mechatronics, industry 4.0

Green economy: 39% of companies hire who has “green” skills

by News

2020 was an important year in the green direction. Almost 560,000 companies in the industry and services have invested in green skills. A figure that translates into 39% of companies that asked at least half of the profiles sought to possess an aptitude for energy saving and environmental sustainability.

For millions of companies, therefore, green expertise is considered necessary to carry out the vast majority of professions. Its degree of importance is considered “high”, says Unioncamere.

Among the professions for which green skills are in great demand, civil engineers stand out (skill required for 68.7% of hires), followed by electronics and telecommunications engineers (63.4%), construction site management technicians (62.7%), occupational safety technicians (54.5%) and energy and mechanical engineers (52.8%).

An attitude to energy saving and environmental sensitivity is an essential requirement for working in the company. Green skills are required from about 80% of graduates most of whom with a higher technical education diploma.

By examining the main sectors, Unioncamere data shows that the construction sector (82%), mechatronics (82.7%), tourism and catering (83.8%) are more sensitive to the double transition – ecological and technological. And advanced business support services (84.8%).

 

It is also evident that green occupations are characterized by higher demand for problem-solving, digital skills and the ability to manage innovative solutions, both computer and mathematical.

The analysis carried out by the New Metro Project Partners has identified as one of key competence the awareness of environmental issues. To this purpose further work is carried out within the Project to properly insert such capability in the curricula and educational path of students and workers.

 

Source: https://blog.tuttocarrellielevatori.it/35203/green-economy-il-39-delle-aziende-assume-chi-ha-competenze-verdi/

mechatronics

Mechatronics to overcome the current limits of production companies

by News
mechatronics

New ‘intelligent’ production systems will be the future of industrial automation. Mechatronics specialists are already studying and developing them within companies, in research and development laboratories, often in collaboration between different companies. In the name of open innovation and co-engineering.

There are many limitations of a traditional machine and production process. Mario Savini, Product engineer of SDProget Industrial Software, argues that to innovate these systems, it is appropriate to use virtual prototyping, with analyzes and activities ranging from electrical design with Cad to plant maintenance via the cloud.

And how then to overcome the limits of current production? Through digital transformation and mechatronics, designing new machines and solutions, exploiting revolutionary mechatronic technologies already available.

In this way, important results and advantages can be obtained: for example, more operational flexibility, faster changes of the production format, the possibility of freeing oneself from the fixed physical distances that characterize a traditional production chain, the opportunity to revolutionize the classic management of business processes and products.

Other advantages in developing innovative machines based on mechatronic design and Industry 4.0 are the increase in production speed, the reduction of the overall dimensions of the machinery, the optimization of small production batches, the accurate management of waste.

The digitization of the company and production “increasingly leads to a scalable system, with machines and processes that can be integrated into cloud computing and new information technology systems, with modular and customizable solutions according to the different application needs”, notes Alessandro Favero, Phoenix Contact Product Manager. He adds: “the importance of an open information system, free from proprietary solutions, allows for flexibility with respect to market demands, and to respond quickly”.

The production machine changes shape. In practice, it is no longer part of a linear path, “but works within a system with flexible movements and phases”, indicates Sergio Beretta, Technical Support Engineer of Beckhoff Automation: “the main obstacles to facing, especially if the production system works wirelessly, are the fact of having to manage a large computational power, and then the transmission without cables to motors and machines, also running the control feedbacks “.

There are many projects under development. Product suppliers, machine builders, system integrators and end-users will continue to work – often together and in partnerships – to arrive at the most innovative and intelligent technological solutions, which will constitute the industrial automation of the future.

The New Metro Project is aimed directly at fostering such capabilities both as far as students of technical schools are concerned as well as workers already employed who need to be reskilled.

Source: https://www.innovationpost.it/2020/10/20/meccatronica-nuovi-sistemi-di-produzione-intelligenti-saranno-il-futuro-dellautomazione/

mechatronics, robotics

New robot set to help people in hazardous environment research

by News
mechatronics, robotics

Research conducted at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh supports hazardous environmental research at the National Robotarium. The research is based on the famous four-legged robot from the Boston Dynamics Spot that will help save lives and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. New hardware will be used by experts to investigate how robots can support humans in dangerous environments such as offshore energy inspection and disaster recovery.

The robot is being fitted with ‘telexistence’ technology that will allow researchers to assess the effectiveness of robotic assistance in hazardous environments. The technology lets humans experience an environment without being there, using devices like microphones and cameras to relay sounds and videos.

Sources: https://www.inceptivemind.com/new-robot-set-help-people-hazardous-environment-research/19322/

mechatronics, robotics, industry 4.0

Robot that responds to human facial expressions

by News
mechatronics, robotics, industry 4.0

A new autonomous robot, the EVA, with a gentle and expressive face that responds to the expressions of people nearby was created by a team of engineering researchers at Columbia University in New York. This strengthens the relationship between such robots and humans.

This particular robot can express six emotions – anger, fear, joy, sadness and surprise, as well as a number of more nuanced emotions. The EVA robot consists of a synthetic 3D print skull for adults-humans with a soft elastic face on the front. EVA uses a deep learning artificial intelligence to “read” and then mirror the expressions on nearby human faces. And its ability to mimic a wide range of different human facial expressions is learned by trial and error from watching videos of itself.

Source:  https://www.inceptivemind.com/engineers-taught-eva-robot-respond-human-facial-expressions/19289/

mechatronics, robotics, kets

Blind bipedal robot learns to climb stairs

by News
mechatronics, robotics, kets
Blind bipedal robot learns to climb stairs

A team of researchers from Oregon State University has accomplished the feat with a bipedal robot called Cassie from Agility Robotics. The team trained the blind bipedal robot to navigate stairs – without any perception sensors such as LiDAR or cameras – in a simulator.

Researchers say robots can’t always rely completely on cameras or other sensors. With such possible conditions as dim lighting or fog, movement can be challenging. To solve this issue, Agility Robotics’ bipedal robot ‘Cassie’ is trained to navigate an unknown environment through ‘proprioception,’ or body awareness.

The team used the technique called sim-to-real Reinforcement Learning (RL), which virtually established how Cassie will walk. For such blind bipedal locomotion, the training will involve many falls and crashes, especially early in training. To avoid this, the simulator allows the robot to train without damaging itself.

mechatronics, robots

Sources:

https://www.inceptivemind.com/bipedal-robot-cassie-learns-walk-using-reinforcement-learning/18555/

https://www.inceptivemind.com/blind-bipedal-robot-cassie-learns-climb-stairs/19146/

mechatronics, 3d, kets

Researchers Make 3D-Printable Jelly

by News
mechatronics, 3d, kets
The 3D-printed hydrogels are reinforced by a fibrillar network of alginate soft dendritic colloids (SDCs).

The 3D-printable gels from North Carolina State University potentially enable new kinds of applications in biomedical materials and soft robotics.

Described in the journal Nature Communications , the water-based gels — called homocomposite hydrogels — are both strong and flexible. The 3D-printed jelly is composed of alginates chemical compounds found in seaweed and algae that are commonly used as thickening agents and in wound dressings.

“These particles, which are made of the same densified material as the hydrogels, interlock to create an internal reinforcement network.“, as Prof. Orlin Velev mentioned.

Merging different-size scale networks of the same alginate together eliminates the fragility that can sometimes occur when differing materials are merged together in a hydrogel, says Orlin Velev, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State and corresponding author of the paper 

Future work will attempt to fine-tune this method of merging of homocomposite materials to advance 3D printing for biomedical applications or biomedical injection materials,

The most exciting aspect from this perspective is the ability to design a new class of soft matter with improved and very well controlled properties. In addition to that, this research will contribute to a number of applications in biomedical treatments, pharmaceuticals (e.g. injectable gels), soft robotic actuators, and even food products

 

Sources:

https://news.ncsu.edu/2021/05/researchers-develop-3d-printed-jelly/

https://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/tb/stories/blog/39205

mechatronics, greece, robots

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki: Development of a robot that will be used in the food industry.

by News
mechatronics, greece, robots

A robot that will easily learn by humans and will initially be used in the food industry is being developed at AUTh, and specifically at the Laboratory of Automation and Robotics.

The goal is to be utilized by other industries in the future. This innovation concerns the ability to better understand the surrounding environment around and to easily learn the work asked to perform.

According to the researchers of the laboratory, such an attempt has not been implemented until now, as at present,  the use of robotic arms in the industry requires their programming and the careful reading of the instructions. Instead, this robot will act as a student with the teacher and can only learn just after a few repetitions. All this effort follows the contemporary global trend for intelligent and flexible production systems, with features such as increased perception, quick adaptation to change, and short programming time.

The robot is manufactured with commercially available, widely available products, such as arms, cameras, and other automation systems. The researchers combine all the aforementioned and apply artificial intelligence techniques in order for the robot to perform what it is meant to do. It has, besides, “eyes” and is equipped with methods to find objects in space, and if something changes in the environment, it can be adapted to the new situation.

At the moment, the team has made a laboratory prototype of the robot, and its goal is to include other technologies in it by 2022 and to make its first tests on a real production line. Its vision is that within the next two years, the robot will be able to become commercially available, helping the industry to optimize production conditions and at the same time facilitate its employees.

It is noted that the research project for the construction of the robot is called ProgHRC and is funded under the action “Research-Create-Innovate” (2nd cycle). It is implemented with the participation of a team of researchers from the Laboratory of Automation and Robotics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the assistance of a private company.

 

Sources:

robotics, mechatronics, kets, vet

Robot managing to locate objects behind obstacles

by News
robotics, mechatronics, kets, vet

An MIT research team developed a robotic system that utilises radio frequency able to penetrate barriers to detect items out of sight.

Radio frequency (RF) identification is not a new term or an emerging technology. It is rather used for many years and for a wide variety of purposes, scientific, military, commercial, etc. However, it has not yet become obsolete due to the sensing qualities it acquires, rendering it unique and so distinct from the sense of vision. Therefore, there is still a lot to explore concerning its abilities in our rapidly evolving world we live in.

In this direction, an MIT research team developed a robotic system, named RF-Grasp, that utilises radio frequency able to penetrate barriers to detect items out of sight and ultimately seize the detected items. It consists of a camera, an individual RF reader that transmits tracking information back to the robot’s algorithm, a built-in robotic arm, and an attached grasping hand.

The research team strongly believes that the robot developed would perform well in e-commerce situations, as well as assisting people in their homes to find and collect hidden objects. The team claims that its invention could one day revolutionize the e-commerce world, where robots could help in warehouses to trace and collect packages and items hard to notice. Furthermore, they intend to share their creation in May at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

Sources:

https://news.mit.edu/2021/robot-senses-hidden-objects-0401

https://interestingengineering.com/robot-uses-its-senses-to-find-hidden-objects

robotics, kets, vet

Robots help children with autism improve their social skills

by News
robotics, kets, vet

A teacher in Hong Kong has developed an educational program that uses robots in role-playing games to help children with autism improve their social skills as part of an initiative adopted by non-profit groups and schools. The program entitled “Robot for Autism Behavioral Intervention” (RABI) is designed for people with autism between the ages of 3 and 18 and aims to help them socialize and resolve issues such as conflicts and bullying. Catherine So, an associate professor of educational psychology at Chinese University in Hong Kong, told Reuters that more than 1,200 children have used the program since it began in 2015.

“People with autism have difficulty interacting with others and are hypersensitive to the world around them. So we use social robots to teach them social skills to reduce their anxiety,” So said.

Robots introduce children to role-playing games and verbal interaction. A typical lesson involves two robots interpreting different scenarios on a table, thus helping children to distinguish between permissible and impermissible behavior, such as outbursts of anger or voices. Muse Wong, aged 41, said that her five-year-old daughter has been in the program for seven months and that her social and communication skills have greatly improved. “She’s starting to have in some extent a social life,” Wong explains.

After interaction with robots, children are encouraged to test their social skills with a human trainer.

More than 20 non-profit groups financed by governments and public schools in Hong Kong and Macau have adopted the program. So hopes the project will help the fight against exclusion. “We believe RABI can help children with autism improve their social and behavioral skills, and in turn enhance the quality of their lives,” she said.

 

Sources:

https://www.news247.gr/good-news/chongk-kongk-rompot-voithoyn-ta-paidia-me-aytismo-na-enischysoyn-tis-koinonikes-toys-dexiotites.9209985.html

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/hong-kong-robots-help-autistic-children-boost-social-skills-2021-04-22/

 

kets, vet

Technical Progress Meeting

by EventsNews

The New Metro technical progress meeting was held on the 20th of April, 2021, via the GoToMeeting web platform.

The issues that were being discussed during the meeting are summarized as follows:

  • Issues regarding the training material. More specifically, the status of the development of learning material was presented by each partner.
  • Concerning the Extension Clarification, the partners exchanged opinions regarding the recovery plan and the planning for the project timeline up to the end of the project.
  • Regarding the piloting phase, there have been discussed alternatives and solutions to close the testing program presented by the WP Lead Partner and other Partners.
  • Finally, issues related to Project Management were put on the constructive discussion.
vet, kets, mechatronics
kets, vet
vet, kets