Availability, reliability, flexibility and comprehensive diagnostics are the most significant demands placed upon safety systems today. Increasing payloads, work ranges and cycle times of robotic processes necessitate a different approach to safety, particularly other than that offered by...

Pre‐packaged robot applications now include robot‐served computerized measurement systems. Accessory suppliers innovate with compact electric powered grippers and vacuum suction cup‐style grippers with self‐contained vacuum supply. Linear slides and actuators beef up features and options...

This article describes the image processing and tracking algorithms used in a mechanical hoe that accurately weeds between parallel rows of crops under variable outdoor illumination conditions.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States), the world‐known basic and applied research facility operated by the US Department of Energy, was tasked with reducing the cost to produce titanium aluminide sheet metal used to cover the outside of military aircraft and...

Recent National Manufacturing Week Show in Chicago highlighted many new innovations. Assembly system designers can choose from new low inertia drives, more compact linear and rotary motors, innovative robots and pneumatic actuators along with new modular structural components which were featured...

Product quality improved and finishing cost per saddlebag was reduced when robotic routing, drilling and sanding was instituted at Harley‐Davidson, an American motorcycle builder. Careful planning, and smart engineering all helped smooth the commissioning while not displacing workers.

Purpose – Top‐face control of weld penetration in TIG welding is required for fully automated systems to overcome variations in the welding process and fixturing systems. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a system based upon based on the real‐time vision measurement and...