December 2017 Digital Issue: Leadership in Engineering Winners + more

In this issue

Motion Control:
Sizing and selecting servos:
The system approach
p. 88

Linear Motion:
How to maximize stage
precision.
p. 100

Medical:
6 challenges to address
before starting a wearable
medical device project.
p. 108

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More robots are coming in 2018

It’s not hard to see that robotics is growing—and the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down. The International Federation of Robotics recently reported that 1.7 million new robots will be installed at factories around the globe by 2020. And this Fall, Germany’s VDMA said that its 2017 forecast for that country’s robotics and automation industry was being revised from 7% to 11%.

Here at Design World, we’ve long covered the world of robots, from the Robotic Trends column in the magazine to our RoboticTips.com website, to videos, webinars, and blogs. But we’ve seen this industry explode in importance, and I’m happy to tell you a little about how we’re expanding our coverage in the New Year.

Several months back, our company purchased The Robot Report, a well-respected online portal that covers a little bit of everything in this space: AI, industrial robots, service robots, vision and sensing, drones and autonomous vehicles—even startups and funding. The Robot Report also features a fascinating interactive global map tied to a comprehensive database of public and private companies in the robotics field.

We’ve taken the content from the RoboticTips website and merged it into The Robot Report, which I encourage you to check out—it’s full of original, enterprise reporting and you can easily subscribe to the monthly eNewsletter. We’ll also be featuring special The Robot Report print sections here in the magazine four times in 2018: February, June, August and November.

What’s more, our whole editorial staff is truly excited about our big event launch tied into this acquisition. The inaugural Robotics Summit & Expo will be held May 23-24, 2018 at the Westin Boston Waterfront. This dynamic event will include presentations on cutting-edge, proven robotic applications and techniques, and will give you the opportunity to network with the brightest entrepreneurs, top engineering minds, and major investors as they implement robotics solutions across multiple sectors. Conference tracks will focus on automation, drones, healthcare/surgical, service, autonomous technology, industrial, logistics/warehousing, and AI. Details are at roboticssummit.com … hope to see you there in May.