The automation market is growing at a remarkable rate. According to the Motion Control Association, the number of motion-control products that were shipped worldwide grew by 9 percent over the course of the first three quarters in 2014. While that statistic is impressive on its own, it’s even more significant when you put it into… Read more »

Maybe you’ve hired a temporary worker, or maybe you’ve been a temporary worker at some point in your career. Someone quits unexpectedly, or gets sick, or injured, and an employer needs to find a replacement on the spot. What happens when the replacement worker is unskilled? You have to spend time training them to make… Read more »

When it comes to robots, there seems to be two schools of thought. You have those that believe that more automation leads to fewer jobs for humans, and then you have those who believe that more automation leads to more jobs for humans. This is a discussion that has been going on for years. Will… Read more »

Smart Factory isn’t the name of some high profile university, or some hip slang for your brain. Smart Factory is just another name for smarter manufacturing. A smart factory makes use of automation, motion-control, robots, IoT — anything that gives an advantage over old factories. With smarter manufacturing you get higher efficiency, accuracy, productivity, and… Read more »

How would you like a custom robot, a robot that fits your specific needs? Well, look no further than a modular robot. Modular robots can be easily modified through the addition or removal of components. Does your robot need an extra arm? Pop an extra arm on there. Does it need a set of motion… Read more »

What did vibrations ever do for anybody? Earthquakes are vibrations that rattle buildings to the ground and cause bridges to topple over. Vibrations cause massive tsunamis that destroy entire cities with a quivering wall of water. Vibrations can ruin a perfectly good game of Jenga. Wouldn’t it be great if there were some way to… Read more »

Think about what it’s like to work with a coworker. You work alongside a coworker, knowing that they will do their task and you will do yours. You can collaborate with a coworker. You might help him, he might help you, or the two of you might work on a project together. You don’t constantly… Read more »

The word “revolution” has lost a bit of its power. A toothbrush company might claim that their new bristles will revolutionize the way you brush your teeth, or maybe a couch company will say that their new couch is revolutionary, and you will never sit on a couch the same way again! The truth is,… Read more »

Many roboticists are focused on developing robots that resemble humans. We’re talking robots that can walk, talk, express emotion, and even look like human beings. But what’s with this obsession with humanoid robots? A lot of people would argue that it’s more beneficial to design a robot based on its capabilities rather than its appearance…. Read more »

20 years of research have gone into the robots we have today, and many of these robots seem quite impressive. We are stunned and amazed by robots that can catch a ball, walk up stairs, or balance on one leg. However, all of these feats are fairly unremarkable when performed by a three year old… Read more »