PAL Robotics’ TIAGo++ has two arms with seven degrees of freedom. It was designed in response to feedback from universities and industry.
Acutronic Robotics fails to find funding for H-ROS for robot hardware
Acutronic Robotics, which was involved in the development of ROS2 and MARA, the first robot to run on the open-source operating system, was unable to agree on funding or acquisition.
Freedom Robotics raises seed funding for robotics dev tools, fleet controls
Freedom Robotics, which is making cloud and on-device software for managing robots and robotic fleets, closed a $6.6 million seed round.
SiLC takes modular, FMCW approach to lidar for self-driving cars, robots
SiLC is building lidar systems that get extra information out of photons while being safer for humans.
Robo Firefly drone goes small for efficiency, waits on crowdfunding
Robo Firefly ultralight drone faces headwinds in crowdfunding campaign.
Smart manufacturing trends analyzed in GP Bullhound report
Smart manufacturing isn’t spreading at an even rate around the world, but GP Bullhound identifies trends for robotics developers to watch.
Volkswagen invests $2.6B in Argo AI for self-driving cars, expands pact with Ford
Volkswagen is becoming an equal partner with Ford in Argo AI, which is developing self-driving car technology. The companies will also be working on developing electric vehicles and vans for Europe.
Geek+ raises another $150M for global expansion of autonomous mobile robots
Geek+ has raised more funding as it expands production and sales of its autonomous mobile robots for supply chains.
Robotics investments recap: June 2019
Reported robotics investments in June 2019 focused on transportation, AI and software, manufacturing, and healthcare.
20 largest robotics investments during 1st half of 2019
Robotics companies have raised more than $15.6 billion during the first half of 2019. According to the robotics investments tracked and verified by The Robot Report, more than $2.6 billion has been raised on average per month. The year started slowly with $644 million raised in January, but there has been at least $1.3 billion…
Apple acquires Drive.ai as self-driving car drama continues
Drive.ai had shut down, but Apple rode to the rescue, reviving the prospects for both Drive.ai’s technology and workers and its own self-driving car research.
Soft Robotics adds Mini Finger to mGrip system for picking in tight spaces
Soft Robotics describes its new Mini Finger, which is designed to enable soft robot grippers to get into tighter spaces than ever before. It is part of the company’s modular mGrip system.
AMP Robotics applies AI, robots to mounting recycling challenge
Recycling robots such as AMP Robotics’ Cortex can help meet demand for more intensive recycling amid trade disputes. The CEO of Denver-based AMP explains the development of systems specifically for materials handling and sorting of waste.
Intel, OSU, and UC San Diego work on reinforcement learning, PartNet could help household robots
Intel AI Lab is working with researchers at Oregon State University and UC San Diego on machine learning approaches that could help robots interact with dynamic environments. They include a combined approach to reinforcement learning and PartNet, a massive dataset of 3D objects with annotated components.
inVia Robotics’ Picker, cloud management system built for autonomy, ease of deployment
inVia Robotics’ robotics as a service offerings are different from the competition in requiring less overhead and maximizing efficiency, says CEO Lior Elazary.
Q1 2019 robotics orders dip in North America, but RIA remains confident
In Q1 2019, orders for industrial robots in North America dropped by more than 3%, reported the RIA. Overall, however, sales increased from Q4 2018.
5G is coming, so robotics innovators should get ready, say Verizon, Qualcomm at Robotics Summit
At the 2019 Robotics Summit & Expo, executives from Verizon, Qualcomm, and other companies emphasized the importance of readiness for the variety of robotics applications that 5G will enable.
XPRIZE releases fiction anthology to inspire engineers for World Oceans Day
Robotics developers and the general public can find inspiration for exploring the oceans in a new fiction anthology from XPRIZE entitled Current Futures: A Sci-Fi Ocean Anthology.
Myomo scales up production, training for MyoPro device for upper-body mobility
Myomo is working with contract manufacturers for its MyoPro assistive devices, which use sensors, algorithms, and motors to help wearers regain upper-limb function.
Robotics Summit & Expo 2019: Your guide to Day 2
Day 2 of the Robotics Summit & Expo 2019 has more expert keynotes, informative sessions and panels, leading technology exhibitors, an engineering education workshop, and a MassRobotics career fair.
Robotics investments recap: May 2019
May 2019 might have been a slow month for robotics transactions, but investors are still bullish on robots, autonomous vehicles, and AI for supply chain, healthcare, and food applications.
Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE announces winners advancing robotic undersea exploration
The Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE winner was the GEBCO-NF Alumni team, which consisted of people from 14 countries. The executive director of the competition describes the teams and goal of advancing undersea mapping technology.
Buddy social robot delayed again as Blue Frog looks for funding
Blue Frog Robotics, which makes the Buddy social robot, is launching a second crowdfunding campaign to help it scale up for manufacturing and global markets.
Self-driving car startup Aurora acquires Blackmore for Doppler lidar tech
Which is better for self-driving cars — multiple sensors including lidar, or cameras? Aurora Innovation is betting on Doppler lidar innovator Blackmore Sensors and Analytics.
Robots need the cloud for coordination, says AWS’s Barga, Robotics Summit keynoter
At the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston, AWS’s Roger Barga will deliver a keynote about the role of the cloud in future of robotics. He gives a preview of his discussion about emerging technologies, the challenges of analysis and coordination, and how RoboMaker can help robot developers.