Operations

While discussion about AI and smart manufacturing abound, they are less common in practice. TilliT’s James Balzary shares some tips on how companies can begin applying digital technology to their operations.

How SaaS and MaaS Impact Industry

From lowering barriers to entry to changing capex and opex strategies, software and machines as-a-service are changing the business of technology and manufacturing.

More in Home

Getty Images 1253521425

Emerson’s Zedi Cloud Moves to Microsoft Azure

According to Emerson, The move of Zedi Cloud to Microsoft Azure allows for easier scalability, improved safeguarding of critical business assets, and the achievement of environmental, social, and governance goals.

Iveco Reduces Worker Injuries with Wearable Exoskeletons

Vehicle manufacturer Iveco has been successfully outfitting assembly workers with Comau’s Mate exoskeleton since 2018.

Screen Shot 2022 04 28 3

Delphon Puts Robots-as-a-Service to Work

Delphon hires the Rapid Machine Operator from Rapid Robotics to improve production in its TouchMark and Gel-Pak operations.

Implementation of a Data Pump with Ignition

A “data pump” approach to historicizing data can be advantageous in batch operations that require highly detailed records be kept.

Private 5G for Industrial Environments

Following major deployments by TCL Manufacturing, Volkswagen, and British Sugar, 5G is continuing to gain steam.

一台机器的风险评估是什么?

Learn the details of machine risk assessments, what types of equipment require them, who's responsible for them, when to begin the process, and how to comply with machine risk assessment regulations in this episode featuring Schmersal USA's Devin Murray.

4 Questions to Ask About Industrial Cybersecurity Software

From regulatory compliance and configuration security to potential downtime impacts, Gabe Authier of Tripwire highlights the major issues to address when evaluating cybersecurity software.

Getty Images 1194981755

TSN Plugfest Focuses on Interoperability

Participants in Avnu Alliance’s Time-Sensitive Networking plugfest test their deployments in a collaborative environment.

Matt Rendall, CEO and co-founder of Otto Motors, speaking at the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston.

Moving Robots Into the Matrix

Otto Motors uses simulation to mitigate risk when deploying a fleet of autonomous mobile robots.

Fieldbus organizations like the EtherCAT Technology Group acknowledge the value of OPC UA and see it as a complementary standard in industrial control networking. Courtesy: EtherCAT Technology Group

How OPC UA Creates Interoperability and Gives Data Context

This second installment in a four-part series on key industrial network technologies explains why OPC UA continues to be recognized as the global interoperability method of choice for industrial automation technologies.

Proficy Historian For Cloud 3200x1404

The First Cloud-Native Data Historian

GE Digital stakes a claim to the world’s first cloud-native operational data historian with the release of its Proficy Historian for the Cloud on the AWS Marketplace.

Retrofit or Upgrade: What’s Best for Your Facility?

When undertaking a controls project, beginning with an installed base evaluation can help determine if a retrofit or complete upgrade will be more advantageous in the long run.