President´s Report

Successful AUTOMATICA - Future of Robotics

"First signs of recovery some months ago expanded into a strong recovery", said Åke Lindqvist, IFR President. During the AUTOMATICA in Munich, there was a keen interest from the press in robotics, and the robot suppliers received a package of requests and a lot of order intakes. The participants of the IFR Round Table in Munich concluded that the robotics industry is back on track.

IFR Round Table on the Future of Robotics

CEO's discussed at AUTOMATICA

Ake Lindqvist, IFR President, presented the first results on the worldwide distribution of industrial robots in 2009. Afterwards, the CEOs of major robotics companies discussed on "The Future of Robotics".

The robotics industry is getting back on track!

Sales slump in 2009 - Strong recovery in 2010 - Further growth expected in 2011 and 2012

The IFR Statistics Department presented the preliminary results of the annual statistics on Industrial Robots on Wednesday, 9 June 2010, in Munich at the AUTOMATICA. In 2009, with about 62,100 industrial robots shipped, the number of units sold worldwide slumped dramatically by about 45% compared to 2008, one of the most successful years. But in the first quarter 2010 the sales skyrocketed worldwide by more than 50% compared to the first quarter 2009.

IERA Award 2010 presented in Munich

Alexander Verl - recipient of the Award

On 8 June during the ISR Gala Dinner the IERA Award was presented to Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Verl, Fraunhofer IPA for his project "Inline Measurement Robots - Robots Get the Precision for Car Body Inspection".

International Symposium on Robotics (ISR) took place in Munich

Conference draw the attention of Industry and Science

Parallel to the industry fair "AUTOMATICA 2010" the 41^st ISR (International Symposium on Robotics) took place in Munich. This year on three days 46 sessions were held, more than 200 papers were presented.

RIA - Joseph Engelberger Robotics Award presented

2010 Engelberger Robotics Awards Presented to Heinz-Dieter Schunk and Scott W. Deming

The robotic industry's highest honor, the Engelberger Robotics Award, was presented to Heinz-Dieter Schunk, Schunk GmbH and Scott W. Deming, Corning Inc. during the 41st International Symposium on Robotics held in Munich in conjunction with AUTOMATICA.

FANUC Robotics Europe, Luxembourg - IFR-Partner

Robots boost cheese productivity

Speeding up production is not something commonly associated with cheese manufacture - its very nature is that it should take time to mature for ultimate flavor. However, when production output is 350,000 tons per year, maximizing the efficiency of packaging becomes a core issue.

SCHUNK, Germany - IFR-Partner

Third SCHUNK Expert Days Service Robotics

Professionals from all over the world met at the third Expert Days on Service Robotics at SCHUNK in Lauffen, Germany, the technology leader in gripping and workholding.

FANUC Robotics, USA - IFR-Partner

FANUC Robotics Introduces Made For Machine Tools Website

FANUC Robotics America, Inc. has introduced 'Made for Machine Tools,' a website resource for machine tool OEMs, integrators, machine shops and other manufacturers considering using robots to automate a machine tending operation.

Wittmann, Austria - IFR-Partner

Robot Series R8 - Active Collision Protection

Who is not familiar with such a situation - a short lapse of attention can potentially carry major consequences. For example, if a user moves a robot in manual mode, and however gets distracted, within the blink of an eye, the robot hits the safety guard of the molding machine or even a tie bar.

KUKA, Germany - IFR-Partner

Heli Trainer sets new standards in pilot training

On the occasion of the ILA, the world's leading air trade show, Heli Aviation GmbH together with KUKA Roboter GmbH and the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics presented a concept study for a new helicopter flight trainer. The aim of this joint project is to develop a realistic flight trainer that will enable pilot training to be effective, safe and cost-efficient.

SCHUNK, Germany - IFR-Partner

Modular Robotics - Efficient, Flexible and Affordable

Components used for service robotics have to be light-weight, but also have to quickly move relatively heavy loads. The industry-prooven LWA 3 light-weight arm from SCHUNK combines both aspects.

RIA, USA - IFR-Industry Association Member

News and Service Summary

News and offers from RIA to RIA members and non-members. Find out more ...

RIA, USA - IFR-Industry Association

Robot Orders Post Strong Gains in First Quarter of 2010

North American based robotics manufacturers saw new orders jump 16% in units and 30% in dollars in the first quarter of 2010 when compared with the same quarter in 2009, said the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry's trade group.

Adept, Germany, IFR-Partner

Surgical Robotic Assistants

The Adept Viper s850 robot is one component of the surgical assistance system ModiCAS. It is the world's first robotic system to support the implantation of acetabular cups, a prosthesis often used in hip replacement, in humans.

BlueBotics, Switzerland - IFR-Partner

BlueBotics ANT® - The smart, autonomous robots

BlueBotics provides your vehicle with high mobility for automation tasks in professional applications. Key part is the ANT^® Autonomous Navigation Technology developed by BlueBotics for industrial automation and service robotics.

GÜDEL, Switzerland - IFR-Partner

Two new Patented Systems for Production of Solar Modules

On the Automatica 2010, 3S Modultec and GÜDEL presented two brand-new machines for different stations in the production process of solar modules. The steps for marking, measuring and inspecting the edges of the single-pane safety glass of the modules form an important station.

ABB, Sweden - IFR-Partner

ABB wins top food processing award for robotic pancake application

ABB's robotics business wins Food Processing magazine's Robotics and Automation award for the installation of two robotic lines at the Honeytop Speciality Food plant in Dunstable, Bedfordshire.

Valk Welding, Netherlands - IFR-Partner

Welding Data Management checks and records welding quality

In order to check and record the quality of welding work, Panasonic offers a Welding Data Management module for its Tawers arc-welding robots. The module records the welding parameters of Panasonic Tawers welding robots during the welding process. Besides analysing the welding data, the module also offers the option of generating a report of the welding values as proof of correctly completed welding work.

Henrik A. Schunk new Chairman of EUnited Robotics

Henrik A. Schunk, Managing Partner of SCHUNK in Lauffen (Germany), was elected as the new Chairman of EUnited Robotics for the period of three years.

17-29 Sep, 2010

National Robot Safety Conference XXII

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23-25 Sep, 2010

Robotics '10

The main goal of ROBOTICS'10 is to provide a forum for researchers, educators, engineers, and government officials involved in the general areas of robotics, automation, mechatronics, to disseminate their latest research results and exchange views on the future research directions of these fields.