Worlds First Robotic Bellman at Yotel New York

Image: Yotel

When London based Yotel hotel chain will open it´s new hotel at Times Square New York on June 1st guest will meet 15 feet high white ABB robotarm Yobot in the lobby that mechanically stores guests' luggage for $ 2 a bag.
Yotel calls it "the worlds most radical approach to storing left luggage, it's fun, efficient and only the beginning of baggage management ..."
Standard rooms go for $149 a night through September 5, but Yotel's Facebook friends can acquire a rock-bottom rate during the first week of June. Find Yotel's Facebook page at facebook.com/YOTELHQ.

Global Interest in Robotics is Fading

After some years of stagnation the search term "robot" has again shown some significant increase during 2010, mainly driven by robotics news such as

• Robot waiters in China never lose patience
• Robot breakdown delays New Zealand mine rescue
• The world's first robot with conscience
• More oil now gushing into Gulf after undersea robot bumps venting system on cap
• Eyes flashing, robot conducts wedding in Tokyo

But in the long run the public interest in robotics and other emerging technologies has decreased. According to Google Trends measuring the search frequency of technology terms the interest in robotics has decreased significantly since 2004. Despite billions of dollar, euro and yen invested in robotics R&D the world’s interest in robotics is fading. The Google Trends graph below shows the negative global trend for robotics and biotech.

ABB's First Robotics Application Center in Asia

ABB Robotics , the Swedish leading supplier of industrial robots, has opened its first Asian Robotics Application Center (RAC) in Singapore. ABB sees a great potential for Singapore to take leadership in packaging and other robotics solutions in Southeast Asia, as we benefit from the presence of high-end manufacturing industries in Singapore, great local and regional companies that support the development of cost-effective systems, and a booming food & beverage industry in Southeast Asia, according to James Foo, ABB’s president and country manager in Singapore.

The robotics set-up in the RAC is a picking, packing, and palletizing line, which is an essential process for many growing industries like food & beverage, pharmaceutical production, semiconductor and photovoltaics. 

ABB has installed more than 175,000 robots worldwide.

(Source: PR Log Oct 1, 2010)

ABB Robotics in China

Swiss-Swedish ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, recently inaugurated its Robotic Paint Lab at ABB Engineering (Shanghai) Ltd. in the Kangqiao District of Pudong, Shanghai. The advanced paint lab comprises paint workshops for both car bodies and general industry. This lab is the first and unique facility in China to paint a full car body in production conditions. It enables customers to use ABB advanced technology for complete testing and simulation of their automotive paint process.

China is at the center of ABB’s robotics business, and Shanghai is home to the group’s global Robotics Business headquarters. The company supports the fast development of China’s automotive industry through the delivery of its advanced robotics solutions to leading automotive manufacturers such as Shanghai GM, Shanghai Volkswagen, Guangzhou Honda, Dongfeng Peugeot, Geely Auto and Great Wall Automobile.

The newly announced robotic paint lab provides an ideal location for manufacturers in every industry to test their paint applications. The new lab will allow ABBs customers to use ABB robotic technology at every step of their testing programs, while incorporating ABB’s environmentally friendly paint concepts. These efforts will support them to further improve environment performance in their paint operation.

ABB is a market leader in robotics with more than 120,000 robots installed worldwide. China is home to ABB's third robot production unit, after Norway and Sweden.

Source: ABB China

€36 million Q3 loss for ABB Robotics

ABB has no plans to sell its Robotics division despite $36 million loss in Q3according to ABB CEO Joe Hogan. In the long run he believes in Robotics because robotics solutions will be demanded the coming 5-6 years to other industry segments and not as now concentrated to the auto industry. ABB is repositioning now and will return stronger when the recession is over.

A positive sign comes from China, where ABB´s robots have become the highlight of in the new hall of the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing. With a creative theme and interactive program, the ABB robots have The presentation allows the audience, especially young visitors, to experience the excitement of robotic technology, providing an informative and memorable science lesson.

This May, ABB Engineering (Shanghai) inaugurated a new multi-business manufacturing facility in Shanghai, doubling ABB’s manufacturing capacity for robotic products in China.