As the impact of climate change and land use continue to harm aquatic environments, it is becoming increasingly important to measure and monitor changes in water quality. When Dublin City University (DCU) Water Institute was developing its new mobile lab technology to help predict future changes in water quality, it turned to precision drive and…
Ceramic at its best
Additive manufacturing of ceramic components speeds up the production of prototype parts and opens up new possibilities. Swiss company maxon is renowned for its drive technology, which has traveled all the way to Mars in various NASA rovers. Its high-tech department for technical ceramic in Sexau near Freiburg is not as well known. Here ceramic…
Opening of maxon France
In late September, maxon France inaugurated its dedicated mechatronic production and innovation center with some key players from its ecosystem: customers, country subsidiaries of the maxon Group, the Swiss Ambassador, and the Swiss Consul General. We look back on a few intense weeks for all the maxon teams in France. A new mechatronic Innovation and…
driven pays a visit to the robot on four legs
Wherever it goes, it is sure to attract attention. The red walking robot ANYmal provokes a reaction, which is why it also made it to the cover of the maxon magazine driven – representing the ever-increasing number of inspection robots worldwide. Climbing, crawling, walking, or flying: inspection robots can be found everywhere, whether in sewer…
Drone powered by solar energy
XSun designs and manufactures a drone that is both energy-independent and can make its own decisions, for fully-automated missions. The company needed reliable, high-performance sub-assemblies to design it’s SolarXOne. This is why the start-up approached maxon for the propulsion system. Benjamin David, benefiting from a decade of experience at Airbus Defense & Space, created the…
Robotics designed for harsh environments
In the following article we will discuss how one company employs creative design techniques and online configuration tools to provide customized motors and gearheads for their latest robotic arm and gripper – able to fit into a wide variety of applications. The CEO of Blueprint Lab, Paul Phillips has combined his passion for mechatronic engineering…
Next generation of moon rovers
CubeRover, engineered by Astrobotic’s Planetary Mobility department, was designed to offer an affordable service used to carry and operate diverse scientific instruments and payloads on the surface of the moon. Developed by Astrobotic with input from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the CubeRover has been funded through NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Tipping Point…
The 4th industrial revolution
The world has gone through 3 industrial revolutions since 1760, and now we are on the verge of the 4th industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, also known as digital manufacturing. Let’s find out what these changes will mean for business and the workforce. Between 1760 and 1840, the first industrial revolution moved from hand production to…
The future is AGV
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…
Smart floating arms
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: The solutions for logistics?
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…
The field of the future
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…
5 challenges a motor has to overcome on Mars
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…
The people behind the Mars drives
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…
In search of signs of life on Mars
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…
Precision drives on the Red Planet
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!…
How to design an exoskeleton
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…
Cybathlon teams
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.…
Trap the trash
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.…
Uncovering the secrets of Mars
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…
The Colossus robot on the front line against Covid-19
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…
Covid-19: Drive technology and physical distancing
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…
Challenges for the packaging industry
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 prosthetic hand that feels
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…
Differences between AGV and AMR
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…