Frank Tobe, The Robot Report in NY Times by Christopher Drew

Frank Tobe, The Robot Report in NY Times by Christopher Drew!

By Christopher Drew, NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/03/technology/for-irobot-the-future-is-getting-closer.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha26

Frank Tobe, an independent analyst who publishes the Robot Report online, said that until Ava was equipped to pick up and handle objects, the robot would have limited uses. But he said the partnership with InTouch gave iRobot a much-needed toehold in health care. iRobot plans to invest $6 million in InTouch, and Mr. Tobe said by combining their technologies, the companies could produce devices at a much lower cost and attract more business.

 

THOMAS PR WEB SITE http://www.thomas-pr.com

 

Frank Tobe, The Robot Report in Network World by Sandra Gittlen

Frank Tobe, The Robot Report in Network World by Sandra Gittlen!

“As robots themselves evolve, so do their controllers. Tobe [Frank Tobe, The Robot Report] predicts that tablets, smartphones and other handhelds will become a common mechanism for training and manipulating robots.”
By Sandra Gittlen, Network World

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/022012-robots-256123.html

The Industrial Robot Revolution

Stand-alone and embedded industrial robots are taking their place alongside humans
By Sandra Gittlen, Network World
February 20, 2012 06:09 AM ET

Frank Tobe, owner and publisher of “The Robot Report” has observed growing interest in robotics around the globe and across vertical markets. “Robots appeal to an array of businesses, including agricultural, packaging and distribution, and medical,” he says.

He believes a dramatic shift in how robots are made and perceived has sparked their broad acceptance. “People used to think of robots as expensive, monstrous, dangerous, clunky machines that had to have a cage around them. Today’s robots are nothing like that – they are cheaper, lighter, agile, and equipped with sensors to make them safer so they can work alongside humans,” he says.

For instance, robots now handle accuracy-dependent tasks such as polishing and sanding on consumer device assembly lines and automatically fill orders at fast-food chains.

“Some are even embedded into other form factors such as automobiles so they are essentially transparent.” He points to the robotics used to power self-park features in newer cars as an example.

As robots themselves evolve, so do their controllers. Tobe predicts that tablets, smartphones and other handhelds will become a common mechanism for training and manipulating robots.

He also believes that although nowadays robotics technology is incredibly proprietary, it will soon open up. “As the marketplace broadens, robotic operating systems will become more open source and more capable,” Tobe says.

THOMAS PR WEB SITE http://www.thomas-pr.com

Forbes on The Robot Report’s Frank Tobe “FoxConn’s Parent Plans to Double Industrial Robot Population in Less than Five Years” by Alex Knapp

Forbes on The Robot Report’s Frank Tobe “FoxConn’s Parent Plans to Double Industrial Robot Population in Less than Five Years”

By Alex Knapp, Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2011/11/03/foxconns-parent-plans-to-double-industrial-robot-population-in-less-than-five-years/

FoxConn’s Parent Plans To Double Industrial Robot Population In Less Than Five Years
 

Taiwanese manufacturer FoxConn made headlines last summer when it announced that it was aiming to use one million robots to replace part of its workforce in its factories in about three to five years. Now that goal is well on its way.

Terry Gou, the President of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (FoxConn’s parent) has signed a letter of intent to build a robotic manufacturing hub in the Central Taiwan Science Park. This is apparently where the robots to work in FoxConn’s factories will be built, and ground was broken on a Research and Design facility for robotics last Saturday. According to Gou, this is the first step towards Hon Hai building a “kingdom of robotics.” According to Gou, the project is expected to generate about $4 billion in revenue over the next few years.

Frank Tobe of the Robot Report is excited by the news. “This will double the world’s industrial robot population! An amazing feat and a blow to German and Japanese robot manufacturers who had hoped to get a share of the business.”

I’m a little surprised myself. Like other robotics manufacturers, I had expected the bulk of FoxConn’s robots to be purchased, not built. It’s an interesting move for the company that represents, I think, a real faith that robotics are going to skyrocket in the near future. Clearly, Hon Hai wants to be in on the ground floor of that revolution.

THOMAS PR WEB SITE: http://www.thomas-pr.com

The Robot Report Robotic Gift Suggestions for the 2011 Holiday Season

 

 

 

The Robot Report

Robotic Gift Suggestions for the 2011 Holiday Season:

http://www.everything-robotic.com/2011/10/robotic-gift-suggestions-for-2011.html  

This holiday season, people are looking to get their money’s worth from gift giving.  Gifts need to be either truly phenomenal, practical or inexpensive.  In the phenomenal category, what’s more exciting than getting a robot as a holiday gift?  The Robot Report, a site which tracks the business of robotics, has prepared this list of 2011 Robotic Holiday Gift Suggestions to please almost every family member:

• For Grandparents and teenagers: Parrot AR.Drone QuadriCopter – $299
• For Mom: iRobot’s Scooba bathroom floor cleaning robot – $299
• For Dad: Adaptive cruise control robot option for new cars – $599 – $2,495
• For science-interested kids 10 and older: LEGO Mindstorms NXT kit – $273
• For girls younger than 10: Penbo the affectionate waddling penguin – $45 — OR– Fijit the squishy dancing friend – $42
• For the philanthropic: MyKeepon – $49 (part of the proceeds go to support autism research) — OR — donate a $280,000PR2 to your alma mater’s robotics lab
• For readers of all ages: Selected books about robots and robotics – $10-$221

See: http://www.everything-robotic.com/2011/10/robotic-gift-suggestions-for-2011.html for product descriptions, prices and where to buy.

About Robot Report

Founded in 2008, The Robot Report is the first internet publication tracking the business of the robotics industry and the future of robotics, with an eye towards investment information on publicly-traded and privately-owned robotics businesses. The Robot Report links to the Everything-Robotic blog for periodic in-depth personal insights from The Robot Report’s Editor and Publisher, Frank Tobe.

For more information, see www.therobotreport.com.

For more info, contact:
Karen Thomas/Eva Yutani

Thomas PR

(631) 549-7575 kthomas@thomaspr.com eyutani@thomaspr.com http://www.thomas-pr.com 

Thomas PR Signs The Robot Report – Tracking the business of robotics

 

Thomas PR Signs The Robot Report – Tracking the business of robotics

http://www.therobotreport.com/

THOMAS PR WEB SITE: http://www.thomaspr.com

 

See “Stance” the Robot Created with Alibre Design

See “Stance” the Robot Created with Alibre Design: 

 Watch “Stance” Robot Video HERE
 http://www.jgstechnical.com/temp/servos3/RobotTest2.wmv

Thomas PR Web Site: http://www.thomaspr.com

MAKE YOUR OWN ROBOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS WITH ALIBRE

MAKE YOUR OWN ROBOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS WITH ALIBRE  
 

Kids & Adults Create Robots with Alibre DIY 3D Design at Home, School, & Work:
·        Robot that Walks & Sees
·        GPS Unmanned Robot Vehicle
·        Artistic Robot

Dallas, TX, November 18, 2010 – Alibre, Inc. www.alibre.com, the award-winning developer of the world’s most affordable professional 3D design software, announced today that Alibre Design 3D lets you create your own robots for the holidays.  The perfect holiday gift for anyone that loves science and creating robots, inventions, and gadgets, the award-winning Alibre Design was used by kids and adults to create one-of-a-kind robots, including “Stance” the walking robot, the “Skunksworks Lab” GPS controlled unmanned vehicle robot, and “SADBot,” the drawing robot that creates art according to the season and weather.   

“Stance,” the Biped Rebot that Walks & Sees  

“Stance,” is a biped walking robot with a smooth human-like gait, created using Alibre Design, by Josh Sanderson, President of JGS Technical.  “Stance” walks through remote control and “sees” through a high-definition video camera.  Unlike most hobbyist robots that have a spasmodic and abrupt walk, the “Stance” robot walks smoother, with more realistic motion.  Sanderson found it is easy to build a customized robot using Alibre.  Once the basics of his design were created in 3D with Alibre, Sanderson tweaked it with the information he got from his study of walking, and added custom parts created in Alibre.  Alibre Design’s parametric controls allowed him to exactly adjust sizes and positions of parts during his experiments.  

Do It Yourself Robot at Home 

Anyone can create a robot like “Stance, which was made using Alibre Design with the basic building blocks of a small motor, servo, and mounting bracket from the hobbyist dealer, Lynxmotion’s Servo Erector Set.  Lynxmotion provides 3D part models in Alibre’s format, so designers can choose to configure the components in many different ways.  “If I need to make custom parts, it’s simpler to do the fitting on the 3D model with Alibre.  All the accurate measurements are right there,” Sanderson explains.  “I can adjust each of the parameters and have the models react immediately.  Alibre Design is a high-level parametric modeler, which makes it ideal for prototypes.”   

Students Create Award-Winning Unmanned Vehicle Robot  

Students from the Southern Methodist University (SMU) “SkunkWorks Lab” created a GPS controlled unmanned vehicle robot activated via a cell phone interface.  Under the supervision of Nathan Huntoon, Director of the Innovation Gymnasium, SMU, the SkunkWorks Lab used Alibre to design all the parts of their vehicle, before they even built it.  “What is amazing, is the students designed the vehicle in 3D first and when it came time to fit all the parts together, every piece fell in place perfectly,” said Huntoon.  The Skunkworks Lab recently displayed their award-winning design at the TEDxSMU event in Dallas. 

Solar-Powered Artistic Robot Created for New York City Gallery 

Dustyn Roberts, Founder of Dustyn Robots, used Alibre Design to create SADbot (Seasonally Affected Drawing Robot), a solar powered, interactive drawing robot created in partnership with Ben Leduc-Mills for the Eyebeam Window Gallery in New York City.  Roberts and Leduc-Mills used two 18.5” x 13” solar panels to power two stepper motors which controlled a pen in two dimensions.  SADbot took input from people walking outside the gallery window by using a set of sensors which tell how much light they’re getting (photocells).  SADbot knew if someone was covering up one of the sensors, and could change its drawing behavior accordingly.  SADbot was also recently on display at the Maker Faire convention for inventors and makers, held September 2010 in NY. 

New Alibre Design 2011 with Dramatic Improvements – Makes it Easier to Create a Robot 

The winner of Maker Faire Detroit’s “Editor’s Choice” 2010 Award, Alibre is providing exciting new ways for people to create and design robots and gadgets in 3D.  Alibre recently announced the more powerful Alibre Design 2011 with dramatic improvements in ease-of-use, efficiency and performance.  Priced thousands less than competitors, starting at only $99 for Personal Edition (PE), $699 for Professional, and $1399 for Expert, new improvements and features include a full port of the code to C# (making it the first native 64-bit version), powerful sheet metal conversion tools, and a myriad of time saving tools and customization features.   

“Alibre Design 2011 lets people take their vision and turn it into a reality in record time by digitally prototyping or printing their 3D models, enabling everyone, from adults, kids, DIYers, inventors, tinkerers, entrepreneurs, designers, engineers and scientists to become entrepreneurs and set-up their own businesses in their homes and garages,” said J. Paul Grayson, Chairman and CEO, Alibre Inc.   

For more info:
“Stance” robot, see:  http://www.alibrepowered.com/profile/jgstech
“SADbot” robot:  http://eyebeam.org/projects/sadbot
“Skunkworks Lab” robot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvV0CnNgesA.  
Alibre: www.alibre.com.  To purchase Alibre Design 2011:  www.alibre.com/store.  
 

About Alibre, Inc.
Alibre is the leading global provider of cost effective professional grade mechanical CAD, CAM, and PDM solutions. Founded in 1997 and based in Richardson, Texas, Alibre develops Alibre Design™ and Alibre CAM™, the fastest growing parametric CAD/CAM solution on the market.  Alibre Design offers the same core features of SolidWorks, Pro/E, Inventor, and other mid-range solid modeling packages at a cost that is affordable to any business or individual. Alibre CAM extends Alibre Design to provide integrated 2 1/2 to 5 axis CNC machining. Used by an immensely diverse user base, Alibre Design and Alibre CAM provide design and manufacturing solutions to Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, consulting firms, machine shops, start-ups, hobbyists, inventors, teachers and students. Alibre products are distributed in 50 countries and in 15 languages. For more information on Alibre, or for a free trial of Alibre Design and Alibre CAM, please visit www.alibre.com.

“Stance” Photos:

http://www.alibre.com/images/success/cs/stance/walkfloor.jpg 

http://www.alibre.com/images/success/cs/stance/ADW1.jpg 

http://www.alibre.com/images/success/cs/stance/draw.jpg 

http://www.alibre.com/images/success/cs/stance/walkerAD.jpg 

http://www.alibre.com/images/success/cs/stance/banner.jpg

“Skunkworks” Photo: 

http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/alibresmu.html 

“SADbot”: Photos:

http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/alibresadbot.html

http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/alibresadbotartwork.html

 

Contact:

Karen Thomas/Eva Yutani

Thomas PR (631) 549-7575

kthomas@thomaspr.com eyutani@thomaspr.com www.thomaspr.com www.thomaspublicrelations.com  

ALIBRE TO GIVE SNEAK PEEK OF NEXT GENERATION 3D SOFTWARE AT MAKER FAIRE NY

MAKER FAIRE NY

ALIBRE BOOTH – FABRICATION TENT

 
 ALIBRE TO GIVE SNEAK PEEK OF NEXT GENERATION 3D SOFTWARE AT MAKER FAIRE NY
  
Alibre User, Dustyn Robots will be at Booth Discussing New Designs  Created with Alibre Design
  
 Affordable 3D Software Lets Entrepreneurs Design Gadgets & Inventions at Home 

Richardson, TX, September 16, 2010 – Alibre Inc. www.alibre.com, the developer of the world’s most affordable professional 3D design solutions, today announced that they will be showing the next generation of their award-winning 3D software, Alibre Design 2011, at the 1st Annual World Maker Faire NY, held at The New York Hall of Science in Queens, NY on Sat., Sept. 25-Sun, Sept. 26.  Maker Faire NY is a unique experience where thousands of “Makers,” DIY enthusiasts, and spectators come together to learn, share and create.  

Sneak Peek of Alibre Design 2011 

The winner of Maker Faire Detroit’s “Editor’s Choice” 2010 Award, Alibre is providing exciting new ways for people to create and design in 3D.  “Alibre Design lets ‘Makers’ take their vision and turn it into a reality in record time by digitally prototyping or printing their 3D models, enabling ordinary people to become entrepreneurs and set-up their own businesses in their homes and garages,”  said J. Paul Grayson, Chairman and CEO, Alibre Inc. 

Being sneak-peeked at the World Maker Faire in NY, Alibre Design 2011’s new core technology improvements and features include a full port of their code to C#, making it the first native 64-bit version — important for demanding users that want to create designs of enormous size and complexity.  Other new features include the ability to convert a solid part into sheet metal, virtual intersection dimensioning, an on-demand framework for detailing drawings, automatic part re-orientation improvements, new hole presets, multi-plane creation, and keyboard shortcuts.

Dustyn Robots to Appear at Alibre Booth – Co-Creator of SADbot 

Alibre user, Dustyn Roberts, Founder of Dustyn Robots, will be appearing at the Alibre booth at Maker Faire NY to discuss how she uses Alibre Design to create robots, including the SADbot (Seasonally Affected Drawing Robot), a solar powered, interactive drawing machine created in partnership with Ben Leduc-Mills for the Eyebeam window gallery in New York City.  SADbot uses two 18.5” x 13’” solar panels to power two stepper motors which allow the control of a pen in two dimensions.  SADbot takes input from people walking outside by using a set of sensors which can tell how much light they’re getting (photocells).  SADbot knows if someone is covering up one of the sensors, and can change its drawing behavior accordingly.  Info at:  http://eyebeam.org/projects/sadbot.  Roberts’ new book “Making Things Move: DIY Mechanisms for Inventors, Hobbyists, and Artists,” talks about how Alibre allows anyone to make real-world engineering products. 

Visitors to the Alibre Booth, Fabrication Tent at Maker Faire NY, can also register for a free copy of Alibre Design 2011 Personal Edition (a $99 value).  Alibre Design products are priced from $99-$1199.  For more information on Alibre or to download and install a free trial of Alibre Design, see www.alibre.com.  For more information on Maker Fair NY, see: http://makerfaire.com/newyork/2010/.

About Alibre, Inc

Alibre www.alibre.com is the leading global provider of cost effective professional grade mechanical CAD, CAM, and PDM solutions.  Founded in 1997, Richardson, Texas-based Alibre is led by Chairman and CEO J. Paul Grayson (previously CEO of Micrografx) and other graphics visionaries who are changing the landscape of 3D mechanical CAD/CAM software.  Alibre develops Alibre Design™ and Alibre CAM™, the fastest growing parametric CAD/CAM solutions on the market.  One fifth the cost of comparable software, Alibre Design offers the same core features as SolidWorks, Pro/E, Inventor, and other mid-range solid modeling packages at a cost that is affordable to any business or individual.  Alibre CAM extends Alibre Design to provide integrated 2 1/2 to 5 axis CNC machining.  

Alibre recently launched Alibre Design Personal Edition, the first low-cost, easy-to-use 3D design tool inspiring people to become entrepreneurs and set-up their own businesses by creating gadgets, products, and inventions in their homes and garages.  Easy-to-use and priced at only $99, Alibre Design PE brings powerful 3D solid design modeling to everyone, from inventors, DIYers, 3D design newcomers, and design enthusiasts.  The software enables people to turn their dreams into a reality by creating real physical products, inspiring a new generation of start-ups.    

Used by an immensely diverse user base, Alibre Design and Alibre CAM provide design and manufacturing solutions to Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, consulting firms, machine shops, start-ups, hobbyists, inventors, teachers and students. Alibre products are distributed in 50 countries and in 15 languages. For more information on Alibre, or for a free trial of Alibre Design and Alibre CAM, please visit www.alibre.com.

All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

 

Photos:

Alibre Design Personal Edition:  http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/alibredesign.html 

Alibre Logo: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/alibrelogo.html 

Alibre Screen Shots: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/alibrewatchscreen.html

http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/alibreboxscreen.html

SADbot: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/alibresadbot.html

SADbot Artwork: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/alibresadbotartwork.html