This Is Robotics: Radio News #33

PITTSBURGH: HOW ROBOTICS SAVED A CITY By 2000, 29 steel companies in Pittsburgh had declared bankruptcy, cratering its middleclass, and any future upon which the great city might have had hopes to grow and thrive. How did robotics bring the city back from the dead?Pittsburgh: From Dying Steel Town to Global Robotics Hub by Henry LenardIS THIS THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMRS?Unless you’ve been under a rock somewhere, you’ve undoubtedly heard the noise of their wheels and the rush of their whizzing by you, either on TV news, YouTube, or better, in person. What you’re seeing and hearing is the future arriving in a hurry. They’re called AMRs, robotics newest celebrities, autonomous mobile robots.GLOBAL ROBOTICS PATENTS: THE PATENT WARS!Patent activity is a useful indicator of technological progress and innovation in robotics. “Between 2005 and 2019, 72,618 robotics patents were granted worldwide.” Who is leading, who is on the rise, and who are the also-rans? In other words, the patent wars! Who’s winning? Let’s take a look.THREE BREAKTHROUGHS: CAPSULE ROBOTICS, THE ALL-ROBOT AUTO PLANT, AND THE DEXTEROUS, FIVE-FINGERED COBOT HANDInstrument-free, noninvasive diagnosis and therapy inside the digestive tract will be performed through a new branch of robotics: capsule robotics.In Japan, it seems that only “smart” robots need apply for work at Nissan’s brand new “intelligent” auto plant.What’s the next big breakthrough tech for the cobot. How about a dexterous, sophisticated five-fingered hand?Our Annual Tribute to Pittsburgh and Its PeopleHeartwarming & Inspirational Holiday StoryThe Fall & Rise of PittsburghFrom Dying Steel Town to Global Robotics HubHeartfelt Thanks for Making This Is Robotics the #1 Global Robotics News Podcast