Left Column Featured Links
IFR Says Robots Did Well In 2010
... Industrial robot sales almost doubled compared to 2009 - to $5.7 billion - with the auto and electronics industries as the main drivers.The IFR expects China to become the world’s largest market for robots by 2014. For the first time, global sales to the electronics sector surpassed those to the auto industry.
... An additional $3.6 billion service robots were sold. $3.1 bn to corporations and governments (75% of which was for security and defense). $0.5 bn for personal and domestic use (a 35% increase).
Defense Robots for Land, Air and Sea
... The just-ended AUVSI convention showcased military/defense technology - including a Chinese-made drone.
... Good pics from the Wall Street Journal.
US Army Testing 4 Rugged UGVs in Afghanistan
... Lockheed Martin’s rugged UGV has a range of 125 miles (201 km), carries up to half a ton of cargo, and has three control options: supervised autonomy, tele-operation or manual operation.
Shopping tablet guides you thru store, discounts and alternatives
... Korea’s largest telecom provider SK Telecom is funding a tablet-enabled grocery shopping cart trial. It matches a smartphone purchase list app to a tablet affixed to the cart and, while you move around the store, tells you where your items are, data about the product, discounts and alternatives.
Timely Robotics-Related Research Reports Hit The Market
... Expensive but comprehensive research reports covering most aspects of the robotics industry: components, healthcare and medical, defense, security, surveillance, industrial, personal and exoskeletons, prostheses and optical sensory devices.
... ABI Research offers cluster package of reports covering all aspects of the industry.
... Research and Markets just released their Global UAV Market Analysis for 2011-2021.
... Market Research is offering “Robotics: Technologies and Global Markets,” which estimates a $22 billion industry for 2011 and $30 billion by 2016. With Foxconn’s planned installation of 1 million robots over the next three years, those numbers should be on the low side.
... PLUG: Most of the information and companies mentioned in these reports can be seen here or in the archives of The Robot Report for free.
Recent breakthroughs enabling consumer and commercial robotics
... The Kinect phenomena highlights the market for low-cost sensors and also the ingenuity of the world of roboticists and hackers taking advantage of these breakthroughs.
... iRobot’s AVA - an inexpensive mobile platform connected to a two-way vision tablet - is going to help and is partnering into healthcare and other fields with it’s AVA robot. Other vendors (Vgo, Luna, BiliBot, etc.) also making inroads with low-cost telepresence robots.
... The use of series elastic actuators changes the whole approach to manufacturing robots. Besides being cheaper, robots are able to safely interact with people thereby ridding the necessity for a “cage.”
... Open sourcing and app store concepts (e.g.: RoboEarth) are taking hold in the robotics world as Apple has pioneered and others are following in the computer and communications world.
American Robots in Japan Highlight Nuclear Safety Myth
... Japan’s nuclear power authority didn’t have any emergency robots ready to assist with damage and control. Why were they caught unprepared?
... The ‘safety myth’: From the NY Times: “It’s a fact that there was an unreasonable overconfidence in the technology of Japan’s nuclear power generation.”
... The seniority system: Both iRobot and QinetiQ, companies that volunteered equipment to Tepco, found that senior Tepco employees were chosen to be trained to operate the robots yet they were less suited to the task than the 20-year olds who had gamer experience.
Carls Jr ad say: If machines can’t eat it, machines shouldn’t make it. But robots do process food.
... The robot in Carl’s Jr’s new ad is a symbol for the evil, alien machines that bread other chicken patties before they’re frozen.
... Stephen Colbert does a schtick about Robo-Slackers”—skip forward to 3:26 to see the bit.
... Humor aside, robots ARE involved in food processing and packaging. It’s a rising area of robotics. Food quality, safety, labor costs and productivity are the drivers. ABB, FANUC, Adept and a fleet of integrators are the providers enabling large food and beverage processors to better handle baked goods, meat and poultry products and candy.
... Already in use in the EU and Japan, and seeking approval in the US, Japanese-made robot deboning machines are working in refrigerated rooms on chicken legs and ham thighs.
U.S. research dollars keep flowing
... U.S. DoD to spend $41.7 billion on unmanned aerial vehicles and systems in 2012-2014 (that’s $13.9 billion per year!) says research firm focused on the aerospace/defense sector.
... Defense spending towers over venture capital investments, eg:
- Aldebaran Robotics (of Nao fame) raised $13 million from Intel Capital, CDC Innovation, iSource and Crédit Agricole Private Equity
- Liquid Robotics (wave gliders) got $22 million from VantagePoint Capital and Schlumberger
- Estonian Fits.me (robotic mannequin) received $1.75 million from the Estonian Development Fund
Got $3,000 and a lot of trust?
... RoboDynamics launches Luna - an as-yet not-described telepresence and personal robot. The first 1,000-unit production run, due in Q4, will sell for $3,000 apiece.
... Wonderful design and pictures but an awful video.
... At recent Google Developer Conference, iRobot’s AVA was displayed using ROSJava on an Android tablet and compared to Luna, BiliBot and others. Interesting review on Singularity Hub.
... An eerie telepresence concept from Sony is a helium blimp with the telepresence image projected on the 3’ face of the blimp - it gets around the stairs problem but at what cost?
Sex With Robots? An Industry Review.
... Ashley Madison, an online dating site for married people seeking affairs, reported a massive surge in female memberships the day after Mother’s Day.
... Women represent 65% of adult sex toy purchasers, particularly “smart” toys and vibrators while men provide a huge market for porn videos, games and paid websites.
... So… the market is there. But robotics are slow to take off. Future of Sex provides a review of the state of the sex robot market.
Money is out there—particularly for low-cost platforms:
... Philips Healthcare invests in Corindus’ vascular robotics start-up.
... New telepresence and hacked Kinect/Roomba platforms rolling out:
Kickstarter enables MIT’s Garratt Galagher to get starter funding for his Bilibot.
WillowGarage starts selling $500-$1,000 Turtlebot which, like the Bilibot, includes heavy-duty ROS.
iRobot’s AVA adds an iPad to the arsenal. Interview with iRobot’s CEO talking about low-cost benefits and meeting consumer expectations (unlike recent baseball throwing bot which failed miserably throwing out first pitch at a Phillie’s ballgame).
... VCs are offering big development money for robotic apps and consumer products for the Android and iOS platforms.
... Finally, RobotShop is offering to partner and commercialize robotic inventions.
Dissecting the Controversy About the Robotics Industry
... From Automate 2011 in Chicago: Industrial robotic companies mostly recovered from 2009 lows. Japan is the exception and China accounts for 127% of the growth. Much of the recovery was due to the renewal of facilities for newer hybrid cars in the auto industry.
... From InnoRobo 2011 in Lyon, France: The service sector didn’t go down as much as the industrial companies did—it grew steadily during the recession. But 2/3 of the growth was in defense, security and space.
... Bruno Bonnell, Pres. of the French Union of Service Robotics (Syrobo) said that the service robotic market will multiply to 30 times the current rate this decade and be a $100 billion/year industry by 2020.
... Much more, including economic drivers propelling this growth, here.
New details about Robonaut2
... In a presentation at Automate 2011 in Chicago, the NASA and GM Team Leaders provided new details about Robonaut2 (R2).
... General Motors will soon work with a robotics manufacturer to enhance R2 with faster chips, cameras and sensors to take advantage of the flexibility of the hands and lower arm springs.
... The GM representative said that the new two-armed robots on the market lack end-of-arm flexibility and sensors and arm tensioning thereby making them not flexible or safe enough to work side by side with GM factory workers.
Stats and predictions about service robotics
... Bloomberg Businessweek’s “Service Robots: Rise of the Machines (Again),” said that the U.S. was ahead in the the race to provide non-manufacturing robots because “the service market is expected to double in size by 2013, and of the 200 or so top companies, nearly 70 are in the U.S., twice as many as are in Germany or Japan.”
... The article also reported that the U.S. had “blown” nearly all of the industrial robot business.
... The International Federation of Robotics, in their $415 2010 WorldRobotics Service Robots Report, detailed all these companies and their robotic offerings.
... iRobot’s CTO Tom Wagner, in smartplanet, talked about robots in defense, homes, healthcare and hospitals, and suggested that, unlike manufacturing, service robots will be mostly autonomous. “On the home side, it’s providing solutions that give you back time; on the defense side, it’s solving problems that put lives in danger.” These we’ll see this decade, well before we see human-robot communication and human-like robots.
Allosphere and STEM
... Open house at UC Santa Barbara’s Allosphere Research Facility was like an adult 3D experience. An amazing (trippy) way of visualizing and exploring multi-dimensional input on a massive IMAX-like hemispheric screen in an attempt to gather additional insight from overwhelmingly complex data.
... Grad students (mostly foreign) displayed various augmented reality apps, vision systems and simulation methodologies.
... Good turnout of students, educators and interested business people.
... Illustrates EAST/WEST opposing trends in STEM education: start young, work hard and long, follow an academic/STEM plan and compete, versus Montessori (self-centered) start, reduced school hours and guidance, quickest route to high-paying jobs, and partying (which is the way American students are perceived all over Asia).
... “NextGen Education and Research Robotics” by Robotics Trends, Wednesday, March 10, free, attempts to cover the topic in an all day webinar.
Agricultural automation progressing… slowly
... World Ag Expo, held February 8-10 in Tulare, California, was massive in size but low key for new technologies. Cost is the driver and also the criteria. Seed, sprays and labor costs are increasing thereby requiring productivity automation to lower costs and remain competitive. More....
... Show covered 60 acres, had 100,000 visitors and 1,600 exhibitors.
Pres. Obama Excludes Robotics in State of the Union Speech
... Pres. Obama didn’t use the word “robotics” or make reference to the robotics industry in his State of the Union speech. Many think the omission dealt a death blow to an American owned and led robotics industry.
... New book’s title suggests the importance: “The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream” - and it’s #7 on the NY Times Bestseller List.
Japan to invest $3 billion to deep-sea mine for gold, silver and rare metals
... Japanese government to develop a mining system, using the world’s first deep-sea mining robot to do the excavation, to mine gold, silver and rare metals in Japanese territorial waters, which will then be transported to a support ship on the surface via a pipe.
Workerbots Begin Production in Europe
... The workerbot is a flexible inspection and assembly robot system from pi4_robotics, a German optical inspection and image processing industrial robot manufacturer.
... Funded by the EU and developed jointly with the Fraunhofer Institute of Production Systems, workerbot, a direct competitor to America’s as-yet unreleased Heartland Robotics worker robots, sports two arms, three cameras (a 3D and two others for detailed inspection tasks), intuitive setup of new tasks (no programmer necessary), plug and play, low investment cost via leasing plan, and can safely work side by side with sitting or standing humans.
... Read “Manufacturing with Robots: prospects and Problems Ahead”.
Festo’s Robotic Elephant Arm Wins German Future Prize
... It is described as a bionic handing assistant which allows humans and machines to work together safely and efficiently as a team. Possible areas of use include industry, agriculture, care facilities and even at home.
... The 250,000 Euro prize is shared with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA).
2010 Robotic Gifts for the Whole Family
... For all ages: Parrot’s AR.Drone iPhone-controlled quadcopter.
... For Mom: a robotic vacuum from Neato or iRobot.
... For Dad: the adaptive cruise control option for his new car.
... For Grandparents and their grandkids: Pleo, the baby dinosaur.
... For little kids: Zhu Zhu pets.
... For pre-teen boys: RoboRaptor.
... For pre-teen girls: Bossa Nova’s Penbo robot and her baby Bebe.
... For robotically-interested 10 yo and older: LEGO Mindstorm robot kit.
Autism, Robotics and Apple’s iPad
... An unintended consequence of the versatility, ease of use, size and colorfulness of Apple’s new iPad is its emerging use of with autistic children to help them communicate. One software app in particular is providing very innovative assistance: Proloque2go.
... The San Francisco SFWeekly did an very informative story on the subject.
... Kaspar, a portable, small robot developed in the UK to help low-end-of-spectrum autistic children become socialized, complements the mix of tools, software and therapies to help our disabled children.
DARPA to Develop Multi-purpose Hand
UPDATE: Read IEEE interview with DARPA’s Dr. Robert Mandelbaum where, when asked whether there would be a trickle down effect into civilian applications, he said: “It won’t just trickle down—it will be a flood! The commercial applications will be all over the place.”
... DARPA has chosen lead vendors for a research project to develop a multiple-purpose hand, actually two hands working together. Project completion is mid-2014. Imagine a robot opening the zipper of a duffle and riffling through to find a specific object. Or picking up oddly shaped objects with both arms for search and rescue.
- Barrett Technology will develop and provide the hardware portion of the project.
- RE Squared will provide integration services for the Barrett hardware with additional sensors and a mobile platform.
Images from Taipei Int’l Robot Show
... Images courtesy of our friends at PlasticPals.
... The International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) was held at the same time.
Stephen Colbert’s Droid Rage
... On a recent Colbert Report, he shows a snake robot, Wall.e, an archer and the new skin from UC Berkeley: “Scientists teach robots how to lie, kill and feel shame about their naked bodies.”
... During a brief visual review of various other robots, he called a dancing ASIMO: “Awkward white-man dancing.”
... Very funny.
Five government agencies combine to fund a long list of robotic research
... The Whitehouse Office of Science and Technology believes that “robotics is at a tipping point in terms of its usefulness and versatility” and is backing their belief with a fund to spur small business research.
... Companies can apply for up to $100,000 to aid research on a long list of areas of interest which include:
(1) Home care, personalized care for special-needs populations, and robotic wellness/health promotion
(2) Robot-assisted recovery, rehabilitation and behavioral therapy
(3) Surgical and interventional robots
(4) High-throughput robotics technologies
(5) Dexterous manipulators with tactile feedback
... Click to see the detailed funding announcement.
Just Released: 2010 Industrial and Service Robotics Market Analyses
... Selected quotes from the International Federation of Robotics’ just-released 2010 statistical reports on the robotics industry:
... Industrial Robots: There are many reasons for a bright future in robotics: Huge consumer markets are opening up in China, India, Brazil and Russia. The competitive nature of the automotive companies results in new investments in production facilities in these markets. Other industries are following as well. The degree of automation in North America is comparatively low with a need to catch up through investments in robotics. After the substantial rise of robot sales in 2010, a further increase will resume in the period between 2011 and 2013 by about 9% per year on average in the Americas, about 12% in Asia/Australia and by 8% in Europe.
... Service Robots for Professional Use: Projections for 2010-2013 indicate that the number of professional service robots will double. Application areas with strong growth are defense (30+%), rescue and security applications, field robots, logistic systems, inspection robots, medical robots and mobile robot platforms for multiple use.
... Service Robots for Personal Use: Projected sales of all types of domestic robots (vacuum cleaning, lawn-mowing, window cleaning and other types) in the period 2010-2013 could reach some 6.7 million units. The market for entertainment and leisure robots, which includes toy robots, is forecast at about 4.6 million units. The two markets combined will yield more than $5 billion.
Two new books on the entrepreneurial side of robotics
... There’s a chapter in Trade-Off by Kevin Maney where he describes how iRobot’s Roombas came to be and why they became such a success. It offers the thesis that there is a “trade-off between the fidelity of an experience and its convenience—and it’s more like the invention of a feature that gives an edge to an age-old product.”
... Change, circumstance and ego all worked to build and then unwind America’s first robot manufacturer is described in a soon to be published book: Pity the Pioneer: The Rise and Fall of Unimation. An excerpt is in Sept/Oct issue of Robot Magazine.
... Is America now sitting out the race for the future of robotics? Read BusinessWeek’s remarks about the clean energy sector and see the similarities.
Slow going for tele-robotic companies
... In spite of many positive stories - the two most recent from IEEE Spectrum and John Markoff of the NY Times - security, bureaucracy, undefined need, undocumented benefit(s) and alternative non-robotic methodologies (eg: telecom companies, Skype) seem to be the culprits holding back progress.
... Many start-ups but few success stories. InTouch Health, is one of the latter, with a noble effort to be the eyes, ears and voices of doctors who cannot be there in person but can almost be by using InTouch’s line of RP robots and a laptop control station.
... Fred Nikgohar of RoboDynamics gives his spin on why progress is slow-going - and he’s on his 3rd year of selling experiences. Very informative interview with Singularity Hub’s Aaron Saenz.
Adept and RMT Robotics on a golden road to the East
... Adept recently acquired MobileRobots which provides mobile robotic platforms to RMT Robotics and their ADAM line of mobile robots.
... Finnish Cimcorp’s recently acquired RMT Robotics announced that it now provides the ADAM line to a Korean integrator, Hanwha TechM who, in turn, is reselling them to a US battery manufacturer.
... Adept ships big order of parallel robots to Chinese integrator Austong Intelligent Robot Technology who is outfitting a Chinese dairy provider with the robots.
CBS News Sunday Morning Feature on Robots
... Daniel Siebert reported on how robotic technology is becoming more than just science fiction and is changing our lives on a daily basis.
... “Enthusiasm for robots on the battlefield, it seems, is only outpaced by the speed with which the military is acquiring them,” says the author of “Wired for War,” P.W. Singer.
... Read Dwight Eisenhower’s warning about military-industrial complex - 49 years ago - still applicable today.
Robotic Surgeries and Teleoperated Surgical Devices
... The FDA approved Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci surgical system not as a robotic system… but as a tele-manipulated medical device. Nevertheless, the device has been called a surgical robot by the press and also by Catherine Mohr, an Intuitive Surgical director (and professor at Stanford).
... Mohr recently wrote a Freakonomics NY Times piece explaining why minimally invasive robotic surgeries are cheaper than open or laparoscopic surgeries.
... An increasing array of procedures are performed by the da Vinci system, the most recent being hand surgery.
... Duke University is testing fully autonomous medical procedures such as prostate and breast biopsies and autopsies.
... China’s University Hospital of Tianjin is using a tele-manipulated surgical assistant (named “Little Hand”) similar to the da Vinci system.
... Israel’s Mazor Surgical Technologies has FDA approval for their SpineAssist robotic system which enables simulation and precise targeting and placement for intricate spinal implant operations. The robot enables the surgeon to improve accuracy from an estimated 3 millimeters to one-half millimeter.
Rescue Robots in the News
... American start-up Hydronalix introduces E.M.I.L.Y., a robot lifeguard, to Malibu beaches. It uses sonar to shoot out to struggling victims (at up to 28 mph) and then utilizes telepresence to coach the victim onto the raft which then zooms back to shore and a waiting lifeguard.
... 27 teams from 12 countries took part in the RoboCup 2010 Rescue Robot competition last week in Singapore. Three Thailand teams won 1st and tied for 2nd place; Australia won 4th and Japan 5th in the annual contest to increase awareness of the challenges involved in search and rescue applications and sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
... NIST also sponsored (along with FEMA and Texas A&M) Disaster City’s annual Response Robot Evaluation Exercises earlier this year. These exercises enable search and rescue robotic providers to be able to test their equipment in simulated disaster situations and environments.
IBM Ready for Jeopardy! TV Challenge
... Watson-level AI deftly handles semantics and is ready for Jeopardy! NY Times story includes videos and provides in-depth explanations. Must read!
... A.I. Question Answering (QA) technologies are critical in human-robot interaction and are, at present, a serious cog in robot development. Is this a generic A.I. breakthrough or…?
Robo-Stox™ Results thru May
... Mark Twain once said about market panics (such as the one we had this month): A lie can run around the world six times while the truth is still putting on its pants.
... New financial regulations passed Senate and Goldman Sachs’ alleged greedy transactions having effect on American stocks.
... Spain’s bond rating lowered and complexities of Greek budgeting and cutbacks pushing down European stocks.
... Nevertheless, service robotics stocks still outperforming NASDAQ. Read 10 reasons why this is so.
10 Drivers Propelling Service Robotics
... Fascinating review of economic drivers in play in the service robotics sector of the robotics industry.
New Study Shows Future Growth of UASs
... Study commissioned by AUVSI shows UASs driving future growth of aerospace industry.
... Critical path point: integration of unmanned aircraft into the national air space requiring government, political and FAA changes as well as industry support for collision avoidance and communications system.
... Many new civilian applications suggested: pipe/power line surveillance, agricultural apps, movie and news production, mail/freight transport, flood mapping, real estate mapping, wildlife monitoring, damage surveying, infrastructure monitoring, weather and sea research, damage assessment and surveying, traffic monitoring, suspect tracking and border surveillance to name a few.
Willow Garage’s Noble Open Source Effort
... 11 open source Personal Robots (PR2s) and their open source ROS (robotic operating system) were given away to encourage sharing systems, equipment and tools.
... Willow Garage is up against many entrenched obstacles in their quest for commonality and open source robotic equipment and software. One cartoon shows that typical robotics grad students spend 70% of their time re-inventing the wheel. If true, standardization appears to be needed.
National Robotics Week Results
... Stanford Block Party displays many new inventions and products including SRI’s stickybot and drone. All in one place for crowds of people to see: WillowGarage’s PR2 and Texai telepresence robots; Neato vacuum; Meka’s arm; SRI’s new telesurgical robot to name a few.
... East Coast block parties and events equally successful and well-attended.
Do robots take away jobs from humans?
... From an interview of Adept CEO John Dulchinos by GetRobo’s Noriko Kageki: Did you know that there are a billion cell phones per year being made globally of which 200-300 million are sold in the U.S. but not a single one is built in the U.S.? Ten years ago that was not the case. If the industry can’t remain competitive, then there are no jobs. And robots are automating tasks no longer done by hand. But in almost all cases those people are redeployed into other applications in the plant and allow the plant to grow and get much more efficient.
... BusinessWeek magazine reported this week that 15 of the top 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2010 are Asian, up from 5 in 2006. And, the majority in the top 25 are based outside the U.S.
Korea’s Strategic Investment Program Model for U.S.
... BusinessWeek focuses on Koreas success in strategic investment to enable Korea to successfully compete worldwide.
... Last year they launched a plan to expand Korea’s economic base by promoting robotics and 16 other next-generation ventures. Seoul has invested $500 million in R&D and pilot projects to test education, entertainment and disaster-fighting robots. This includes the new R-Learning system scheduled for 500 preschools in 2011 ramping up to 8,000 by 2013.
... Robot exports jumped 10.5% in 2009 to $809 million. Korea aims to become one of top three robot manufacturers (currently #5).
... America’s roadmap for robotics development still floundering in the halls of Congress.
Pres. Obama Spells Out New NASA Direction
... Obama pledges manned flights in the future - but not to the moon. There is to be a quickening pace between human and robotic exploration.
... NASA to rely on private industry to build new rockets and capsules.
... Robonaut 2, the humanoid robot developed by NASA and General Motors, begins work in the lab, working side-by-side with astronauts this September aboard the International Space Station.
First USDA approved hygienic food processing robot shipped
... Adept shipped it’s new meat and poultry processing parallel robot bound for multiple primary food handling applications requiring high-speed USDA-approved processing.
... Two articles describing present and immediate future of robotics in food processing, packaging and handling.
... What’s cooking with food robotics? and
... Food for Thought: Robotics in the Food Industry, both by Bennett Brumson, RIA.
RoSS - latest Virtual Reality Training Simulator for da Vinci Robotic Surgical System
... Supplementing training provided by Intuitive Surgical for their da Vinci Robotic Surgical System, Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the U of Buffalo have developed a fully functional virtual reality training simulator named RoSS.
... Rumor has it that many da Vinci systems are “stalled” or underutilized because of insufficient training to maximize efficiencies of both surgeon and machine, hence the need for additional simulation training.
Killer drones are coming back to bite us in the ass
... P.W. Singer, author of last year’s robotic hit “Wired for War,” writing in Newsweek, describes a fearful turn of events if inexpensive drones are turned against us.
... “Two thirds of worldwide investment in unmanned planes in 2010 will be spent by countries OTHER than the United States.”
... Singer’s fears are already happening in Taiwan where thieves use RC copters with cameras to spy on residences prior to burglarizing.
February, 2010 Robo-STOX™ results
... Service robotics companies continued to do well in February even though the markets were flat.
Artemis joins Adam as scientific robot
... Syngenta has launched an agriculture chemical formulation robot. The robot can make almost any liquid agrochemical formulation in small amounts, and perform a basic series of tests to see if those formulations are of interest for further research.
... Named Artemis after the Greek Goddess of the hunt, Artemis is also an acronym for Automated Robot to Evaluate Millions of Interesting Solutions.
... Adam is a robot scientist designed at Aberystwyth U and is the first robotic system to make a scientific discovery with virtually no human intellectual input. Adam was Time Magazines #4 Scientific Discovery of 2009.
Predictions for Robotic Businesses in 2010 and this decade
... Sector by sector review in Everything-Robotic blog.
... Mature non-defense service applications doing well in 2010 and are generating longer term growth. Two examples:
(1) Kiva Systems doubled customers, distribution centers and corporate growth during 2009.
(2) Many companies are finding good response to new launches and existing quality products, e.g.: OC Robotics snake arm line of products for confined space, aerospace, security and nuclear needs.
... Governmental and military purchases for R&D and robotic products are steady even though defense spending has to come down sometime in the near future, e.g.: DARPA awarded Boston Dynamics a contract to develop LS3 - a “mule” that will carry 400 lbs and go 20 miles without refueling.
... Xconomy says the first large technological wave of the 21st century will be robotics. “Robots are migrating from structured environments (assembly lines) to unstructured (homes, offices, battlefields). The potentials are limitless.”
Robo-Stox™ Results Through 12/31/2009
... Most countries robotics stocks didn’t fare as well as the NASDAQ Index with the exceptions of Canada, India, Israel and Taiwan (and a very few individual stocks). Although 2009 was a significant up year, robotic stocks have yet to recover their highs of 2007.
... Service robotic stocks didn’t do much better than industrial stocks except in Europe.
... As a sign of recovery, robotics-related job offers are up (inferred from LinkedIn and the Robotics-Worldwide mailing list).
... The seriousness of the stock drop (and corresponding loss of equity, orders and jobs) is clearly seen in these two Robo-Stox™ charts.
... Read an in-depth review by the Everything-Robotic blog.
A Better Life With Bionics
... National Geographic’s January, 2010 story ‘Merging Man and Machine’, by Josh Fischman and photography by Mark Thiessen, is a must-read.
... Thorough and graphic descriptions of new bionic vision, lifelike limbs, bionic skin and cochlear implants as only National Geographic can do it.
... Online interactive bionic body.
Touch Bionics Launches Partial Hand Prosthetic
... The partial-hand amputee population is estimated at around 40,000 in the U.S. and 1.2 million worldwide.
... Touch Bionics new ProDigits - powered bionic finger(s) - enables partial-hand patients to have a dexterous powered solution to support their return to function and independence.
... Myoelectric sensors or a pressure sensitive switch provide the necessary pressure to activate the finger(s).
Hansen Medical update
... Webcast interview (12/02/09) tells of progress and problems with stalled sites, FDA trials and legal challenges.
Optimism: a conversation with Henrik Christensen
... Henrik is Director of Robotics and Intelligent Machines at GA Tech.
... He is a significant player in promoting the Roadmap for US Robotics having done the same tasks in the EU.
... We discussed the pitfalls of robotic surgeries, new Japanese, Korean and EU products pending FDA approval and the need for training simulators.
... There’s a term for part of the problem: stalled site which usually happens when the primary proponent moves on and nobody replaces him/her.
... We also talked about Rodney Brooks’ Heartland Robotics and their push toward “as yet un-automated manufacturing” sectors.
... We discussed the lack of economic metrics in the area of assistive robotics for autistic children, stroke victims and eldercare.
... And Henrik wants to tie research grants to real strategic needs such as DARPA and ARPA-E are doing.
... Details here.
Some North American Robotics Manufacturers Are Rebounding
... Orders from life sciences customers are up 14% through September and orders from food and consumer goods customers are up 12% says Robotics Industry Association Statistics Committee.
... Steep declines in auto and auto OEMs, and most other non-auto robotics customers also reflected in same report.
Nissan’s collision-free driving system imitates schools of fish
... Displayed this week at CEATEC Japan 2009 by Nissan Motor’s, the new EPORO robot cars provided an example of how near-term future cars will become collision-free by imitating schools of fish by moving in unison while communicating to avoid collision. EPORO works to (1) change direction without colliding; (2) travel side-by-side while keeping safe distances; and (3) gain closer proximity to cars that are at a distance.
$444 million flowing to non-defense robotic applications and research
... National Science Foundation fiscal year awards for (FY) 2009 are $9.5 billion, which includes $3.0 billion provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
... Included were 663 awards totaling $443,449,185 for robotic-related research and applications development.
Willow Garage’s Door Opening Robot Asks for Help
... It was just 3 months ago that the NY Times featured Willow Garage’s door-opening and power socket-finding robot. Now that very same robot is asking for help to identify objects along its way… an important step in enabling robotic autonomy.
... In a similar but separate development the EU-funded JAST project brings together a team to enable a robot that can predict the intentions of its human partner.
Canadian Robotic Stocks are Transitioning
... Allen Vanguard, a penny stock that produces defense and security devices included remotely controlled robotic devices, is refinancing and going private.
... Victhom Human Bionics, another penny stock, completed it’s 10 for 1 stock consolidation and partnership/financing with Otto Bock Healthcare GmbH.
For Internet Retailers, the Fulfillment Center is the Store
... Zappos.com, Diapers.com and Quiet Logistics are all expanding their Kiva systems to deal with increased demand for fulfillment services and Walgreens is nearly doubling the size of its Kiva operation
iRex 2009 (Nov 25-28, Tokyo)
... Largest robotics trade show in the world bringing together new technology and products related to robots and the robotics industry
... Please contact me if you are planning to go (I am)
Robo-STOX™ January Results Parallel NASDAQ
... Click to enlarge Robo-Stox™ chart details
... NASDAQ was down -41% 2007 to 2008 and an additional -6% through January, 2009
Robotic Stocks Start Year with tiny surge
... 2008 results were dismal!
... Only five stocks ended the year up - one was up 66%!
... All the rest were down. From -92% to -10%. Worldwide.
AeroVironment Gets Cramer’s and Italian DOD’s Recommendations
... Other UAV providers also recommended
... Almost all industrial robotic providers are tanking
... Meanwhile robotic surgical successes are keeping Intuitive Surgical, MAKO and researchers busy
Industrial Robots Get Leaner
... Narrowing width, adding more degrees of freedom, and speeding up movements
Everyone’s Talking Assistive Robotics
... Dr. Mataric of USC’s Center for Robotics keynote discussed socially assistive robots
... Dr. Thrun of Stanford’s AI Lab keynote described implications of cars driving themselves
... MobileRobots’ session on putting applications on an autonomous, standardized mobile platform
Popular Products - Rovio by Wowee
This $299 three-wheeled robot, which went on sale in October, is equipped with a webcam, microphone and speakers that allow you to patrol your home via a web browser no matter where you are in the world. Rovio is the first surveillance bot to hit stores but iRobot is working on a similar product called ConnectR.
Popular Products - Verro by iRobot
This $399-$999 robotic pool boy, systematically trolls the floor and walls of your pool, sucking up dirt and leaves and scrubbing surfaces. The bot can clean a pool from floor to water-line within 90 minutes.
