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FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics was founded in 1989 with the mission to inspire young people in STEM fields and today provides a mentor-led program that promotes competition, creativity and teamwork. This week, Automation Distribution representatives introduced collaborative robots to the FIRST Robotics team at Lower Merion High School, Kobe Bryant’s alma mater. The team participates in complex competitions each year, which require the time c …

A New Zealand musician has released a video for the title track on his album, Automatica, that features two industrial robots appearing to play a guitar, piano, and the drums. In reality, a variety of special effects were used to make that appear to be the case. The artist, Nigel Stanford, said that the music was composed to sound like the robots were actually playing.  Find out more about what industrial robots can do. Music Video: Watch How It Was Made: …

At Atria Scandinavia in Sweden, 30 employees work alongside three collaborative robots to increase efficiency in the line where gourmet and convenience foods are packaged. The company has deployed two Universal Robots UR5 robots and one UR10. Johnny Jansson, Atria’s Technical Manager, says “Our goal is to get reliable product lines where we can produce efficiently and effectively while keeping our staffing costs down. As a food producer, it is extremely important for us to min …

When implementing a collaborative robot in a pick and place application, additional sensors can yield huge benefits. There are a myriad of ways to do this, each with its own level of complexity and cost. Let’s explore some options.Fixturing – No Sensor RequiredThis method is tried and true. The biggest advantage to this option is its low cost, low tech approach. It requires little to no training but fixtures can be expensive and lack flexibility.In-Built Part DetectionBefore adding more se …

The marijuana industry has embraced automation in nearly every aspect of production, safety and security. Traditional, human-staffed outdoor crop security is “fraught with human error,” says Todd Kleperis, Chief Executive Officer of Hardcar Security, marijuana industry security provider. “At night guards sleep, they play video games and spend time on social media.” When violent breaches happen, “these robots can take a gunshot better than a human. If you’ve ever been shot, it’s very sc …