Today's Top Story

The Robot Report’s database now has over 2,300 robotics links in the following directories:

... Industrial robot manufacturers
... Service robots for gov & corp use
... Service robots for personal use
... Ancillary businesses
... Start-up companies
... Educational & research facilities

A global map of robot makers including start-ups is here.

First responder and military ground robots to grow at close to 20%

... New $3,800 report by Wintergreen Research says that first responder and military ground robot marketplace will expand at close to 20% annually for the rest of the decade.
... Expected revenue in 2019 is $12 billion.
... Growth is based on the adoption of automated processes combining innovative software and robotic platforms in systems of engagement that have arms and sensors, tracks and wheels, motors, solid state batteries and leverage smart phones and mobile platforms.
... This report confirms Markets and Markets report which predicts a 17.4% CAGR over same period for service robotics.

Upcoming Robotic Events

... Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics, June 22-25, London, UK
... China Intl Robot Show (CIROS), July 2-5, Shanghai, China
... Automation, Robotics and the Supply Chain conference, July 16-17, Pittsburgh, PA
... AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems 2013, August 12-15, Washington, DC
... TMC’s RobotXWorld Conference & Show, August 27-29, Las Vegas, NV
... DIREX, Dubai Intl. Robotics Exhibition, September 3-7, Dubai, UAE
... AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems Europe 2013, October 15-16, Köln, Germany
... RoboBusiness Santa Clara 2013, October 23-25, Santa Clara, CA
... Pioneer Festival of Entrepreneurship & Exponential Innovation, October 29-31, Vienna, Austria

Are headlines about killer robots obscuring the valuable use of drones for other purposes?

... Are the campaigns to ban killer robots scaring people unnecessarily?
... Is the coverage obscuring the valuable contributions that commercial uses of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offer?
... There weren’t any headlines about a very helpful drone mapping expedition in Haiti last month.
... Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water is an article you might want to read.

Coming soon to protect texters (like you?)

... CrashAlert is an app under development by Pourang Irani and Juan David Hincapié-Ramos at the University of Manitoba to provide a realistic solution to the ongoing dangers posed by walking and texting. Since users aren’t likely to pocket their devices, the system restores their peripheral vision through the use of a Kinect-like forward-looking depth camera that provides distance and location cues to obstacles in the user’s path.
... Unlike existing apps WalkNText and TypenWalk, which are essentially see-through texting apps, CrashAlert displays a small slice of the depth camera’s image on the mobile’s screen and alerts users of obstacles immediately in front through a red alert prompting users to immediately stop or lift their heads.
... No info on commercialization plans yet but it’s easy to see the market is ripe for the product.
... Photo courtesy of Examiner.com.

Is the commercialization of UASs passing the U.S. by?

... Forget the debate about the military use of drones (but if you must know, here’s a comprehensive FAQ and a United Nations Report on the issue).
... There’s money to be made using those very same unmanned aerial vehicles and systems for commercial purposes. And money is being made by UAS makers and the ancillary businesses that support them in Europe and Australia—but not in the U.S. which will have to play catch-up beginning in late 2015 when the FAA issues rules governing UAS flight in civilian airspace.
... Agriculture, forestry, mining, infrastructure and general surveying, topographical modeling and first responders are just some of the groups that will all benefit from the use of UAS.
... Swiss startup senseFly has 40 engineers producing 60 drones a month at selling prices ranging from $10,000 to $20,000. That’s $18 million a year for senseFly (which was recently acquired by Parrot SA, the French car electronics and AR.Drone maker).
... Airware, an American startup that provides autopilot hardware for UASs, must market outside the US. However, CEO Jonathan Downey says there is plenty of very profitable business outside the United States.

Rethink Robotics’ Baxter and Universal Robots Succeeding

... Almost all industrial robot makers have or are working on lightweight and human-friendly robot arms, but none are offering them at low cost, or with user-friendly training, or plug and play and safety features. There are other robot startups in the SME marketplace - and on the horizon - but none are as far along as Rethink Robotics and Universal Robots.
... Rethink Robotics’ Baxter robots are being produced and sold at a rate of 500+ units for 2013.
... Universal Robots is building 100+ UR5 and UR10 robots a month of which approximately 25-30% are for customers in the U.S.
... Click to see a review of each robot’s features and a couple of examples of how they are being used.

Othermill: a new high quality CNC circuit board fabricator

... Otherfab, a spin-off from San Francisco-based Otherlab, an engineering, energy, education, math, computation and design research facility, surpassed their Kickstarter goal and is well on their way to produce their new CNC device.
... Originally developed to revive shop class in American schools by providing a very capable CNC fabricating machine but stalled by government funding delays, Otherfab’s new CNC Othermill and simple software is designed for ease of use and flexible operation.
... It’s not too late to subscribe to the Kickstarter campaign.

All Eyes on Intuitive Surgical Suit

UPDATED 5-21-2013: Lawyers conclude closing arguments and case given to jurors

... For continuing coverage of not only the court case but also the FDA probe, the JAMA article, the product recall, and the new class action suits, click here.

UPDATED 4-19-2013

... Intuitive Surgical’s marketing director testified that they focused on a category of urologists who have “basic or limited laparoscopic skills who currently perform” traditional prostate removals and that group is “where 80 percent of your clinical [marketing] time should be spent.”
... Intuitive released their first quarter results showing surprisingly high profits and revenue. But Intuitive also narrowed their 2013 revenue projections slightly. The stock market responded with a $21.00 drop in price (4.25%).

UPDATED 4-17-2013

... In first day of trial in State of Washington, in their opening arguments, lawyers stated their cases:
    [Plaintiff] that Intuitive Surgical designed a watered down training program to make it easier for them to sell systems to hospitals thereby compromising surgical quality which, in this case, led to complications which caused a man to die.
    [Defendent] that injuries suffered by the obese and medically-troubled patient occurred after the robotic system was unplugged and not in use; the injuries happened after the robotic surgery was completed. Trial details here.
... A suit alleging injuries tied to the robot surgery system in a 2008 procedure to remove a patient’s prostate claims that the surgeon was not adequately trained and that the results of that lack of training caused mistakes which led to kidney failure, brain damage, permanent incontinence, the need to wear a colostomy bag, and ultimately, heart failure and death.
... An attempt by Intuitive to have the case thrown out was denied because the state’s product-liability laws require medical-device makers to properly train physicians who buy their products.
... There are 12 suits of this type pending trials. But there is also a JAMA article which shows that although the number of robotically assisted procedures is up, their effectiveness is the same as laparoscopic methods but their costs are about $2,000 higher per procedure. However, when reductions in hospital stays and post-recovery work from traditional surgery are added into the mix, robotic surgery is the most cost efficient.
... Also, the FDA has initiated an ongoing probe asking surgeons at numerous hospitals to identify complications with the da Vinci machines.

A conversation with Henri Seydoux

... Armed with €40 million for acquisitions, Parrot S.A. founder, Chairman and CEO Henri Seydoux said that the success of the AR.Drone and AR.Drone 2 proves that there is a large consumer market for the entertainment side of aerial drones.
... Now he and Parrot are going after the professional side: providing mapping and georgraphical information for surveying, construction, mining, agriculture, forestry, environmental observation and protection, and town planning using aerial drones and sophisticated cameras and software.
... Read the details here.

Online job postings for robotic positions up 10% compared to the same 90-day period in 2012

... More than 14,000 jobs were advertised online requiring knowledge or use of robotics in the U.S., according to WANTED Analytics™, a source of real-time business intelligence.
... The most commonly advertised job titles requiring use or knowledge of robotics: Maintenance Technician, Controls Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Physician Urology, Registered Nurse, Electrical Engineer, Software Engineer and Urologist.

Blimp-in-a-box contract causes acquisition

... Global Telesat Corp (think Globalstar, inmarsat and Iridium), and Lighter Than Air Systems, were awarded a DoD contract to provide the Army with two Blimp-in-a-Box systems.
... In order to fulfill that contract and to benefit from future collaborations of a similar nature, Lighter Than Air Systems agreed to be acquired in an almost all-stock transaction worth about $1 million by World Surveillance Group.
... All three companies are Florida-based defense contractors.
... Blimp-in-a-box is designed to provide real-time day/night high definition footage for ISR, IED detection, border security and other governmental and civilian uses. The system is packaged in a crate, mounted to a trailer, and can be rapidly deployed within minutes by a two man crew.

LIDAR finds a lost city in Cambodia

... Using LIDAR technology to create terrain maps, archaeologists have uncovered a whole city in Cambodia by discovering unexplained “bumps”.
... Instead of using maps and sifting through slowly unfolding digs, with this new tech researchers can see whole cities at a time and determine where best to begin.
... In Cambodia, where unexploded land mines from previous wars remain, LIDAR mapping is particularly helpful.
... Interesting video.

Use of da Vinci surgical robots discussed on NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams

... NBC’s Rock Center focused on the case of a da Vinci surgical robot used to do a hysterectomy where dangerous complications ensued. A suit is in progress.
... The ACOG (American Congress of Gynocologists) suggests that doctors help patients separate marketing hype from reality regarding hysterectomies.
... NBC’s bottom line: “Hospitals have a responsibility to set the bar higher than they have. This is really exciting technology. But great technology does not make great surgeons; great surgeons make the technology even better.”
... Watch the NBC video.
… Read about a just-concluded trial where Intuitive Surgical was found not guilty here.

$201 million in venture funding in 2012; up from $194 in 2011

... Roboticist and entrepreneur Travis Deyle keeps tract of venture funding during the year and has provided not just a list, but a profile of the companies receiving the money.
... Report doesn’t include big-buck acquisitions of Kiva for $775 million, Evolution Robotics for $74 million, Aldebaran for $100 million, and smaller than a million fundings.
... 2012 funding list.
... 2011 funding list.

New robot cars and AI app shown at Apple Developer’s Conference

... First thing shown at Apple Developer’s Conference was Anki’s new AnkiDrive app and cars.
... Three self-driving cars steered themselves around a track. The cars sense their surroundings and adjust their speeds based on the same processes our brains perform while driving.
... “We are bringing video games to life on the floor of your livingroom,” CEO Boris Sofman said during his presentation.
... $50 million funding from 3 VCs led by Andreessen, Horowitz.
... Watch the teaser video.

An inspiring story by an aspiring roboticist

... Forsyth Central High School student Brandon Gross writes about his school, his city (Cumming, GA) and Forsyth County involvement in competitive robotics as a method to teach and learn about engineering, math, science and technology.
... The underlying issues are the use of robotics to stimulate STEM training in middle and high schools and the need for mentoring and local business participation, all of which are described in this interesting and inspiring article.

Tibion Bionic Leg Wins IERA Award

... The Tibion Bionic Leg won the 2013 IERA (Invention and Entrepreneurship Award in Robotics and Automation) Prize at the recent ICRA Conference in Karlsruhe, Germany.
... The device is not a prosthesis (artificial limb), or a device a patient wears indefinitely. It is a robotic aid worn during therapy sessions over weeks or months, until the patient recovers their gait so they can walk without it.
... Previous winners of the IERA award include the Kiva robot, the exoskeleton HAL by Cyberdyne, the Aldebaran NAO robot and the UR5 and UR10 robots from Universal Robots.
... Tibion was recently acquired by AlterG, a rehab products company.

Jury finds Intuitive Surgical’s training practices NOT at fault

... Jurors reached a 10-2 verdict after a 5-week trial. Intuitive Surgical owes no damages based on claims by the family that Intuitive had inadequately trained the doctor who performed the operation.
... The win may reduce the steam in the kettle of the pending class action suits about false claims by the company regarding their financial performance.
... In after hours trading, and then during the trading day, as news of the verdict came out, the stock (NASDAQ:ISRG) rose to $501, a 5% gain.
... For further details, see the Bloomberg story,  watch the video from the local TV station and read the review by Everything-Robotic.

SWIVL finds it’s niche

... IndieGoGo-funded swiveling personal camera and follow-me device has sold 10,000 units thus far; 1,250 to schools and universities.
... Now they are scaling up with upgraded capabilities and a new round of funding including $500,000 from Grishin Robotics.
... New SWIVL can handle iPads and tablets, cloud services and SDKs from Apple and Android.
... Educators and business people are finding it helpful for capturing classroom and meeting content.

Are Accelerators the new Incubators and Angel Investors?

... Tech startups can lead to big business. Last year Y Combinator reported their top 21 projects were worth $4.7 billion! Just last week Airware, a Y Combinator startup, received the biggest round of funding in YC history ($10.7 million).
... Y Combinator is certainly the most well known and the most visual leader in the new accelerator model of startup funding, i.e., invest a small amount of money in a large number of startups. The startups move close by for a few months during which the cadre works intensively with the startup team to get them into the best possible shape for investors.
... Last year Forbes produced a Top 10 Startup Incubators and Accelerators List.
... This year Robohub contributor Andra Keay produced a robotics-friendly list.

... Airware, a Newport Beach, CA start-up offering autopilots for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) enabling UAS manufacturers to rapidly develop diverse and price competitive solutions while maintaining their intellectual property.
... Airware made it into Y Combinator’s Winter 2013 class. The company’s $10.4M Series A funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Google Ventures is the biggest post-Demo Day round in YC history.
... Airware will be competing with 3D Robotics’ PX4FMU, an open source high-performance autopilot targeted towards high-end research, amateur and industry needs. PX4FMU is for fixed wing, multi rotors, helicopters, cars, boats and any other robotic platform that can move, and Dreamhammer’s Ballista control system, a commercial version of their drone control software already used by the military.

ROS Industrial celebrates one-year anniversary

... ROS-I is developing and promoting a manufacturer-independent open-source library of drivers and the transfer of established components from research to industry - not just h/w interfaces and MS, IOS and Android support, but legal and standardization issues as well.
... Interchangeability of h/w components through standardized interfaces and intelligent software components for flexible production are the benefits.
... With centers covering The Americas (located at SwRI in Texas) and for Europe (located at Fraunhofer IPA in Germany), ROS-I is looking for a partner to cover Asia.
... A one-year video montage shows some industrial robotics applications made possible by ROS-I. One can see ROS-I controlling robots by ABB, KUKA, Fanuc, Adept, Universal Robots, and Yaskawa-Motoman.

13 robotic innovations among 2013 Edison Award winners

... The Edison Awards, created by the American Marketing Association in 1987 but now a self-sustaining non-profit, jury-selects and annually awards for innovation and innovators in technology.
... 2013’s winners include 13 robotic companies and 4 more that came from the fields of automation or sensing. Rethink Robotics’ Baxter, iRobot’s Looj and Liquid Robotics’ Wave Glider all won gold medals in their respective categories.
... All 17 companies are profiled here.

World’s Most Human-Like Android Wasn’t Unveiled at GF2045

... At the 2nd Global Future 2045 Congress held in New York City June 15-16, one of the featured draws was the unveiling of a new Hanson Robokind head of the Congress’ host, Dmitry Itskov. It didn’t happen.
... Hanson was late and apologized saying: “My robots are complex works of art, and this is the most complex and ambitious one I’ve made yet. I know there are risks and uncertainties that come along with making such robots; however, it’s heartbreaking to me to miss this deadline, and I am sorry.”
... Dmitry Itskov said: “...just like many other technological advances, failure is sometimes a part of the road to success. We hope that we can show you something very soon.”

iRobot unveils new AVA 500 mobile robot for professionals

... New iRobot AVA 500, planned for 2014 delivery, navigates autonomously and can be sent from point A to B using an iPad.
... Base of AVA same as that used by InTouch Health and their successful RP-VITA remote presence robot.
... AVA 500 carriers a Cisco 21.5-inch LCD and has a HD webcam atop it packed with Cisco’s TelePresence videoconferencing software.
... Available for lease and purchase but purchase price not announced. Lease prices start at $2,000.
... The Ava 500 can move in any direction and safely self-navigate real-world environments. It can adjust its height to accomodate who it sees (seated or standing). It thinks on the spot and can moderate speed and alter it’s path if it senses humans nearby and return to it’s charging station after the meeting is over. It requires very little training to operate because the primary focus is the communications; not the technology.
... More details in Boston Globe article by Michael Farrell.

Israel is top global exporter of UAS

... Frost & Sullivan, a research and consulting firm, reported that Israel’s UAS export revenue totaled $4.6 billion from 2005 to 2012. In terms of the number of systems sold, Israel is the world’s largest exporter of unmanned aircraft the study said.
... “UAS exports have accounted for nearly 10 percent of the country’s total defense export industry, and this is expected to increase” the report said. “Defense exports will increase steadily, as Israel continues aggressive marketing campaigns with countries in growing UAS markets, such as Africa, Asia/Pacific, and South America.”

Kinect completely redone. Windfall for robotics.

... The new Kinect, released a few days ago, uses an infrared light to illuminate whatever is in front of the sensor, and the pixels of an infrared camera watch for each pulse to reflect back. Just like radar, distance is calculated by the time it takes for light to reach a particular pixel and reflect back.
... The new Kinect can process 6 people at a time and, instead of the wire-frame skeletal tracking from the past, can now track fingers, muscle and force, facial expressions, joint orientation and do it all in light or dark and without distortion from side or inconsistent light sources.
... Wired has an in-depth video and review.
... It took a few months for hackers to make use of the previous Kinect for robotic apps. With so much added to the new version, robotics is sure to get a major boost from this new Kinect.