Tag: Robotics

Pratt & Whitney expands site at Eagle Services Asia facility in Singapore

February 19, 2024 / WIL BALDWIN

Singapore, February 19, 2024, PRNewswire – (Singapore Airshow) Pratt & Whitney, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, today announced the official opening of a 48,000 square-foot expansion of its Singapore based engine center, Eagle Services Asia (ESA). The facility will grow its GTF capacity by two-thirds this year.

The transformative technology insertion applied across both ESA sites integrates robotics, automation and machine learning to increase efficiency, lower stress on machine operators and increase safety for key MRO processes.

These innovations include fully automated high-pressure compressor (HPC) rotor stacking, a Receive-in-Check Cobot that augments the work done by human inspectors and a robotic arm to install and remove HPC bearing sleeves.

ESA, a joint venture between SIA Engineering Company and Pratt & Whitney, is a member of the Pratt & Whitney GTF™ MRO network. Since introducing GTF MRO capability in 2019, the facility has already completed over 500 GTF engine overhauls.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

AMSL Aero welcomes government support for vertiia aircraft to fight bushfires

February 19, 2024 / WIL BALDWIN

Sydney, Australia, February 19, 2024 – Australian zero emission aircraft designer and manufacturer AMSL Aero today welcomes the Australian Government’s move to back the development of its zero-emission aircraft Vertiia to fight bushfires autonomously in an effective, efficient way that keeps firefighters safer and enables nighttime firefighting.

AMSL Aero will use the A$3 million in funding from the Cooperative Research Centres’ Projects program to develop a remotely piloted version of Vertiia, the world’s most efficient long range zero emissions electric Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft, that is capable of effectively spraying preventative fire retardant and dropping hundreds of litres of water.

AMSL Aero will work with its partners to develop a method of operating autonomous remotely piloted VTOLs for aerial firefighting, modify a prototype Vertiia for use as zero emissions low-cost firefighting aircraft, meet regulatory requirements, and test the aircraft in regional Australia. Its partners on the project are The University of Sydney, leading robotics company Mission Systems and Australian firefighting aviation operator Pay’s Air Service, which conducts firefighting operations in Australia and Europe every year, including in Greece, where it recently fought fires for NATO.

Maersk & Kodiak Robotics launch commercial autonomous trucking lane between Houston and Oklahoma City

October 6, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Florham Park, New Jersey/Mountain View, California — A.P. Moller – Maersk AS (OTC: AMKBY) and Kodiak Robotics, Inc., have launched the first commercial autonomous trucking lane between Houston and Oklahoma City. The freight lane marks an expansion of the collaboration between Kodiak and Maersk, which began with their first autonomous freight deliveries together in November 2022 as part of Maersk’s Global Innovation Center Program. Kodiak has been delivering eight loads per week, with a safety driver behind the wheel, for Maersk customers since August.

Kodiak and Maersk are completing four round trips per week on a 24-hour-a-day, four-day-a-week basis between a Houston facility, where consumer products are loaded onto 53-foot trailers, to a distribution center in Oklahoma City. Operational learnings gained from the activity are captured and documented as part of the Kodiak Partner Deployment Program, which is designed to help companies learn how Kodiak’s self-driving trucks can become an integral part of their overall logistics strategy and offerings.

Autonomous trucking solutions have the potential to address long-term challenges faced by the trucking industry. According to the American Trucking Association, the trucking industry faces a shortage of roughly 78,000 drivers. The ATA estimates that, based on current driver demographic trends, as well as projected growth in freight demand, the shortage could swell to more than 160,000 over the next decade.

Safety continues to be a perennial challenge for the trucking industry as well. U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) research also estimates that 94% of crashes occur due to human error. For Kodiak, safety and performance are foundational to its autonomous trucking solution. Each vehicle is equipped with 18 different sensors, including cameras, radar, and lidar, that provide the platform with a 360-degree view around the truck. Every tenth of a second, the truck evaluates the performance of more than 1,000 safety-critical processes and components in both the self-driving stack and the underlying truck platform. The trucks learn in parallel, with system upgrades shared to the entire fleet simultaneously, and are not subject to environmental distractions.

Saab opens new radar production site in Fareham, Hampshire, England

September 9, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Saab (SAAB-B.ST) UK’s Sensor Systems business operates from Saab’s site in Fareham, with a team also located in Farnborough. The skilled staff in Fareham primarily produce and integrate the new Deployment Set, a configuration of the Giraffe 1X highly mobile, compact, rapidly deployed, software-based, 3D AESA radar. This increases Saab’s production capacity for its Giraffe 1X Deployment Set and the first units are already in production at the Fareham site.

Saab UK’s Sensor Systems business will also act as a Centre of Excellence developing follow-on UK Intellectual Property in the radar domain. It will also grow to maintain existing radars in-service with the UK Ministry of Defence, such as Giraffe 1X and Giraffe AMB air defence radars and artillery locating MAMBA (Arthur) radars.

Saab UK’s Fareham site has been growing with the announcement in February 2023 of the expansion of its Underwater Systems business of Seaeye autonomous and remotely operated vehicles. Across the UK, Saab has eight principal sites which focus on software engineering, underwater robotics, training services, radars and more.

Saab UK’s presence has been growing at pace, with employee numbers quadrupling through consolidation, acquisition and organic growth, bringing together the best of Swedish and British innovation.

The whole site in Fareham benefits 400 jobs at Saab, in established and future roles across various business activities.

DHL supply chain invests 500 million euros in focus on Latin America

July 13, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

In view of the global trend of omni-sourcing, DHL (OTC: DHLGY) Supply Chain, the world’s leading logistics company and part of DHL Group continues its strategic investments into emerging markets and fast-growing economies.

Today, DHL Supply Chain announces a landmark investment of €500 million into the strategically located Latin American markets. These investments made until 2028 are supposed to strengthen DHL’s operations in Latin America. Projects include decarbonizing the domestic fleet through greener alternatives; building, developing and retrofitting its real estate assets and warehouses in the market; as well as significant investments into new technologies, robotics and automation solutions intended to improve workplaces whilst at the same time making operations more effective, flexible and resilient for customers. The investment is part of DHL Supply Chain’s strategic investment plan to further strengthen logistics capabilities in high-demand sectors, such as: Healthcare, automotive, technology, retail, e-commerce, among others.

With the investment into its Latin America infrastructure the DHL Supply Chain is now complementing a long-standing history of strategic investments, acquisitions, and partnerships in the region. Not only the geographical proximity to large consumer markets in North America make the region a springboard to accelerate further growth, it is also the regions own booming sales markets which make it attractive for industries to invest and therewith request additional logistics support.

Spirit AeroSystems Europe Delivers First Set of A320 Family RTM Spoilers

August 31, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Prestwick, Scotland, Business Wire, Spirit AeroSystems (Europe) Limited (UK), a subsidiary of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. [NYSE: SPR], has successfully delivered the first set of new advanced composite spoilers to Airbus for the A320 Family. The spoilers are produced using Spirit’s pioneering Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM) technology and are the first to feature on a flying aircraft.

The redesigned spoiler is produced using a highly-automated advanced manufacturing, out-of-autoclave process, resulting in significantly improved manufacturing efficiencies, and reduced energy and costs compared to the original, more traditional design. Spirit is the first to industrialize this innovative composite technology in the UK aerospace sector.

The spoilers are produced in Spirit’s world-class manufacturing facility in Prestwick, Scotland, using the latest automation and robotics, which included investment from the Scottish Government in the development of the technology. Such cost-effective technologies and manufacturing processes will play a central role in the development of the next generation of aircraft programs, and help Spirit increase its competitive advantage in advanced manufacturing.

AirAsia Boosts Supply Chain Capabilities With AC2 Group

January 4, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

AirAsia Group, the world’s best low-cost carrier for 11 consecutive years, is proud to announce its partnership with AC2 Group to install Blue Yonder’s warehouse management solution (WMS) to digitally transform its supply chain capabilities and operational agility as the airline continues to boost domestic capacity in line with strong demand.

AirAsia Group Head, Supply Chain, Siva Indran said, “We have achieved another significant milestone today with the successful deployment of a digital supply chain across the Group. The Blue Yonder WMS uses data and advanced analytics to deliver greater efficiencies for the airline and enhanced benefits for our guests, such as providing the right products on specific flights based on passenger preferences. Additionally, efficiencies gained can be translated into more attractive deals onboard or for ordering home deliveries for example. We continue to innovate in order to be well prepared ahead of the expected global rebound in air travel in the near future.

“As AirAsia’s digital transformation continues to gather momentum, we want to make fintech services inclusive throughout our travel and lifestyle ecosystem. We have always been a digital airline and this is one of many recent technological enhancements put in place over recent times to make booking and flying with AirAsia more seamless than ever. We are pleased that the digital transformation of our supply chain network project has gone live successfully across all of our operational hubs in Asia. I want to thank our IT, operations, supply chain team and our supply chain partner, the AC2 Group, for their assistance to deploy this innovation across the Group so smoothly. The digital optimisation of our supply chain network comes at a great time as we are focused on resuming operations to pre-COVID-19 levels in all of our key markets as soon as possible.”

Managing Partner of AC2 Group, Aw Yang Uei, said, “A significant amount of effort has been put into architecting the solution to ensure it is robust, scalable and integrable with future technologies such as warehouse robotics. AirAsia has a highly creative vision in their omni channel fulfilment strategies, which requires agility in their supply chain. We are delighted and honored to be part of this digitalization journey, and it is a privilege to be working closely with all the professionals in AirAsia.”

President of Asia Pacific at Blue Yonder, Antonio Boccalandro, said, “Congratulations to AirAsia and AC2 Group on the successful deployment of Blue Yonder’s WMS. Our warehouse management system is one of our flagship solutions helping customers improve flexibility, real-time responsiveness and the ability to easily manage complex warehouse operations. We are proud to be part of AirAsia’s digital transformation journey, and we look forward to many more success stories from them.”

Queensland to Assemble Boeing’s First Australian Designed & Developed Unmanned Aircraft

October 5, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Queensland is poised to take another bold step in aerospace and advanced manufacturing with an historic opportunity to be the final production home for unmanned defence aircraft – the first military aircraft to be designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia in more than 50 years.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said a visionary new partnership with Boeing Australia means more high-skilled jobs, local supply opportunities and defence industry stimulus as Queensland continues to recover and grow from the COVID downturn.

Our investment in this advanced manufacturing project will provide critical skills for suppliers, academia and Boeing, and culminate in Queensland becoming the primary final assembly facility for the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, conditional on orders.

The first aircraft prototype, called the Loyal Wingman, was unveiled with the Royal Australian Air Force in May this year.

Treasurer Cameron Dick said the Boeing partnership demonstrated the Palaszczuk government’s commitment to advanced manufacturing.

“Manufacturing is a vital part of the Queensland economy, which is why supporting manufacturing is one of the centrepieces of our Unite and Recover Economic Recovery Plan,” the treasurer said.

“Our government’s longstanding commitment to advanced manufacturing is one of the reasons Queensland is already home to Boeing’s largest workforce outside the United States.

“Boeing has 1,700 staff in Queensland and supports 400 Queensland-based suppliers.

Boeing Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific President Brendan Nelson said the partnership with the Queensland government to develop an advanced manufacturing capability was a significant milestone for the company.

“This includes introducing technologies such as advanced robotics; investment in universities, small-to-medium enterprises and start-up companies; as well as creating global export opportunities for Australia’s supply chain.

Boeing Activates Airlift Capability for First COVID-19 Transport Mission

April 20, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Boeing [NYSE: BA] completed its first COVID-19 transport mission, using a 737-700 aircraft from its corporate fleet to bring personal protective equipment (PPE) from China to the United States. Working in partnership with FIRST® Robotics Founder Dean Kamen, the company transported 540,000 medical-grade face masks that will be delivered to healthcare professionals battling COVID-19 in New Hampshire.

Kamen, who has a longstanding relationship with Boeing through FIRST Robotics, is also a founder of DEKA Research and Development Corporation. He worked with DEKA to secure the face masks from manufacturers in China and turned to Boeing to facilitate their transport. DEKA is the importer of record for the delivery and provided the masks to New Hampshire for distribution to healthcare professionals in the state.

“Another life-saving delivery of PPE has arrived in New Hampshire,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “Thanks to Dean Kamen for facilitating this deal, and to Boeing for donating the cost of this mission transport. The state will deliver these masks to the greatest areas of need across New Hampshire so those on the frontline have the necessary resources to fight COVID-19.”

“Boeing has been a long-time partner of FIRST Robotics and I’m proud that I can again partner with the Boeing team to meet the needs of our frontline healthcare professionals fighting COVID-19,” said Kamen. “Now more than ever, help from companies like Boeing is critical so we can continue to make sure protective equipment gets to the people who need it most.”

Boeing continues to support local communities and the heroic healthcare professionals working tirelessly to stop the spread of COVID-19. Additional airlift transport missions with the Boeing Dreamlifter and ecoDemonstrator are planned in the future. Boeing is coordinating closely with U.S. government officials on how to best assist areas with the greatest need.

“I want to personally thank Governor Sununu, the entire New Hampshire congressional delegation and Dean Kamen for their leadership in helping secure and distribute this much-needed personal protective equipment for our frontline healthcare workers and first responders here in New Hampshire,” said Dave Calhoun, Boeing president and CEO. “We are honored to have conducted today’s airlift mission and we look forward to providing continued support in the fight against this pandemic.”

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