Developments

Moving to Hanoi – Secutech Vietnam returns in August 2021

To coincide with the Vietnam Fire Department’s 60th anniversary celebrations, Secutech Vietnam is relocating to the Friendship Cultural Palace in Hanoi for its 2021 edition. The move away from its traditional location in Ho Chi Minh City will help the fair’s security and fire safety exhibitors develop their business in Northern Vietnam by connecting them with more distributors and system integrators from the region. The fair is scheduled to take place from 25 – 28 August 2021, with an expected 400 exhibitors in attendance. The August event will mark only the 3rd occasion since 2008 that the fair has been held in Hanoi. Commenting on the switch in location, Ms Regina Tsai, Deputy General Manager, Messe Frankfurt New Era Business Media Ltd, says: “Having previously been deferred in 2020 due to COVID-19, the relocation of Secutech Vietnam offers a great chance for exhibitors to re-establish industry connections and explore new market opportunities in the North, which is home to an array of government projects and industrial zones.” Ms Tsai adds: “Both the Vietnam Fire Department and the Ministry of Public Security are long term supporters of Secutech Vietnam. With their backing, the fair is expected to attract a strong turnout of leading distributors and key players from the country’s security and fire safety industry. With nine months remaining before the fair opens, we have already received a high volume of inquiries from distributors and system integrators.” In a turbulent year for global business, Vietnam has stood out as one of the global success stories in the fight against COVID-19. This has positioned the country to exit 2020 as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, according to the IMF. Hanoi, the commercial centre of the north, is expected to see growth of almost 4%, with regional projects driving […]

OnRobot 2FG7 gripper for demanding applications

OnRobot has launched the 2FG7, a complete, low cost, easy to use, out-of-the-box, cleanroom-ready parallel gripper. Designed to enable companies of all sizes to set up gripping applications at low cost, the 2FG7 can be deployed within minutes and is specially designed to handle demanding payloads – even in tight spaces. The 2FG7 gripper is ideal for low-volume, high-mix production and enables fast ROI for many different applications, including machine tending, material handling and assembly. Boasting a maximum payload of 11 kg (24.3 lb), an external grip range of up to 74 mm (2.91 in) and a gripping force of between 20-140 N, the versatile 2FG7 can handle heavy, bulky payloads with ease. Smaller than OnRobot’s RG2 and RG6 grippers – and yet more powerful than both – the 2FG7’s dimensions (156 x 158 x 180 mm/6.14 x 6.22 x 7.08 in) make it the perfect gripper for use in small work envelopes, which is a major bonus in busy manufacturing facilities where space is at a premium, and in applications with tight quarters for maneuvering. Seamlessly integrated with the OnRobot product range and compatible with all major collaborative robots and light industrial robot arms, the 2FG7 allows manufacturers of all skillsets to set up gripping applications quickly and easily. The 2FG7’s ease of use ensures visibility during the deployment process, greatly reduces the need for custom parts and cuts the time to ROI. Meanwhile, intelligent feedback features, including grip detection and lost grip detection, further simplify the deployment process. Cleanroom certifiedThe 2FG7 is a production-ready gripper built to withstand harsh manufacturing conditions and applications. In addition to being IP67-certified, the 2FG7 has attained cleanroom certification (ISO Class 5), which is required for many handling applications in the pharmaceutical and electronics industries. It also complies with ISO/TS 15066 regarding collaborative […]

Jio defies challenging market conditions with unprecedented investments pouring in

Jio Platforms Limited (Jio) has been a notable exception for being able to garner unprecedented back-to-back investments during these challenging times. The investments spree that started with Facebook on 22 April 2020 also saw many other foreign investors ranging from tech giants to big private equity firms (PE) evincing interest in Jio. The cumulative value of such investments announced between April 22 and July 15 2020 stood at US$19.9bn, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The US$19.9bn investment is gigantic and helped Jio become debt free much ahead of its set deadline of March 2021 but what makes these investments even more impressive is the fact that it has come at the time when businesses worldwide are reeling under the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.” The investments spree in Jio this year is also special in many other ways. In one of the rare instances, Facebook as well its rival Google were seen placing gigantic bets in one company. These investments also came at a time when the Indian government is trying to curb Chinese investments and has also imposed ban on 59 Chinese apps. Interestingly, none of these investments in Jio involved any Chinese investor. Out of these 14 investments, 11 came from American firms. This also assumes more significance now that Jio has been included in the list of ‘Clean Telcos’ by the US for rejecting to do business with Chinese firms. Bose adds: “These investments also indicate that Jio has some big plans and these investments are testimony of investors seeing the potential in Jio to emerge as a tech giant in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. While these may look like just some big ticket transactions, these deals also bring in technology expertise (from tech giants) along with […]

Beijing’s public companies lead revenue generation among APAC cities

Beijing has emerged as the top city in the Asia–Pacific (APAC) region in revenue analysis of the top 10 cities by GDP, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. GlobalData analysed 10 cities with the highest GDP in the APAC region, which are then ranked based on total revenue generated by the public companies headquartered in each city in 2019. The sample size considered for the research included about 24,800 public companies in the region. The top 10 list was dominated by China with six cities. According to GlobalData’s economic research, Tokyo’s nominal GDP including metropolitan area was US$1,795.8bn, followed by Shanghai (US$518.2bn), Beijing (US$478.4bn), Shenzhen (US$438.6bn), Guangzhou (US$371.5bn), Hong Kong (US$366bn), Singapore (US$364.5bn), Chongqing (US$345.2bn), Seoul (US$328.1bn) and Tianjin (US$299.2bn). The sample size included 1,470 cities of the APAC, of which the top 10 were home to about 7,000 companies (about 28% of the sample size). About 30% of these 7,000 were based out of Tokyo, followed by Hong Kong (21%), Seoul (12%), Beijing (10%), Singapore (9%), Shanghai (7%), Shenzhen (6%), Guangzhou (3%), Chongqing (1%), and Tianjin (1%). The companies headquartered in the top 10 cities accounted for 58.5% of the aggregate revenue of the total sample size. The combined revenue of these companies increased 5.6% in 2019, as compared to that in the previous year. Parth Vala, Company Profiles Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Though Beijing was not the leader in terms of GDP and the number of companies, it led the table in terms of average revenue per company in 2019, which stood at US$8.3bn, followed by Shenzhen (US$2.8bn), Shanghai (US$2.7bn), Tokyo (US$2.4bn), Tianjin (US$1.8bn), Seoul (US$1.7bn), Chongqing (US$1.4bn), Guangzhou (US$1.3bn), Hong Kong (US$0.8bn), and Singapore (US$0.6bn).” Except Seoul which witnessed marginal aggregate revenue decline, all the cities reported growth in their aggregate revenues from the […]

OnRobot expands product capabilities

Traditional single-purpose industrial robots are losing ground to affordable, easy to use robots and peripherals that can be flexibly redeployed for a wide range of applications. This empowers manufacturers to gain even greater productivity increases from their automation investments. OnRobot is extending its commitment to ongoing customer empowerment with the launch of a software update for its popular, 2.5D camera-based Eyes vision system. The new features, which enable Eyes to be deployed in quality inspection applications and on mobile setups, include one-shot detection for multiple objects, colour and blob detection and automatic landmark calibration tools designed to speed cycle time for mobile robot setups. New visual inspection features for reduced cycle time and fast ROI Eyes’ new inspection features enable the system to easily sort, inspect, or pick and place unstructured objects using colour and contour detection – a capability that is beyond most competing vision systems. This detection method requires no workpiece teaching and finds items based on colour and size information input by the operator. Eyes’ inspection features can be used to inspect parts removed from CNC machines, for example, or to check IMM parts for excessive or inadequate material after part has been moulded. The tools also support manual inspections: operators can set up a camera and inspection program, manually place a workpiece in view and execute inspection. No robot required. The update also provides users with one-shot detection for multiple objects, allowing the system to pick all workpieces with only one picture. This reduces complexity for users and improves cycle times. The update includes tools that allow users to request specific workpiece types and specify gripper clearance parameters. Adding Eyes to mobile robotsA new landmark feature has been added to Eyes’ powerful toolkit, enabling easy deployment of Eyes on mobile robots and setups with carts, trays, […]

OMRON launches HD-1500 mobile robot with 1500kg payload capacity

OMRON Asia Pacific, a global leader in industrial automation solutions, has launched its new mobile robot called the HD-1500 across Oceania & Asia Pacific. The robot boasts a heavy payload capacity of up to 1500kg and is the strongest and newest addition to the company’s portfolio of mobile robots. The need for autonomous material handling is becoming greater as more demanding tasks in industrial automation increase while companies face labor shortages along with challenges in implementing new social distancing requirements due to the Coronavirus. The HD-1500 comes off the heels of OMRON’s LD-250 mobile robot, which was launched globally in the fall of 2019. OMRON’s mobile robots can automatically calculate the best route for material transportation while navigating safely around people and obstacles without the use of magnetic floor tapes nor other guides. The new HD-1500 mobile robot has a 1500kg payload capacity which can be used to transport large automotive components, such as, car chassis and voluminous pallet size payloads – things that would have traditionally been moved using forklifts. With the release of HD-1500, OMRON’s mobile robots achieve a seamless lineup of models that can transport a wide variety of items – from components to WIP (work in progress), finished products, and heavy material. OMRON’s industry-first “Fleet Manager” can control up to 100 mobile robots with different sizes, configurations and payload capacities under one system, thus enabling customers to utilize the HD-1500 together with OMRON’s existing robots – LD-60/90 and LD-250 – to automate the complex material transport and logistics applications with the optimum allocation of robots without traffic so that they can increase the total efficiency of material handling inside the factory. The HD-1500 offers 360-degree safety coverage promoting a collaborative and safe working space. With the release of HD-1500, the stop position accuracy of the CAPS […]

Electric vehicle development for world markets

Mahindra & Mahindra, part of USD 19.4 billion Mahindra Group, and REE Automotive have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore development and manufacturing of electric commercial vehicles for global markets. Such a strategic collaboration will leverage REE’s revolutionary electric vehicle corner module and platform technology of integrating powertrain, suspension and steering components in the arch of a vehicle wheel. This coupled with Mahindra’s well-established vehicle design, engineering, sourcing capability and manufacturing assets, is set to be a win-win strategic partnership for both companies. The partnership will support REE’s global customer need for 200,000-250,000 electric commercial vehicle units over a few years, including potential Mahindra’s domestic and international volumes. Production would be scaled further to support additional volume in the global as well as Indian market. “Our collaboration with REE has the potential to bring a disruptive approach to a new age of vehicles capitalising on our respective strengths,” said Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director (Auto and Farm Sectors), Mahindra & Mahindra. “The competitive advantages of REE’s corner modular architecture with our experience in conventional vehicle system design, engineering, sourcing ecosystem and significant production capacity, provides a perfect match to deliver exciting zero emission vehicles, including autonomous vehicles, that can meet customer needs as never before.” REE’s architecture will enhance Mahindra’s capabilities in the electric vehicle sector. REE will leverage Mahindra’s global presence and its unique volume flexibility capability as well as its engineering and product development expertise. REE’s transformational technology is designed for current and future e-mobility applications, including autonomous vehicles, and offers significant benefits in terms of weight, space and total body design flexibility. The scalability of the platform makes it ideal for any form of electric vehicle such as commercial vehicles, mid-duty delivery trucks, last mile delivery, passenger cars, taxis and shuttles. About Mahindra The Mahindra Group is […]

South Korea’s Green New Deal shows the world what a smart economic recovery looks like

As the Covid-19 pandemic devastates the global economy, there’s an opportunity for governments to support a green-led recovery. This involves spending fiscal stimulus on renewable energy and other clean technologies to create jobs while addressing climate change. The chorus calling for such a move is strong and diverse: banks, investors, academics, energy companies, climate advocates and politicians. Unfortunately, some national governments have not heeded the calls. This includes Australia, where the Morrison government is spruiking a “gas-led recovery” and talking up fossil fuel-derived hydrogen. At the same time, our government is refusing to extend the renewable energy target beyond 2020, and there are strong signs it wants to change the investment mandates of Australia’s clean energy agencies to encourage funding of gas projects. However some countries, such as South Korea, are using the crisis to kickstart environmentally sustainable economic growth. Australia can learn a lot from the smart strategy of our Asian neighbour. Rising from a COVID battering South Korea’s economy, like those across the world, has been hit hard by the pandemic. In particular, its export industries dropped by 24% in May as demand for the nation’s mainstay products, such as cars, semiconductors, machinery, petrochemicals and steel, fell away. In April, 26.93 million Koreans were reportedly employed – 392,000 fewer than a year earlier. Job losses were highest in the wholesale and retail sectors, accommodation and food services. In response, Korean President Moon Jae-in in July launched the Korean New Deal or “K-New Deal”. The US$135 billion investment in green and digital technology comprises: US$96.3 billion from Treasury US$21.2 billion from local governments US$17.3 billion from the private sector. The “green” part of the plan is known as the Green New Deal (not to be confused with the US’ proposed package of climate policies, of the same name). The Korean green plan involves US$61.9 billion targeting the creation of 319,000 jobs by 2022 and 659,000 by […]

NEC and Vista Equity Partners to aid digital transformation of businesses in Japan

NEC Corporation has announced the establishment of a joint venture and strategic partnership with Vista Equity Partners (Vista), a leading global investment firm focused on enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled businesses, to deliver enterprise software solutions from Vista’s portfolio of companies to the Japanese market. The partnership will come into effect immediately, with NEC and Vista jointly establishing a joint venture, SaaSpresto Ltd., which started operations today. As companies in Japan aim to create a competitive advantage in the digital world, upgrading legacy systems and technology infrastructure to drive digital transformation (DX) has become imperative to optimize the customer experience, deliver data-based insights, enable greater collaboration and improve agility, productivity and innovation. Vista presently has over 60 enterprise software companies in its private equity portfolio that provide technology products and solutions to more than 200 million users worldwide. This partnership will help ensure these enterprise software tools are available as part of NEC’s efforts to accelerate DX efforts in Japan through strategic consultancy and IT modernisation. “Vista’s experience and expertise as one of the world’s leading technology investors, along with its roster of best-in-class enterprise software companies, make them an ideal strategic partner for this initiative,” said Takayuki Morita, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Board, NEC Corporation. “We look forward to partnering with the Vista team and Vista companies on our digital transformation strategy, bringing leading enterprise software solutions to Japanese businesses.” SaaSpresto plans to begin sales in January 2021 with solutions from several companies in the Vista portfolio. Vista will facilitate introductions and opportunities for SaaSpresto in its private equity portfolio to co-market solutions. The partnership aims to serve more than three thousand Japanese businesses in the next four years. “In addition to being a thriving global economy, Japan has long been an […]

Asia-Pacific’s 5G digital factory revenue primed for a post-Covid-19 recovery

Covid-19 initially slowed mobile phone sales in the Asia Pacific and disrupted supply chains and demand for certain 5G-related end verticals. However, it also caused an increase in broadband traffic and 5G use cases such as South Korea using 5G to live-stream its 2020 elections and China deploying 5G-powered smart city robots. Moving forward, ABI Research believes that the pandemic will alert enterprises to the importance of disruption-proofing their businesses using 5G and forecasts an APAC 5G digital factory market worth over US$60 billion by 2030. “5G is here to stay in APAC, with operators in the region showing their commitment through increased Capital Expenditure (CapEx) for 5G rollouts. For example, China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom are investing a total of US$ 173.3 billion on their 5G network by 2025,” says Kanguri Ling, Research Analyst at ABI Research. “5G will bring many use cases into play for APAC, which is extremely beneficial to the economy and technological progression. In the prosumer space, 5G can enable real-time control for remote production of live broadcasts. For enterprises and end verticals, 5G will enable smart cities through 5G-based autonomous form factors and 5G-powered autonomous driving just to name a few. 5G will also propel an increasingly wireless factory and create new value-based business models for operators in APAC, reducing their profit-reliance on Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).” Despite the Covid-19 outbreak, operators such as NTT Docomo did not have a delay in commercially launching 5G in March, and KT has seen an increase in ARPU with 5G subscribers reaching over 2 million in 2Q-2020. Telstra has also upgraded to a 5G Stand Alone (SA) core in May with Ericsson. ABI Research expects that by 2024, APAC will see 5G power 43% of the online video market and 51% of the […]

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