Reviews the 16th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction held in Madrid, Spain, in September 1999; outlines robotic projects relating to construction activities.

The article summarises the results of two projects undertaken within the framework of the European Union Brite‐Euram programme. Describes the problem of automating railway carriage production. Explains the solutions that have been developed for the welding and cutting processes that are...

Reports from the Hanover Factory Automation show. Reviews new robots and automation systems. Highlights applications using vision. Identifies trend for off‐line programming software from robot makers.

Reports on a seminar entitled ‘‘Future trends in robotics'' organised by the UK's Institution of Mechanical Engineers, outlines recent developments in subsea robotics, reviews the evolution of surgical robotics, discusses the current state of application and research relating to mobile...

The French Atomic Energy Commission, or CEA, has developed a range of remote controlled manipulators and mobile robots that is designed for inspection and intervention tasks in hostile environments, particularly those associated with nuclear power plants. This paper outlines the activities...

Reports from the Hanover Fair on new developments in robotic automation, outlines the latest robot hardware and software innovations to be launched on the market, and describes new applications being taken up by industry.

PSA's plant in Sochaux began building the Peugeot 307 last year, using a brand new body shop where the role of robots is not only to automate processes but also to ensure that production targets are met. This article outlines how the new body shop operates and the functions that robots undertake.

The 2002 climbing and walking robots (CLAWAR) conference featured 130 papers on topics related to CLAWAR. This article reviews the conference, highlighting papers in the areas of modular design, inspection of tanks, weld inspection, sewer inspection/cleaning, window cleaning, medical robotics,...

Outlines how Scania is planning to automate its truck axle production lines at its Falun plant in Sweden. The automation package includes 40 PCs, 26 robots and 15 AGVs. The PCs are linked up to an Ethernet LAN which connects to the factory management system. IBM’s Plantworks software...

Examines the use of robots in Israeli industry. Two thriving sectors are responsible for the majority of automation installation—carbide inserts and the electronics industry, with robots also being employed in a number of kibbutzes industries including lens manufacturing and furniture...