Two weeks ago, two MIT researchers spoke with 60 Minutes about where we’re going in terms of job growth and what that will change in the global economy. Since the Great Recession, these two researchers say, the economy has started to recover and corporations are making more money but there aren’t as many jobs as… Read more »
In Singapore’s Changi Airport there is a sculpture in Terminal 1 made of bronze drops. Above the terminal, these drops fly in patterns, shapes and movements, all controlled by a set of servo motors and servo drives. Made by ART + COM, the system was designed to represent movement and flying, and also to recreate… Read more »
Did you know that America is second only to Japan in the use of robotics? Last year was a record year for robotics, as robotic companies sold 22,598 robots, trumping the 19,337 robots sold in 2011. In fact, 2012’s 17% growth was a record, according to the Robotics Industries Association. We expect that this year there will… Read more »
American manufacturing is getting a boost. A recent two-day summit in Orlando brought an announcement from Walmart that they’ll be investing $50 million over the next decade in moving towards American-made products. But what does that really mean? In terms of business, Walmart does an astronomical amount of purchasing globally. The $50 million over the… Read more »
Labor Day is a special day to honor the accomplishments of our American workforce. Take the day off and enjoy it!
Creating art is clearly a human thing, right? It takes inspiration, forethought and planning, detailed execution, and emotion to make a great piece of art. But what if an ordinary welding robot, with the help of some humans and computers, could turn art into an algorithm and pick up a brush? That’s just what some… Read more »
At this year’s Hannover Messe, the leading trade fair for industrial technology, Rexroth was awarded the Hermes Award for Innovation because of their work with PLC and IT through the Open Core Engineering program. The idea behind Open Core Engineering is that flexibility of language and platform while still meeting standards can drive innovation fast… Read more »
May brought new regulations for robot safety in collaborative environments from the the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) in conjunction with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012 updates the last standards set in 1999 and now puts American standards on par with European standards. Among other things, this allows models built to standards in Europe to be… Read more »
President Obama has called for an increase in the minimum wage, and fast food workers have been striking in hopes of increasing their wage to $15.00 an hour — roughly twice the current minimum wage. Naturally, commentators are forecasting all kinds of consequences: Unskilled workers will be replaced by more skilled workers. All wages will… Read more »
If you have IndraDrive MI units you should be daisy chaining your drives together to save money by cutting wiring costs, reducing cabinet space to a minimum, and speeding up installation and cable maintenance for your servo motors and drives. If you’re not daisy chaining your equipment and it’s capable of it, you’re wasting money…. Read more »
