Terra Drone Corp. this week announced that it has raised 8 billion Japanese yen ($70 million U.S.) in Series B investment. The drone and urban air mobility technology company said it plans to build out its infrastructure toward its goal of “evolving the world from the sky.” “Our airspace is going to get more crowded than ever, but most companies today are concentrating only on hardware development,” stated Toru Tokushige, founder and CEO of Terra Drone. “There's an urgent need for a global air-traffic management solution to enable safe and efficient drone and UAM [urban air mobility] operations, and Terra…
Comparing Autonomous Navigation Technologies
Design
Cimcorp and Muratec plan to showcase their range of automation technologies at the MODEX 2022 supply chain trade show next week. Both companies are owned by Japan-based Murata Machinery Ltd. Technologies featured will include robotic order-picking systems, as well as automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS). They will also have live automated guided vehicle (AGV) demonstrations. As integrators of intralogistics systems for industries including food and beverage, grocery, retail, medical, and automotive, both Muratec and Cimcorp said they help customers improve warehouse and distribution efficiency, sustainability, and profitability by customizing systems designed to fit their needs and specifications. Booth visitors…
Sponsor
Self-driving truck developers are partnering with logistics providers to demonstrate the value of their technology. Locomation this week announced an eight-tear agreement with Christenson Transportation Inc. The midsize transport provider plans to boost its fleet capacity with Locomation's autonomous truck technology. The companies announced their collaboration at the Truckload Carriers Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas. “We are thrilled to partner with Locomation to offer autonomous trucking services to our customers,” said Don Christenson, president of Christenson Transportation. “We chose Locomation because we’re convinced they are bringing to market the safest and most viable turnkey model to enable us to…
In this article, we explore the difference between the two main types of natural navigation technologies (sometimes called free navigation) for AGVs – scan matching and feature matching – along with their respective pros and cons. What’s the difference between scan matching and feature matching? Put simply, today’s natural navigation technologies use one of two different methodologies: scan matching (sometimes called SLAM navigation) and feature matching (used by ANT®). How scan matching works With scan matching technology, measurements from the vehicle’s laser scanners are compared (matched) to the cells of a grid-based reference map of the environment. These cells can…
Increasing demand for automation has led to strong growth across industries, including among ingredient technology suppliers. igus GmbH today reported that its business results from 2021 demonstrated record growth in revenue and customer adoption. The Cologne, Germany-based company said it develops and makes motion plastics, which are self-lubricating, high-performance polymers intended to reduce costs wherever things move. “€234 million [$257 million U.S.] more sales in one year, with almost the same selling prices until the end of the year, and everything produced as well as sourced in-house—we've never had that before,” said Frank Blase, CEO of igus. “Our colleagues achieved…
Andy Weber, U.S. President Barack Obama’s former assistant secretary of defense, has joined the team at HowToRobot and Gain & Co as a board advisor. The sister companies said Weber brings a wealth of geopolitical and global supply chain knowledge that will be useful as the Danish companies just opened offices in Chicago. The robotics group said it supports North American and European manufacturing companies in transforming their operations with robot automation. In less than five years, the companies said they have established themselves as major intermediary between robot buyers and sellers globally. Gain & Co is a consulting firm…
Waymo LLC Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana announced this week that the autonomous vehicle technology company will soon start offering fully driverless rides in San Francisco with no safety driver on board. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company has been testing its Waymo One Trusted Tester program in the city since August. A selected number of San Francisco residents have been able to request rides in the Waymo Driver—a modified Jaguar I-Pace equipped with the company's fifth-generation self-driving technology. As part of the program, an autonomous specialist is along for each ride. “Product updates like these are the result of careful improvements we’ve…
Automobile Parts Producer Used Nipper AGVs to Meet its Resource Optimization Goals
As mobile robots make millions of trips across facility floors, the surfaces need to be durable and reliable. Cornerstone Specialty Wood Products LLC today announced that it has promoted Scott McGill to vice president of sales. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company said the move recognizes McGill's talent and value to the organization. It also said the appointment reflects Cornerstone's growth in the material handling and supply chain industries. For more than 20 years, Cornerstone Specialty Wood Products has led research and development in the field of engineered wood floor panels. In 1994, Greg Doppler, founder and president of Cornerstone, invented the…