The Microengineering Laboratory of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology(EPFL), situated on the outskirts of Lausanne has over eight years of robot research experience. It has studied some of the basic problems of configuration, control, drive systems, etc. and many solutions are now finding...

Carnegie‐Mellon University in Pittsburgh has a Robotics Institute which is a good example of what can be achieved by co‐operation between university and industry. Assistant director of the Institute, Todd Simonds, talked to Jack Hollingum about its activities.

The emphasis at the Tokyo Robot 81 Exhibition was on welding and assembly robots. Japanese manufacturers are continually bringing out new designs as John Hartley describes in this exhibition report.

Many academic papers were presented at the Symposium in Tokyo, but there was evidence of solid progress in welding and in one or two other areas. John Hartley reports.

Based at Telford in Shropshire, UK the European offshoot of the world's leading robot manufacturer has being making a significant contribution to robotics for well over a decade. Now it is to manufacture the PUMA robot thus expanding its facilities and bringing into focus its other achievements.

Japan's robot manufacturers are beginning to cast their eyes towards Europe. A number of tie ups with European companies have recently been announced.

A relative newcomer to the production of industrial robots has now become one of the two leading robot manufacturers. A new factory and a world wide sales organisation have been instrumental in the rapid increase of sales of their robots since 1977.

A report of a market survey carried out in Europe to identify the role of technological, economic and social factors in fostering or impeding the diffusion of industrial robots, both today and in the future.

Programming languages for robots fall into three category levels — manipulation, object and task. The language described has the capability for extension to the highest level and is proposed as a research tool for developing new languages and programming methods.

The task of metal removal from steel castings may often be repetitive, and has to be carried out in the unpleasant environment of cleaning rooms. To achieve improved productivity in metal removal, an automation concept has been developed and a machine designed to implement that concept.