PETROLIA, CA—Victor Scheinman, the Stanford engineering professor whose electrically powered, computer-controlled robot would become the Programmable Universal Machine for Assembly (PUMA) robot, has died at age 73.
Robots are used in many large hospitals to deliver supplies and assist doctors with delicate surgical procedures. In the future, robotic surgery will become the routine rather than the exception.
In every manufacturing industry, tradition is becoming less important. Companies no longer assume that what worked in the past will be enough to keep and gain customers. Instead, they look to the latest technology to improve manufacturing processes, optimize product quality and expand their customer base.
Today’s typical automobile features nearly 100 exterior and interior sensors, with the number likely to increase in the near future. Those located on the outside (axle load, steering angle, blind spots, air temperature, etc.) require special protection from the elements and unique production methods.
One way for a manufacturer to enter a new market is through acquisition. However, one downside of the strategy is that the manufacturing assets you acquire do not always mesh perfectly with how you like to do things.
ATLANTA—Adidas will be opening a factory in Atlanta in 2017 where shoes will be produced entirely by robots. In a press release, the company outlined how the factory, dubbed the Speedfactory, will allow the company to manufacture shoes faster while bringing production closer to U.S. consumers.
DETROIT—Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow (LIFT), and the Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence at The Ohio State University, have launched a new competition for high school college students from around the country merging the ancient skills of the blacksmith with the digital age of robotics to create new material forming capabilities called “Robotic Blacksmithing.”