🔥🦾 Teenage Robot Superheros, $375M Acquisition, 3D Printed Houses

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Robots taking over jobs? Looks like humans are officially the new 'unskilled labor'

📣 Topics of the Day 📣

• Freakin Awesome Kids

• Can Storage Solutions Survive?

• Yaba Daba Doo, 3D Printed

• Tech of the Day: Limit Switches aren't for.....

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Just Slothing Around

Freaking Awesome Kids

The robotics and automation space can be a greedy space, full of old guys trying to squeeze a buck out of any sucker that will buy their outdated tech. It get's pretty soulless at times in this space. Feeling like we're just part of a cog not really doing much aside from putting dollars into the pockets of these business owners. So when I see a story that bucks this financially driven ideology I'm interested. Not just kind of interested but grossly obsessed with going down the rabbit hole soaking up all the goodness. So what's so special? A group of kids at Farmington High School's Rogue Robotics team is making a difference.

Like a real difference in the lives of other kids not as fortunate. These roboticists, yeah they're roboticists, have been modifying Power Wheels turning them into awesomely fantastic wheelchairs for disabled children. This isn't a one and done thing either. They've been doing this for years and don't plan on stopping anytime soon. Check out the video that made their local news and I recommend you donate to them. Whatever you've got send them more fuel to further their cause. I've prodded some folks myself to donate so we'll see if they pull through. to you young robotics warriors keep doing your thing!

Can Storage Solutions Survive?

Hot damn, here's a juicy morsel of German takeover! Looks like Jungheinrich is finally getting into the US automation game. They've announced a $375M acquisition of Storage Solutions (Westfield, Indiana). But who will really win with this deal? I project this being a lose-lose for both companies. Here's why.

Jungheinrich is a playing automation in Europe and now they want to give it a go here in the US. They are a forklift company, dipping their toes into the automation space. This purchase of $375M for an "integrator" is not a big deal for the $4B+ company that they are. What's interesting is that they are a forklift company, not a solutions company. So everything they do is centered around products not projects.

Storage Solutions is a used rack company. That's what they're known for. Call them and you can get just about any used rack you want. In the past 5 years they started embarking on a journey to get into material handling systems. They are no Bastian, Dematic, Fortna, KPI, RMH, etc. These guys are just getting started on this mission with a lot of fresh new talent that needs experienced leadership to guide them.

So how's this a lose-lose? Storage Solutions was getting primed to sell. Whenever this happens companies care more about how things look than the reality of what is. So part A....a company with leadership which was looking to cash out. Part B, a behemoth of a company that doesn't have a real game plan in the US and lackluster M&A diligence. Check out how Arculus is going..

Now take part A plus part B and add the secret sauce. In this case it's the German based mindset of how to do business. Storage Solutions will have some autonomy for a few minutes and then they'll get smothered with multibillion dollar company politics, policies, and mindset. Some may say nahh, Toyota Industrial did the same thing with Bastian and Raymond. Not quite. Toyota Industrial resided in the US doing business for years empowering US based leaders to run the business, and Toyota Industrial was successful building and growing a business in the US, ironically another Indiana based company. AND Bastian Solutions was already a premiere material handling integrator with exotic sites throughout the US.

I wish these two companies the best but the only way this will work is if Jungheinrich doesn't penetrate the pureness of Storage Solutions American way of doing business!

Tech of the Day: Limit Switches Aren't For.....

So, what is a limit switch? Well, it's basically the bouncer at the club of electrical switches. It's the one that checks your ID and makes sure you're not a robot or a toaster before letting you in. But seriously, it's a type of electrical switch that controls the movement of a machine or device, like a door or a gate. It's like the "Do Not Enter" sign of the electrical world.

Three key things to know about limit switches? First off, there's different types, just like there's different types of people. You got your mechanical limit switches, which is like the old-school bouncer at the club who checks your ID by hand. Then you got your proximity and photoelectric limit switches, which is like the bouncer with the fancy scanner that checks your ID without you even having to take it out of your pocket.

Second, there's actuation. Some limit switches are manually actuated, which is like the bouncer who checks your ID and lets you in, but you gotta pay an extra cover charge. And then there's automatically actuated, which is like the bouncer who checks your ID, lets you in, and gives you a free drink.

And third, durability. Limit switches are built to last, like the bouncer who's been working at the club for 20 years and still got all his teeth. They're made from durable materials, like metal or plastic, so they can handle the rough and tough environment of the electrical world.

So, how do you use limit switches best? It's like choosing the right club. You gotta choose the right type of switch for the specific application. And don't forget, regularly checking and maintaining your switch is like getting a regular check-up at the doctor. It's important for the switch to function correctly and safely. And just like going to the club, always remember to wear protective gear 🤭

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Yaba Daba Doo, 3D Printed

Well this is pretty cute! A company has taken on the challenge of building 3D printed houses. The problem, young adults want to spend all day on Tinder and playing video games and not construction work. Solution, build houses with a ginormous 3D printer that spews forth concrete in layers. They've already built one house in Arizona and have started a neighborhood. After building that first house they raised $58M to keep the company going. Check out that house in the video link below. Seems like a great way to lower home building costs and address our homelessness issue too!

So this house is technically a house. But that layered concrete looks like crap. I don't see very many people wanting to live in a house with walls that look like badly aligned loose leaf paper. What do you think? And really this house reminds me of something out of the Flinstones with all the rounded edges.

I do have to digress though..if you watch the video you'll see 3-4 guys gathered around a tv wall mount box. I giggled because it's a 1-2 man job tops but they had a crew conversing about it. Seems like they weren't sure exactly what to do. Maybe they should have called the GeekSquad for their opinion too.

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Have feedback or want to contribute a video, article or tacos? Maybe I'm interested maybe I'm not sure that I'm looking for it. If you have something constructive you can catch me on Twitter. @robotsrcoming or email us at [email protected]

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