International

Boston Dynamics has announced an expanded product line for its mobile robot Spot. The new products include a self-charging Enterprise Spot, web-based remote operations software, Scout, and the Spot Arm. These additions extend Spot’s ability to perform autonomous, remote inspections and data collection, and enable the robot to perform manual tasks.

The coronavirus crisis has given a major boost to the use of robot-assisted process automation (RPA) in Randstad France. CFO Odile Schmutz pointed out recently during a digital festival organized by specialist UiPath.

A team of New Jersey researchers has demonstrated that high-dose therapy gait training using robotic exoskeletons may aid early rehabilitation for acute stroke.

For the first time, yearly orders of robots from non-automotive sectors surpassed automotive robot orders, as sales of robotic units in North America increased 3.5% in 2020 from 2019. This growth was driven by a strong Q4 that was the second-best quarter ever for North American robotic sales with a 63.6% increase over Q4 2019.

AutoX, a Chinese provider of fully autonomous vehicles, has opened its Robotaxi service to the general public in Shenzhen. This means the autonomous cars will be transporting passengers without a safety driver. Last year competitor Waymo was the first to make their taxi available to the general public.

The average robot density in the manufacturing industry hit a new global record of 113 units per 10,000 employees. By regions, Western Europe (225 units) and the Nordic European countries (204 units) have the most automated production, followed by North America (153 units) and South East Asia (119 units).

On the 16th of September 2019, eagle lsp was founded. Now, barely eighteen months later, the company has over 50 employees, two DAX-30 clients and three Business Units. This growth clearly shows the hunger for cost efficiency and high quality in legal services. Automating certain legal processes, especially those that cost a large amount of time and have a repetitive nature is a huge driver for growth at eagle lsp.

Businesses face several challenges regarding automation. A returning challenge is the question where to start. They want to realize ROI quickly, but they do not know how to do that. Executives, for example people in the finance function, are overwhelmed with all kinds of demands. Robots as a Service and Process Mining as Service, provided by Humans4Help, offer a smart solution to this demand for automation.

Amnesty International today launches a global campaign to ban the use of facial recognition systems, a form of mass surveillance that amplifies racist policing and threatens the right to protest.

China stays ahead of foreign countries in the development of indoor delivery robots. Outdoor autonomous delivery vehicles on the other hand are produced in small quantities in China and have not taken on a sizable scale yet, according to a report by ReseachandMarkets.