GreyOrange and GROUND announced the deployment of its Butler robotics operations at the Ichikawa logistics center of Daiwa House Industry Co. Ltd (TSE: 1925). The Butler robotics system operates in a 7,000sqm facility offering total logistics solutions that are shared and used for multiple shipper companies. At this site, named ‘Intelligent Logistics Center PROTO’, the … Continue reading GreyOrange Butler robotics deployed at intelligent logistics centre →

ABB and Kawasaki Heavy Industries have showcased the world’s first common collaborative robot operating interface at automatica in Munich, Germany from June 19-22, 2018. The common interface will also help address the shortage of skilled workers in many industries. In Japan for example, one person in five is within a decade of retirement. Demand for … Continue reading ABB and Kawasaki create world’s first common interface for collaborative robots →

Established in 1986, Blackhead Quarries is a joint venture between Palmer & Son and Fulton Hogan and operates a number of quarries in the region surrounding Dunedin, in New Zealand’s South Island. Opened in the 1950s, the company’s Blackhead Quarry, located on Green Island, produces 300,000 tonnes of aggregate per year. The company also operates … Continue reading Local support key to upgrade →

The growth of onsite power systems, flavour-of-month battery packs, EVs, interconnectability to the outside poles and wires plus kilowatt hour exchange apps have changed the underlying energy in microgrids, their takeup and the associated technologies. For people sharing fences with the neighbours, often on three sides of a property, the idea of investing in a … Continue reading Fence power – personal power picogrids →

How is it possible stabilise power that is generated by renewable energy sources and therefore is subject to fluctuations caused by the weather? That is undeniably one of the key questions at the heart of the current energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Efficient battery systems will play an important part going forward, as … Continue reading Joint venture will lead to efficient battery systems →

The use of the radar level transmitter for the process industry started back in 1991. These were large units and operated with a 6GHz frequency. They were generally sold into liquid applications and only considered when no other technology would work. They weighed several kilograms and only operated from an AC supply. In 1997, Vega … Continue reading Next-gen 80GHz radar level transmitter →

Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is currently being developed at the IEEE as a novel technology that offers an entirely new level of determinism in standard IEEE 802.1 and IEEE 802.3 Ethernet networks. This means that future Ethernet networks will be able to provide: Highly limited latency fluctuations (jitter). Low packet loss. Calculable, guaranteed end-to-end latencies. However, … Continue reading TSN and why it matters →

Up to 90 per cent of manufacturers in Australia have 20 or less employees, according to Dematec Automation’s CEO David Hart. He believes that small to medium business enterprises (SMEs) can gain a whole range of benefits from digitisation via the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) that they might not have thought of in the … Continue reading Manufacturing SMEs and the IIoT →

As machines and systems are becoming more modular and control cabinets smaller, the space requirements of control components are increasingly scrutinised. At the same time, ever more complex and sophisticated machines require better computing performance. However, there are also more cost pressures in the field of automation. In order to meet all these requirements, Beckhoff … Continue reading A new path for modular and IoT-capable machines →

Australia-based Consultel Cloud has launched its hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) product, which has brought scalability and cloud choice to consumers. Consultel Cloud’s customers spans industries including construction, banking, healthcare, retail and more. Its customers are located mainly in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australasia, and they have looked to the company to guide them … Continue reading Care needed when migrating storage to the cloud →

When it comes to being an equal opportunity employer in the gender space, nobody can accuse Siqirus of having an agenda. The company – which specialises in manufacturing anti-venom and flu vaccines – has almost an even split with the gender of its employees. Currently, 54 per cent of staff are women, with last year’s … Continue reading Of funnel web spiders, the flu and gender equality →

Scientists from Australia and China have drawn on the durable power of gold to demonstrate a new type of high-capacity optical disk that can hold data securely for more than 600 years. The technology could offer a more cost-efficient and sustainable solution to the ever-increasing global data storage problem while enabling the critical pivot from big … Continue reading Next-gen optical disk set to take stock of power hungry data centres →

The Women in Industry Awards were held at Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf, on June 14, in Sydney. It was an amazing night that saw nearly 200 participants from a diverse range of industries come together to celebrate and promote the achievements of women in making valuable contributions to their sectors. We congratulate the winners on behalf of the Prime … Continue reading Congratulations to the winners of Women in Industry Awards 2018 →

ADLINK Technology, a global leader in Edge Computing,  has joined forces with Fair Friend Group (FFG) to develop the new ROS2 toward Converged 5G for Factories of the Future project. The collaboration integrates wireless 5G network technologies with ROS2 (Robot Operating System 2) platforms to provide system architecture enabling real-time control and reliable communication. Igniting … Continue reading ADLINK Partners with FFG for 5G- and ROS2-based Factories of the Future →

Acciona 100% EcoPowered vehicle has become the first electric car to participate in the Finke Desert Race, which was held this weekend in Alice Springs. From the first official viewing of the cars, to the prologue, and during the race itself, the car attracted widespread attention from fans and other competitors. “It was great to … Continue reading Acciona becomes first electric car in Finke desert race →

The Smart Energy Council is today calling on the Victorian Government to only maintain its support of the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) if the Federal Government commits to a stronger national emissions target. The renewables sector is booming in Victoria, with a recent large-scale renewable  energy auction attracting 3,500 MW of new wind and solar … Continue reading Smart Energy Council wants government support →

Rocla is a company that manufactures reinforced concrete products around its many sites within Australia. Recently, the machines that resistance weld the reinforcing mesh together within the reinforced concrete were identified as needing an upgrade. The machine’s control system and mechanical components needed updating, too. The decision was made to move away from a traditional cable … Continue reading Echain system solves machine refurbishment issue →

SICK, Festo and SEW-Eurodrive have established the Industry 4.0 news website to provide readers with industry insights and a comprehensive source of Industry 4.0, related content, which is both up-to-date and garners information from a wide range of sources. The joint collaboration was set up with a desire to drive the emerging trend that is … Continue reading New website drives Industry 4.0 agenda →

Vicor Corporation has announced a  bidirectional non-isolated fixed-ratio converter for hybrid 48V/12V power systems in data center and automotive applications. The 2317 NBM is a bidirectional converter capable of providing up to 750W continuously at 48V from 12V, or at 12V from 48V, with over 98 per cent peak efficiency. With up to 1kW of … Continue reading Bidirectional 48V/12V NBM converter for data center applications →