Robots for smart production, digital transformation of manufacturing, artificial intelligence, human-robot collaboration, and Industry 4.0, will all be talking points at this year’s Automatica
Product manager, material handling and robot vision, Fanuc Europe
A report from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) has linked increases in the use of robots in manufacturing with higher employment in the USA. Bob Doyle at A3 looks at the reasons for the trend
Automating factories is a big business globally, but in order to maximise its effectiveness both the vision system providers and end users must play their part, as Tom Eddershaw finds out
Securing an intravenous line in a patient can be a painful procedure if the nurse is unable to find a vein. Now, imaging devices are becoming available that use infrared light to make veins easier to locate, as Jessica Rowbury discovers
Bin-picking remains a challenge for industrial robots, not least because of the difficulties in locating the object with vision technology, as Jessica Rowbury discovers
With Christmas fast approaching, staff at distribution hubs of retailers as well as the postal service will be working exceptionally hard. Tom Eddershaw investigates how machine vision can help automate processing packages at distribution centres to get presents delivered in time for Christmas
Exports of machine vision products from Germany to Asia outstripped those to the rest of Europe for the first time, according to a recent VDMA report. Greg Blackman analyses the opportunities and threats posed by the Asian markets
Random bin picking holds great potential for automating manufacturing, but it's still incredibly complex. Greg Blackman looks at the vision technology required to guide robots in pick-and-place applications
How will the world feed 10 billion people by 2050 with no new land for agriculture? Greg Blackman speaks to machine builder Bühler about how optical sensing can maximise yield in grain processing
Two robots have been installed at Aalborg University Hospital in Denmark. Credit: Kuka
Keely Portway looks at how robots are automating procedures in hospital testing laboratories, and how imaging underpins this
A setup for photometric stereo imaging in which multiple lights are used to illuminate an object from different directions. Credit: Advanced illumination
Matthew Dale explores the power of computational imaging, all made possible by clever illumination
Credit: Flir Systems
As demand for thermal imaging rises during the coronavirus pandemic, Greg Blackman asks how effective thermal cameras are at screening people for signs of fever
Greg Blackman speaks to Kieran Edge at the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, about new vision projects and the presentation he is to give for UKIVA's vision technology hub, to be broadcast on 14 May
Stemmer Imaging's David Hearn has died after a long illness. Mark Williamson, corporate marketing director at the company, looks back at Hearn’s career
The appetite for vision and automation remains strong, but there is still a lot of uncertainty at the present time, were the views of the heads of the AIA, EMVA, VDMA Machine Vision, and UKIVA in a webinar
Chinese hospitals have ordered 2,000 UVD robots from Blue Ocean Robotics since the start of the pandemic. Credit: Blue Ocean Robotics
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of robotics and automation in many areas of manufacturing and society, according to CEOs of robotic firms in a webinar run by A3
