Fanuc Sued by Northwestern University Over Patents for Robots

Northwestern University claims Fanuc is infringing three patents for “groundbreaking intelligent assist systems in the field of collaborative robotics,” and should pay royalties on them, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Chicago.

• Fanuc, the world’s biggest maker of industrial robots, makes a series of machines including the LR Mate, M series and R series as well as panels, pendants and interfaces that are designed for use with various Fanuc controllers, according to the complaint
• Michael A. Peshkin and J. Edward Colgate, professors at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, were critical in inventing intelligent assist devices ...