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Nidec Instruments Develops Vacuum-resistant Liquid Crystal Substrate Transfer <span style='color:red'>Robo</span>ts

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Nidec Instruments Develops Vacuum-resistant Liquid Crystal Substrate Transfer Robots

　　Nidec Instruments Corporation (“Nidec Instruments” or the “Company”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nidec Corporation, today announced the development of liquid crystal substrate transfer robots that can move their joints in a vacuum environment as freely as in the air.　　In a process to manufacture liquid crystal, organic electroluminescent (EL), and other displays, mother glass substrates are constantly required to be made larger, and their processing speed faster, as their production cost must be reduced and screen sizes must be made larger at the same time. In recent years, display manufacturers are required to handle large, 3m x 3m products because the larger glasses robots can transfer, the better transfer efficiency they can achieve.　　As mother glass substrates’ thin-film and vapor deposition processes require an extremely clean vacuum environment, transfer robots used in such processes must be vacuum-resistant as well.　　As the company with the largest global market share for transfer robots used in organic EL substrates’ vapor deposition process, Nidec Instruments utilized its knowhow in these latest products as well. Robots that operate in vacuum have joints with seals to keep air and dust inside their arms and other parts. Though such sealing mechanisms restrain the movements of transfer robots’ joints, the Company’s latest products adopt magnetic seals integrated with reducers to minimize the seals’ use, and thus secure the same level of freedom as in the air. To meet its customers’ needs, Nidec Instruments has added two new modes with different arm shapes, i.e., a boomerang type and a scalar type, to its product lineup, while suppressing cost by using common units for them.　　As a member of the world’s leading comprehensive motor manufacturer, Nidec Instruments stays committed to offering revolutionary solutions that contribute to creating a comfortable society.

Key word：

Nidec

Release time：2023-12-11 17:46 reading：2050 Continue reading>>

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Nidec Instruments Launches New Semiconductor Wafer Transfer Robot

　　Nidec Instruments’ Latest Semiconductor Wafer Transfer Robot, SR7163 series.　　Despite a temporary slowdown in 2023, the global semiconductor market is expected to expand from 2024 after demand recovers in a wide variety of product groups such as memory logic and other IC products, and in the O-S-D (optoelectronics, sensor/actuator, and discrete semiconductor) segment. As the demand grows around the world for the construction of semiconductor factories with high production capacity, Nidec Instruments has developed the SR7163 series, a semiconductor wafer transfer robot to respond to its customers’ needs.　　Among semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the SR7163 series is expected to be used in batch-type thermal treatment equipment and other machines in processes that require to transfer multiple substrates to a stage with a different slot pitch. A product that utilizes an arm-link mechanism to move a hand horizontally, the SR7163 series boasts a small minimum turning radius that can accommodate narrow pitches of up to the minimum limit of 6.5mm. In addition, with the use of a highly airtight link-type arm, the SR7163 series meets ISO14644-1’s Class-1 cleanliness requirements, which is the industry’s highest-level cleanliness.　　As a member of the world’s leading comprehensive motor manufacturer, Nidec Instruments stays committed to offering revolutionary solutions that contribute to building a comfortable society.　　For more details on the above product, Please contact AMEYA360 official customer!

Key word：

Nidec

Release time：2023-09-05 13:49 reading：2956 Continue reading>>

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OMRON:Enabling safe sterilization of medical equipment with robotics

　　Hospitals play a major role in keeping our societies safe and thriving. Any medical practice is centered around instruments which form the backbone of the hospitals. Medical instruments require special care, and they must always be sterilized before operating on patients. Sterilization is quite a tedious task as it involves moving around instrument trolleys around the hospital which leaves the staff indulged in unproductive and injury prone activities.　　OMRON team in Australia took note of this redundant practice and partnered with Atherton to come up with an innovative solution that will encourage safe sterilization of medical instruments with automation.

Key word：

OMRON

Release time：2023-01-11 14:32 reading：3487 Continue reading>>

IDC Expects Asia/Pacific excluding Japan Spending on <span style='color:red'>Robo</span>tics to Reach US$129.4B in 2022

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IDC Expects Asia/Pacific excluding Japan Spending on Robotics to Reach US$129.4B in 2022

　　The latest IDC Worldwide Semiannual Robotics and Drones Spending Guide forecasts Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) spending on robotics (including drones) and associated services to reach USD 129.4 billion by 2022, essentially three times the spending in 2018, with a five-year CAGR of 25.2% during 2017-2022. APEJ tops with the largest market share for robotics applications followed by the United States and Japan. Both are expected to record for more than 61.6% of the world’s entire robotics market in 2022.　　"To survive the escalating competition, APEJ manufacturing organizations surveyed by IDC in 2018 are putting robotics as their top priority for technology investment," said Dr. Jing Bing Zhang, Research Director for Worldwide Robotics at IDC. “While the uncertainty of the trade war between the United States and China is likely to dampen the market growth in the near term, we expect the growth trend to pick up from 2020 onward.”　　Discrete and process manufacturing are the dominant industries in robotics (including drones) spending, which turns over 58.1% of the overall spend in APEJ in 2019. Largely, welding and assembling use cases in discrete manufacturing, whilst pick and pack, and bottling use cases in process manufacturing are driving the robotics spend in 2019. However, customer deliveries, vegetable seeding and planting are the drone use cases which we expect to grow at fast pace with a five-year CAGR 126.4% and CAGR 112.1% respectively over the forecast period (2017-22).　　“There has been an intensive wave of industrial automation for which robotics and drones provide a major base; hence attracting investments with each passing year. Under Robotics, despite Manufacturing being a dominant industry in this area, investments will continue to increase in resource industry, retail, construction, among others,“ said Swati Chaturvedi, Senior Market Analyst at IDC.　　“On the other hand, drones, which are majorly a consumer-oriented technology, are gaining momentum in its industrial usage by enterprises and governments alike for tasks as mundane as filmmaking and inspection or as complex as agricultural uses, mining operations assistance, and insurance assessment.”　　From a technology perspective, hardware purchases related spending on robotics systems (including drones) in APEJ, which includes industrial, service and consumer robots and after-market hardware, is forecast to grow to $81.0 billion in 2022.　　China accounts largest market share in the Asia Pacific robotics (including drones) market. Its spending on robotics is expected to reach $80.5 billion, representing 62.2% of APEJ region's total spending in 2022.

Key word：

Robot

Release time：2019-01-25 00:00 reading：3973 Continue reading>>

IDC TechScape Assesses Technologies Related to Adoption of Service <span style='color:red'>Robo</span>tics

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IDC TechScape Assesses Technologies Related to Adoption of Service Robotics

　　Worldwide Service Robotics, 2018 (IDC #US42954518), which provides a systematic assessment of technologies related to the adoption of service robotics. Robotic technology has evolved from a technology used predominantly within industrial manufacturing to a technology that now has applicability across a much wider set of industries and use cases. When thinking about this evolution, IDC considers the role of other technology areas that have helped drive innovation in the field of robotics. This new report is intended to help senior executives assess their organization's technology landscape to determine whether their efforts are aligned with analyst's assessment of the industry's overall technology adoption progress.　　Across industries, companies are looking at the viability of robots as a mechanism to support process improvement, drive productivity and efficiency gains, support cost management, and offset labor related challenges that appear to be hindering business process effectiveness in some industries. While some robotic applications are designed to solve a very specific business problem, other robotic technology has been built with the flexibility to be applied across different business processes and industries.　　The IDC TechScape provides a visual representation of the process of technology adoption, dividing technologies into three major categories (Transformational, Incremental, and Opportunistic) based on their impact on the organization and assessing the technologies relative to adoption levels within their respective categories. Technologies evaluated in the new report include 3D printing, artificial intelligence, autonomous guided vehicles, exoskeletons, and virtual reality.　　IDC expects that executives responsible for information technology strategies will use the IDC TechScape model to:　　Assess the progress of their own technology adoption efforts in comparison with the industry overall.　　Identify new technologies that should be added for consideration in their technology road map.　　Add new insights to increase the robustness of their own technology decision frameworks.　　"The use of robotics in nontraditional applications is growing as technology innovators continue to push the envelope on what a robot is capable of doing," said John Santagate, research director, Service Robots at IDC. "Service robots have not evolved on their own; the current state of service robots has been enabled by the maturity of several other related technology areas that have helped to deliver robots with greater and more versatile skill sets than previous generations of robotics."

Key word：

Robotics

Release time：2018-04-02 00:00 reading：1091 Continue reading>>

New ICs Put ST in <span style='color:red'>Robo</span>car Race

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New ICs Put ST in Robocar Race

　　In the automotive industry’s battle over highly automated vehicle platforms, STMicroelectronics doesn’t get much respect as a head-to-head rival to Nvidia, Intel or Renesas.　　But underestimating ST’s role in the global automotive market is a risky proposition.　　Although the company has yet to make formal product announcements, ST has a wealth of technologies up its sleeve for the rapidly changing automotive landscape. They start with a family of powerful MCUs — based on ARM Cortex-R52, six cores — designed for the exponentially growing data flows in the automotive world. ST also boasts its own 360-degree ASIC vision processor for L3/L4 autonomous vehicles, currently under development with an unnamed partner, which is not Mobileye. ST will leverage a CMOS 28-nm FD-SOI technology for both new chips.　　In addition, ST is devising a new lidar ASIC, for which it is reusing the time of flight (ToF) concept it has already developed, supplied and proven in high-end smartphones.　　ST appears to be neither ignoring nor falling behind in the highly autonomous vehicle race. What’s different is that the Franco-Italian chip company is seeking to generate revenue by engaging in a much more diverse set of automotive segments.　　Phil Magney, founder and principal at VSI Labs, observed: “When it comes to STMicroelectronics, we don’t see them much in the AV (automated vehicle) stack where we see a lot of the other semiconductor companies. However, ST is well diversified within auto and they have strong market shares across many auto domains from infotainment, ADAS, powertrain, body control, etc.”　　Indeed, Marco Monti, president of ST's automotive and discrete group, said last week in an interview with EE Times: “Silicon content in automotive is progressively increasing.” This jump in chip content involves all automotive segments — from normal internal combustion engine cars and telematics to hybrids, EVs and autonomous vehicles. ST’s strength, said Monti, “is in our ability to catch all the growth opportunities coming from transformational trends in all sectors of automotive.”　　More data processing needed by ECUs　　Last week, ST tipped off the company’s three new automotive chip projects under way, none of which has been formally announced.　　One is a new powerful ARM Cortex-R52-based engine control unit (ECU), consisting of six cores running at 400MHz. Designated “Stellar,” ST’s new ECUs will become a full-blown, scalable family of chips, designed to address “specifically the power train and safety roadmaps,” according to Monti. Scheduled for sampling this year, the new ECU will be fabricated by using 28nm FD-SOI process technology.　　ST aims to increase its processing power 15 times compared to ST’s Power Architecture-based 32-bit automotive MCU (three cores, running at 200MHz using 40nm process technology).　　Asked about the competitive advantage of the new ECU, Monti pointed to multiple factors. First, ST claims it has optimized both its architecture for the internal network connecting the cores, and its peripherals. Further, Monti added that ST is using its “own unique 28nm FD-SOI technology that integrates a new flash cell (phase change memory)” of 16/32 Mbyte.　　ST-Mobileye tie extends to 'EyeQ6'　　Three-quarters of ST’s automotive revenue today comes from high-volume automotive market sectors. They include such mundane stuff as car audio, ICE power train, passive safety and body.　　For example, ST claims it has 33 percent market share in ASIC/ASSP for engine control, 45 percent in car lighting, 40 percent in audio amplifier and 30 percent in RF and vision systems for ADAS.　　While the revenue of these products doesn’t derive directly from the highly automated vehicle field, this “solid foundation for automotive technology” in a variety of segments makes ST a strong partner for companies such as Mobileye and Intel, Moti insisted.　　Monti noted that neither Mobileye nor Intel has much prior experience in the automotive industry — other than their expertise in algorithms and computing. He said, “We consider ourselves as a genuine partner for Mobileye and now Intel/Mobileye.” He explained that ST, with its own, solid automotive competence, can integrate Intel/Mobileye’s IPs (algorithms), generate the net list, and manage production and testing of their flagship vision processors. ST can ensure that Mobileye/Intel’s EyeQ chips meet all the automotive-grade safety requirements.　　Intel/Mobileye’s next-generation vision processor EyeQ5, designed for L4/L5 vehicles, will start sampling this year. Up until EyeQ4, Mobileye has been sourcing it to ST to use ST’s 28nm FD-SOI technology for production.　　Although Intel/Mobileye is switching process technology for EyeQ5 from FD-SOI to FinFET, the new chip is evidently produced not by Intel but by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).　　ST’s Monti said ST works closely with TSMC to use standard lithography technology and characterize the chip. EyeQ5 is being manufactured by using a 7nm FinFET process technology at TSMC, he said. ST’s relationship with Intel/Mobileye appears to extend well beyond EyexQ5 to yet-to-be-announced EyeQ6 autonomous driving processor, designed for Level 5 vehicles, due in 202X.　　ST’s own 360-degree vision processor　　Aside from ST’s partnership with Mobileye, ST’s Monti acknowledged that his team is also designing a separate 360-degree ASIC vision processor.　　Asked about details, Monti told us, “This is the same type of collaboration as with Mobileye, but with another leading automotive technology supplier.”　　He declined to name the partner, but explained, “We are integrating their IP for a vision-based processor with deep learning into a CMOS 28nm FD-SOI automotive-grade solution.” The target is Level 3/Level 4 assisted driving applications, he added.　　Lidar ASIC is coming　　ST is also bullish on its efforts in sensor technology development.　　VSI Labs’ Magney noted, “ST is stepping up in sensors technologies such as radar, camera and Lidar but like other areas, ST is typically a component within a module. In auto, ST Micro is a kind of behind the scenes by supplying selective components that are critical for various applications — such as SiC diodes which are necessary for EVs.”　　One of the most notable developments currently going on at ST is its foray into lidar chip development. Monti said, “We are developing a chip that goes into a lidar’s receiver.” ST is leveraging a “ToF concept” it has developed and designed into high-end smartphones, Monti said.　　“We are designing this as an ASIC function in the automotive market for lidar.” The chip will start sampling in 2019 and ST expects tier ones and system OEMs will use it in the 2020/2021 production models.　　Monti is a strong believer in lidar. Acknowledging that some vendors elieve a combination of good vision processors and radar chips could someday render lidars superfluous, he said, “That is not going to happen. For level 5 cars, you do need lidars. It’s a must-have sensor technology for redundancy purposes.”　　One of the hurdles for lidars today, however, is cost. “With the silicon technology that reliably works, we are confident that lidars in high volume will achieve the target cost,” said Monti.　　ST’s lack of presence in the AV stack, however, begs the question of whether ST ever plans to pursue the AV platform approach. Observing that ST has not jumped into the AV stack but rather maintained a position of supporting componentry, VSI Labs’ Magney said, “Developing an AV stack requires so much collaboration, and the jury is still out on the right mix of processor technology.” He defended ST by noting, “So these bets are costly and less certain compared to the supporting componentry.”　　ST and SiC　　Agreeing with VSI Labs’ Magney, Zhen Zong, senior analyst for auto semiconductors at IHS Markit, said ST is different due to its “very broad portfolio spanning various applications in automotive.”　　Zong pointed out that ST’s analog ICs, MCUs, Logic ICs, and discrete components are used in many different car models around the world. He said, “Analog ICs — used for passive safety systems and ABS braking systems -- place ST as the leader in the automotive analog IC market segment, according to our analysis.”　　ST is also generating a lot of interest among financial analysts, because it is building a complete product line covering low voltage MOSFETs to high voltage IGBTs, as well as other power devices. Zong said, “This means ST is potentially well aligned with the coming requirement for power electronics in emerging HEV and EV markets electric assist car manufacturers, with building blocks needed for an overall design solution.”　　ST’s Monti acknowledged that Silicon Carbide (SiC) adoption is moving faster than expected. In the second half of 2017 alone, ST shipped more than 2 million SiC modules. ST expects annual shipments to expand tenfold in 2018.　　Among various innovations ST has developed in the SiC market, one product Monti’s team is very proud of and is dying to talk about — and yet isn’t allowed to — is the development of a dedicated SiC module that can be dropped into a customer’s power modules. “The solution is a classic case of mechatronics” that works very well, he said.　　In SiCs, however, ST isn’t the only game in town. IHS Markit’s Zong noted, “Both ST and Infineon have great experience in power electronic IC development and are expending a lot of effort into the SiC business. In terms of silicon carbide MOSFETs, STMicroelectronics is deploying a device based on a planar structure, he explained. Infineon on the other hand is using a trench gate structure, “which is a newer generation technology with better performance, but of course with lower maturity.”　　ST and Infineon are in the SiC business because both see the growing need “to support high voltage EV applications,” said Magney. “The market is young for high voltage automotive but the outlook is pretty strong for high voltage applications up to 800 volts.”　　IHS Markit’s Zong explained that SiC device development has been “beleaguered by material quality over the years.” He said, “One of the leaders in the development of power devices (MOSFETS, diodes, etc.) was Wolfspeed, a Cree company. Infineon would have gained huge advantage if its 2017 acquisition attempt of Wolfspeed had been approved. The deal was subsequently denied by the US government for strategic reasons.”　　From a market perspective, Zong said, “STMicroelectronics has a high visibility order with Tesla, although Infineon has an overall strong position in the Chinese market.” He added, however, that it’s too early to say which company will gain the inside track.

Key word：

IC

Release time：2018-03-07 00:00 reading：1198 Continue reading>>

Nvidia Partners with Continental on <span style='color:red'>Robo</span>cars

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Nvidia Partners with Continental on Robocars

　　MADISON, Wisc. — Nvidia is teaming up with German tier one automotive supplier Continental to develop “top-to-bottom AI self-driving vehicle systems" built on the Nvidia Drive platform. They are planning on a market introduction starting in 2021.　　Elmar Degenhart, Continental CEO, and Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, finalize partnership to create AI-based highly automated vehicle systems. (photo: Nvidia)　　Elmar Degenhart, Continental CEO, and Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, finalize partnership to create AI-based highly automated vehicle systems.　　For Continental, the partnership with Nvidia is neither the first nor an exclusive deal in the automated vehicle platform segment. The company last June made a similar announcement with the BMW/Intel/Mobileye group, Nvidia’s rival, as a member of their self-driving platform alliance.　　In contrast, for Nvidia, “This is one of the first end-to-end production (using all Nvidia stacks) partnerships it made with a tier one,” Danny Kim, director and senior advisor at VSI Labs, told EE Times.　　While Kim doesn’t think Continental is locked in with Nvidia, he believes the German company is “betting a lot on Nvidia platforms by investing its resources.”　　In the announcement, the two companies explained, “Dedicated engineering teams from each company will work together to develop self-driving solutions.” The solution will be based on the Nvidia Drive platform — which includes Nvidia Xavier SoC and Nvidia’s DRIVE operating system and DRIVE Autonomous Vehicle software stacks. The partnership will enable the production of AI computer systems that scale from automated Level 2 features through full Level 5 self-driving capabilities, with vehicles without steering wheel or pedals, they said.　　Continental’s partnership with Nvidia was widely expected. Last month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, when EE Times met with Kurt Lehmann, Continental’s corporate technology officer, he casually mentioned, “We do work with Nvidia.” He told us, “We are exploring with everyone to investigate every corner” of the autonomous vehicle technology landscape. With every car OEM following different approaches to automated vehicles, it’s a tier one’s responsibility to “be flexible” and figure out “things that must fit together from top to down,” Lehmann said.　　Lehmann cited Xilinx as another chip vendor Continental with whom is working.　　Multiple paths Continental is pursuing to develop production of a system include: “1) all Nvidia AV stacks, 2) all Intel/Mobileye stacks, and/or 3) combination of different stacks from different module suppliers, depending on their customer’s needs,” explained Kim.　　The power of Tier Ones　　The Continental/Nvidia announcement, if anything, demonstrates the growing need for chip vendors to work with tier ones.　　After all, “Tier ones are critical ecosystem players who can serve OEMs best in their customization needs,” Kim said. “The [Nvidia-Conti] announcement is significant not because it’s yet another partnership announcement from a AV development ecosystem quarterback, Nvidia, but because it again proves that such a close relationship is necessary between chipset maker and tier one to develop a solid AV system.”　　While Google's Waymo, General Motors and Uber vertically integrate customized AV stacks for their AV systems, other players are increasingly adopting modular approaches (AV stacks have multiple modules such as mapping, perception, object detection, path planning modules), with different suppliers bringing their own modules to build AV systems, Kim observed. “Tier ones’ biggest mission is to make these modules work and integrate them in a system,” Kim said.　　In explaining what looks like everyone partnering with everybody, Kim said, “It’s because the industry is still at the early stage of AV system development. Versatile tier ones may support all different SoC platforms even after their first production system.”　　Many tier ones, however, may specialize in select platforms, or more focused on developing interfaces between different modules, he added. “Probably traditional OEM-Tier One relationship (one OEM sourcing only one semi-owned tier one’s system) like Toyota-Denso or Hyundai-Mobis may not be competitive any more, and more versatile and flexible tier ones would survive” in the future.

Key word：

Nvidia,Robocars

Release time：2018-02-06 00:00 reading：1506 Continue reading>>

Ambarella Shifts From GoPro to <span style='color:red'>Robo</span>

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Ambarella Shifts From GoPro to Robo

　　While GoPro suffers from the market saturation of mobile action cameras for sports enthusiasts, Ambarella, a very high-resolution image processor company that once generated as much as 30 percent of its revenue from GoPro, showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show its newly architected computer vision chip, CV1, primarily designed for highly automated vehicles.　　On the eve of CES, GoPro announced plans to exit the drone business, cut 250 jobs and lower its fourth quarter revenue estimate. Fermi Wang, told EE Times that Ambarella has already experienced a decline in GoPro-based revenue. Last year, it was "10-plus percent," Wang said. He expects the company's GoPro revenue to sink to a "very low number" this year.　　Making up for the lost revenue are the surveillance (professional and consumer) and auto OEM markets, he noted. Today, the company derives roughly 15 percent of the its revenue from the automotive sector.　　What Ambarella sees as its ace in the hole, though, is a new CVflow architecture that delivers stereovision processing and deep learning perception algorithms. Ambarella’s goal for CV1 and a series of new computer vision chips based on CVflow (to follow later) is to get a head start in the self-driving vehicle market while capturing other automotive applications, including ADAS, electronic mirror, and surround view.　　In the summer of 2015, Ambarella acquired for $30 million VisLab, a startup spun from the University of Parma, Italy. A team led by Professor Alberto Broggi, a founder of VisLab, is the backbone of Ambarella’s AV software stacks for highly automated vehicles.　　In Ambarella’s off-site demo in Las Vegas, Broggi showed off two cameras — a short-range monocular (up to a few meters), and a stereoscopic camera for views 150 meters. Both are based on CV1. By applying CNN, a monocular camera can detect and classify objects for known classes like pedestrian, vehicles, motorcycles. The stereoscopic camera detects generic objects —which the camera is not trained to classify — in 3D structures, much like the way a lidar sees things in point clouds.　　Compared to a lidar that generates 2 million 3D points per second, Broggi said, the long-range stereoscopic camera captures "800 to 900 million 3D points per second."　　The secret of Ambarella’s CV1 is its ability to bring in so much more information to computer vision, because CV1 supports computer-vision processing up to 4K or 8-megapixel resolution.　　While the VisLab team brings advancements in deep learning to the CVflow architecture, Ambarella applies years of expertise in low-power HD and Ultra HD image processing to the CVflow.　　Broggi told us, "There couldn’t have been a better union than VisLab and Ambarella." There is no overlap between what each team does. More important, CVflow exploits Ambarella’s image signaling pipelines for high-dynamic range (HDR) imaging, Ultra HD processing and automatic calibration in a stereo camera.　　While not many companies talk about it, Broggi said stereo cameras need to be very stable. Calibration in stereo cameras can be a challenge, he said, especially in automotive applications, because cars vibrate and operate in a wide range of temperatures. With Ambarella’s new CV1 chip, "We do real-time auto calibration on the fly on the chip," he said.　　There is no need for infrared cameras to process images in low light, either, he added. Asked about Foresight’s new quad-cam unit designed to fuse data coming from infrared (night vision) and day cameras, Broggi said, "We don’t need that. Our HDR can process images in very low-light conditions."　　But the clincher is that the CVflow architecture is fully-programmable and highly-efficient, providing significant computer vision performance with very low power consumption. CV1 runs at 4 watts, according to Broggi.　　"You don’t need a powerful GPU to do all these things like CNN-based classification and stereovision processing for detecting generic objects without training," Broggi said. "We are doing all of it just on CV1."　　The CV1 by itself is a very high-performance computer. Inside are Ambarella’s home-grown "engine" to power CNN and DNN, image DSP, two quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, and other accelerators, Broggi explained.　　Asked about the price for CV1, Chris Day, vice president of marketing and business development at Ambarella, told us, "A lot cheaper than a GPU…below $50."　　Ambarella already got its chip — fabricated by using a 14nm CMOS process technology — back from the foundry last May. The company is currently engaging with a number of customers in the automotive market, Day added.

Key word：

Ambarella,GoPro,Robo

Release time：2018-01-12 00:00 reading：3860 Continue reading>>

Germany Leads Europe in AVs, <span style='color:red'>Robo</span>tics

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Germany Leads Europe in AVs, Robotics

　　Germany is perceived to be a clear leader amongst European countries in the race to build a world-leading position in autonomous vehicles and robotics, according to the latest annual State of European Tech 2017 report published by VC firm Atomico.　　In a survey of 3,500 people from across the European tech industry, respondents said Germany would be a leader in autonomous vehicles, robotics and quantum computing, while the UK would lead in artificial intelligence and France in drones.　　According to the report, about $3.5 billion has been invested this year in Europe's deep tech companies — which includes semiconductors, IoT, robotics and artificial intelligence — in more than 600 deals. European chip companies have raised about $1.1 billion in 172 deals since 2012, according to the report.　　The UK has seen the largest amount of capital invested in deep tech companies so far in 2017 (about $1.8 billion), followed by France ($509 million) and Germany ($400 million), according to the report.　　The report also found that Europe’s most promising deep tech companies are raising large rounds and actively choosing to stay independent to continue to build and take on global opportunities. It cites recent fundraising rounds by Graphcore, with its $50 million investment lead by Sequoia Capital; Lilium which raised $90 million lead by Tencent; and FiveAI which raised $35 million in a round lead by Lakestar.　　"European entrepreneurs are catalyzing the development of AI technology and the proliferation of AI-powered applications," said David Kelnar, an investment director at MMC Ventures. "As AI reaches an inflection point in adoption, early-stage AI companies will empower buyers that have the vision to embrace them and disrupt those that do not."　　According to Kelnar, Europe is home to about 900 startups focused on AI, roughly 70 percent of the number of AI-focused startups based in the U.S. Europe also boasts a quarter of the world's top 50 universities and a flourishing ecosystem for entrepreneurship, he added.　　Europe accounts for the largest share of top 100 AI research institutions worldwide, according to the report. There are 32 research institutions in the global top 100 for AI-related research paper citations in Europe, compared to 30 from the U.S. and 15 from China, according to the report.　　This is the third year that Atomico has created this report, which it calls the most comprehensive data-driven story of European technology today. It teamed up with existing partners LinkedIn, Stack Overflow, Meetup, Dealroom.co, the London Stock Exchange, Quid, European Startup Initiative, Signal and Invest Europe, as well as partners such as the European Investment Fund, Craft.co, and TokenData, Silicon Valley Bank and Orrick.　　The 143-page report covers a broad range of areas including the entrepreneur ecosystem, talent, capital flows, and deep tech.　　Overall, it sees a picture of an ecosystem in "rude health." Europe is building a tech ecosystem in its own image, defined by deep tech expertise, geographic diversification, and a collaborative approach with traditional industry. The report argues that solid foundations have been laid — a huge and deep talent pool, founders with global ambition levels, and a large, growing and increasingly sophisticated investor base — meaning that Europe marches to its own beat.

Key word：

Germany,AVs,Robotics

Release time：2017-12-20 00:00 reading：1089 Continue reading>>

Consumer Space Drives Service <span style='color:red'>Robo</span>t Sales, Startups

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Consumer Space Drives Service Robot Sales, Startups

　　Recent market studies on global trends in service robots conclude that the consumer-robot category is growing faster than any other kind. In 2020, service robots for domestic or personal use could well account for 40 million units sold — some of them by robotics startups, which are also on the rise.　　The service-robot category covers just about all robots other than the fixed-in-place, industrial machines designed to do one main job very accurately and very fast. Service robots vary widely in form and function and sell in far higher unit volumes than industrial robots. Most analyses distinguish between professional service robots, such as those used in military or medical applications, and robots for domestic and personal use, such as smart vacuums and toys. Professional service robots are more complex, command a higher price tag, and account for annual unit sales in the tens of thousands. Domestic and personal-use robots are simpler, cost much less, and sell in the millions of units per year. Most robots of both types are produced in the United States.　　Global unit sales of professional service robots increased 24% in 2016 over 2015, while the dollar value per robot increased by only 2%, according to “World Robotics: Service Robots 2017,” a report from Germany’s International Federation of Robotics. IFR attributes the low rate of revenue increase to a slight decline in sales of high-value military machines, which accounted for 19% of units sold in 2016. Unit sales of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the largest military type, grew 4%, but unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) unit volumes declined by 32%.　　About 10% of professional service robots are “field” or agricultural machines, such as milking systems. These also declined slightly in 2016. But unit sales of medical robots — by far the highest-priced of any service robot — rose 23%, accounting for 2.7% of professional-robot sales in 2016. In a separate category are powered exoskeletons that help rehab patients walk or reduce the weight of loads carried; unit sales of these machines rose 21%. Growing even faster are logistics systems, such as the automated guided vehicles (AGVs) used in factories. Their volumes increased 34% in 2016, and they now constitute 43% of professional service robots.　　Most of the domestic/personal robots sold are machines that perform household tasks, such as vacuuming and lawn mowing. The IFR report estimates unit growth of 25% for such robots in 2016. Another rapidly increasing category is entertainment robots, such as sophisticated toys, for which volumes rose 22% in 2016.　　The IFR expects aggressive growth in the next few years for service robots. The organization estimates a 17% rise in total unit sales of professional robots for the current year and predicts increases of 20% to 25% annually for the professional category between 2018 and 2020. Some of the fastest-growing professional service robots are public relations systems, for which volumes are estimated to have jumped 37%, to 10,300 units, in 2017 and are predicted to grow to 66,100 units by 2020. Logistics systems such as AGVs in factories, hospitals, and e-commerce environments will jump 46% in 2017 and then grow 25% to 30% per year between 2018 and 2020.　　Powered exoskeletons will continue to log rapid growth, according to IFR, which estimates a unit increase of 35% for the category in 2017, followed by 25% growth per year between 2018 and 2020. Domestic/household robot unit volumes overall have grown 30% in 2017 and will rise 30% to 35% annually in the 2018-2020 time frame. Entertainment robot unit sales will increase 20% to 25% annually during the forecast period.　　“The growing interest in service robotics is partly due to the variety and number of new startups, which currently account for 29% of all robot companies,” Martin H?gele, chairman of the IFR Service Robot Group, said in a statement. About 200 startup companies in the United States are developing service robots, along with 170 in the European Union and Switzerland, and 135 in Asia.　　In a study released in June, Boston Consulting Group reported that private investment in the robotics space had tripled between 2014 and 2015 alone. Lower prices and improving capabilities, including cheaper and better electronics and easier programming, have helped fuel this rise, according to the BCG report.　　The management consulting firm measures robotics in dollar values. In 2014, it predicted a global market for all types of robots — military, industrial, commercial, and consumer — of $67 billion by 2025. BCG sharply revised that figure upward in its June report, predicting a total market of $87 billion. The new tally includes a jump of 156% for consumer robots, which indicates very high unit numbers, considering the consumer category’s much lower average selling prices.　　In 2016, robotics technologies shifted toward consumer-facing applications, and more companies serving the consumer space were started. But the trend itself is older: Since 2012, about 40% of all new robotics companies have targeted consumers, with far fewer startups emerging to serve the military, commercial, and industrial sectors.　　“Much of the accelerated growth [by 2025] will come from the consumer market because of applications such as self-driving cars and devices for the home,” Vlad Lukic, a BCG partner and coauthor of the report, said in a statement. The rest will come from 34% higher growth in commercial robots.　　According to a recent study from Swedish market research firm Berg Insight, the global installed base of service robots totaled 29.6 million units in 2016. A whopping 80 percent, or 23.8 million, were floor-cleaning robots. Accounting for the remainder were 4 million UAVs, or drones; 1.6 million robotic lawn mowers; 100,000 AGVs; 50,000 milking robots; and lots of other types in much smaller numbers: humanoid, assistant and companion, telepresence, surgical, autonomous mobile, and powered exoskeleton.　　Berg predicts that the total installed base of service robots will rise to 264.3 million worldwide by 2026, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24% between 2016 and the final forecast year. The figures are close to the IFR’s estimates covering a portion of the forecast period.

Key word：

Consumer Space,Robot Sales

Release time：2017-12-15 00:00 reading：1230 Continue reading>>

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