maxon Driven

The automated guided vehicles (AGV) market is booming. According to a study by Research and Markets, the global market for AGVs is set to grow by 10.8% by 2026, reaching USD 3.64 billion. The fields of application are manifold, but we show you the Top 3 highest growth markets for AGVs. 1. Logistics An essential…

They move like snakes and reach places that are too narrow or dangerous for humans. The robust robotic arms of the Tokyo-based company HiBot take inspection, maintenance and repair to new levels. In the past, maintenance was not given much consideration in the construction of industrial plants, buildings or bridges. As a consequence, the maintenance…

AGVs (automated guided vehicles) are essential tools in the current commercial and industrial transformation. But what challenges do they need to address? The AGV market: why are we seeing such a boom today? Back in the 1950s, car manufacturers used guided vehicles in their factories to distribute mechanical parts. Since then, different methods have been…

We are witnessing the start of a robotic evolution that is sweeping through all aspects of agriculture. This includes drones that monitor fields, spray specific plants, or send information to other robots on the ground that pull-out weeds and harvest fruit. The current edition of driven, the maxon magazine, is dedicated to agriculture and it…

Outer space is unforgiving. This is why precision drives embarking on a trip to other planets need to meet extremely high quality standards. Every Mars drive from maxon is based on a catalog product and is modified for the specific mission. That’s because the DC motors, gearheads, and encoders face brutal conditions during liftoff, the…

Years of collaboration between maxon and the space experts at JPL led to the development of the BLDC motors which handle the valuable soil samples on Mars during the Perseverance mission. Meet maxon’s specialists behind those actuators and find out what drives them. Was there once life on Mars? To answer this question, NASA has…

Mars once had liquid water and an atmosphere—was there life too? To answer this fundamental question, NASA sends the Perseverance rover, a robot of unparalleled complexity. Mars missions may seem to be routine now, yet it’s still the case that only a few craft make it to the planet’s surface intact. The European Space Agency…

More than 100 electric motors from maxon have been used on the Red Planet and have withstood cosmic radiation, dust storms, and temperature fluctuations. With the Perseverance rover, precision drives are once again flying to Mars. The key to success is the same as before: standard industrial products. Mars missions without maxon drive systems? Unthinkable!…

An exoskeleton must be lightweight, compact, powerful, reliable, and easy to use – what could be easier? Many developers around the world dabble in this discipline with different degrees of success. Christian Bermes, head of the VariLeg enhanced team explains what it all comes down to. Mechanics “Emulating the human gait with mechatronic systems is…

At Cybathlon 2020 Global Edition, all of the attention will be focused on our main players: The teams. They are competing all around the world to be part of a unique event. Every fifth team uses maxon products. A small selection: SoftHand Pro The team from the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia and the Centro E.…

A spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) has been given responsibility for a EUR 100 million project by the European Space Agency, ESA. ClearSpace SA now heads a consortium developing the first debris removal mission in the Earth’s orbital field. Our lives are becoming more and more dependent on space technologies.…

Our fascination with Mars is stronger than ever. At this very moment, yet another robot called Perseverance is on its way to uncover the secrets of Mars. The mission will also involve the first helicopter flight in space. This issue of the driven magazine is dedicated to Perseverance and all of the other explorative missions…

To disinfect surfaces without taking risks, the Bataillon de Marins-Pompiers (marine fire service) from Marseille has equipped itself with two Colossus robots. These remote control and highly modular autonomous robots are proving to be valuable assets in the fight against Covid-19. Fitted with maxon motors, these versatile robots are also capable of supporting the unit…

The sanitary crisis linked to the diffusion of Covid-19 requires everyone to apply measures of social distancing. Motorized and automated solutions are being developed at high speed as a solution. This article gives an overview of innovations that reinvent human interactions without dehumanizing them. Delivery and logistics robots To decrease the risk of contamination, the…

Under the pressure of environmental concerns, the packaging industry is reorganising. Changing lifestyles and rising raw materials prices have completed this movement. The stakes are high, given that this sector, dominated by food processing, is expected to be worth several hundred billion dollars in the coming years. What challenges will the packaging industry have to…

A small start-up is set to turn the market for hand prostheses on its head – with an innovative spirit, compact DC motors, and a touch function. Opening the door is only the first of many challenges. A human hand encloses the handle, depresses it, and moves flexibly. In comparison, an electromechanical hand prosthesis is…

Until recently, AGVs (automated guided vehicles) were the only option for automating internal transport tasks. Today, a more sophisticated technology is competing with them: AMR (autonomous mobile robots). Although both AGVs and AMRs allow materials to be moved from point A to point B, the comparison ends there. AGVs: For simple programming instructions Introduced in…

For 21 years, Danny Florence has lived with one hand. But when he became a father, he decided to apply for an Open Bionics Hero Arm. With the help of the maxon driven prosthesis he can now build a strong bond with his son. At the age of five, Danny Florence lost both legs, a…

Paralyzed people can learn to walk again with the aid of electromechanical exoskeletons. However, it’s not easy. It takes a lot of engineering and hard training. Does the human control the machine, or does the machine control the human? This old question invariably comes to mind when we’re thinking about exoskeletons, i.e. electromechanical aid systems…

Hardness testers are used to check whether materials have the desired characteristics. These days, this is done in a fully automated, networked process. A material’s hardness can be used to gain information on various other properties, and the history of using hardness measurement to identify, analyze, or improve materials goes back over a hundred years.…

In spring, the famous cathedral of Notre-Dame was damaged in a devastating fire. However, the Paris fire department prevented the complete destruction of the building – with the help of a special unit in their ranks. In front of the eyes of an aghast public, the spire of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris collapses. To firefighters,…

When two Swiss robotics engineers developed a new computer-controlled leg press, they were thinking of athletes as their main target audience. Then it turned out that their Soft Robotic Training was surprisingly effective in the rehabilitation therapy of injuries and other physical conditions. The device has little in common with the leg presses you see…

Digitization and automation will change the way we develop and produce products. But what exactly does that mean? And what is behind the terms commonly used to refer to the smart factory? This issue of maxon’s driven magazine provides answers to these questions. When a fridge talks to the TV and a mobile phone, digitization…

Providing the right motor for small precision devices can be challenging With the growth and proliferation of collaborative robots, there has become an increased need for a wide variety of grippers and end effectors in general. One of the more challenging applications is for automated gauging and measurement of small parts. Such a device must…

The start-up company NISI (HK) Limited is currently developing a miniature surgical robot that can be inserted though natural openings in the body and only unfolds inside the abdomen. To achieve this goal, the engineers are pushing components to their limits and beyond. In the world of medtech, there are many astonishing new developments these…