ULC Robotics Hosts Interactive Events for Engineering Students

A crowd of ninety students and several educators recently welcomed ULC Robotics to the Brooklyn Technical High School for an interactive presentation on the company’s robotic and unmanned aerial technologies.

Mathew M. Mandery, Chief Education Officer for the Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation, had invited ULC Robotics to help further the institution’s mission of fostering an environment of hands-on learning and direct engagement with the latest technology developments.

David Antanavige, Mechanical Design Engineer, led the presentation and discussed how his high school experiences, such as how his enrollment in Project Lead the Way STEM courses (currently part of the Brooklyn Tech curricula) laid the foundation for his professional development and career at ULC Robotics.  After the presentation, Antanavige fielded questions from the students, including members of the Brooklyn TechKnights, the school’s robotics club.

Later in the week, the Society of Women Engineers from Vaughn College visited ULC Robotics headquarters to tour the facility and interface with the company’s engineering team and unmanned aircraft pilots.

The group of fifteen mechatronics majors received an in-depth view of ULC Robotics Aerial Services division and custom-crafted UAVs, as well as a demonstration of a robot built to automate the process of racking circuit breakers within electric utility substations.

“Students soon entering the workforce need as much exposure as possible to the opportunities and technologies being leveraged here on Long Island,” said Antanavige. “Introducing these students to the work achieved at ULC Robotics both inspires and creates realistic expectations for their own career paths. We hope that by engaging students in this manner that we can help build and foster the next generations of makers.”

ULC Robotics and Cadent Expand CISBOT Deployments in London

This week Cadent, Britain’s largest gas distribution network, announced it is expanding deployments of CISBOT across their North London network at an interactive innovation and technology showcase held at London’s City Hall.

In 2018, CISBOT was used to remediate large diameter cast iron gas mains in two of London’s busiest locations – Oxford Street and The Strand.

“CISBOT’s work in The Strand and Oxford Street last year was so successful that we’re now rolling the robots out across our London network, where they’ll help us to do work faster, smoother and more economically than ever before,” says James Harrison, Head of Operations for London at Cadent.

ULC Robotics Invests in STEM Development Through Middlesbrough College Partnership

ULC Robotics has partnered with Middlesbrough College to bring new career opportunities to their apprenticeship and training company, Northern Skills Group.

Students studying specialist engineering and mechanics will gain experience through hands-on work on robotic technologies used for servicing natural gas, electric, and other energy utilities. Northern Skills Group will work with ULC Robotics to ensure that the program offers training which would provide the students with strong technical skills and allow them to move into high-value jobs.

Graeme Cleeton, VP of Operations at ULC Robotics, hails from Middlesbrough and looks forward to mentoring the students.

“I’m passionate about offering the next generation opportunities, and our sector must invest in skills development to ensure we have a sustainable future,” says Cleeton. “We’re excited to be partnering with Northern Skills Group to develop a program that will give us the skills and knowledge to keep innovating and adding value to our clients.”

ULC Robotics Mentors Participants in Stony Brook University Hackathon

Each year Stony Brook University hosts a two-day interdisciplinary hackathon at the Center of Excellence in Wireless Information Technology (CEWIT).  With a focus on industry-relevant challenges, Hack@CEWIT enables forward-thinking students from Long Island and its surrounding regions to design real-world solutions to industry challenges.

This President’s Day weekend, over 150 college students gathered to tackle technical topics surrounding big data, machine learning, IoT, and robotics. The event included hands-on workshops and an industry mentor program, through which engineers, program managers, and drone pilots from ULC Robotics helped to guide the next generation of technology leaders toward the success of their projects.

After a sleepless but productive 43 hours, the hackathon participants presented their final projects to a panel of judges from local businesses and associations. ULC Robotics was pleased to present the award for the Best Use of 3D Visualization/Simulation to the United Sensors of America team.

For more information on Hack@CEWIT visit the event website.

Engineering News-Record Names Gregory Penza Top 25 Newsmaker

Each year Engineering News-Record highlights the most innovative influencers in the construction industry. Today, ENR named ULC Robotics President and CEO Gregory Penza one of 2018’s Top 25 Newsmakers for his work with pipeline rehabilitation and the invention of the Cast Iron Joint Sealing Robot (CISBOT).

ENR commended Penza for “finding his competitive advantage in construction robotics” and his ambition to revolutionize pipeline repair. Long-term client Kenneth Daly, Chief Operating Officer for U.S. Electricity Businesses at National Grid, endorsed the nomination, saying that Penza has “delivered industry-changing robotic solutions to the complex operations and engineering challenges” faced by the utility.

Read the full ENR article here.

ULC Robotics Opens New UK Facility

ULC Robotics is excited to announce that we have moved our UK operations to a new location. We are now stationed next to Heathrow Airport, in the heart of Trading Estate, one of Heathrow’s leading industrial areas.

Located at Unit 656, River Gardens, North Feltham Trading Estate, TW14 0RD, our spacious multi-purpose industrial unit offers excellent facilities that will allow us to conduct large operational workshops, host meetings with our clients, and serve as a base for our growing UK operations.

The past five years have seen much growth and success for our UK branch, and we view the location change as the start of another chapter in our history. We couldn’t be more excited about the move.

Thank you to our clients, customers, business associates, sub-contractors, and friends for all of your support. We would like to give a special thanks to John Eastwood, Flow Stop Services and his team for helping us establish ourselves in the UK by providing a secure facility from which to build our business.

We welcome you to contact us and schedule a visit to our new office.

ULC Robotics Shortlisted for The Energy Awards Innovation of the Year

ULC Robotics, leading Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) solutions provider and developer for the energy industry, has been shortlisted for The Energy Awards in the Innovation of the Year: Technology – Physical category. The Energy Awards is a prestigious event that recognizes the outstanding companies working to advance the energy industry.

With the number of applications nearly doubled this year, ULC was shortlisted for their work with Cadent and tRIIO on the innovative M1 Live Gas Main Inspection Crawler System. The M1 was developed to expand internal inspection capabilities in large diameter gas mains and enable inspection in mains not previously accessible by existing technologies. It was successfully trialed within the London Medium Pressure network in January 2018.

The winners of The Energy Awards will be announced on December 5th during a ceremony held at the Hilton on Park Lane in London.

For more information or to see the entire shortlist visit the awards website.

Cadent Deploys CISBOT for Mains Remediation Beneath the Strand

CISBOT is now operating beneath The Strand, one of Central London’s busiest thoroughfares, to remediate a critical segment of the gas distribution network. In conjunction with UK gas distribution network Cadent, CISBOT technology is being deployed along a majority of the 850m section of the A4 within the City of Westminster to minimize impacts on the public, transportation, and environment.

According to an article published in The Telegraph, there are 300,000 holes are dug every year in London for roadworks, resulting in 36% of the city’s traffic delays, costing businesses £1 billion, and causing considerable disruption to the public. By utilizing CISBOT Cadent is eliminating the need for traditional large-scale excavation and disruption of gas services while minimizing interference to the area’s traffic and pedestrian flow.

The first project site is located just outside of the Charing Cross railway station where ULC’s advanced robotic system will work to extend the life of Cadent’s vital distribution system. The entire project is expected to continue through this summer.

SGN Awards ULC Robotics 36km CISBOT Mains Remediation Contract

ULC Robotics has taken another step towards the expansion of their CISBOT operations with the award of the largest robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) contracts in the gas distribution utility market. In line with efforts encouraged by Ofgem’s RIIO-GD1 regulation, gas distribution network SGN will employ ULC’s CISBOT system to remediate 36km/22mi of natural gas mains across the south of England.

“In terms of the scope of the robotic remediation works, it is equivalent to running the robots around London’s Inner Ring Road twice,” says Ryan McGowan, VP of Field Operations at ULC Robotics. “At this scale, the environmental benefits and reduction in social disruption being delivered back to SGN’s gas customers is greatly amplified as well.”

ULC crews will work to extend the life of large diameter cast iron gas mains, ranging in diameter from 16” to 36”. A majority of the repairs will occur in London, a challenging location due to its dense population and high traffic. Other locations spanning SGN’s southern network include Brighton, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Salisbury.

In addition to the multiple robots and crews fielded by ULC Robotics, the multi-year contract provides for services that encompass excavation, site preparation, fitting installation, valve installation, and more through subcontractors. This turn-key approach streamlines the entire operation to better meet production levels.

Robotics Business Review Recognizes ULC Robotics as Industry Influencer

Robotics Business Review (RBR) has named ULC Robotics as one of the most influential companies within the global robotics industry for the third year running. Each year RBR reviews a myriad of nominees, highlighting the fifty most visionary and innovative companies within the industry through the publication of the RBR50 list. Each company is recognized for their influence and potential within the industry, indicating the future of robotics as a whole.

“We are honored to be included in this year’s RBR50,” says Gregory Penza. “It is both exciting and inspiring to be named alongside such influential companies as ABB, Amazon, and iRobot.”

Chosen for its groundbreaking work conducted in the previous year, ULC’s revolutionary technologies continue to improve and advance both the energy utility and robotics industries in 2018.

To view the entire RBR50 list visit: http://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/rbr50