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No. 7 & 7A,
Jalan Tiara, Tiara Square,
Taman Perindustrian Sime UEP,
47600 Subang Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia.
No. 7 & 7A,
Jalan Tiara, Tiara Square,
Taman Perindustrian Sime UEP,
47600 Subang Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia.
Fictron Industrial
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Latest News
This AI Watched 100 Films to Learn How to Recognize a Kiss
Jun 25, 2019
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Like someone who has never been kissed, AI began learning the basics by binge-watching romantic film clips to see how Hollywood stars lock lips. By training deep learning algorithms that have previously proven adept at knowing faces and objects to also recognize steamy kissing scenes dramatized by professional actors, a data scientist has shown how AI systems could gain greater understanding into the most intimate human activities.
The study of AI-based kiss detection came from Amir Ziai, a senior data scientist at Netflix, as he was completing coursework to get an AI graduate certificate at Stanford University. Ziai handpicked a representative sample of 100 films from a database of Hollywood films spanning the past century. Then he by hand labeled different film segments as either kissing or non-kissing scenes, and used still frames and sound clips from those segments to train deep learning algorithms to detect both the sights and sounds of smooching.
Lest anyone get the wrong impression, it’s still unclear whether or not the kiss detection strategy works with more sexual scenes that go beyond kissing. “In my training set, I’ve stayed away from overly sexual scenes to make sure that the model is not confusing kissing and sex,” Ziai says.
Ziai’s present employer Netflix was not included in the Stanford-based research that is detailed in a paper published on the preprint server arXiv. And Ziai has not explored any possible applications of such technology for Netflix. But it’s not hard to imagine the possible commercial applications that could interest Netflix or other companies such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok that take huge amounts of streaming or stored video.
Back in April 2019, Google announced that its Pixel smartphones had accepted a Photobooth feature update that permitted the phones to easily snap photos when ever they found kissing in a single frame taken by the smartphone camera. Ziai’s demonstration of kiss detection technology that works with videos hints at future applications that could automatically categorize video content, create personalized video recommendations for viewers, and possibly even screen out certain videos as part of online content moderation.
“This is a good example of how modern computer vision techniques make it relatively easy to develop specific ‘sense and respond’ software, cued to qualitative/unstructured things (like the presence of kissing in a scene),” said Jack Clark, strategy and communications director at OpenAI, in his Import AI newsletter, which recently highlighted the kiss detection study. “I think this is one of the most under-hyped aspects of how AI is changing the scope of individual software development.”
When it came time to creatively identify kissing scenes, the deep learning model that showed most successful was ResNet-18, an image classification algorithm that was already pre-trained on more than one million pictures from the popular ImageNet database. To listen for the sounds of kissing, a deep learning model known as VGGish trained on the last 960 milliseconds of audio from one-second segments of each scene.
That two-pronged approach of training AI to manage both images and audio of kissing helped the overall model attain a fairly impressive F1 score of 0.95—a measure that represents the weighted average of the algorithm’s accuracy regarding both false positives and false negatives.
But the model still stumbled when it encountered trickier video editing and camera perspectives in some film scenes. For example, wide shots of actors kissing sometimes confused the algorithm because most of the camera frame consisted of background scenery. Fast-paced video cuts and shots that didn’t include both actors always proved challenging.
It’s always complicated to figure out which particular data patterns lead deep learning models to make their predictions. One way for humans to try to understand AI logic engages using saliency maps to highlight the data that got the most attention from the AI during its analysis. In the case of the Hollywood kissing scenes, the deep learning models appeared to pay more attention to image pixels relevant to the actors’ faces.
Some “limited experimentation” also recommends that the AI relied more heavily on visual features rather than audio in order to identify kissing scenes, Ziai says. He noticed that the kiss detection system could gain from a “more carefully crafted dataset” and perhaps make use of more contextual facts beyond just still images to detect kissing.
It’s still unclear how well an AI model trained on just 100 Hollywood films such as Anna Karenina (1935), Ghost (1990), and Casino Royale (2006) would work in a larger dataset of films. But the model saw only “marginal improvement” after the training dataset grew beyond 80 videos, Ziai says. The Hollywood film dataset and some of the computing sources were offered by the lab of Kayvon Fatahalian, an adjunct professor of computer science at Stanford University.
Another question is whether such an AI model could perform with similar accuracy in detecting kiss scenes in the types of videos commonly shared on social media. That challenge would potentially demand additional knowledge on a much larger video dataset with examples going beyond on-screen Hollywood couples such as Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. Still, some very preliminary testing implies that this broader application of AI-powered kiss detection shows promise.
“The attempt in this study was to use a various dataset so that the model does not overfit to any selected type of movie,” Ziai says. “Anecdotally, the model seem to work reasonably well on a few YouTube videos that I found.”
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
The study of AI-based kiss detection came from Amir Ziai, a senior data scientist at Netflix, as he was completing coursework to get an AI graduate certificate at Stanford University. Ziai handpicked a representative sample of 100 films from a database of Hollywood films spanning the past century. Then he by hand labeled different film segments as either kissing or non-kissing scenes, and used still frames and sound clips from those segments to train deep learning algorithms to detect both the sights and sounds of smooching.
Lest anyone get the wrong impression, it’s still unclear whether or not the kiss detection strategy works with more sexual scenes that go beyond kissing. “In my training set, I’ve stayed away from overly sexual scenes to make sure that the model is not confusing kissing and sex,” Ziai says.
Ziai’s present employer Netflix was not included in the Stanford-based research that is detailed in a paper published on the preprint server arXiv. And Ziai has not explored any possible applications of such technology for Netflix. But it’s not hard to imagine the possible commercial applications that could interest Netflix or other companies such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok that take huge amounts of streaming or stored video.
Back in April 2019, Google announced that its Pixel smartphones had accepted a Photobooth feature update that permitted the phones to easily snap photos when ever they found kissing in a single frame taken by the smartphone camera. Ziai’s demonstration of kiss detection technology that works with videos hints at future applications that could automatically categorize video content, create personalized video recommendations for viewers, and possibly even screen out certain videos as part of online content moderation.
“This is a good example of how modern computer vision techniques make it relatively easy to develop specific ‘sense and respond’ software, cued to qualitative/unstructured things (like the presence of kissing in a scene),” said Jack Clark, strategy and communications director at OpenAI, in his Import AI newsletter, which recently highlighted the kiss detection study. “I think this is one of the most under-hyped aspects of how AI is changing the scope of individual software development.”
When it came time to creatively identify kissing scenes, the deep learning model that showed most successful was ResNet-18, an image classification algorithm that was already pre-trained on more than one million pictures from the popular ImageNet database. To listen for the sounds of kissing, a deep learning model known as VGGish trained on the last 960 milliseconds of audio from one-second segments of each scene.
That two-pronged approach of training AI to manage both images and audio of kissing helped the overall model attain a fairly impressive F1 score of 0.95—a measure that represents the weighted average of the algorithm’s accuracy regarding both false positives and false negatives.
But the model still stumbled when it encountered trickier video editing and camera perspectives in some film scenes. For example, wide shots of actors kissing sometimes confused the algorithm because most of the camera frame consisted of background scenery. Fast-paced video cuts and shots that didn’t include both actors always proved challenging.
It’s always complicated to figure out which particular data patterns lead deep learning models to make their predictions. One way for humans to try to understand AI logic engages using saliency maps to highlight the data that got the most attention from the AI during its analysis. In the case of the Hollywood kissing scenes, the deep learning models appeared to pay more attention to image pixels relevant to the actors’ faces.
Some “limited experimentation” also recommends that the AI relied more heavily on visual features rather than audio in order to identify kissing scenes, Ziai says. He noticed that the kiss detection system could gain from a “more carefully crafted dataset” and perhaps make use of more contextual facts beyond just still images to detect kissing.
It’s still unclear how well an AI model trained on just 100 Hollywood films such as Anna Karenina (1935), Ghost (1990), and Casino Royale (2006) would work in a larger dataset of films. But the model saw only “marginal improvement” after the training dataset grew beyond 80 videos, Ziai says. The Hollywood film dataset and some of the computing sources were offered by the lab of Kayvon Fatahalian, an adjunct professor of computer science at Stanford University.
Another question is whether such an AI model could perform with similar accuracy in detecting kiss scenes in the types of videos commonly shared on social media. That challenge would potentially demand additional knowledge on a much larger video dataset with examples going beyond on-screen Hollywood couples such as Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. Still, some very preliminary testing implies that this broader application of AI-powered kiss detection shows promise.
“The attempt in this study was to use a various dataset so that the model does not overfit to any selected type of movie,” Ziai says. “Anecdotally, the model seem to work reasonably well on a few YouTube videos that I found.”
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
New Hot Tap Digital Flowmeters Simplify Installation
Jun 25, 2019
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EXAIR's new Hot Tap Digital Flowmeters allow installation when compressed air piping is under pressure. By eliminating the need to separate and remove pressure from the pipe, these pressurized air flow-meters reduce installation time while maintaining safety. Hot Tap Digital Flowmeters incorporate two valves that the measuring probes pass through. A sound muffler that also collects chips from the drilling process removes installation debris from entering the airstream and minimizes noise exposure. Measuring compressed air is the first step toward identifying high compressed air use areas, compressed air leaks and perfecting air use.
Each meter ships with the necessary hardware and tools for installation including drill bit, drill guide, chip capturing muffler, and hex wrenches. The Hot Tap feature is presented on 2 inch through 8 inch flow-meters. They are presented in standard units which display airflow values on a bright LED screen, with optional data logger to capture and manipulate the data, or with wireless capability to transmit the data securely over a wireless network. Airflow values are expressed in Standard Cubic Feet per Minute or Cubic Meters per Hour.
Hot Tap Digital Flow-meters for schedule 40 iron pipe and Type L Copper are now available in sizes 2 inch, 2-1/2', 3', 4', 6' and 8'. They are CE and RoHS compliant and can also be requested for schedule 80 or 10S pipe.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
Each meter ships with the necessary hardware and tools for installation including drill bit, drill guide, chip capturing muffler, and hex wrenches. The Hot Tap feature is presented on 2 inch through 8 inch flow-meters. They are presented in standard units which display airflow values on a bright LED screen, with optional data logger to capture and manipulate the data, or with wireless capability to transmit the data securely over a wireless network. Airflow values are expressed in Standard Cubic Feet per Minute or Cubic Meters per Hour.
Hot Tap Digital Flow-meters for schedule 40 iron pipe and Type L Copper are now available in sizes 2 inch, 2-1/2', 3', 4', 6' and 8'. They are CE and RoHS compliant and can also be requested for schedule 80 or 10S pipe.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
ACCESS Manufacturing Systems Expands Manufacturing Product Line
Jun 25, 2019
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ACCESS Manufacturing Systems is satisfied to officially announce the addition of Markforged 3D Printers to their full product suite of high manufacturing solutions.
ACCESS has been achieving planned expansion plans since early 2018, starting with the launch of a totally re-branded website. During that same time, ACCESS was privileged as the HCL Technologies CAMWorks 2018 Worldwide Sales Partner of the Year. Only to accomplish the same recognition in June 2019, receiving their second consecutive year as the CAMWorks 2019 Worldwide Top Sales Partner.
'We've invested the past thirty years offering the most sophisticated CAM solutions on the market. We've plainly been successful with that, and we keep to service thousands of machining companies across the nation,' said Dave Dulong, founder and president of ACCESS Manufacturing Systems. 'But now, with the most recent improvements taking place in 3D printing, it's so crucial that we offer both current and future customers with alternative, cutting-edge and affordable 3D printing manufacturing options.'
The mission and customer-service standards of ACCESS are in place with Markforged's vision, to increase manufacturing system effectiveness through better and faster ways of making workable prototypes, tools and fixtures, and end use parts—at scale.
Markforged provides an end-to-end 3D printing system that rivals traditional manufacturing processes, both in speed and cost, and grows the applications for additive manufacturing.
ACCESS is presenting the complete Markforged product line, which consists of both metal and composite 3D printers.
'There's a lot of passion about our entry into the additive manufacturing market. It's a big industry advancement to be able to go from design to fully functional metal parts from a 3D print system. For us, that's undoubtedly an exciting end-to-end manufacturing solution,' said Joe Lagennusa, national sales manager at ACCESS Manufacturing Systems. 'The existing CAM expertise of our entire team has really allowed for a clean transition into additive. It's a great fit for us and for our customers.'
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
ACCESS has been achieving planned expansion plans since early 2018, starting with the launch of a totally re-branded website. During that same time, ACCESS was privileged as the HCL Technologies CAMWorks 2018 Worldwide Sales Partner of the Year. Only to accomplish the same recognition in June 2019, receiving their second consecutive year as the CAMWorks 2019 Worldwide Top Sales Partner.
'We've invested the past thirty years offering the most sophisticated CAM solutions on the market. We've plainly been successful with that, and we keep to service thousands of machining companies across the nation,' said Dave Dulong, founder and president of ACCESS Manufacturing Systems. 'But now, with the most recent improvements taking place in 3D printing, it's so crucial that we offer both current and future customers with alternative, cutting-edge and affordable 3D printing manufacturing options.'
The mission and customer-service standards of ACCESS are in place with Markforged's vision, to increase manufacturing system effectiveness through better and faster ways of making workable prototypes, tools and fixtures, and end use parts—at scale.
Markforged provides an end-to-end 3D printing system that rivals traditional manufacturing processes, both in speed and cost, and grows the applications for additive manufacturing.
ACCESS is presenting the complete Markforged product line, which consists of both metal and composite 3D printers.
'There's a lot of passion about our entry into the additive manufacturing market. It's a big industry advancement to be able to go from design to fully functional metal parts from a 3D print system. For us, that's undoubtedly an exciting end-to-end manufacturing solution,' said Joe Lagennusa, national sales manager at ACCESS Manufacturing Systems. 'The existing CAM expertise of our entire team has really allowed for a clean transition into additive. It's a great fit for us and for our customers.'
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
Is 'Big Tech' Too Big? A Look at Growing Antitrust Scrutiny
Jun 24, 2019
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Is Big Tech headed for a big breakup?
The U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are moving to investigate Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple over their aggressive business practices, and the House Judiciary Committee has announced an unprecedented antitrust probe, promising 'a top-to-bottom review of the market power held by giant tech platforms.'
In addition to that, at least two 2020 presidential hopefuls have expressed support for breaking up some of technology's biggest players amid challenges they have become too powerful.
Experts say breakups are unlikely in the short term, and Rep. David Cicilline, the Rhode Island Democrat who leads the subcommittee pursuing the House investigation, called such measures a 'last resort.' But even without that, Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple could encounter new restrictions on their power.
Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple denied to comment on the investigations.
Here's a look at the cases that could be brought against them and what their defenses could be.
FACEBOOK
With 2.4 billion users, $56 billion in revenue last year and a name that's synonymous with social media, Facebook is undeniably big. But is it an illegal, competition-crushing monopoly?
Federal regulators are already investigating the company's privacy practices. But the antitrust question has been rumbling in the background, with critics calling for spinning off WhatsApp and Instagram. Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has asked for breaking up Big Tech, as has Chris Hughes, a co-founder of Facebook. Former Vice President Joe Biden has said that he is open to the idea.
Critics believe a breakup is necessary seeing that Facebook can squash competitors either by buying them or using its enormous resources to mimic services they offer — as it's done with Snapchat, for example.
Facebook executives have been calling broadly for regulation, though nothing that comes close to breaking it up. In a latest statement, the company's vice president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said Facebook 'accepts that with success comes accountability. But you don't enforce accountability by calling for the breakup of a successful American company.' CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called for 'new rules' in four areas: harmful content, election integrity, privacy, and data portability.
Facebook has also stressed that it has competitors in messaging and digital communication, including Apple and Google.
New York University law professor Eleanor Fox replied that because antitrust law focuses on companies that raise prices too much, and Facebook is free, it will be a hard to break up the business. And Facebook commands less than a quarter of worldwide digital advertising, well behind Google.
Warren, however, has laid out plans for legislation that targets companies with more than $25 billion of annual revenue. It would limit their strength to enhance and force parts of their business to operate as separate entities.
GOOGLE
As Google grows to be a leading mail provider, search engine and advertising platform, federal regulators are starting to wonder if it needs to be knocked down a bit.
Critics say Google's dominance in search has allowed it to squash rivals — obviously because Google can show its own products above competitors' or feature its own ads conspicuously.
Google might argue it doesn't have an obligation to do business with its rivals at all — an argument that other companies have made when faced with equivalent concerns, said Sandeep Vaheesan, legal director for Open Markets Institute, which advocates breaking up monopolies.
It's Google's technology and Google will use it as it wishes, goes one line of reasoning.
Google has also faced scrutiny over the practices it uses to get its search and other products featured on smartphones. Many say Google imposes way too many self-serving regulations on smartphone makers who use Google's Android operating system.
But Google might simply dispute that Android users like Google products and want them on their phones.
Under existing laws, it is difficult to make the case that Google has monopoly power, 'even though I think many people think it's truly plain,' Fox said.
APPLE
Since its opening in 2008, Apple's groundbreaking app store has given customers instantaneous access to services that entertain, enlighten and engage. But it's also a place where Apple manages all the access and sets commission rates for subscriptions and other purchases made through the apps.
If it opens an investigation, the Justice Department is likely to focus on whether Apple is abusing its veto and pricing power to throttle and gouge its competition. The commissions it collects are also the subject of a consumer lawsuit that the Supreme Court recently cleared to proceed.
App makers frequently allege that they are blocked because Apple wants people to use its own services. In a recent example, multiple makers of apps for managing the amount of time kids can use their iPhones say they were kicked out of the store not long after Apple introduced its own screen-management controls.
Apple says it mostly blocks only apps with buggy software or features that invade users' privacy. The company likens its procedures to suppliers coming to a decision what products to carry. Apple also says its store includes apps that compete with its own products, especially Google Maps and Google's Chrome browser.
Also under criticism is the 30 percent cut that Apple pockets on new subscription sign-ups during the first year and a 15 percent slice for renewals. The app store is required to build about $16 billion in revenue this year.
Apple says the commissions cover costs for running the app store, including hiring people to review apps.
Antitrust regulators could try to impose requirements that lower Apple's commissions or, in a worst-case scenario, force it to spin off the app store. The latter option, though, could hurt consumers by making iPhones and other Apple products more cumbersome to use.
Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives likened a breakup to 'a complex and almost impossible Siamese twin operation.'
AMAZON
From an online bookseller, Amazon has cultivated into a gigantic e-commerce player with its tentacles in everything from web hosting to streaming video to groceries.
The European Union's antitrust chief has been carrying out an early-stage probe into whether Amazon is using data to gain an edge on third-party merchants, who are both its customers and rivals. Italy has been looking into whether Amazon abused its dominance by giving out preferential treatment to companies that used Amazon's own delivery-management services.
Cicilline, the congressman, said Amazon has identified bestselling products elsewhere, rolled out replicas under its own brand and then steered customers to its own products over those of its rivals. When Warren tweeted in April that big tech companies like Amazon should be broken up, Amazon tweeted back: 'Walmart is much larger.'
Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos made the same case in a recent letter to shareholders: 'Amazon today continues to be a small player in global retail. We represent a low single-digit percentage of the retail market, and there are much larger retailers in every country where we operate. And that's largely because nearly 90 percent of retail remains offline, in brick and mortar stores.'
But Amazon does dominate online. Market research company eMarketer expects Amazon to account for 52 percent of all online sales in the U.S. this year, up from 48 percent last year.
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com
Huawei Warns U.S. Hurting Itself With Tough Tech Policy
Jun 24, 2019
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A senior executive for Chinese technology giant Huawei said Thursday that he wishes the company's animosity with the United States is going to be fixed and informed that the U.S. will be shooting itself in the foot if it were to shun Chinese technology.
Mika Lauhde, Huawei's vice-president for cybersecurity and privacy, told The Associated Press that he hopes for a 'positive resolution' of the standoff with the U.S. government and added that his company is not the 'nucleus of the issue,' linking to the bigger trade war between the U.S. and China.
The U.S. has enforced sanctions against the world's No. 1 network equipment provider and second-largest smartphone maker, disputing that it's officially beholden to the Chinese government, which could use the company's products for cyberespionage. Huawei denies these allegations.
Lauhde told the AP that the U.S. would be 'driving itself into a corner' if it were to sever all ties with Huawei and other Chinese technology companies. 'If they are disconnecting themselves from everybody, that's (going to) happen vice versa as well,' he said, alluding to possible Chinese reaction.
Some cybersecurity experts say that Washington, by going as far as warning other countries against working with Huawei actions, will most definitely furthermore persuade China to grow into more technically self-reliant and will be dividing the world into two tech camps.
Lauhde rejected suggestion of a full split in the tech industry. 'I don't believe that we would be establishing two different camps,' he told the AP. 'I still believe that we are working together.'
Technical ties between China and Russia, for one, are broadening. Russia's major mobile operator MTS and Huawei on Wednesday proclaimed an agreement to jointly develop 5G networks in Russia. Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the ceremony at the Kremlin.
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com
China May Restrict Tech Access in Spiraling U.S. Trade Dispute
Jun 24, 2019
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China is building a system to guard its technology, according to state media, as the U.S. restricts the access of Chinese companies to American technology in a spiraling trade dispute.
The People's Daily newspaper said Sunday that the system will establish a solid firewall to strengthen the nation's ability to innovate and to accelerate the development of key technologies.
'China ... will never allow certain countries to use China's technology to contain China's development and suppress Chinese enterprises,' the key paper of the ruling Communist Party said, without directly talking about the United States. No details have been released about what China is calling a national technological security management list. The plan was declared Saturday evening in a brief three-paragraph dispatch by the official Xinhua News Agency.
The target is to forestall and defuse national security risks more effectively, Xinhua said, adding that detailed measures is going to be unmasked in the near future. The initiative follows U.S. moves to restrict sales to Huawei Technologies and other Chinese tech firms on national security grounds.
The U.S. Commerce Department last month added Huawei to its list of entities that are engaged in activities despite U.S. national security or foreign policy interests. Because of this, any sale of U.S. technology to Huawei will require Commerce Department approval. China responded by saying its Commerce Ministry would develop its own list of foreign entities that it regards as 'unreliable.'
This weekend's announcement of plans for a technological security management list is plainly relevant to the unreliable entities list, the state-owned Global Times newspaper said in an editorial posted online Sunday.
It said the act would provide a legal basis to manage technology exports and counter American supply cutoffs to a couple of Chinese companies. 'Since 2018, the U.S. has repeatedly drawn on its domestic law to exert pressure on Chinese high-tech enterprises,' the English-language editorial read in part. 'China's countermeasures against the U.S. require more legal weapons.'
The two largest economies appear as far apart as ever in their dispute, though U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he held a beneficial meeting Sunday with the head of China's central bank. In a Twitter post, Mnuchin said he and Yi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China, had a 'candid' discussion about trade difficulties. The post showed the two shaking hands and smiling.
They met on the sidelines of the G-20 finance meeting in Fukuoka, Japan.
Mnuchin earlier urged China to rejoin talks on the dispute that have stalled after 11 rounds of negotiations. He said no talks were scheduled, however, and that major progress on the stalemate may likely have to wait for a meeting of Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping later this month.
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com
China Blames U.S. for Trade Dispute, but Doesn't Escalate
Jun 24, 2019
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China fired back at the U.S. Sunday over the two nations' trade dispute, issuing a report that blamed the conflict on the Trump administration but refrained from climbing the trade war.
The report from the Cabinet spokesman's office said China won't back down on 'major issues of principle,' but presented no sense of whether or how the world's second largest economy might possibly strike back against U.S. tariffs on goods manufactured in China.
The report said China has kept its word through the course of 11 rounds of talks and will honor its dedications if a trade agreement is attained. It accused the U.S. of backtracking three times during the talks by introducing new tariffs and other conditions beyond what was agreed on.
'But the more the U.S. government is offered, the more it wants,' it said, accusing America's negotiators of 'resorting to intimidation and coercion.' 'A country's sovereignty and dignity must be respected, and any agreement reached by the two sides must be based on equality and mutual benefit,' the report said.
The report, delivered at a Sunday morning news conference, seems a bid to shore up China's arguments and validate its position in the face of what looks to be a protracted dispute. Over recent days, China has been mobilizing its reps abroad to sell its position with foreign audiences, while the domestic propaganda apparatus has been working overtime to convince the public of the righteousness of the government's stance.
Linda Lim, a professor at Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, said the report won't represent an escalation on China's part, but rather reiterates the government's position in a clear and measured way that leaves the door open for negotiations. 'They threw the ball back into the U.S. court,' she said.
She said the report is a public relations win for China's government at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy is antagonizing other U.S. trading partners, most recently Mexico. Trump announced last week that he would impose 5% tariffs on Mexican imports starting June 10 if the Mexicans don't do more to stop the surge of Central American migrants across the southern U.S. border.
The U.S. has charged China of stealing trade secrets and forced technology transfers. The Trump administration has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports and is hoping to tax the $300 billion in imports that have so far been spared. It also escalated the stakes this month by putting Chinese telecom giant Huawei on a blacklist that effectively bars U.S. companies from supplying it with computer chips, software and other components without government approval.
Beijing responded by imposing tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. products, which went into effect Saturday. It also retaliated against the U.S. blacklisting of Huawei by announcing Friday that it will start its own list of 'unreliable entities' consisting of foreign businesses, corporations and individuals.
Wang Shouwen, China's vice commerce minister and deputy international trade representative, said China would issue more detailed information on the unreliable entities list soon, but that it was focused at enterprises that 'violated market principles' and cut supplies of components to Chinese businesses for non-commercial reasons.
China's statement that it intends to publish such a list follows alternative measures last week that deepened the bite of U.S. sanctions imposed on Huawei in mid-May.
A number of leading U.S.-based global technology standards-setting groups declared restrictions on Huawei's participation in their activities under U.S. Commerce Department rules that bar the sale and transfer of U.S. technology to Huawei without government approval.
Wang also replicated suggestions that China could limit the export of exotic minerals known as rare earths that are widely used in electric cars and cellphones. Foremost among them is lithium, the main component in modern batteries.
The threat to use China's rich supply of rare earths as leverage in the conflict has contributed to sharp losses in U.S. stocks and sliding long-term bond yields. 'If some countries use China's rare earth metals to make products to contain China's development, this is unacceptable by standards of both minds and hearts,' Wang said.
Sunday's report lays out China's argument for blaming Washington for the frictions as well as the costs to both sides, and said China has room for fiscal policy changes to maintain the health of its economy in the midst of the dispute.
Wang said China had been required to 'take forceful measures in response' to U.S. actions and denied China had backtracked on its earlier commitments. He said the U.S. had made unacceptable demands, including on tariffs and compulsory requirements that infringed on Chinese sovereignty. 'You give them an inch, they take a yard,' he said.
Trump has touted the tariff climbs up as a way of reducing China's trade surplus with the U.S., which hit a staggering $379 billion last year. However, Wang questioned how much China was actually benefiting from its surplus, saying a joint Chinese-U.S. study showed the U.S. figure could be inflated by as much as 20%.
He also said quite a lot of those exports were produced by foreign companies operating in China and that Chinese firms often pocketed only a relatively meager fee for assembling. Subtracting the U.S. surplus in the services trade with China, the actual surplus came to just $152.6 billion last year, Wang said.
The U.S. deficit with China has actually been worsening since tariffs were first imposed, Wang said, pointing to a 50% decline in soy bean exports to China and a drop-off in U.S. auto sales in the country. The average U.S. family, meanwhile, will pay an additional $831 for consumer items over the year due to the higher tariffs, he said, while the dispute's impact on businesses could end up costing 2.23 million U.S. jobs overall.
'That shows that the deepening trade restrictions hurt U.S. workers,' Wang said.
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com
Rolls-Royce acquires Siemens¡¯ eAircraft business
Jun 24, 2019
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British multinational Rolls-Royce has stated the acquisition of the electric and hybrid-electric aerospace propulsion activities of Germany’s Siemens.
With around 180 designers and engineers based in Germany and Hungary, Siemens eAircraft business have been creating all-electric as well as hybrid power propulsion solutions.
Rob Watson, director of Rolls-Royce Electrical, said: “Electrification is set to have as spectacular an affect on aviation as the replacement of piston engines by gas turbines. We are at the dawn of the third era of aviation, which will bring a new class of quieter and cleaner air transport to the skies. We have already made big strides in realizinard to welcoming our new colleagues into Rolls-Royce and working with them to pioneer new technologies and solutions.”
g our strategy of ‘championing electrification’ and this move will increase our dreams in aerospace by adding vital skills and technology to our portfolio. It brings us increased scale and additional expertise as we build a product range of hybrid power and propulsion systems. I look onward to welcoming our new colleagues into Rolls-Royce and working with them to pioneer new technologies and solutions.”
The acquisition comes after an existing collaboration with the eAircraft team on the E-Fan X demonstrator project, regarding hybrid electric propulsion for regional aircraft. Rolls-Royce said it would continue to work with Siemens to support CO2 reduction goals.
“To support the rising requirements for air travel while achieving CO2 emissions targets, the aviation industry is growing increasingly environmentally friendly technologies and practices,” said Paul Stein, Rolls-Royce Chief Technology Officer. “The electrification of flight is just one part of Rolls-Royce’s commitment to making aviation more sustainable: we are enduring to increase the fuel efficiency of our gas turbines; encouraging the development of environmentally friendly and sustainable aviation fuels; and pursuing the electrification of aviation. We believe that pure electric, or all-electric, propulsion will power smaller aircraft in the foreseeable future, while larger aircraft will rely upon hybrid electric solutions that incorporate electrification with evolutions of the gas turbine.”
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
With around 180 designers and engineers based in Germany and Hungary, Siemens eAircraft business have been creating all-electric as well as hybrid power propulsion solutions.
Rob Watson, director of Rolls-Royce Electrical, said: “Electrification is set to have as spectacular an affect on aviation as the replacement of piston engines by gas turbines. We are at the dawn of the third era of aviation, which will bring a new class of quieter and cleaner air transport to the skies. We have already made big strides in realizinard to welcoming our new colleagues into Rolls-Royce and working with them to pioneer new technologies and solutions.”
g our strategy of ‘championing electrification’ and this move will increase our dreams in aerospace by adding vital skills and technology to our portfolio. It brings us increased scale and additional expertise as we build a product range of hybrid power and propulsion systems. I look onward to welcoming our new colleagues into Rolls-Royce and working with them to pioneer new technologies and solutions.”
The acquisition comes after an existing collaboration with the eAircraft team on the E-Fan X demonstrator project, regarding hybrid electric propulsion for regional aircraft. Rolls-Royce said it would continue to work with Siemens to support CO2 reduction goals.
“To support the rising requirements for air travel while achieving CO2 emissions targets, the aviation industry is growing increasingly environmentally friendly technologies and practices,” said Paul Stein, Rolls-Royce Chief Technology Officer. “The electrification of flight is just one part of Rolls-Royce’s commitment to making aviation more sustainable: we are enduring to increase the fuel efficiency of our gas turbines; encouraging the development of environmentally friendly and sustainable aviation fuels; and pursuing the electrification of aviation. We believe that pure electric, or all-electric, propulsion will power smaller aircraft in the foreseeable future, while larger aircraft will rely upon hybrid electric solutions that incorporate electrification with evolutions of the gas turbine.”
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
Desktop Metal Now Shipping the World¡¯s First Office-Friendly Metal 3D Printing System
Jun 24, 2019
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Desktop Metal, the company determined to making metal 3D printing accessible to manufacturers and engineers, today announced it has started shipping its Studio System™ to customers and resellers throughout Europe. The world's first office-friendly metal 3D printing system for functional prototyping and low volume production, has met with strong adoption in North America among leading companies, including Ford, Stanley Black and Decker, Google's ATAP, Goodyear, Owens Corning, and John Zink Hamworthy Combustion. Building on that momentum, the Studio System is now CE certified for international compatibility and being installed at customers throughout Europe, including France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
'When Desktop Metal first launched, we set forth a mission to fundamentally change how the world designs and creates metal additively manufactured parts, from functional prototyping to mass manufacturing,' said Ric Fulop, CEO and co-founder of Desktop Metal. 'We have been sending on that vision throughout the U.S. and Canada, and are now eager to step onto the international stage to further speed our business expansion and answer the remarkable demand of the European market.'
In anticipation of the international expansion, Desktop Metal has been functioning for more than a year with a select group of strategic customers as early stage evaluators of its technologies. These strategic partners have been a source of key user feedback on benchmark parts, materials, training and system usage. International customers of the Studio System span various industries, including automotive, education and defense, as well as service providers of luxury brands and consumer products. Leading companies, including BMW Group in Germany; Politecnico Di Milano, one of the largest technical universities in Europe and Additive Italia srl (Add+It) in Italy; EGIBIDE and Centro Avanzado de Fabricación (IMH) in Spain; Edalis, Soprofame and MSA in France; Weir Group and the city of Sheffield in the UK; Jade Groupe of Portugal, which specializes in metal parts production for the luxury fashion world; and BAZIGOS of Greece, a manufacturing firm focused in high precision components, are among the first customers to benefit from the ease of use and accessibility provided by the Studio System.
The Machine Tool Institute (IMH) is an Advanced Manufacturing Center that offers specialized training in Advanced Manufacturing (AM) and Technological / Organizational Innovation services for companies. 'At IMH, we are continuously seeking new expert manufacturing technologies to foster increased innovation among our students and business professionals in the Basque country,' said Xabier Cearsolo, AM Department Manager, Centro Avanzado De Fabricacion - IMH. 'The Desktop Metal Studio System should quickly become a key educational and training tool for those in the IMH community who are looking to expand their metal 3D printing knowledge and remain ahead of the curve.'
EGIBIDE is a respected school and training center with 75 years of experience. 'Our goal at EGIBIDE is to connect our students with the most sophisticated tools and know-how of the society of the 21st century,' said Jon Uriarte, Educator. 'We chose to invest in the Desktop Metal Studio System to be at the forefront of metal AM technology. Also, the cost per part and easiness to install and operate - no laser, no powder - will allow upgraded technology transfer to our region's companies.'
In addition to cargo now underway in USA, Canada and Europe, the Studio System is available to reserve in 48 countries, including Asia Pacific, EMEA, and Mexico. To offer superior customer service, the company has a growing global network of 85 sales partners and resellers, all experienced in manufacturing equipment distribution. European customers submitting new orders can expect to receive their systems within eight weeks or sooner.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
'When Desktop Metal first launched, we set forth a mission to fundamentally change how the world designs and creates metal additively manufactured parts, from functional prototyping to mass manufacturing,' said Ric Fulop, CEO and co-founder of Desktop Metal. 'We have been sending on that vision throughout the U.S. and Canada, and are now eager to step onto the international stage to further speed our business expansion and answer the remarkable demand of the European market.'
In anticipation of the international expansion, Desktop Metal has been functioning for more than a year with a select group of strategic customers as early stage evaluators of its technologies. These strategic partners have been a source of key user feedback on benchmark parts, materials, training and system usage. International customers of the Studio System span various industries, including automotive, education and defense, as well as service providers of luxury brands and consumer products. Leading companies, including BMW Group in Germany; Politecnico Di Milano, one of the largest technical universities in Europe and Additive Italia srl (Add+It) in Italy; EGIBIDE and Centro Avanzado de Fabricación (IMH) in Spain; Edalis, Soprofame and MSA in France; Weir Group and the city of Sheffield in the UK; Jade Groupe of Portugal, which specializes in metal parts production for the luxury fashion world; and BAZIGOS of Greece, a manufacturing firm focused in high precision components, are among the first customers to benefit from the ease of use and accessibility provided by the Studio System.
The Machine Tool Institute (IMH) is an Advanced Manufacturing Center that offers specialized training in Advanced Manufacturing (AM) and Technological / Organizational Innovation services for companies. 'At IMH, we are continuously seeking new expert manufacturing technologies to foster increased innovation among our students and business professionals in the Basque country,' said Xabier Cearsolo, AM Department Manager, Centro Avanzado De Fabricacion - IMH. 'The Desktop Metal Studio System should quickly become a key educational and training tool for those in the IMH community who are looking to expand their metal 3D printing knowledge and remain ahead of the curve.'
EGIBIDE is a respected school and training center with 75 years of experience. 'Our goal at EGIBIDE is to connect our students with the most sophisticated tools and know-how of the society of the 21st century,' said Jon Uriarte, Educator. 'We chose to invest in the Desktop Metal Studio System to be at the forefront of metal AM technology. Also, the cost per part and easiness to install and operate - no laser, no powder - will allow upgraded technology transfer to our region's companies.'
In addition to cargo now underway in USA, Canada and Europe, the Studio System is available to reserve in 48 countries, including Asia Pacific, EMEA, and Mexico. To offer superior customer service, the company has a growing global network of 85 sales partners and resellers, all experienced in manufacturing equipment distribution. European customers submitting new orders can expect to receive their systems within eight weeks or sooner.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
Digital Transformation Gets Bigger, Better, Bolder at LiveWorx¡¯19
Jun 24, 2019
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A record crowd gathered in Boston last week for the annual LiveWorx® digital transformation event, where attendees explored how digital transformation is getting to be a truth for an ever-increasing number of manufacturing companies around the world.
The event delivered together more than 6,400 of the industry's greatest minds from more than 40 countries (with approximately 7,000 more live-streaming the event) for four days of interactive workshops, facilitated industry networking, cutting-edge demos highlighting the hottest technology innovations, and more. It spanned disruptive technologies and topics including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), the industrial internet of things (IIoT), Industry 4.0, digital engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics. This year's Xtropolis™ exhibit hall displayed some of the most complex applications of digital transformation available for the industrial enterprise. The show's 200,000 square foot experiential center featured displays and tactical sessions from over 100 exhibitors who are revolutionizing their industries.
As presenting sponsor, PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) opened the event with a keynote from President and CEO Jim Heppelmann, who declared, 'There is a growing interest that disruptive innovation happens at the intersection of many advanced technologies, such as IoT, AR, AI, and Digital Twin. Powered by these complementary technologies, companies now have the tools they need to fully transform the way they generate value through increased efficiency and productivity across products, processes, and people.'
Companies Across Industries Bring Digital Transformation to Life
Companies from across the industrial spectrum offered and exhibited the exclusive ways various technologies are helping them to undergo digital transformations. Attendees heard from a wide variety of organizations, including Johnson & Johnson, Southwest Airlines, Stanley Black & Decker, Whirlpool, Vodafone, and more about how IIoT, AR, and other integrated solutions are helping them achieve significant business value. A panel featuring Aggrekko, Fujitsu, Global Foundries, and Howden pointed out ‘top tips' for bringing digital technology such as AR to the enterprise.
Many of the 245+ sessions at the event emphasized how finding key strategic partners can stimulate digital transformation in the industrial sector. During one such session, Dr. Maria Wilson, global leader of data driven advantage at Howden said, 'We realized very early on in our digital transformation journey that the most reliable and time-effective way to perform our vision was to create a strong partners ecosystem.'
Disciplined with that theme, PTC leveraged the LiveWorx stage to make several announcements around alliances, investments, and a strategic acquisition, including:
Microsoft Partner of the Year: PTC was known as the Microsoft Partner of the Year in two categories: 'Manufacturing and Resources' and 'Mixed Reality', as well as a finalist in the 'Internet of Things (IoT)' category.
Technology Partner Investment: PTC announced that it has invested in and partnered with Matterport, a company that offers immersive 3D technology and spatial capture solutions. Together, Matterport and PTC will combine their expertise to aim on factories, plants and other industrial spaces - as well as the people who operate them.
New AR Acquisition: PTC announced the acquisition of TWNKLS, a Netherlands-based company that evolves tailor-made AR applications, experiences and services to solve the specific challenges faced by enterprise companies.
More than 100 companies sponsored LiveWorx this year, including Pinnacle Sponsors Rockwell Automation, Accenture, Deloitte Digital and Microsoft; and Premier Sponsors Analog Services, ANSYS, Capgemini, Cognizant, DXC.technology, HCL, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IFS, Infosys, and Kalypso. Hundreds more delivered compelling content in breakout sessions and on the Xtropolis floor via Ignite Talx.
Register Now for LiveWorx 20 on June 8-11
LiveWorx 20 will be held June 8-11, 2020, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, co-located with a brand new event from Rockwell Automation.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
The event delivered together more than 6,400 of the industry's greatest minds from more than 40 countries (with approximately 7,000 more live-streaming the event) for four days of interactive workshops, facilitated industry networking, cutting-edge demos highlighting the hottest technology innovations, and more. It spanned disruptive technologies and topics including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), the industrial internet of things (IIoT), Industry 4.0, digital engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics. This year's Xtropolis™ exhibit hall displayed some of the most complex applications of digital transformation available for the industrial enterprise. The show's 200,000 square foot experiential center featured displays and tactical sessions from over 100 exhibitors who are revolutionizing their industries.
As presenting sponsor, PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) opened the event with a keynote from President and CEO Jim Heppelmann, who declared, 'There is a growing interest that disruptive innovation happens at the intersection of many advanced technologies, such as IoT, AR, AI, and Digital Twin. Powered by these complementary technologies, companies now have the tools they need to fully transform the way they generate value through increased efficiency and productivity across products, processes, and people.'
Companies Across Industries Bring Digital Transformation to Life
Companies from across the industrial spectrum offered and exhibited the exclusive ways various technologies are helping them to undergo digital transformations. Attendees heard from a wide variety of organizations, including Johnson & Johnson, Southwest Airlines, Stanley Black & Decker, Whirlpool, Vodafone, and more about how IIoT, AR, and other integrated solutions are helping them achieve significant business value. A panel featuring Aggrekko, Fujitsu, Global Foundries, and Howden pointed out ‘top tips' for bringing digital technology such as AR to the enterprise.
Many of the 245+ sessions at the event emphasized how finding key strategic partners can stimulate digital transformation in the industrial sector. During one such session, Dr. Maria Wilson, global leader of data driven advantage at Howden said, 'We realized very early on in our digital transformation journey that the most reliable and time-effective way to perform our vision was to create a strong partners ecosystem.'
Disciplined with that theme, PTC leveraged the LiveWorx stage to make several announcements around alliances, investments, and a strategic acquisition, including:
Microsoft Partner of the Year: PTC was known as the Microsoft Partner of the Year in two categories: 'Manufacturing and Resources' and 'Mixed Reality', as well as a finalist in the 'Internet of Things (IoT)' category.
Technology Partner Investment: PTC announced that it has invested in and partnered with Matterport, a company that offers immersive 3D technology and spatial capture solutions. Together, Matterport and PTC will combine their expertise to aim on factories, plants and other industrial spaces - as well as the people who operate them.
New AR Acquisition: PTC announced the acquisition of TWNKLS, a Netherlands-based company that evolves tailor-made AR applications, experiences and services to solve the specific challenges faced by enterprise companies.
More than 100 companies sponsored LiveWorx this year, including Pinnacle Sponsors Rockwell Automation, Accenture, Deloitte Digital and Microsoft; and Premier Sponsors Analog Services, ANSYS, Capgemini, Cognizant, DXC.technology, HCL, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IFS, Infosys, and Kalypso. Hundreds more delivered compelling content in breakout sessions and on the Xtropolis floor via Ignite Talx.
Register Now for LiveWorx 20 on June 8-11
LiveWorx 20 will be held June 8-11, 2020, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, co-located with a brand new event from Rockwell Automation.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
TOHAN DENSHIKIKI SERVO DRIVER REPAIR SERVICE MALAYSIA SINGAPORE INDONESIA THAILAND USA
Jun 22, 2019
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TOHAN DENSHIKIKI SERVO DRIVER REPAIR SERVICE MALAYSIA SINGAPORE INDONESIA THAILAND USA
Repairs and Services by Fictron Professional Team
Fictron also sells Original and Quality products from the ranges and brands below and more
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Fictron Juga menjual Produk Original yang Berkualitas
Inverter Inverters Servo Drive Drives Motor Soft Starter HMI Touch Screen Monitor PCB PLC Power Supplies CNC UPS Electronics PSU Boards Controllers
ALLEN BRADLEY KEB HAITIAN YASKAWA RIETER DANFOSS LENZE SIEMENS NIDEC CONTROL TECHNIQUES INVERTEK INVT CUTES DELTA ABB SCHNEIDER FICTRON ELECTRIC LG LS HITACHI TECO TOSHIBA MITSUBISHI FUJI ELECTRIC OMRON HYUNDAI PROFACE HITECH GE FANUC PANASONIC MINAS EUROTHERM CURTIS EMERSON EMOTRON DENSEI NEMIC LAMBDA HONEYWELL BOSCH REXROTH HAAS TOYOTA YALE ZAPI DANAHER NICHIYU DYNADRIVE MINARIK ORIENTAL NISSEI BAUMULLER B&R ACOPOS KINCO KOMATSU HAKKO KEYENCE OTIS KONE COPLEY SEGMA SSD SPG AEG BALDOR BEIJER CONVO DEMA EATON CUTTLER HAMMER GEFRAN HOLIP HUAWEI INDRRAMAT IMO SANKYO SUMITOMO SEW EURODRIVE SAMCO RELIANCE ELECTRIC TELEMECANiQUE FRECON VACON
Contact Fictron sales.co@fictron.com
Baikan
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บริการรับซ่อม ติดตั้ง Inverter ซ่อม inverter (อินเวอร์เตอร์) ทุกรุ่นทุกยี่ห้อ เช่น
Fictron บริการรับซ่อม Inverter ทุกรุ่น ทุกยี่ห้อ ทุกอาการเสีย เช่น เปิดเครื่องไม่ติด ไฟไม่เข้า Runไม่ได้ Outputไม่ออก ซ็อต Boardไหม้ โชว์Alarmต่างๆ ปรับค่าไม่ได้ ฯลฯ ยินดีให้คำปรึกษาเเละบริการ สามารถคลิกดูรายละเอียดรุ่นที่ซ่อมได้ที่ Link ยี่ห้อ หรือติดต่อโดยตรงที่
Inverter Inverters Servo Drive Drives Motor Soft Starter HMI Touch Screen Monitor PCB PLC Power Supplies CNC UPS Electronics PSU Boards Controllers
ALLEN BRADLEY KEB HAITIAN YASKAWA RIETER DANFOSS LENZE SIEMENS NIDEC CONTROL TECHNIQUES INVERTEK INVT CUTES DELTA ABB SCHNEIDER FICTRON ELECTRIC LG LS HITACHI TECO TOSHIBA MITSUBISHI FUJI ELECTRIC OMRON HYUNDAI PROFACE HITECH GE FANUC PANASONIC MINAS EUROTHERM CURTIS EMERSON EMOTRON DENSEI NEMIC LAMBDA HONEYWELL BOSCH REXROTH HAAS TOYOTA YALE ZAPI DANAHER NICHIYU DYNADRIVE MINARIK ORIENTAL NISSEI BAUMULLER B&R ACOPOS KINCO KOMATSU HAKKO KEYENCE OTIS KONE COPLEY SEGMA SSD SPG AEG BALDOR BEIJER CONVO DEMA EATON CUTTLER HAMMER GEFRAN HOLIP HUAWEI INDRRAMAT IMO SANKYO SUMITOMO SEW EURODRIVE SAMCO RELIANCE ELECTRIC TELEMECANiQUE FRECON VACON
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| Stepping Motor‧Driver Series | ||||
| No. | Name of manual | Version | ||
| 3 phase driver | ||||
| 1 |
|
US-V01E | ||
| 2 phase driver | ||||
| 2 |
|
RJ-V08E | ||
| 3 |
|
RI-V08E | ||
| 4 |
|
RK-V03E | ||
| 5 |
|
OK-V04E | ||
| 6 |
|
VN-V02E | ||
| 7 |
|
|||
| 8 |
|
VS-V01E | ||
| 9 |
|
UJ-V03E | ||
| 10 |
|
|||
| 11 |
|
ZI-V02E | ||
| 12 |
|
WL-V01E | ||
| 13 |
|
YL-V03E | ||
| 14 |
|
YL-V02E | ||
| 15 |
|
ZL-V04E | ||
| 5 phase driver | ||||
| 16 |
|
OK-V08E | ||
| 17 |
|
RJ-V07E | ||
| 18 |
|
|||
| 19 |
|
|||
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Inverter Inverters Servo Drive Drives Motor Soft Starter HMI Touch Screen Monitor PCB PLC Power Supplies CNC UPS Electronics PSU Boards Controllers
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Inverter Inverters Servo Drive Drives Motor Soft Starter HMI Touch Screen Monitor PCB PLC Power Supplies CNC UPS Electronics PSU Boards Controllers
ALLEN BRADLEY KEB HAITIAN YASKAWA RIETER DANFOSS LENZE SIEMENS NIDEC CONTROL TECHNIQUES INVERTEK INVT CUTES DELTA ABB SCHNEIDER FICTRON ELECTRIC LG LS HITACHI TECO TOSHIBA MITSUBISHI FUJI ELECTRIC OMRON HYUNDAI PROFACE HITECH GE FANUC PANASONIC MINAS EUROTHERM CURTIS EMERSON EMOTRON DENSEI NEMIC LAMBDA HONEYWELL BOSCH REXROTH HAAS TOYOTA YALE ZAPI DANAHER NICHIYU DYNADRIVE MINARIK ORIENTAL NISSEI BAUMULLER B&R ACOPOS KINCO KOMATSU HAKKO KEYENCE OTIS KONE COPLEY SEGMA SSD SPG AEG BALDOR BEIJER CONVO DEMA EATON CUTTLER HAMMER GEFRAN HOLIP HUAWEI INDRRAMAT IMO SANKYO SUMITOMO SEW EURODRIVE SAMCO RELIANCE ELECTRIC TELEMECANiQUE FRECON VACON
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Fictron บริการรับซ่อม Inverter ทุกรุ่น ทุกยี่ห้อ ทุกอาการเสีย เช่น เปิดเครื่องไม่ติด ไฟไม่เข้า Runไม่ได้ Outputไม่ออก ซ็อต Boardไหม้ โชว์Alarmต่างๆ ปรับค่าไม่ได้ ฯลฯ ยินดีให้คำปรึกษาเเละบริการ สามารถคลิกดูรายละเอียดรุ่นที่ซ่อมได้ที่ Link ยี่ห้อ หรือติดต่อโดยตรงที่
Inverter Inverters Servo Drive Drives Motor Soft Starter HMI Touch Screen Monitor PCB PLC Power Supplies CNC UPS Electronics PSU Boards Controllers
ALLEN BRADLEY KEB HAITIAN YASKAWA RIETER DANFOSS LENZE SIEMENS NIDEC CONTROL TECHNIQUES INVERTEK INVT CUTES DELTA ABB SCHNEIDER FICTRON ELECTRIC LG LS HITACHI TECO TOSHIBA MITSUBISHI FUJI ELECTRIC OMRON HYUNDAI PROFACE HITECH GE FANUC PANASONIC MINAS EUROTHERM CURTIS EMERSON EMOTRON DENSEI NEMIC LAMBDA HONEYWELL BOSCH REXROTH HAAS TOYOTA YALE ZAPI DANAHER NICHIYU DYNADRIVE MINARIK ORIENTAL NISSEI BAUMULLER B&R ACOPOS KINCO KOMATSU HAKKO KEYENCE OTIS KONE COPLEY SEGMA SSD SPG AEG BALDOR BEIJER CONVO DEMA EATON CUTTLER HAMMER GEFRAN HOLIP HUAWEI INDRRAMAT IMO SANKYO SUMITOMO SEW EURODRIVE SAMCO RELIANCE ELECTRIC TELEMECANiQUE FRECON VACON
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Laserline LDMblue - The world¡¯s first blue cw diode lasers
Jun 21, 2019
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Santa Clara, California June 20, 2019 - As the international top developer and manufacturer of diode lasers for industrial material running, Laserline proceeds to develop its outstanding market position. With prompt effect, a new high power laser series LDMblue has become obtainable with up to 1 kW output power. These lasers function at 450 nm wavelength and are the first industrial diode lasers competent of making a controlled heat conduction welding of really reflective nonferrous metals such as copper and gold. These lasers offer new and more efficient manufacturing options, specifically with joining of thin copper for illustration used in battery production for electric vehicles. Finely tuned power rules within milliseconds and extraordinary calm melt pools will make sure smooth-seam areas with excellent electrical conductivity. Thereby rendering the laser systems interesting as well for design-oriented applications in visible areas. Furthermore, the diode lasers of the LDMblue series have also been successfully analyzed in cladding and additive manufacturing processes based on non-ferrous metals.
Supported by the German government research program EffiLAS (Efficient high-power laser beam sources), the new laser series was developed by Laserline together with Osram and other project partners. The LDMblue diode lasers are obtainable in three standard configurations with 1,000, 500 or 300 W output power at beam qualities of 100 or 60 mm·mrad (LDMblue 1000-100 / 500-60 / 300-60). Thanks to the proven and compact LDM design for the 19‘‘ rack, the LDMblue lasers can easily be integrated in a space-saving manner into all common production lines. You can find detailed information about the Laserline LDMblue series online at www.laserline.com/ldm-blue.
Up till now, joining thin non-ferrous metal compounds using classic infrared lasers was only possible via a modified deep welding process with material reinforcements in the seam area. This was due to the strong reflexion in the infrared spectrum which required high energy inputs. However, light in the blue spectrum is absorbed by non-ferrous metals up to twenty times stronger than by infrared radiation. Thus, compared to conventional infrared lasers, less energy is naturally essential for fusing the workpiece surface. Even the thinnest copper components can be joined in this way without artificial material reinforcement.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
Supported by the German government research program EffiLAS (Efficient high-power laser beam sources), the new laser series was developed by Laserline together with Osram and other project partners. The LDMblue diode lasers are obtainable in three standard configurations with 1,000, 500 or 300 W output power at beam qualities of 100 or 60 mm·mrad (LDMblue 1000-100 / 500-60 / 300-60). Thanks to the proven and compact LDM design for the 19‘‘ rack, the LDMblue lasers can easily be integrated in a space-saving manner into all common production lines. You can find detailed information about the Laserline LDMblue series online at www.laserline.com/ldm-blue.
Up till now, joining thin non-ferrous metal compounds using classic infrared lasers was only possible via a modified deep welding process with material reinforcements in the seam area. This was due to the strong reflexion in the infrared spectrum which required high energy inputs. However, light in the blue spectrum is absorbed by non-ferrous metals up to twenty times stronger than by infrared radiation. Thus, compared to conventional infrared lasers, less energy is naturally essential for fusing the workpiece surface. Even the thinnest copper components can be joined in this way without artificial material reinforcement.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
Why U.S.-China Trade War Risks Hurting Firms in Both Countries
Jun 21, 2019
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U.S. businesses are imploring President Donald Trump not to extend his tariffs to $300 billion in goods from China that have so far been spared in his trade war with Beijing.
These companies advise that the additional tariffs would drive up prices for consumers, squeeze profits and leave U.S. companies at a competitive shortcoming to foreign rivals that typically are not subject to higher taxes on the components they buy from China.
And in a sign that commercial combat between the world's two leading economies is damaging business on either side of the Pacific, the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei warned that the hostilities with the Trump administration will decrease its expected revenue by $30 billion over the next two years.
Huawei is at the heart of the trade war that Beijing is engaged in with the Trump administration, which has accused Chinese companies like Huawei of committing forced technology transfers from American companies and stealing their trade secrets. Last month, the U.S. placed Huawei on its 'Entity List,' which effectively bars American companies from selling components to Huawei without government approval.
For the time being, American businesses, trade groups and individuals are pleading with the administration to lower its threat to tax the remaining Chinese imports that Trump hasn't already hit with tariffs — or at a minimum spare the particular imports that they and their customers rely on. Some are appearing in person to air their grievances in seven days of hearings in Washington that started Monday.
A typical theme in their pleas is that American businesses — not China, as Trump often asserts — must pay the import taxes the president is imposing on Chinese goods. And in the end, many of these companies will pass their higher costs on to their customers.
Trump has already imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports. The goal is to drive Beijing to stop stealing American technology, compelling U.S. businesses to hand over trade secrets and unfairly subsidizing Chinese tech companies.
Eleven rounds of negotiations failed to end the argument over China's aggressive drive to outperform America's technological dominance. Businesses and investors say they hope the negotiations will gain momentum if Trump and President Xi Jinping hold a face-to-face meeting at a Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan end of June 2019.
'Most businesses are almost praying for a solution,' said Patrik Berglund, who tracks global trade as the CEO of Xeneta, an Oslo, Norway ,firm that provides data on the shipping industry. 'These things will have enormous consequences. We're so connected in this global world.'
This week, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is sure to see more complaints when he goes to Capitol Hill. Lighthizer is to attest Tuesday to the Senate Finance Committee and Wednesday to the House Ways and Means Committee. Lawmakers from both political parties have already been extremely prepared to speak out against Trump's aggressive use of tariffs.
They were mainly concerned last month when Trump without warning threatened to impose crippling tariffs on Mexico in a push to stop the flow of Central American migrants into the United States. Trump dropped the tariff threat after Mexico agreed to do more to block the migrants.
But the fight with China keeps going. And Chinese companies are actually being suffered. Huawei's founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei, compared his company to a 'badly damaged plane' because of the U.S. actions against it.
Ren said Huawei wil dramatically reduce capacity and expects revenue of about $100 billion yearly for the next two years, compared with $105 billion in 2018. In February, he had said the company was targeting $125 billion in 2019. Huawei's overseas cellphone sales will decline by 40%, Ren predicted.
The Trump administration claims that Huawei poses a national security threat on the grounds that it is beholden to China's ruling Communist Party. But American officials have presented no evidence of any Huawei equipment serving as intentional conduits for espionage by Beijing. Huawei's placement on the Entity List is widely seen as intended to persuade resistant U.S. allies in Europe to exclude Huawei equipment from their next-generation wireless networks, known as 5G.
The action against Huawei designated an escalation in a yearlong conflict with China. Trump's previous tariffs typically spared American consumers by focusing on industrial goods that don't show up directly in the mall or big-box stores. But the new round would impose financial pain on ordinary households because it will affect many consumer goods, from cellphones and computers to shoes and silk scarves. 'There's certainly a lot of business pressure to resolve the China trade wars,' said Amanda DeBusk, chair of the international trade practice at the law firm Dechert and a former U.S. Commerce Department official.
She added: 'The president looks at all of this as a negotiation. As we have seen, sometimes these things have a way of working themselves out as they did with his tariffs on Mexico.'
If Trump does expand his tariffs to all remaining goods from China, though, it could prove overpriced. A report commissioned by the National Retail Federation uncovered that American consumers would pay an additional $4.4 billion a year for clothing, $2.5 billion more for shoes and $1.6 billion more for household appliances.
More generally, economists say the tariffs could weaken a U.S. economy that appears to be on shakier footing. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said the increasing import taxes would leave the United States with 900,000 fewer jobs than it would have had otherwise. 'The U.S. economy will be flirting with recession later this year and early next,' Zandi said.
Jeffrey Pratt, leader of the supply chain practice at the accounting and consulting firm BDO, called the looming tariffs 'a bit of gamechanger' for his clients. Many can't afford to absorb the taxes themselves and would pass along the higher costs to their customers.
Atlas PyroVision Entertainment in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, relies on China for 90% of the fireworks it sells.
'Simply imposing a 25% tariff will subsequently cause substantial harm to our family business,' CEO Stephen Pelkey noted in a filing with the U.S. Trade Representative. 'We would be forced to pass along the increase directly to our customers.'
Noting that community nonprofits often use the fireworks for Independence Day celebrations, Pelkey wrote: 'In most cases, a 25% hike in price will force their skies to go dark on the 4th of July.'
Bracing for the new tariffs, Yedi Houseware, a Los Angeles family business, has postponed plans to hire and move into a bigger warehouse. Bobby Djavaheri, a company executive, echoed a common complaint: The administration is taxing products — in his case, things like air fryers — that aren't made by American companies. They must be imported. So no U.S. producer benefits from the tariffs; U.S. importers just get socked with a tax. 'It's really dumbfounding,' he said.
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com
New E-Learning Courses Provide Convenient Training Option
Jun 21, 2019
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Industrial companies can better occupy very important qualified roles by providing adjustable training that accommodates workers’ busy personal and professional lives. New e-learning courses from Rockwell Automation provide workers with the relevant skills they need to help modern industrial operations while allowing the training to occur at a time, pace and place which is right for each worker.
The lessons cover numerous topics in order to assist engineers, technicians and IT personnel design, implement and maintain industrial control systems. At this time, 14 courses are available spanning six technology areas:
(1) Industrial control
(2) Motion control
(3) Safety
(4) Power control
(5) Visualization
(6) Industrial networking
The e-learning courses are self-paced and self-directed. Trainees can take them on any tablet or PC. And they can get started and stop courses at their own convenience.
The interactive courses help reinforce learning concepts using a mix of activities, simulations and videos. All content is also narrated and has a viewable transcript. Trainees are awarded continuing education units (CEU) after they complete courses and pass required knowledge assessments.
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com
LED Lighting Project Leads to Better Work Spaces for Contract Manufacturing
Jun 21, 2019
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An electronics contract manufacturer started off with a task to upgrade its workbench lighting to LEDs, and preferably found out an opportunity to upgrade the whole workbenches cheaper than the cost of commercial industrial fixtures.
Z-AXIS has been constructing electronic products in our contract manufacturing facility near Rochester, New York since 1989. Over that time we have slowly advanced equipment and reconfigured the work floor to accommodate to new technology and to our customers’ changing needs.
And over that time, we have gained multiple different types of workbenches with a number of overhead fluorescent light fixtures.
Upgrading to LED lighting, we could have essentially upgraded the fluorescent tubes with LED tubes. This would have been the fastest, simplest, and lowest-benefit option. The fixtures would most likely nonetheless have ballasts, which waste a lot of energy and will burn out well before the LED tube does. We could rewire the fixtures to bypass the ballasts, but we’d still be settling for new technology in old packaging.
The second option was to exchange the fluorescent fixtures with something that appears to be very similar, like industrial-style commercial LED shop lights. This is new technology in old-style packaging. Because of this, the packaging retains lots of the disadvantages of the old technology:
(1) The large fixtures block the overhead lights and cast shadows on workspaces when off
(2) They shine light in all directions—including into workers’ eyes—instead of on the workpiece
(3) They collect dust on top
And they would be time-consuming to put, since we would need to configure a lot of different types of mounting systems to fit the various workbench styles.
We started to find out a real opportunity to get much larger advancements from this LED lighting project than we had at first thought, by changing our systems - in this case, the workbenches themselves — in place of force- fitting new technology into our old systems.
Our manufacturing engineers tailored a totally new workbench frame using commercially available extruded aluminum T-channel structures. The frame holds an LED light strip we formulated and manufacture in-house. It also holds the polycarbonate safety shield required between facing workstations.
Our electrical engineers formed the LED light strip and a constant-current LED driver. They chose high-end LEDs with integral lenses so that all the light is pointed down onto the work area without the need for reflectors. They chose LEDs with a warm color temperature for light that is enjoyable to humans. These two features add a bit to the cost and reduce a bit from the efficiency compared to the cheaper LEDs commonly used on lighting strips, but are worth it for the increase in worker comfort. And they are still miles better than fluorescents.
The new lighting fixtures deliver 2 times the light to the work area, using one-sixth of the energy of the old fixtures (15 W instead of 90 W). The LEDs last 15 to 20 years, versus two or three years for fluorescents.
The new workbench frames with structured lighting permit a clear, uncluttered view across the work area, so line managers can more effortlessly observe workflows and recognize problems early.
The total cost of the new LED lighting and frames is no more than the cost of retrofitting industrial LED fixtures to the existing bench frames. This experience exemplifies the advantage of a systems-wide approach to manufacturing facility updates. As an alternative to executing a narrowly defined project, look at how it fits in the larger system and you may find opportunities for greater improvement at lower cost.
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com
Bulk Bag Filling System
Jun 21, 2019
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Completely new ultra-heavy-duty Bulk Bag Filling System from Flexicon receives abrasives, high-density solids and other difficult-to-handle bulk materials from upstream processes or storage vessels, and floods the material by weight inside bulk bags. Intended for mining, glass, ceramics and other demanding industrial applications, the system is comprised of heavy-gauge variants of the company's patented TWIN-CENTERPOST filler and FLEXICON flexible screw conveyor consolidated on a robust skid with integral forklifting tubes for mobility.
The filler is furnished with fill head height adjustment to allow for all popular bag sizes, pneumatically retractable bag hooks and an inflatable connector to stamp the bag inlet spout. A feed chute outlet port can be supplied with a filter sock for dust-free air displacement during filling, or vented to an optional BAG-VAC dust collector or the plant's bag house.
The FLEXICON conveyor is made of a steel outer tube with a rugged flexible screw that self-centers as it rotates, keeping material from grinding between the screw and tube wall, while wiping out the need for a bearing at the intake end. Since the screw is driven at its upper end beyond the discharge point, material contact with seals or bearings is removed.
As soon as the operator connects the bag straps and activates the inflatable spout seal, all works are automatic. The conveyor runs at full rate as the filler's vibratory deck cycles on and off to densify and stabilize the material. Load cells transfer weight gain data to the PLC, that slows the conveyor rotation to dribble-feed rate, halts the conveyor once the bag has gained its target weight, and releases the bag straps, allowing a forklift to remove the palletized bag.
Types are intended for human-machine interfaces with touch screens and graphic representations of equipment inputs and outputs, customized by application.
The company also offers REAR-POST bulk bag fillers for pass-through roller conveying, and SWING-DOWN fillers that moreover pivot the fill head to the operator at floor level for the fastest and safest bag connections.
Other bulk handling equipment manufactured by the company includes bulk bag conditioners, bulk bag dischargers, bag dump stations, drum/box/container dumpers, tubular cable conveyors, pneumatic conveying systems, weigh batching/blending systems and automated plant-wide bulk handling systems.
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com
Allied Machine Launches Newest App - Machinist Tool
Jun 21, 2019
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Dover, OH: (June 20, 2019) Allied Machine & Engineering, a major manufacturer of holemaking and finishing cutting tool systems headquartered in Dover, Ohio, releases their most latest mobile app, Machinist Tool, available for download now at both the Apple Store and Google Play. This app is manufactured for machinists, tooling distributors, and manufacturing engineers working with Allied's tools. Machinist Tool offers easy to steer utilities and streamlines operations on the shop floor by mobilizing resources for drilling, boring, threading, reaming, and roller burnishing.
Allied's Machinist Tool includes speed and feed, as well as trig functional, calculators, G & M machine code definitions, and seven different tap drill charts including the ACME general purpose (full profile), the Unified National, and the ISO Metric - J Series. The app offers hot links to call Allied's engineers or to find a local Allied tooling distributor if users need technical support. Machinist Tool also includes quick access to GD & T definitions as well as the Boring Insert Selector, a utility that helps machine operators choose the correct insert for each boring application they might encounter.
The mobile app compiles a quick research library of Allied Machine's valuable holemaking and finishing resources such as technical guides and operation manuals. Obtainable tech guides offer an illustrated pocket research for threading as well as recommended cutting data for ISO material types like hardened steel, stainless steel, and titanium. Machinist Tool is available for download on both iPhone and Android devices and is available in Chinese, English, French, German, Korean, Mexican Spanish, and Russian.
Ben Morrett, a senior product manager at Allied Machine, says, 'No need to fumble through multiple apps. We produced the Machinist Tool app as a one-stop shop to be used in conjunction with Allied Machine's product lines.'
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
Allied's Machinist Tool includes speed and feed, as well as trig functional, calculators, G & M machine code definitions, and seven different tap drill charts including the ACME general purpose (full profile), the Unified National, and the ISO Metric - J Series. The app offers hot links to call Allied's engineers or to find a local Allied tooling distributor if users need technical support. Machinist Tool also includes quick access to GD & T definitions as well as the Boring Insert Selector, a utility that helps machine operators choose the correct insert for each boring application they might encounter.
The mobile app compiles a quick research library of Allied Machine's valuable holemaking and finishing resources such as technical guides and operation manuals. Obtainable tech guides offer an illustrated pocket research for threading as well as recommended cutting data for ISO material types like hardened steel, stainless steel, and titanium. Machinist Tool is available for download on both iPhone and Android devices and is available in Chinese, English, French, German, Korean, Mexican Spanish, and Russian.
Ben Morrett, a senior product manager at Allied Machine, says, 'No need to fumble through multiple apps. We produced the Machinist Tool app as a one-stop shop to be used in conjunction with Allied Machine's product lines.'
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
Bosch Rexroth¡¯s Factory of the Future Experience Highlights New Automation Technologies
Jun 21, 2019
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'In the factory of the future connectivity is key,' said Heiko Schwindt, Bosch Rexroth, Vice President of Automation and Electrification. 'Everything is attached, from field level to cloud-based solutions. Complex software solutions collect, transfer and process manufacturing data to offer maximum production visibility. With our Factory of the Future Experience, Bosch Rexroth is demonstrating to end-user businesses and their machine builders how they can make the Factory of the Future a reality of the present - where mobile and connected production equipment reconfigure themselves individually and flexibly to fast-changing specifications.'
Located at the Bosch Rexroth Automation & Electrification business unit in Hoffman Estates, IL, outside of Chicago, the company's Factory of the Future Experience is a multi-technology exhibit featuring intelligent, distributed drive and control components, connectivity modules, compact and versatile linear products, innovative chain conveyors and a wide selection of structural framing - all of which make it feasible to expand machines and systems as needed in a modular fashion.
During a tour through the Factory of the Future Experience, attendees can encounter new technology and hear about key topics - from open standards, to distributed intelligence, smart automation and connecting to the Internet of Things - to learn what is needed to put into action a factory of the future. In addition, Rexroth‘s automation experts address challenges and consult on how to accomplish productivity gains, production transparency and maximum flexibility.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
Located at the Bosch Rexroth Automation & Electrification business unit in Hoffman Estates, IL, outside of Chicago, the company's Factory of the Future Experience is a multi-technology exhibit featuring intelligent, distributed drive and control components, connectivity modules, compact and versatile linear products, innovative chain conveyors and a wide selection of structural framing - all of which make it feasible to expand machines and systems as needed in a modular fashion.
During a tour through the Factory of the Future Experience, attendees can encounter new technology and hear about key topics - from open standards, to distributed intelligence, smart automation and connecting to the Internet of Things - to learn what is needed to put into action a factory of the future. In addition, Rexroth‘s automation experts address challenges and consult on how to accomplish productivity gains, production transparency and maximum flexibility.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
iRobot Acquires Root Robotics to Boost STEM Education for Kids
Jun 21, 2019
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In 2016, Harvard’s Wyss Institute introduced Root, a robot made as a practical tool for training kids how to code. Root had been under development at Harvard for a solid three years at that point, and after a huge $400,000 Kickstarter showed that they really had something, Root Robotics was spun out in 2017 to take the little coding robot commercial.
Today, iRobot is announcing the acquisition of Root Robotics, in order to “support iRobot’s plans to diversify its educational robot product offerings, further showing its dedication to make robotic technology more accessible to educators, students and parents.” This makes a lot of sense for iRobot, which has typically been a big supporter of STEM education—National Robotics Week was pretty much their idea, after all. But iRobot itself only really had the iRobot Create and Create 2 to advance STEM education immediately, and those robots are completely not for beginners.
As of right now, iRobot is selling Root for $200, along with a mate app and integrated K-12 curriculum. We’ll take a short look at everything this robot can do, and hear a bit from both iRobot CEO Colin Angle and Root Robotics co-founder Zee Dubrovsky on exactly what this new partnership means.
Root is loaded full of sensors and interactive elements, which makes it both fun and helpful to use. But from the start, the focus of Root was education—it’s very significant to understand that Root is not a toy robot that also instructs, but instead it’s an educational tool for coaching coding skills that also happens to be a robot. Robots are generally fun to play with, which is part of Root’s appeal, but the reason that Root exists is to provide a compelling focus for coding, turning abstract code into a thing that moves around and interacts with the world.
“We’ve revealed coding as a particular challenge, where we’re just not teaching it in schools,” iRobot CEO Colin Angle told us. “Providing a tool to aid kids code is of great interest to me personally. And the ability to use the exhilaration that is engendered by a physical robot is a fantastic strategy.”
Having a cool robot is just one part of this strategy—the other is developing a comprehensive set of app-based lessons that will effortlessly teach kids, improving with them as they develop their skills. Root was created to be educational for children as young as 4, in some cases educating very basic coding aspects even before children know how to read. This is possible because you can train Root by dragging and dropping symbols with pictures on them into the app interface. You can only do very simple things this way, but once you’re ready for more, it’s an easy adaptation to a more computational interface, where the visual symbols enlarge to entail things like logical operations, sensor values, and versatile variables. The final step is to switch over to full text coding in Swift, Python, or JavaScript, but being able to toggle back to the more visual interface makes the transition easy.
“With Root, we desired to create something that people can grow with,” says Zee Dubrovsky, co-founder of Root Robotics (and now general manager of educational robots at iRobot). “The barrier for entry is very low, you don’t even have to know how to read, so someone as young as 4 can start using the robot. And when they’re ready, they can level up [through other coding interfaces]. There’s a lot of transferable knowledge from one interface to the next.”
Root’s robust, flexible hardware and self-guided scalable learning have the potential to take kids through middle school and even high school, but we wanted to know what happens next, specially if you’ve got a particularly glowing kid who wants to be able to do more. “When you reach the limit of what Root does right out of the box, what we’ll see in the future is the ability to hack Root and build on top of it,” says Dubrovsky. “We’re also designing on releasing SDKs for Root.” Angle adds, “we’ll be providing more capabilities to Root over time, which we’re not announcing today, but this is a beginning not an end. Root is a platform that has the scalability to add more accessories and sensors.”
While Root is definitely obtaining the iRobot STEM spotlight away from the Create platform, part of the reason that iRobot acquired Root was to appeal to people interested in coding and robotics in a way that the Create was never designed to. Root and Create are for fundamentally different audiences: Create is a platform that you can build on top of, rather than learning on it, and it’s focused more on late high school, early college-level hardware projects. At this point, there’s no easy way to transition from working with Root to working with Create, but it’s possible that things could change in the future. In the near term, iRobot is driven on constructing out Root’s introductory content, with more advanced content to gradually follow, and we’d love to see an accessible pathway that bridges that gap into a more advanced platform, especially if iRobot decides to make its newest robots (with mapping and 3D sensors) hackable as well.
For now, though, Root will be taking advantage of iRobot’s resources and reach to execute on more ambitious plans while scaling more rapidly. It seems like a good match, since both companies share the same fundamental vision for STEM. As Colin Angle puts it, 'there is no greater investment you can make in your child’s future than helping them learn the language of coding.'
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
Today, iRobot is announcing the acquisition of Root Robotics, in order to “support iRobot’s plans to diversify its educational robot product offerings, further showing its dedication to make robotic technology more accessible to educators, students and parents.” This makes a lot of sense for iRobot, which has typically been a big supporter of STEM education—National Robotics Week was pretty much their idea, after all. But iRobot itself only really had the iRobot Create and Create 2 to advance STEM education immediately, and those robots are completely not for beginners.
As of right now, iRobot is selling Root for $200, along with a mate app and integrated K-12 curriculum. We’ll take a short look at everything this robot can do, and hear a bit from both iRobot CEO Colin Angle and Root Robotics co-founder Zee Dubrovsky on exactly what this new partnership means.
Root is loaded full of sensors and interactive elements, which makes it both fun and helpful to use. But from the start, the focus of Root was education—it’s very significant to understand that Root is not a toy robot that also instructs, but instead it’s an educational tool for coaching coding skills that also happens to be a robot. Robots are generally fun to play with, which is part of Root’s appeal, but the reason that Root exists is to provide a compelling focus for coding, turning abstract code into a thing that moves around and interacts with the world.
“We’ve revealed coding as a particular challenge, where we’re just not teaching it in schools,” iRobot CEO Colin Angle told us. “Providing a tool to aid kids code is of great interest to me personally. And the ability to use the exhilaration that is engendered by a physical robot is a fantastic strategy.”
Having a cool robot is just one part of this strategy—the other is developing a comprehensive set of app-based lessons that will effortlessly teach kids, improving with them as they develop their skills. Root was created to be educational for children as young as 4, in some cases educating very basic coding aspects even before children know how to read. This is possible because you can train Root by dragging and dropping symbols with pictures on them into the app interface. You can only do very simple things this way, but once you’re ready for more, it’s an easy adaptation to a more computational interface, where the visual symbols enlarge to entail things like logical operations, sensor values, and versatile variables. The final step is to switch over to full text coding in Swift, Python, or JavaScript, but being able to toggle back to the more visual interface makes the transition easy.
“With Root, we desired to create something that people can grow with,” says Zee Dubrovsky, co-founder of Root Robotics (and now general manager of educational robots at iRobot). “The barrier for entry is very low, you don’t even have to know how to read, so someone as young as 4 can start using the robot. And when they’re ready, they can level up [through other coding interfaces]. There’s a lot of transferable knowledge from one interface to the next.”
Root’s robust, flexible hardware and self-guided scalable learning have the potential to take kids through middle school and even high school, but we wanted to know what happens next, specially if you’ve got a particularly glowing kid who wants to be able to do more. “When you reach the limit of what Root does right out of the box, what we’ll see in the future is the ability to hack Root and build on top of it,” says Dubrovsky. “We’re also designing on releasing SDKs for Root.” Angle adds, “we’ll be providing more capabilities to Root over time, which we’re not announcing today, but this is a beginning not an end. Root is a platform that has the scalability to add more accessories and sensors.”
While Root is definitely obtaining the iRobot STEM spotlight away from the Create platform, part of the reason that iRobot acquired Root was to appeal to people interested in coding and robotics in a way that the Create was never designed to. Root and Create are for fundamentally different audiences: Create is a platform that you can build on top of, rather than learning on it, and it’s focused more on late high school, early college-level hardware projects. At this point, there’s no easy way to transition from working with Root to working with Create, but it’s possible that things could change in the future. In the near term, iRobot is driven on constructing out Root’s introductory content, with more advanced content to gradually follow, and we’d love to see an accessible pathway that bridges that gap into a more advanced platform, especially if iRobot decides to make its newest robots (with mapping and 3D sensors) hackable as well.
For now, though, Root will be taking advantage of iRobot’s resources and reach to execute on more ambitious plans while scaling more rapidly. It seems like a good match, since both companies share the same fundamental vision for STEM. As Colin Angle puts it, 'there is no greater investment you can make in your child’s future than helping them learn the language of coding.'
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
Uruguay Prison Turns Inmates Into Entrepreneurs
Jun 20, 2019
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Rolando Bustamante monitors his employees turn-out one concrete block after another, from time to time checking an electronic tablet that captures orders from clients and that lets him communicating with suppliers.
There'd be nothing impressive about the scene if it weren't for the fact that the block factory is situated in a prison and that Bustamante, in combination with being a businessman, is on the last two years of a 21-year sentence for assault. The workforce, too, are inmates and the product will be sold beyond the walls, with part of the net profit going to a sort of bank run by the prisoners themselves.
Bustamante's factory is one among dozens of inmate businesses in the old Punta de Rieles prison, which has been turned into an uncommon experiment. Inmates form businesses, work for one another and offer products both to the world within the walls and to that without.
There are bakeries and barbershops, a candy store and carpenter shop down streets where inmates mix with prison officials and police. One inmate carries a begonia he bought from a prisoner-owned nursery to get for his mother when she visits. Not far away, a convict-baker carries a birthday cake to the prison entrance to hand off to a customer.
Of the 510 prisoners, who include thieves, assailants, kidnappers and killers, 382 work and 246 are getting education — and many do both. Only some dozen have shunned those opportunities, and if two years pass, they will be displaced to a traditional prison. To get chosen for Punta de Rieles, prisoners have to have at least a six-month period of good behavior elsewhere.
The prison director is almost as different as the institution itself. Luis Parodi was a member of the Tupamaro guerrilla movement that was defeated in 1972. He later spent around a decade in exile, both in Europe and Latin America. Asked if there are other prisons in the world of this type, he said, 'I don't think so, I'm afraid to say. This is the synthesis of 30 years of work, reading, experiences and failures.'
The Punta de Rieles project began in late 2012, with Parodi as deputy director, and he took over as chief of the prison in 2015. The bet is that prisoners who work, study, learn a craft or start a business will likely have a better life and be less likely to return to crime. 'It's been demonstrated everywhere that confinement doesn't change people. Here the idea is to play at reality,' Parodi said. 'If something fails, it fails. Just like in the real world.'
Money to get started on businesses comes from inmates' families or from a quasi-bank greatly administered by inmates themselves. 'It's a fund so that entrepreneurs can get started, that you have the hope of change. Many of us have taken advantage of the opportunity and we're getting ahead,' Bustamante remarked.
Ten percent of the profits get back on that fund, another 10 percent goes to the government for use of the facilities and 10% goes to an association of victims of crime. The rest goes into accounts for the inmates, though they can't totally access it until they are released.
Bustamante said he was skeptical when he was relocated from another prison and was dumped off at Punta de Rieles by a police van almost five years ago. 'I saw stores, businesses, and I thought, 'Where am I?' Later it clicked in my head,' he said. 'In common prisons, you continue in a world of violence, thinking about who is going to attack you and how to survive. You can't do anything. A 2-by-2 cell, and locked up all day,' he said.
He showed off the shed where he started out making blocks from an old mold and a secondhand shovel. Now he was getting ready to enlarge his business by hiring a 10th employee thanks to a loan from outside the walls.
Even more rewarding is a bakery started off by two prisoners who have kept it going irrespective of being released and now hire 50 to 70 people. They come back to the prison almost daily and sometimes even sleep there, voluntarily this time.
The experiment has its problems. One inmate complained that the prison mixes people sentenced for reasonably minor offenses with those who've committed more major crimes. Parodi said that's part of the idea — trying to save those considered unrecoverable.
Prison police also commonly have an arduous time managing prisoners as businessmen. Bustamante said guards sometimes impede the arrival of trucks carrying his supplies. 'In the end, you call Parodi. He's the only one who can solve the problems,' Bustamante said.
The prisoners enjoy major freedom within their confinement: They can largely say what they want, form groups, unions or cooperatives, have a telephone, use the internet and communicate with the outside world, even own a dog. Parodi recognized some have taken advantage of that freedom to commit crimes, but he insisted they are few.
Near Bustamante's block factory is the fiberglass workshop of Wilson Resio, a 45-year-old convicted of involvement in a murder who has been locked up for 11 years. He makes kayaks and other sport equipment. 'All the boats of the Uruguayan Rowing Federation are made here,' he said. 'This is also a school workshop because we train others in the craft.'
Uruguayan prison change activist Denisse Legrand sees Punta de Rieles as 'an oasis' in a deeply troubled correctional system. The small country has 11,000 inmates in crowded prisons, and it locks up more individuals per capita than nations such as Mexico, Colombia or Argentina, based upon a research prepared for congress.
Legrand, who directs a non-governmental organization that focuses on prisons, said that in combination with its educational and labor value, Punta de Rieles 'is one of the prisons with the highest levels of security because the humane treatment and coexistence replace the violence characteristic of confinement.' She said the weakness of the project is usually that so much depends on Parodi.
Juan Miguel Petit, who supervises prison affairs for Uruguay's congress, said he knows dozens of prisons in the Americas and Europe and has never seen anything like Punta de Rieles. 'The more we can manage to reproduce the life of a neighborhood, the more we can foresee that the people who leave are going to behave in harmony with others.'
Mauro Rodríguez is a good example of how the system is likely to work. He's in prison — but merely for a visit this time. He came to repair a machine to make cement blocks that he'd created while spending a few years as an inmate. He now has a blacksmith's shop on the outskirts of Montevideo, where he works with his brother.
He'd been part of a band of drug dealers when he was arrested, and said four of his former friends are now dead. 'If it wasn't for Punta de Rieles,' he said, 'I would be, too.'
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com