This article describes two developments for the automatic handling of delicate food products: a new end‐effector for handling sticky objects, and a vision‐based system for harvesting mushrooms.

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.

This study describes a robot‐mounted colour‐measuring instrument specifically designed for online colour measurement in the automobile industry. The product is called CarFlash, and it measures the colour of pearlescent and metallic paints plus orange‐peel effect on the curved surfaces of a...

Robot football uses autonomous vehicles that respond to unpredictable events. It presents engineering challenges embracing a wide range of disciplines, and attracts and holds the interest of undergraduates and postgraduates, educationists, school children and laymen. National and international...

Purpose – Examines a recently launched integration of smart cameras into industrial robots to make them responsive to a changing environment. Design/methodology/approach – Reviews the capabilities of the vision‐enabled robot, citing installations in Sweden and the UK, then describes the...

Purpose – To present the technical and subsequent commercial developments arising from a large European research project into robotic paint‐spraying of low‐volume, highly variant components. Design/methodology/approach – Discusses the economic need for robots that can plan their own...

Purpose – To review the capabilities, features and uses of a robotic simulation package. Design/methodology/approach – Describes some applications within the nuclear industry. Gives an overview of the latest version of the software, and a detailed description of the procedure for modelling...

Purpose – To review the capabilities of a new method of welding aluminium sheets for car body construction. Design/methodology/approach – Describes the friction spot joining technique, and how it differs from friction stir welding. Describes the tests carried out at the University of Warwick...

Purpose – To report on developments in robotic vision by a particular robot manufacturer. Design/methodology/approach – Examines FANUC Robotics' philosophy and history of integrated vision, describes its latest offering, and looks at the specification of the new robot controller. Findings...