The Robot Report

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

2010-09-30T20:48+00:00

... 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.

SWIVL finds it’s niche

2013-05-23T11:58+00:00

... 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.

Kinect completely redone. Windfall for robotics.

2013-05-22T10:48+00:00

... 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.

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

2013-05-20T13:24+00:00

... Forget the debate about the military use of drones (but if you must know, here’s a comprehensive FAQ 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.

Are Accelerators the new Incubators and Angel Investors?

2013-05-19T16:19+00:00

... 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 Gets $10.7M from Andreessen Horowitz and Google Ventures to Build Autopilot Systems for UASs

2013-05-15T13:16+00:00

... 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.

This Week’s Military News:

2013-05-15T13:00+00:00

... The Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned aircraft made its first aircraft carrier launch this week. Two days later they spent the whole day doing touch-and-go take-offs and landings.
... The US Navy’s Naval Research Lab (NRL) flew a UAV for 48 hours, breaking a fuel-cell-for-flight record. The UAV was powered by a liquid hydrogen fuel in a cryogenic fuel storage tank and delivery system.
... In the UK, two pilots didn’t have anything to do as their BAE Systems passenger aircraft flew a unmanned flight from Lancashire to Inverness, Scotland which was controlled by a pilot in Warton using advanced sensors and on-board robotic systems.
... iRobot’s SUGV’s will be getting a new “batwing” fix which adds a collapsable hook that affixes to a telescoping pole to better examine IEDs.
... In Saskatoon, Canada, RC Mounties launched a Draganflyer UAS equipped with forward-looking infrared, to find and save the life of a disoriented man in a field on a cold night.

Rethink Robotics’ Baxter and Universal Robots Succeeding

2013-05-15T00:11+00:00

... 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

2013-05-13T10:12+00:00

... 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.

ROS Industrial celebrates one-year anniversary

2013-05-13T08:56+00:00

... 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.

All Eyes on Intuitive Surgical Suit

2013-05-10T15:36+00:00

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.

13 robotic innovations among 2013 Edison Award winners

2013-05-07T14:50+00:00

... 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.

KUKA acquires US integrator and toolmaker

2013-05-05T20:21+00:00

... For an amount “in the low double digit million Euro range,” KUKA has acquired the engineering services, toolmaking and integration divisions of US-based Utica Enterprises. 300 people are involved in the acquisition.
... “With this acquisition KUKA Systems is leveraging its technologies. Our customers will benefit from an expanded manufacturing footprint, talent pool and knowledge base with greater economies of scale” said Lawrence Drake, CEO of KUKA Systems North America, a wholly-owned subsidiary of KUKA AG, one of the world’s leading suppliers of robotics and plant and systems engineering.

A conversation with Henri Seydoux

2013-05-04T02:20+00:00

... 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.

Robo-Stox™ Y-T-D country-by-country results confusing

2013-05-02T03:23+00:00

... Japan robotics companies are rebounding quite well, helped by recovery from the twin disasters of 2012 and the value of the yen going down.
... Israel service robot companies, particularly medical and defense related, are also doing well.
... US and EU companies are doing about as well as the DJIA and NASDAQ indices.

Upcoming Robotic Events

2013-05-02T01:30+00:00

... Bay Area Maker Faire, May 18-19, San Mateo, CA
... ROS-I Basic Developer’s Training Class at Southwest Research Institute, June 4-6, San Antonio, TX
... AUVSI Driverless Car Summit, June 11-12, Detroit, MI
... Global Future 2045 Congress, June 15-16, New York, NY
... 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
... AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems Europe 2013, October 15-16, Köln, Germany

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

2013-05-01T23:01+00:00

... 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.

Rethink Robotics and Aldebaran both launch robots for research, teaching and custom development

2013-04-26T17:14+00:00

... Rethink Robotics just launched a version of their Baxter robot armed with a new SDK providing educators and researchers with almost limitless capabilities at an affordable cost. Using ROS and the new SDK, educators and researchers have the ability to share innovations and build on each other’s work and know-how. Read their press release.
... Aldebaran Robotics’ launched their ASK NAO (Autism Solution for Kids) initiative for use in special education and for children with autism. More humanoid than Baxter, NAO is kid-sized, the new program provides educators with planning, monitoring and analyzing interactions to help set up lessons with NAO. Read the press release.
... Although Baxter and NAO have different capabilities, the ability for researchers and educators to easily program applications - and share those apps with others - is hoped by both companies (Aldebaran and Rethink) to accelerate new capabilities and apps for commercial use.

Robots make the cover of Time Magazine—again!

2013-04-26T17:08+00:00

... The cover of the April 22 issue of Time Magazine shows robots chiseling out the words “Made in the USA” and the story is “Manufacturing is back—but where are the jobs?”
... The story makes the case that (1) the “offshoring boom appears to have largely run its course”; (2) labor productivity has been rising sharply in the US over the past decade while remaining flat in China; (3) infrastructure, energy and shipping costs are cheaper in the US; (4) states are providing incentives to companies to build and hire in their states; (5) “It’s win-win when companies can combine low-cost energy with more productive local labor and cost-saving automation technology” [robots].; and (6) although fewer workers will operate these new hi-tech factories, they will be paid higher wages and required STEM skills.
... GE’s $170 million battery factory in upstate NY was used as an example of high-tech methods producing backup power in cell towers all over the world at lower cost and higher quality than any other provider.
... Time’s February cover story “Rise of the Drones: What happens when they’re unleashed at home?” described some of the civilian applications for these UAS. In agriculture, flights to determine where to spray pesticides or fertilizers geo-referenced to enable tractors guided by GPS to precisely spray as they drive over the targeted land; “testing air quality over feed lines, tracking livestock marked with ID chips or taking the temperature of the animal from above to scope out health issues.”

iRobot stock jumps 14% on Q1 earnings and 2013 projections

2013-04-24T17:42+00:00

... iRobot’s stock (ISRG:NASDAQ) jumped 14% today on yesterday’s earnings report which exceeded analysts’ expectations for both the quarterly earnings and the annual projections.
... “We kicked off 2013 with an outstanding quarter,” said Colin Angle, chairman and chief executive of iRobot in a statement. “The results and outlook for our home Robot business are excellent.”
... Domestic home robot revenue grew 44% in Q1 representing 14% year-over-year increase. International home robot revenue was $61.3 million (66% of total for quarter).
... “The DoD announced a $14.4 million order for FirstLook robots during the quarter which gives us confidence in achieving our full year expectations.”

Stanford U hosts Robot Block Party as part of National Robotics Week

2013-04-11T15:53+00:00

... Instead of just seeing a Lidar spinning around on top of a car, at the block party you could walk around the back and see a sun-shaded monitor showing what the Lidar was seeing. And talk with an eager young salesperson about what you could do with the data.
... One booth stood out as a kid-pleaser. This year’s F.I.R.S.T. contest includes shooting frisbees into a raised box so one high school team was there shooting off frisbees to clutches of happy kids trying to catch them.
... Intuitive Surgical was showing the simplicity of their arm/wrist/fingers but also the amount of complex mechanics that make it work.
... Bosch, although showing their new Indego robotic lawn mower, was really recruiting for all the different types of activities that Bosch Research is involved with.
... No refreshment stands or even bottled water—and it was hot (88)! But it was a beautiful day and the chatter from kids and adults was upbeat and appreciative for the event.

New Report Shows That Robots CREATE Jobs

2013-04-09T18:11+00:00

... At an International Federation of Robotics (IFR) CEO Round Table held at Automate 2013, in Chicago, IFR executives presented a recap of a new research report on the positive impact of industrial robots on employment.
... The report, prepared by British market research company Metra Martech, updates a 2011 report on the same subject with three conclusions:
1. Only robots can produce precision and consistency standards at an affordable cost demanded by the global economy.
2. Although the recession has temporarily reduced attention to unsatisfactory work conditions, enhancing work conditions is a driving force for using robots.
3. Robots are a critical factor in re-balancing of world manufacturing economies by reducing the threat by low labor cost countries (off-shoring).
... Based on IFR data through 2011, the report projects potential job creation by robotics between 2012 and 2020 to be 1.9 to 3.5 million jobs. This is the sum of new robotic products (.55 to 1.4 million), current industry expansion (.45 to .70) and downstream jobs (.90 to 1.4).
... The report also projects an additional 2-3 million jobs from downstream activities.

UPDATED 4-9-2013

... The updated report, which can be downloaded here, is sufficiently transparent such that one can readily accept their position regarding projecting 2-3.5 million new jobs from 2012 to 2020.
... But the report is seriously unsubstantiated in the effects of offsets for jobs displaced and in the multiplier effect of downstream jobs. Details of the review can be read here.

Blimp-in-a-box contract causes acquisition

2013-04-05T23:00+00:00

... 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.

Two New Videos Show Progress With Humanoid Robots

2013-04-05T18:24+00:00

... Boston Dynamics has clothed their Petman (left) humanoid robot to test hazardous conditions and to be able to detect chemicals leaking through the suit. Check out the video here.
... COMAN (right), modeled on a 4-year-old child, from the Italian Institute of Technology, has a new video showing how its variable stiffness joints (which use series elastic actuators) improve the safety and make the robot compliant with being pushed around yet staying on its feet.

Year-to-date Robo-Stox™ Results

2013-03-30T19:18+00:00

... The robotics industry as a whole appears to have fully recovered from the stock market crash in 2008 and, in most cases, has returned to or surpassed their highs of 2007.
... Some of the country-by-country results are slightly skewed because of dramatic stock increases by a few performers in volatile sectors: Mazor Surgical (MZOR:IL), MDA (MDA:TSO) and the 3D printer manufacturers 3D Systems (DDD:NYSE) and Stratasys (SSYS:NASDAQ) are cases in point.
... Although the industrial robotics sector is still down from 2007/2008, the big four are doing quite well—click here to see the chart.

Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Robotic Start-ups and Engadget Expand

2013-03-24T17:55+00:00

... At a weekend Engadget Expand event at Fort Mason in San Francisco, Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler spoke about Kickstarter’s success: 17 projects raised $1 million+ in 2012, a 43.66% success rate, with much of the money going to film & video projects, games, design and music.
... Also at the Engadget event were a group of Indiegogo projects and some feisty Indiegogo sales people who emphasized that Indiegogo is the largest global crowdfunding platform and campaigners can launch campaigns from every country in the world. Also, that they are more flexible about funding options, unlike Kickstarter which applies an “all or nothing” rule meaning the campaign must reach a minimum pledge level or none are collected.
... Notable robotics-related projects from these two crowdfunders include Oculus Rift, Form 1 hi-res 3D printers, DiveBot and Dragonfly, the GA Tech robotic insect spin-off which raised over $1 million.
... Kickstarter is located in New York City’s lower east side; Indiegogo in the heart of SOMA in San Francisco. The rivalry is palpable and it’s all for the good of the campaigns.
... Read more.

Quadcopters Advertising New Star Trek Movie

2013-03-24T16:15+00:00

... A squadron of 30 LED-studded Ascending Technologies quadcopters hovered above Potters Fields Park near London’s Tower Bridge and, in conjunction with Earth Hour, formed a three-dimensional Star Trek logo in the night sky - a treat slash advertisement from Paramount, the producer of the new movie “Star Trek - Into Darkness” which will be released in May.
... Similar in theatrics to the Kmel Robotics and Saatchi & Saatchi show last year at the Cannes Film Festival, the Ars Electronica Futurelab Paramount swarming quadcopter light shows in London and Linz, Austria took to the outdoors, away from overhead control sensors, and into the wild beyond to produce a wildly interesting and colorful flight show.
... Videos of the Cannes show are here; videos from London and Linz are here.

Updated Robotics Roadmap Presented to US Congress

2013-03-23T15:25+00:00

... The Roadmap’s pdf is a must-read, full of real information, and can be downloaded here.
... Six sectors were reviewed: (1) Manufacturing, (2) Medical Robots, (3) Healthcare Robotics, (4) Service Robots (both professional and domestic), (5) Space and (6) Defense were all discussed.
... Congress was asked to invest in core science challenges stimulating development and solutions across all six sectors - challenges like robust 3D perception, planning and navigation, dexterous manipulation, intuitive HRI, and safe robot behavior.

Three videos to watch from Engadget’s Expand Event

2013-03-20T17:36+00:00

... Last weekend’s Engaget Expand Event at Fort Mason in San Francisco had one panel of particular interest to robotics-interested people. It was misnamed Robopocalypse: Now. In spite of that, the participants’ presentations were great and you are sure to find the watching of all three videos of value.
... Chris Anderson, CEO of DIY Drones, has sold and supports 40,000 aerial drones. He described how we are all able to get military-grade technology at toy prices in this 16 minute video.
... Marc Riabert, President of Boston Dynamics (of Big Dog fame) describes how DARPA and his firm have developed some amazing locomotion breakthroughs in this 12 minute video
... Steven Cousins, CEO of Willow Garage, talks about having spent six years changing the robotics industry, and how they have now shifted gears to making profitable robots in this 14 minute video.

Which companies provide robotic systems to the military?

2013-03-20T17:14+00:00

... As awareness of the use of robotic drones on borders and by police departments across America is rising, a debate is taking place as to their value, potential misuse and future.
... My friends at Robohub are running a week-long series of focused stories on the subject and, in an attempt to add to the conversation, The Robot Report has provided a list of 29 of the publicly-traded companies worldwide that produce these types of robotic devices along with a sobering quote from President Dwight Eisenhower.
... As we sit today on the cusp of allowing potential spy drones into our civilian airspace—along with all the good that commercial aerial robots can also provide—it seems that we will have to live with some misuse. In 2009 Hong Kong police arrested burglars who were casing prospective condos by sending camera-studded aerial drones up to the windows for a look-see.

Liquid Robotics Gets $45 Million To Continue Double-Digit Growth

2013-03-19T16:35+00:00

... Liquid Robotics today is a far cry from it’s initial goal of recording whale songs. Today that function and those recordings are the domain of the Jupiter Foundation and Liquid is focusing on making wave gliders for industry, government and science.
... Liquid Robotics just received a $45 million “E” round of funding and adds Riverwood Capital (of GoPro fame) to their stable of VCs. Total funding since 2005 is $85 million.
... 200+ Liquid Robotics Wave Gliders are at work on the seas in one of three areas of oceanography: (1) monitoring oil and gas operations, (2) assisting naval ops with classified activities, and (3) providing scientific, weather and other oceanographic data for commercial and scientific purposes.
... Liquid plans to expand their marketing and sales staff and to double their fleet by the end of 2013, hence the need for the additional capital. “Approximately half of the fleet is involved with the Schlumberger oil and gas joint venture,” said Steven Springsteel, Liquid’s new COO/CFO. Springsteel also said that the vast majority of Liquid’s activities are profit-making and profitable.
... Springsteel commented that the new funds will be used to grow the business to a sustainable profitability without having to go public.

Romo On The Move

2013-03-16T15:44+00:00

... Romotiv, the maker of the Romo robot, is moving from Las Vegas to San Francisco. CEO Rinaudo wrote the reason behind the move, which will take place over the next three months, was the company’s desire to be closer to the large pool of tech-savvy programmers and engineers in the Silicon Valley.
... More important, Romotive just signed their single largest order for 10,000 Romos.
... With 20 US employees, Romotive manufactures Romos in China.
... Las Vegas’ Downtown Project, spearheaded by Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO, invested $500,000 and provided mentoring and support as Romotiv, which started working out of rental condos, grew from 3 to 20 people.

Foxconn Foxbot Update

2013-03-07T20:27+00:00

... Ilian Bonev, a robotics prof at the ÉTS in Quebec, blogged “The truth about Foxconns Foxbot industrial robots,” and included a 2008 Foxbot brochure which shows the specs for their entire robotics product line. Also included is a video showing a row of Foxbots handling, grinding and sanding what appears to be iPad back covers.
... Click to see the Foxbot brochure.
... Prof. Bonev thinks that with their present line-up of Foxbots, Foxconn won’t be able to meet Chairman Gou’s timetable to deploy 1 million robots by 2015 and in fact were only able to produce and install 15-30,000 Foxbots in 2012.
... The WSJ also reported on Foxconn’s lack of robot deployment progress in an article entitled: “Hon Hai Hits Obstacles in Push to Use Robots”.
… But, according to Liu Kun, a spokesman for Foxconn, “We have canceled hiring entry level workers, a decision that is partly associated with our efforts in production automation.” This is what Foxconn Chairman Gou said would happen when he began the massive robot deployment program in Foxconn factories.

Magnetic catheter steering system coming from Swiss start-up

2013-03-05T16:09+00:00

... A new start-up being spun off from the IRIS labs at the ETH in Zurich, Switzerland offers promise of robotically-controlled catheters to support cardiac procedures.
... Aeon Scientific‘s new technology is also a platform for other medical applications including targeted drug delivery.
... In photo, the magnetics are shown on the left and enable moving the micron-sized rectangular medicine delivery system in the retina of an eye on the right, and steer it to the exact right spot.

Eight robotic toys and gadgets hitting the market this year

2013-02-26T09:45+00:00

... Eight new gadgets, gimmicks and toys will hit the market this year.
... Shown above is the new Grillbot; others include a little robot to clean your iPhone or iPad screen; WowWee’s new robot that can replace it’s head with your iPhone and you can remotely operate it; the new sleekly styled Romo; a new updated version of Lego’s Mindstorm kit which takes advantage of new sensors, cameras and capabilities; and a few more.
... Read the article..

Management Shakeup at Adept Technology

2013-02-25T22:35+00:00

... Rob Cain replaces John Dulchinos as CEO of Adept Technology. Cain has worked with Adept for the past few months as an advisor and representative of Hale Capital Partners and crafted a restructuring plan approved by the company and it’s financial partners.
... Adept reported poor sales and lower than expected gross margins for the first two quarters of fiscal 2013. This after suffering a net loss and reduced margins for FY 2012.
... Adept’s stock took a hit last November when it became known that the company would initiate a restructuring plan and a second recent hit upon notice of the change in leadership.

Robot Vision Systems Providers Doing Well

2013-02-21T21:48+00:00

... In a recent $4,650 research report by Market & Market, a TX-based research firm, they projected that machine vision systems and components will grow at an annual rate of 8%+ for 2013 to 2018. They attribute this growth to increased processing power, reduced costs and growth in robotics and automation thereby increasing the scope and need of machine vision technology in a wider range of production applications.
... Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX), one of the largest providers in the machine vision industry, just set new records for 2012 revenue. Net profits were 21%!

Oshkosh and Lockheed Capitalizing On Demand For Military AGVs

2013-02-21T20:39+00:00

... The Oshkosh TerraMax UGV (right) is capable of tele-operations, being a leader or follower, and fully autonomous operation. The Marine Corps are evaluating it as part of their Cargo UGV initiative.
... Lockheed Martin’s SMSSs (squad mission support systems) (left) are rolling off the line for deployment in Afghanistan after winning the Army Project Workhorse competition. The SMSS has the capability to be remotely operated via satellite link. It can also carry 1,100 pounds of cargo and serve as a remote surveillance unit.

Grishin Fund Invests In Hardware Incubator

2013-02-20T17:19+00:00

... Grishin Robotics continues it’s formulaic long-term investment strategy in robotics by partnering into the start-up mechanism. In this case its a new hardware incubator called Bolt located in Boston and connected with local robotics angel investors Colin Angle, Mick Mountz, Brad Feld, Semyon Dukach, and many other VCs.
... Bolt, a Boston-based hardware incubator (and not to be confused with Bolt Technology of CT), plans to help robotic and other connected device hardware startups with seed capital, an extensive mentorship program, and access to manufacturing DFM and DFA expertise as well as a shop full of metalworking, electronics, model-making and other prototyping equipment.
... Boston already has 5 Hackerspaces, and 10+ incubators but none as robotically focused as the new Bolt. We wish them well!

ROV market study shows dramatic growth for 2013-2023

2013-02-19T22:28+00:00

... In a new report analyzing the uses and needs for remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) by the global oil and gas industry, Visiongain, a British research provider, has projected positive growth for both makers and users. They project rental and manufacturing revenue for ROVs in 2013 to be $2.5 billion.
... Visiongain’s report, ROVs in the Oil Gas Industry 2013-2023, is available for purchase for $2,250.
... The list of companies included in the report is extensive and can be downloaded for free by clicking on the “Companies Listed” tab here.

Is this the cheapest floor robot?

2013-02-16T21:32+00:00

... O-Duster is an O-Cedar product from Channell Chemical Company, a division of the Freudenberg Group, a German conglomerate.
... The O-Duster has an auto-navigation feature and mops an area similar to the way other robotic vacuums do.
... The O-Duster will be available at U.S. retailers including HEB, Publix, ShopRite, Target, Wal-Mart and Winn Dixie for $39.99. Electrostatic pad refills are available in packs of 20 for $8.99.

Willow Garage Changes Direction

2013-02-12T05:56+00:00

... Willow Garage announced today that they are changing direction and deciding to focus on additional commercial opportunities that can become self-supporting.
... The generous funding from founder Scott Hassan will stop within 3 months and WG employes have been notified.
... PR2 robots around the world will continue to be supported as will ROS and its libraries through the Open Source OpenCV Foundation.
... Details can be found here.

2012 Record Year for US Robot Industry

2013-02-09T05:58+00:00

... 25,500 robots were sold in the US in 2012; $1.66 billion in revenue. This is a 17% year-over-year increase in units and 27% in dollars.
... Robotics Industry Association (RIA) estimates that 225,000 robots are now working in US factories. This represents 10% robot density, i.e., only 10% of companies that could benefit from using robots have done so thus far.

Open Source Vet Simulation Center

2013-02-08T05:11+00:00

... Dental students have robotic simulators, med students and surgeons have theirs too, and now Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine has one. They have a simulation center with two fully equipped exam rooms, two rooms for live video-feed observation and debriefing, and two robotic pets - a dog and a cat.
... Cornell’s Dr. Dan Fletcher says, “Through the use of these new facilities we can enhance CPR scenarios and can simulate a slew of other conditions.”
... Using open source hardware and software, Fletcher and his team developed their system and share it with other universities and veterinary centers.
... Click photo to enlarge.

iRobot’s stock takes another downward hit

2013-02-07T16:47+00:00

... iRobot’s stock (IRBT:NASDAQ) has suffered once again from not meeting analyst expectations. The stock is down 13% on news that expectations for 2013 show continuing downward pressure on their Defense & Security Division although their Home Robots are doing quite well.
... On a good note, expected earnings for 2013, including those from newly acquired Evolution Robotics, are expected to grow 11% over 2012. Colin Angle, CEO, said, “Our business performance over the next few years will be driven by our rapidly growing home technology business. Home Robots [Division] is expected to grow roughly 20 percent this year and comprise 90 percent of total company revenue. In addition, we have an emerging remote presence business and have stabilized our defense business.”

GE and Verizon Advertise using robots

2013-02-04T05:37+00:00

... Verizon TV advertisements feature VGo Communications mobile telepresence robots streaming large amounts of data through their 4G LTE network. One ad shows a young home-bound student remotely attending and participating in a class; the other shows how kids, far away from the ocean, participated in a field trip to an ocean aquarium.
... GE’s TV ads feature a variety of brilliant machines (robots and smart jet engines) for transforming the way we work.
... Both ads are positive, favorable, and stimulate the public’s imagination about the value of robots in everyday life.
... Click to see videos of the ads.

Automate and ProMat in Freezing Chicago: A Recap

2013-01-29T03:25+00:00

... Automate 2013 held last week in Chicago seemed all about integrating vision capabilities into robotic tasks. The epitome of this was the Industrial Perception robot quickly choosing and grabbing randomly sized and stacked boxes from the back of a truck.
... The new collaborative cage-free robots from Rethink Robotics and Universal Robots drew large crowds.
... Another crowd-pleaser was Adept’s new mobility platform, Lynx, which doesn’t require floor or ceiling markings for it to safely guide itself from place to place.
... The vendors at ProMat don’t call their robots robots; they referred to them as being automatic or autonomous material handling devices and systems.
... Read more.

Intuitive Surgical’s stock jumps 11% in two days; iRobot is up 9% in a single day

2013-01-23T23:31+00:00

... 4th quarter earnings were 23% higher than last year’s Q4 and income rose 16%. That’s 15 straight quarters beating analysts expectations. 2012 revenue was $2.178 billion. Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) expects revenue growth to be 16%-19% for 2013.
... iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT) didn’t report earnings or expectations. It announced that it’s autonomous platform used by InTouch Health in their new RP-VITA remote presence robot had received FDA approval to move from point to point within a hospital. This form of autonomous movement is a big thing because it doesn’t require floor markings and certifies that iRobot’s mobility and sensoring technologies are safe in the hospital environment.

GA Tech’s Henrik Christensen Gives Keynote Speech at Automate 2013

2013-01-22T01:55+00:00

... In keynote, Dr. Henrik Christensen, Director of Robotics, GA Tech, described the technologies, advancements and myriad evidences of dramatic movement in robotics.
... The Roadmap for U.S. Robotics is being revised to reflect these changes and advancements—and will be presented to Congress in March.
... Christensen cited as a significant evidence that Foxconn, Apple and Lennovo are all building new factories—in America!
... Chicago is having a severe chill but Automate and ProMat are well-attended and lively.
... Details and highlights will follow after show closes.

CBS News’ 60 Minutes Provides New Definition of Robots

2013-01-14T19:50+00:00

... UPDATED 3/6/2013 to reflect 5 critiques and objections to the CBS segment on robotics.
... CBS New 60 Minutes did a segment on robots, robotics and jobs Sunday evening.
... They coined a new definition of robotics: “The broad universal definition is a machine that can perform the job of a human. The machine can be mobile or stationary, hardware or software.”
... They also presented the viewpoints of MIT professors Brynjolfsson and McAfee whose book “Race Against the Machine” was referenced in the report.
... CBS 60 Minutes also provided interviews with Adept CEO John Dulchinos and ReThink Robotics CEO Rodney Brooks along with plenty of interesting video showing Tessla Motors robots, Adepts, ReThink Robotics, VGo Communications, Aethon’s tugs and InTouch Health and iRobot’s RP-VITA remote presence robot.

$100 million P-P-P suggestion for healthcare robotics

2013-01-08T06:14+00:00

... Op-ed piece suggesting $100 million be invested in developing eldercare robot similar to the robot in the movie “Robot & Frank.”
... EU is already funding a similar project called Companionable with their robot named Hector.
... If America doesn’t lead in robotics, they will continue to be a buyer of robots made in Germany and Japan.
... America launched the industrial robotics industry but all but one of the major robot manufacturers are offshore. $100 million invested in a public-private-partnership to develop, design, engineer, manufacture and market home health and elder care robots could change that dynamic.
... Read more.

Leap Motion gets $30 million for new Kinect-like device

2013-01-08T00:50+00:00

... Hot new Leap Motion Kinect-like product gets another $30 million (bringing the total to $44 million).
... Leap Motion controller senses individual hand and finger movements so you can interact directly with your computer.
... Device covers range of 8 cubic feet of 3D interaction space.
... Sales price of $70. Available in the spring.
... Bye bye mice.

Big 4 Robotic Stocks Outperform Dow Jones

2013-01-03T20:09+00:00

... All the projections suggested that industrial robot stocks would perform well this year (and for the foreseeable future), and they did.
... KUKA’s stock did particular well on expectations that their extensive movement into the Chinese marketplace (with new offices and factories in China) would yield significant rewards.
... Click to enlarge.

2012 Robo-Stox™ Recap

2013-01-03T19:53+00:00

... 2012 was a good year for many robotics companies and 2013 seems like it will continue the momentum of equal parts finding robotic solutions to workplace needs but also crowd-funded wild ideas and other digressions.
... Industrial robotic providers had a good year.
... Military robot makers saw governmental cutbacks reflected in their stock prices and are widening their sales and transforming their products to sell to municipal governments.
... Surgical and hospital service robot suppliers had a mixed year, the former held up by patents and FDA approvals, the latter (eg, Swisslog) did quite well.
... Most other new-tech robotic companies are privately held, consequently no data except press releases. For example, venture funded Liquid Robotics, during 2012, established a new joint venture with oil conglomerate Schlumberger and a new naval division for governmental and Navy contracts.
... Click chart to enlarge; click headline to see many more charts and details.
... Also see “Filling a need… or feeding a diversion” for additional stocks and info.

2012: Filling a need or feeding a diversion?

2013-01-02T19:13+00:00

... 2012 has been a year of really great inventions, silly ones, temporary solutions (like the new tethered drone from CyPhy Works), and diversions. All happening seemingly simultaneously, without moderation, guidance and little direction. And most are transitional (or at least incremental) with better solutions in the labs or courtrooms waiting for breakthroughs.
... But there are also toys and other robotic items that have withered because the developer didn’t want to be diverted into a business when all he/she wanted was to build something fresh and fun. Many of the tele-presence devices getting crowd-funding in recent months are fun-tech gimmick products with no long-term business plan or even interest in having one.
... One could make a case that with strategic guidance and management, robotic development could happen quicker. That we could truly fill a need instead of feeding a diversion. Read more....

More $$ for surgical snake

2012-12-21T15:33+00:00

... Medrobotics, previously CardioRobotics, just completed a $32 million series D round of financing to help finalize commercializing the first surgical snake robot, co-invented by Howie Choset, a CMU professor.
... The Flex Robotic System will enable hospitals and surgeons to expand their offering of single-site access, visualization and treatment options.
... With this round of funding, Medrobotics has raised more than $60 million since its inception.

Lots of robots at CES, January 10-13 in Las Vegas

2012-12-20T23:31+00:00

... Many new vendors selling robotic consumer products at this year’s show. Robstep showing off their Segway-like devices; iRobot with their floor and pool cleaner bots and AVA platform; lots of toys; even IEEE and their new iPad app about robots have a booth.
... ECOVACS’ Winbot window cleaning robot (shown above) is getting a lot of pre-press hoopla.
... 3D printer companies 3D Systems, Affinia and MakerBot all have booths.
... Most of the car companies will be showing and telling about their new autonomous technologies, eg, Mercedes will be displaying their new robotic steering assist option for their 2014 S-Class cars.
... Click here to see the complete exhibitor list.

InformationWeek’s Top 10 robots that could change healthcare

2012-12-19T15:45+00:00

... Mobile remote-presence robots by Giraff, Anybots and InTouch Health for critical and remote care consultations and communication.
... Mobile platforms by Aethon, iRobot and Swisslog for various hospital applications from hauling laundry to distributing pills.
... Therapy bots by AnthroTronix and others to help with autistic children, stroke victims and other disabled people that need interactive therapy.
... Feeding bots by Bestic. This is one of two Swedish-supported companies mentioned in the article (Giraff being the other) which strategically solve serious in-country needs with robotic solutions.
... And futuristic microbots that steer through the body by various means to distribute medicines, provide information and remove plaque - from leading universities around the world.
... Curiously omitted are minimally invasive surgical augmentation robots like the new single-port Intuitive Surgical da Vinci robot.
... Pics and details here.

Unmanned Vehicle University Accredited To Grant Doctorate and Masters Degrees

2012-12-13T21:50+00:00

... Unmanned Vehicle University just received an Arizona state license to grant Graduate Doctorate and Masters Degrees in Unmanned (Air / Ground / Sea / Space) Systems Engineering.
... The Arizona school also offers UAV pilot training, online courses, and Project Management Certificates for undergraduates.

2012 Holiday Selection of Robotic Gifts and Books

2012-12-11T23:06+00:00

... For gifts and toys, click here.
... For robotics-related books, click here.

The patent grip loosens

2012-12-10T18:43+00:00

... VGo Communications wins infringement lawsuit brought on by InTouch Health and also initiated a patent reexamination of four other InTouch patents.
... The court’s decision is a bigger subject than just InTouch vs. VGo. At a recent conference on remote presence telemedicine the most enlightening thing I saw was four hours of tightly-packed presentations by critical care doctors and hospital administrators, all users of InTouch Health’s remote presence robots, all portraying different aspects of why remote presence in health care is relevant, is saving lives and is necessary today and why it will continue to be in the future. Certainly there is room for more companies to assist in this very noble work.
... Patents being used competitively in the robotics healthcare community is a serious issue as this case points out. Read more....

Robots and reshoring in the US

2012-12-09T14:48+00:00

... In an opinion piece in the NY Times, Paul Krugman cites a report about the growing evidence of “reshoring” of manufacturing. The principle reasons are rising wages in Asia; lower energy costs in the US; higher transportation costs; and robots. The report concludes that since labor costs don’t matter that much since most of the costly components are already robot-produced in the US, you might as well locate where the markets and infrastructure are.
... Krugman calls this “capital-biased technological change” which shifts income away from workers to the owners of capital and that media and academic literature have incorrectly been focusing on skill bias and have overlooked this situation.
... Besides the article, what is interesting to me are the eloquence and clarity of the readers who commented. It seems that people involved in technology already know these facts - they are acknowledged at work for their skills when their software will be used to replace x many workers. They see it in action.
... I urge you to read at least a few. You’ll be talking to your friends about the subject for the rest of the week.

SwRI and ROS-Industrial making progress on 5th anniversary of ROS

2012-12-04T06:09+00:00

... In 2011, Motoman USA partnered with SwRI (Southwest Research Institute) to enable ROS software to be available to Motoman users. “The next step for industrial robotics is to be more sensor aware; to be able to accomodate the many new capabilities showing up in the service sector. It’s clear that ROS is able to handle all of these,” said Erik Nieves, Technology Director for Yaskawa America’s Motoman Robotics Division.
... From that venture came the SwRI-led ROS-Industrial Consortium (2012), dedicated to providing a common interoperable software language for existing industrial hardware. Last month, Fraunhofer IPA became the ROS-I organizer for the EU.
... ROS-I enables workcell visualization and simulation capabilities, and material handling in dynamic environments with on-the-fly object ID and grasp planning. It allows 2D-vision and 3D-point cloud perception systems.
... “It’s an exciting time in industrial robotics,” said SwRI senior research engineer Shaun Edwards. “After the economic downturn, the U.S. is now seeing a new government focus on manufacturing, a surge of venture capital spending in this area, and a trend toward returning manufacturing to homeland countries due to rising labor costs in other countries.”
... This is also the 5th anniversary of ROS. There are many hundreds of robots running ROS. More than 90 types and 28 robots come with supported installation instructions.

Researching Robotics Is Getting Easier

2012-12-02T00:08+00:00

... New app “IEEE Spectrum ROBOTS,” not only provides news but has an extensive detailed section for current-day robots of all types: from exoskeletons to remote presence; from military transport to Google self-driving car; from Keepon and Paro to Asimo. For each there are specs, factoids, builder name and cost and interesting graphics and videos. There is also a substantial LEARN section with videos and text by notable and inspirational roboticists.
... The news section is analogous to the NY Times: thorough and in-depth reporting on a wide range of topics—in this case the multiple sciences of robotics—by technical authorities in the field or on the IEEE Spectrum staff. The news section joins many other magazine tablet-style news apps such as ScoopIt, Zite and Trapit and news portal sites such as Robohub and The Robot Report.
... All in all - and particularly for the non-news sections - the new app it is a worthy addition to the field of robotics.
... An even newer site of interest is “Robot Radar” - which provides critical analysis on robotics technology articles published and distributed by the popular press.
... Robot Radar‘s list of contributors is a who’s who of robotics in the US and UK and includes Alan Winfield, UWE, Henrik Christensen, GA Tech, Kerstin Dautenhahn, U of Hertfordshire, Benjamin Kuipers, U of MI, Illah Nourbakhsh, CMU, Maja Mataric, USC, Matt Mason, CMU, and Noel Sharkey, U of Sheffield.

Progress report on eldercare robots

2012-12-01T16:29+00:00

... Nine years ago robotics pioneer Joseph Engelberger described an eldercare assistive robot that would work in a home at a cost of $1.25 per hour. It would fetch things, remind and provide medications, provide security and communication and many other services and tasks.
... Nine years later there is no such robot. Why is that? And what is the present state of the technology?
... Read the details here.
... Or read the article in IEEE Spectrum.

Interactive Map of Global Robot Providers

2012-11-25T19:46+00:00

... 200+ industrial robot makers (red markers); 600+ service robot providers (blue markers) and 170+ start-up companies (green markers) covering 37 countries around the world.
... Clusters can be seen surrounding the top 20 robotics universities and research labs (shown in yellow).
... Details here.
... Map here.

Recent funding for robotics companies

2012-11-24T22:31+00:00

... MAKO Surgical gets $43 million from the sale of common stock. MAKO produces a robotic orthopedic surgical platform for implant placement. MAKO’s stock (NASDAQ:MAKO) has had a dramatic downward ride from a high of $45 to it’s present $14 because of missed revenue and earnings projections.
... Revolve Robotics, a San Francisco start-up with a remote telepresence device, shared a $1.85 million round of funding with 4 other start-up companies in the LEMNOS Labs stable of hardware incubator companies.
... Unmanned Innovation, a Newport Beach, CA start-up also in the LEMNOS Labs incubator group, is a producer of auto-pilot components for UAVs and also shares in the $1.85 million funding round.

Furby’s are back - this time with an iPhone app and translator

2012-11-23T23:16+00:00

... Hasbro has enhanced their successful Furby toy from years past with a combination of interactive programming and robotic engineering. The updated Furby includes a free Furby app to virtually feed Furby and translate Furbish into English.
... Watch the video.

Iceland’s Össur wins PopSci Best of What’s New award for Symbionic Leg

2012-11-23T22:36+00:00

... Iceland’s Össur, a company which develops, manufactures and sells non-invasive orthopaedic and bionic prosthetics, received a Popular Science Magazine’s 2012 “Best of What’s New” award for Össur’s new Symbionic Leg.
... The world’s first complete bionic leg, Össur’s Symbionic Leg combines a bionic microprocessor knee and a powered bionic ankle with proactive powered ankle flexion into a single, integrated unit. Its on-board Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and sophisticated motion sensors enable the leg to quickly learn its user’s walking style and make real-time adjustments according to changes in speed, stride or surface.
... Two other robotic winners from the PopSci “Best of What’s New”: Boston Dynamics’ Sand Flea, an 11# camera-toting robot that drives like an RC car but can jump 26’ in the air, and Lockheed Martin/Kaman’s K-Max autonomous cargo helicopter which has been carrying up to 3-ton loads as far as 250 miles for the last year in Afghanistan.

VGo Gets Funding to Scale Up for Healthcare

2012-11-23T22:11+00:00

... VGo Communications received $900,000 debt financing to help the company scale up and focus on providing remote presence for the healthcare industry.
... They’ve changed their website to present the various ways that VGo robots can be useful in hospitals, with visiting nurses, as a post-op communication device and for medically home-bound students.
... VGo has taken in close to $11 million in venture funding and debt financing since it was founded in 2007. But now they are centering their marketing on a particular market niche from which they’ve had much success and good press: healthcare.

Lockheed Martin Acquires UAV Maker Chandler/May

2012-11-15T01:40+00:00

... Lockheed Martin acquires ChandlerMay for an undisclosed amount. The new acquisition will join Lockheed’s Mission Systems & Sensors (MS2) business.
... ChandlerMay, with facilities in Huntsville, AL and San Luis Obispo, CA, has produced over 2,500 UAVs for the military, mostly as a subcontractor to Lockheed. ChandlerMay also produces UAS ground control stations and tactical systems software and support.
... Lockheed’s MS2 focuses on UAS including the unmanned K-MAX helicopter the Marines are testing in Afghanistan, the Desert Hawk UAV (which ChandlerMay produced), and provides systems engineering, software development and management.

Chris Anderson, Wired editor-in-chief, resigns to run 3D Robotics

2012-11-05T02:49+00:00

... Anderson has held the editor-in-chief position for 11 years during which time, in addition to his work at Wired, he authored three books and founded DIY Drones and co-founded 3D Robotics. He also grew Wired’s circulation and won eight magazine awards. In 2010, Adweek named Wired its magazine of the decade.
... Now he is leaving Wired to pursue an entrepreneurial dream by becoming CEO of 3D Robotics, the manufacturing arm for DIY Drones’ UAV product line and store.
... DIY Drones is a 30,600 strong member group focused on amateur UAVs, contests, sharing and the fun of building and flying.
... UPDATE: 11/5: 3D Robotics gets $5 million in VC funding from True Ventures, O’Reilly Alpha Tech Ventures and Chris Michel. With the funding and a new sales, marketing and community development office in the Bay Area, 3D Robotics will accelerate growth and expand into new markets. 3D Robotics already employs 40 people in their R&D facility in San Diego and factory in Tijuana, Mexico.

OmniGuide in the news

2012-11-04T21:53+00:00

... Cambridge, MA-based OmniGuide recently got $35 million non-dilutive financing from OrbiMed Advisors enabling company to grow toward profitability over the next several years.
... OmniGuide’s new BeamPath laser system used in novel robot-assisted minimally invasive laser surgery for fibroids at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. Operation was broadcast live to an international audience of over 1,000 specialists attending the annual ASRM (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) meeting in San Diego.

New Russian entrant into creepiest robot face contest

2012-11-01T20:55+00:00

... Neurobotics, a Russian brain research organization, has just released videos of their new human-like woman robotic head. Click to see their video.
... Hanson Robotics, whose Einstein head is shown above, Kokoro, a Japanese robot manufacturer, and Japanese professor Hiroshi Ishiguro are all known for their realistic android heads - all of which have given the creeps to many and helped coin the term “uncanny valley.”

Accuray launches new TomoHDA and gets FDA okay for CyberKnife M6

2012-11-01T16:41+00:00

... New TomoTherapy System enables faster planning and more focused delivery often resulting in half beam-on time than previously.
... CyberKnife M6 (shown above) is a 3D image-guided and robotically controlled beam and patient positioning radiology delivery system.
... Accuray stock (ARAY:NASDAQ) is up 64% year-to-date from $2.72 to $6.95.

Wave Glider transmits real time weather data during Hurricane Sandy

2012-11-01T01:11+00:00

... One of Liquid Robotics’ Wave Gliders successfully piloted itself through Hurricane Sandy winds and transmitted weather data in real time.
... The Wave Glider was in the region 100 miles off the coast of New Jersey. It’s sensors reported a plunge in barometric pressure to a low of 946 as it battled 70 knot winds.
... It was on a scientific demo run for underwater acoustics company Sonardyne, Rutgers University and the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS).

Hansen Medical stock (HNSN:NASDAQ) jumps 22%

2012-11-01T00:33+00:00

... Intuitive Surgical updated their co-exclusive rights to certain of Hansen Medical‘s patent portfolio for a fee of $20 million. Intuitive also purchased $10 million of Hansen Medical’s stock.
... The deal extends a 2005 agreement and adds Hansen patents filed subsequent to that date.
... Hansen Medical provides a line of intravascular robotics products; Intuitive Surgical produces the da Vinci Surgical System.
... Hansen Medical’s stock has been on a steady slide since its 2012 high of $3.90 in early February.

Fly and film in HD

2012-10-31T18:17+00:00

... Parrot (PARRO on the Euronext Paris exchange), a French company famous for its audio and wireless devices for phones and cars, unveiled their first AR.Drone at CES in 2010 to huge crowds (I was there). The updated AR.Drone 2 was previewed at CES 2012 and is now available for sale. The big difference is the addition of a HD wide angle video camera.
... AR.Drone sales now represent over 10% of Parrot’s overall revenue. This novel quadcopter, which can be flown from an iPad, iPhone or other smart phone, is opening new retail markets for Parrot products. More than 300,000 AR.Drones have been sold thus far.
... Their aftermarket sales and support - including tutorials - is a valuable and smart business add-on to expand sales and keep users happy.
... Parrot recently purchased two companies to complement their AR.Drone project and perhaps enter the UAS market with more serious products: senseFly and Pix4D.

Battered iRobot stock takes another hit

2012-10-24T21:00+00:00

... Although iRobot reported that its 3rd quarter profits rose 8% and the company saw revenue growth within its consumer products, the stocks dropped 19% as it warned that it’s revenue outlook had deteriorated 5% further than previously reported.
... Also announced was the closing of the Durham, NC facility - its maritime operation where iRobot produced its Seaglider robot - a military research project - and the layoff of all its 80 employees at that facility.
... iRobot has been on a year-long plan to shore up its military products and research group, grow its consumer products (which included the acquisition of competitor (Evolution Robotics) and diversify into new B2B (business-to-business) markets (eg, the product launch with partner InTouch Health), and the use of their AVA platform robot for other vertical markets.
... iRobot suffered a 33% drop in its stock in February and then another 6% in late April. iRobot stock is down 39% year-to-date at its current $18.32 per share price.

NAO, WALL-E, PackBot and BigDog inducted into Robot Hall of Fame

2012-10-24T15:08+00:00

... Aldebaran Robotics’ NAO humanoid robot won in the Education & Consumer category.
... WALL-E, the star of the 2008 Disney/Pixar movie of the same name, won in the Entertainment category.
... iRobot‘s PackBot robot won in the Industrial & Service category.
... Boston Dynamics’ BigDog won the Research category.
... All were selected by popular vote to represent contemporary robotics and all were inducted at a show last night at the Robot Hall of Fame Museum in Pittsburgh.

First Sighting of FoxBots in China

2012-10-15T14:08+00:00

... Foxconn said they would be deploying 1 million robots in their factories in China. The first photographs of one of those appeared in Chinese news last week.
... 10,000 turquoise FoxBots have been installed in a factory in Jincheng, China.
... News sources estimate that Foxconn is behind schedule to meet their goal of 300,000 by the end of 2012; 30,000 appears to be the real number.
... But the big story is that these robots appear to have been built by Foxconn itself.

New Commercial Aerial Drone Introduced

2012-10-10T00:17+00:00

... senseFly, a Swiss start-up, launched their new eBee aerial photography drone with funding from a recent equity investment by Parrot (of AR.Drone quadcopter fame). With it’s 3’ wingspan the eBee can fly for 45 minutes in up to 25 mph winds.
... Two kinds of software drive the eBee: one to create a flight path and the other to turn the 2D geotagged images into 3d maps and reports.
... Two videos explain the process.

Chinese Companies Cited by Congress as IP Threats

2012-10-08T21:45+00:00

... “I would find another vendor if you care about your intellectual property, if you care about your consumer’s privacy and you care about the national security of the United States of American,” said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers on CBS 60-Minutes regarding Huawei and ZTE, two Chinese telecommunications conglomerates.
... Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine did a cover story and exposé earlier this year as they have done three years in a row… it’s that important of an issue.
... iRobot CEO Colin Angle said recently: Robotics innovation represents a tremendous opportunity for economic growth akin to automobiles, aerospace and information technology. If we are to freely share our ‘intellectual capital’ on the open market we risk losing the economic engine that will advance our economies and send growth and jobs overseas.
... An in-depth review of the issues and concerns can be found in this Wall Street Journal story.

Fast Food: Another Robotic Frontier

2012-10-08T21:31+00:00

... A machine that makes a 10.5” pizza from scratch in 2.5 minutes is beginning to appear in malls, student unions and other public places in Europe.
... A cupcake ATM machine created long lines at a Beverly Hills cupcake store and will soon be showing up in Chicago and New York too.
... And robotic arms are dispensing frozen yogurt and ice cream and sprinkling them with various toppings.
... All have simple-to-use order entry and payment screens and all let the user see what’s going on inside the machine.
... Read the details and get the company names here.

Man-to-goods vs. Goods-to-man in Warehouse Automation

2012-10-03T04:47+00:00

... Kiva Systems’ innovative goods-to-man warehouse fulfillment methodology is impacting vendors servicing distribution centers.
... Read a profile of three approaches to transitioning from man-to-goods methods to newer practices involving automation and robotics.
... Three really interesting videos help clarify the complexity.

Y-T-D Robo-Stox™ Not In Sync With Sales

2012-10-03T00:01+00:00

... The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) said that 2011 was the most successful year for both industrial and service robot company sales:
... Industrial robot sales were up 38% from 2010; 166,000 robots were sold of which 34% went to the automotive sector.
... Service robot sales were up 9% from 2010 and reflected 16,408 units of which 32% went to the defense sector.
... Personal and domestic robot sales were up 15% over 2010 and reflected 2.5 million units, $636 million in sales, mostly in toys and robot vacuums.
... Nevertheless, publicly-traded robotics stocks seem to be mirroring the Dow Jones Industrial Average instead of the more technically savvy NASDAQ. Japanese and Korean stocks are still suffering from the effects of the earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown and reduced power.
... Click graph to enlarge country-by-country results.

Robotics And The Mountain Of Things We Throw Away

2012-09-29T19:37+00:00

... “Cities are like badger holes, ringed with trash - surrounded by piles of wrecked and rusting automobiles, and almost smothered in rubbish. Everything we use comes in boxes, cartons, bins, the so-called packaging we love so much. The mountain of things we throw away are much greater than the things we use.” John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley.
... Zen Robotics, a Finnish company which makes recycling systems that use robots, just raised $17 million from Invus/Evergreen and Lifeline Ventures. Additionally, Zen sold a recycling system to the Baetsen Group (The Netherlands) and it will be operational in Q1 of 2013.
... In other trashy news: Grand Rapids, Michigan became the most recent user of a robotic waste bin pickup system. Their system enables the city to price their pickup service based on the quantity of garbage collected. They use trash containers with embedded RFID computer chips and trucks with robotic arms and remote control to pick and empty the bin while validating, computing and recording the charge.

Remote Presence Products Proliferating

2012-09-26T04:46+00:00

... Y-Combinator’s Spring 2012 success story Double Robotics, which has already sold 600 units in pre-orders, just received another $250,000 from the new Grishin Robotics Robotic Investment Fund, a fund whose strategy is to invest in consumer-oriented products at the scale-up stage of their development.
... Double Robotics’ mobile iPad stand sells for $2,499 and utilizes the cameras, speakers and mic from an iPad as well as many of the sensors on their mobile pole with an iPad on top. It is driven from the user’s laptop, wherever they may be.
... An even less expensive device (somewhere less than $300), cuter for sure, getting $93,000 in production funding from a Kickstarter presentation, is Botiful, a social presence device. 300 pre-sold devices are in production. Plans for scaling up for further sales are still in the planning phase.
... UPDATE: 9/25: Today’s launch of Willow Garage spin-off Suitable Technologies and their new $16,000 Beam mobile remote presence device adds a new and well-funded product into the marketplace. Originally called Texai when Willow Garage produced them, they are now improved in many ways, including having their own docking station and having 4 wireless radios (and proprietary software) to handle transitions between wifi access points.
... The big news with the Beam launch is that Scott Hassan, the private and somewhat aloof founder of Willow Garage, will be the day-to-day CEO of Suitable Technologies.

iRobot Acquires Competitor Evolution Robotics for $74 million

2012-09-20T07:09+00:00

... Mint floor cleaning robots produced by Evolution Robotics differ from iRobot’s methods; plan is for them to be developed and marketed as complementary.
... Evolution’s CEO Paulo Pirjanian will become the new iRobot CTO.
... Financial downside of the acquisition is that iRobot must sell off Evolution’s inventory at breakeven plus they acquired a loss of $7 million and a very low GP margin for the whole product line. So Q4 and the next 2-3 quarters for iRobot are going to take a big hit—as did iRobot’s stock yesterday and today on the news.
... The acquisition includes many US and international patents. iRobot CEO Colin Angle said that the patents and technology acquired from Evolution - particularly involved with visual SLAM technology - will enable iRobot to navigate future floor cleaning robots at lower cost.
… To read a transcript of Colin Angle’s comments and answers to investor questions, click here.

Is Baxter the Biggest Story in Robotics?

2012-09-19T16:04+00:00

... Is all the news coverage because it’s a good product and the market is ripe to buy that product? Let’s hope this is so.
... Every major newspaper, magazine and online service aired the launch and described Baxter, the shop-assistant robot.
... For my personal observations about my trip to Boston to see Baxter, and also a list of links to news sources about Baxter, click here.
... Perhaps research labs will be the early adopter because it’s the cheapest two-armed system available ($22,000).

A Frank Review of the movie ‘Robot & Frank’

2012-09-08T04:28+00:00

... I hate to break this to you but the robot wasn’t a robot after all. It may have looked like Asimo, but it was really Rachael Ma dressed up in a robot costume; the robot’s voice wasn’t AI interaction but an actor reading lines to sound a little inhuman.
... But the movie itself was a charming story that touched on two ethical issues involved with healthcare in the future: concern over a robot providing assistance and life coaching for a person with serious aging and/or psychological issues and over the issue of whether or how a robot might assist in illegal activities.
... The acting by Frank Langella was wonderfully convincing.
... The movie ended with cameo videos of current-day assistance robots as they attempt to achieve that which the movie projects.
... Read the full review here.

2011 Industrial & Service Robotics Statistics

2012-09-07T21:50+00:00

... The Intl. Federation of Robotics has released their 2012 books reflecting 2011 results, and projections for 2012-2015.
... Bottom line: 2011 was very successful for industrial robot manufacturers and growth rates will be in double digits for years to come. 2011 sales of industrial robots—166,000 units; $8.5 billion in sales—are up 38% from 2010 and expected to reach 181,000 robots for 2012. Service robot sales, which include every other type of robot, were up 9% from 2010 and reflected 16,408 units of which 32% were in the defense sector.
... Personal and domestic robot sales were up 15% over 2010 and reflected 2.5 million units, $636 million in sales, mostly in toys and robot vacuums.
... The two books cost $540 each but in-depth free summaries can be found here.
... These are the most comprehensive recaps of what robots are tasked to do, how many of them are doing it, and how much revenue has accrued to the industry.
... The charts and slides shown at this link accompanied the presentation of the announcement (at a press conference in Taipei) of the publication of the two books.

Buyer Beware

2012-09-04T15:43+00:00

... This paid-for ad appeared in the Huffington Post.
... Investing in robotic stocks is complicated and some stocks aren’t worth that investment. I wrote about that, and about Quantum International, in a recent post.
Read that article.

Industrial Robot Sales and Companies Doing Well

2012-09-03T18:46+00:00

... 2011 sales of industrial robots—166,000 units; $8.5 billion in sales—are up 38% from 2010 and expected to reach 181,000 robots for 2012. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), an industry organization that collects data from almost all robot suppliers, that number will reach 200,000 by 2015.
... The Big Four of industrial robot manufacturers—Fanuc, ABB, Kuka and Yaskawa Motoman—are all publicly traded stocks—and all have recovered from the economic setback of 2008-09. In Japan’s case, from the twin disasters of 2011 as well. Each has a presence and market share in China which, according to the IFR, “will become the biggest robot market in the world regarding annual supply.” Click chart above to enlarge.
... Not all publicly traded robotic stocks have done as well as the Big Four as can be seen by The Robot Report’s Robo-Stox™ year-to-date country-by country chart. This is partly due to the various setbacks from the Japanese tsunami and earthquake that happened in March, 2011.

Thomas Friedman Breaks Secrecy About Rethink Robotics’ New Robot

2012-08-27T04:33+00:00

... In a NY Times Weekend Review OpEd piece, three-time Pulitzer winner and prolific author Thomas Friedman saw Rethink Robotics’ new robot. His comments and observations about the new robot and the team that invented it were refreshing and invigorating. They gave example to the prescription Friedman outlined in his most recent book, “That Used To Be Us.”
... “This is the march of progress. It [the new Rethink robot] eliminates bad jobs, empowers good jobs, but always demands more skill and creativity and always enables fewer people to do more things,” wrote Friedman who went on to say: “what this election should be about is how we spawn thousands of Rethinks that create new industries, new jobs and productivity tools. Alas, it isn’t. So I’m just grateful these folks here in Boston didn’t get the word.”
... Read Friedman’s article here.

7 Automation/Robotics Stocks To Profit From Global Automation

2012-08-22T21:52+00:00

... Credit Suisse recently chose 7 stocks to profit from the trend toward global automation. All 7 stocks are evaluated with a brief description, their reason for selecting the stock for the list, and opinions as to the companies: Siemens AG, Rockwell Automation, Delta Electronics, Keyence, Mitsubishi Electric and TECO.
... The opinions expressed are based on an in-depth overview of what is happening in factory automation, industrial robotics and other types of robotics invoved in the production, movement and handling of products over the next few years.
... Interesting overview, company profiles, alternate company suggestions and projections.
... Read the article.

Two Different Approaches to Spawn Robotics; One Common Thread

2012-08-22T00:24+00:00

... Two different approaches to spawn robotics innovation but one common thread: build a product using robotics that satisfies a specific need.
... RE2 (squared) started with defense funding to develop a robotic arm with extraordinary torque and load capacity.
... Liquid Robotics started with personal and non-profit funding to capture the sounds of whales as they migrated along the coasts of Hawaii to Alaska.
... The profiles of these two successful companies make an interesting read but share a common theme: they both provided a solution involving robotics to solve a real need.
... Read the article.

AUVSI Las Vegas Show: Focus Broadens Beyond the Military

2012-08-14T17:09+00:00

... AUVSI, the unmanned vehicle association, has mostly focused on aerial vehicles for the military; underwater and on-the-ground products and services played a lessor role.
... But this year the show reflected a change toward transitioning into the civilian sector led by underwater and on-the-ground providers because aerial drones cannot, at present be legally used in civilian airspace.
... Hence interest was high for the keynote speeches by the heads of the FAA and the agency at the International Civil Aviation Organization involved with changing the rules, regulations, licensing and facilities to enable the Congressionally-mandated change by September, 2015.
... Read the details including a long list of transitioning companies and their products.

Parrot Invests in Two Swiss Spin-offs

2012-08-14T16:43+00:00

... Parrot, a global leader in wireless devices for mobile phones and car entertainment systems, went out of character a few years ago with the introduction of the augmented reality quad copter AR.Drone, an instant success.
... Now Parrot is investing $2.4 million in Pix4D and $5 million for a majority in sensFly, two spin-off companies from Switzerland’s EPFL.
... Pix4D provides a unique software package that converts thousands of standard pictures into a professional geo-referenced image and a highly accurate 3D model.
... senseFly has a lightweight hi-res camera and flight planning system for drones.
... Both investments enable civilian UAVs - and Parrot’s AR.Drone - to advance into the next-generation mapping, surveying and who knows what else.

Robotic Start-up Companies - A Glimpse At Our Robotic Future

2012-08-13T03:44+00:00

... Thank you for helping by adding 40 new robotic start-up companies to our list
... But don’t stop now. Please add to our list of global robotic start-up companies by sending information to . Thank you.
... Click to see 159 global robotic start-up companies (name, city, website link).
... PS: In addition to the 159 start-ups shown on this map, there are 850+ industrial and service robot vendors - established companies - plus 250 research labs and 650 ancillary businesses in our directories. See left column, at the top.

Mazor Robotics To Get $15 Million Equity Funding; Medrobotics gets $8

2012-08-12T17:49+00:00

... Larry Ellison’s Oracle Investment Management invested $7.5 million; the remainder comes from an issuance of ordinary shares.
... Part of the deal is to upgrade Mazor Robotic‘s Israeli ADR to be listed on the American NASDAQ.
... Mazor sales are rising steadily as more hospitals are acquiring their Renaissance™ spine surgery/implant system. Second quarter financial results reflect a four-fold increase from a year ago. “We have made significant progress in placing our Renaissance systems in prestigious hospital networks, particularly within the important U.S. market,” says company CEO.
... Medrobotics, a robotic surgical products company making cardioARM, a robotic probe controlled remotely and designed to enable surgeries with minimal or no incisions, filed an $8M round of equity, warrants and other options as part of a $20 million Series D offering. A total of 18 investors participated.

Look what the’ve cobbled together now

2012-08-01T20:00+00:00

... Look what the folks at Robotic Solutions have cobbled together. No, it’s not a 3D printer.
... It’s the opposite. A robotic milling machine housed in a glass cage.
... A few of the first units have been shipped to a facility in Texas to work hand in hand with local craft stores to handle their custom material trimming, and wood engraving businesses.

The Beginning of Something Important: InTouch Health and iRobot’s RP-VITA

2012-08-01T01:55+00:00

... InTouch Health’s new RP-VITA remote presence robot is the first product from the partnership between InTouch and iRobot. It can navigate autonomously or be driven by laptop or iPad.
... Product announced at a workshop where hour-upon-hour of presentations by critical care doctors and hospital administrators, all users of InTouch Health’s existing remote presence robots, and all portraying different aspects of why remote presence in health care is relevant, is saving lives and is necessary.
... Sleek new device has 3 PrimeSense 3D sensors, a laser scanner, and Swedish wheels on the iRobot platform and swiveling wide angle and zoom cameras and screens and sophisticated and secure two-way communications to enable a doctor to be in two places at once.
... Colin Angle, iRobot’s CEO, said, “It is definitely the beginning of something important.”

2011 Was A Good Year for Korean Robotics

2012-07-25T21:38+00:00

... According to Chosun Media, Korea produced $1.87 billion of industrial robots in 2011 and exported $453 million. The remainder was for domestic use.
... Year-over-year production was up 20% and exports were up 120%. Japan received 74% of 2011’s exports while China and the EU got the rest.
... As part of a government-stimulated program, Korea plans to increase robot production to $20 billion by 2018.

To Open Source or Not

2012-07-21T16:39+00:00

... Article by The Robot Report in AUVSI’s Mission Critical quarterly magazine on the arguments for and against open sourcing in robotics.
... Whole issue is about commercial robots and includes an article about investing in robotic stocks.
... Previous issue is about robots in agriculture—also a good read.

A Factory of Robots to Make Uniforms

2012-07-20T02:32+00:00

... There was an uproar when it became known that China is producing the uniforms and flags for the American Olympic team for this year’s London Olympics.
... The Pentagon is worried about the same situation regarding our military’s uniforms and has contracted SoftWear Automation to build a complete robotic production facility to cut, assemble and sew uniforms.
... A retired GA Tech professor published a paper on the subject - describing a fully automated work cell with vision controlled cutters and sewing machines.
... Details here.

Smart Headlights See Through Rain

2012-07-20T02:16+00:00

... CMU released papers and videos showing their new smart headlight system which improves visibility by constantly redirecting light to shine between particles of rain. This involves a camera to track the motion of rain and snow and then applying algorithms to predict where those particles will be and then shooting the light so as not to be there… and repeating this process so that it appears seamless to the driver!
... Now the CMU team is working on a more compact version to be installed in a car for road-testing.

Join the Wild Ride

2012-07-13T04:38+00:00

… Job Opening at ReThink Robotics “for a developer relations engineer—a person to lead development of a ROS-based SDK for a new low cost manipulator that will be readily available for researchers and educators, and to interact with researchers worldwide to make sure the SDK is useful for them,” says CTO and founder Rodney Brooks.
… Imagine a ROS-based software developer kit (SDK) to make apps for ReThink robots. Then imagine that you can put your app online and sell it to companies around the world with a similar need - just like the app store for your iPhone and iPad.
… Here’s the link where you can apply. Good luck!

Fascinating Projections - $100 Billion Robotics Industry by 2020

2012-07-13T00:03+00:00

… Markets and Markets: Service robotics revenue forecast for 2017: $46 billion at 17.4% annual growth.
… Intl. Federation of Robotics: service robotics forecast much lower figures but similar growth rate.
… Daiwa Capital Markets analyst projects industrial robotics revenue for 2020 to be $41 billion.
… Spurring the growth: Apple and Foxconn investing $7 billion for industrial robots and the emerging entry into the global SME marketplace with co-robots of all types and prices.
... Service and Industrial combined total $100 billion by 2020!

Robots and Ethical Choices

2012-06-28T18:10+00:00

... The Economist in recent weeks has printed a series of articles about robots but this video about robo-ethics is particularly clear and worth a few minutes of your time.
... Or read the book by George Bekey and Patrick Lim, “Robot Ethics: The Ethical and Social Implications of Robotics (Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Agents series)” from The MIT Press.

6,000 Job Ads for Robotics In May

2012-06-27T05:15+00:00

... During May 2012, 6,000 job ads for robotics were posted - a 29% year-over-year growth and twice the volume of similar ads in May 2010, reported Wanted Analytics, a Canadian research firm providing “business intelligence for the talent marketplace.”
... 33% of the job postings were for healthcare practitioners with a robotics skill set and Phoenix, Detroit, New York City, Sacramento and Chicago had the highest number of want ads.
... Good info in want ads: Lenovo in Shenzhen wants a PhD Roboticist to lead movement to vision and interactive intelligence based on cloud computing.

Liquid Robotics Joint Ventures with Oil & Gas Technology Provider Schlumberger

2012-06-23T04:50+00:00

… New company, Liquid Robotics Oil & Gas, will be headquartered in Houston,TX and will initially provide Wave Glider platforms for surveillance; seep/spill detection; and communications gateway services.
… Wave Gliders can operate offshore for up to a year without requiring a crew, fuel or a dedicated support vessel.
… “By teaming with Schlumberger, we can greatly accelerate the availability and worldwide deployment of innovative oil and gas solutions,” said Bill Vass, Liquid Robotics’ CEO. “We are extremely excited about the new capabilities the unique Wave Glider platform will bring to offshore exploration and production—particularly in the areas of seismic, subsea and environmental monitoring,” said Ashok Belani, Schlumberger‘s CTO.

Heartland Robotics Gets $30 million, a New Name and Provides an Outline of Their New Product

2012-06-19T08:49+00:00

... Rethink Robotics (formerly Heartland Robotics) announced that it has secured $30 million in Series C funding to launch the company’s new robot product, begin development of new product lines and expand sales, marketing and services operations.
... This latest round of funding brings the total raised by Heartland/Rethink to $62 million.
... Descriptors for their new product includes the following: “can perform simple tasks in a manufacturing environment, increasing the productivity of the people around them who are doing the more highly skilled and value-added work.” And, “can be taken out of the box, taught a task by an untrained factory worker, and be productive in a few hours, eliminating the need for systems integration. They are safe to interact with people at close range and are easy to train and retrain on the fly.”

Apple to invest $7 billion in robots

2012-06-18T19:34+00:00

... According to a story in Seeking Alphaª, Apple plans to purchase billions of dollars of industrial robots from Fanuc for placement within Foxconn’s factories in China. Neither Apple nor Foxconn have confirmed the piece.
... It takes 141 steps to make an iPhone and passes through 325 pairs of hands over 5 days. Although labor only represents about 3% of the cost of building these products, wages of Chinese factory workers have been rising at about 15% a year. Problems managing this workforce have also tarnished Apple’s image. Thus Apple’s move represents an important step.
... The Apple robots deployed by Foxconn and other Apple sub-contractors, will be designated for use in only making iProducts. That’s a strategic move on Apple’s part to tie up a huge chunk of global robot and electronics production and stay ahead of the competition.
... Seeking Alphaª says that Apple will increase it’s capital outlays to $7.1 billion and believes that a significant portion of that sum will be for robot and automated, computerized machine tool purchases.

New Venture Fund Specifically for Service Robotic Startups

2012-06-16T07:08+00:00

... “We are at the start of a transformative period for robotics that requires a new breed of risk-taker to drive mass-market adoption,” says Dmitry Grishin, founder of Grishin Robotics.
... With a particular focus on already-working products with mass-market appeal, Grishin aims to facilitate the development of the robotics industry by injecting much-needed capital and providing business counsel for up-and-coming startups. He has seeded the fund with $25 million of his own money.
... Grishin is co-founder and CEO of Mail.Ru Group (61HE on the London stock exchange), the largest Internet and social networking company in the Russian-speaking world.

Robot lawnmowers still a work in progress

2012-06-14T23:55+00:00

... Too expensive for most home use, not professional enough for industrial use, robotic lawnmowers have yet to become as commonplace as Roombas. But a new crop of consumer manufacturers is quietly making inroads by providing more bang for the buck.
... John Deere’s all-weather Tango E5, $2,500, can mow an area up to 20,000 sq ft, can program areas to be left alone, and, when it’s battery runs low, can go to it’s recharging station for a quick refill and then resume its work. It requires boundary wires and cut grass is left as mulch instead of removed. Not yet available in the US.
... Bosch’s new Indego 10, $2,100, can handle 10,000 sq ft. Unlike the Tango E5, the Indego mows in sequential rows, like a farmer does row crops. Only available in Scandinavia at present but is planned to be launched globally in 2013.
... Friendly Robotics and their line of Robomowers, $2,000, and Husqvarna and their Automower line, $2,200, have been around for a few years but never hit consumer traction outside of Europe (Husqvarna has sold over 100,000 of their Automowers), partly because of their high price, mulching clumps, inability to handle high grass, need for staked border wires, and their random navigation methodologies.

Some robotic stocks are defying the down markets

2012-06-14T18:50+00:00

... Stocks of industrial robot makers Adept, Denso, Yushin and Fanuc are doing well year-to-date as are service robot makers Swisslog, Technip, Sohgo Alsok, Thermo Fisher, Perkin Elmer and Accuray.
... Ancillary businesses to the robotics industry bucking the trend include IsraVision, Jenoptik, Harmonic Drive (JP), Keyence and Cimetrix.
... Surprisingly, defense conglomerates with a robotics component like Qinetiq, Dassault, Exponent, EADS, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Teledyne and Textron are also outperforming the year-to-date markets.

First Kiva Systems and now Intelligrated! Who’s Next?

2012-06-09T00:45+00:00

... What is it about automated robotic warehousing? Amazon just acquired Kiva Systems for $775 million and now Permira, a European private equity firm, announced that it was acquiring Intelligrated for an amount in excess of $500 million! The deal is expected to close after the summer.
... Intelligrated designs, manufactures, and/or integrates and installs complete material handling solutions for warehouses, distribution centers and consumer product manufacturing operations and includes a line of palletizing robots along with more conventional conveyor systems.

Four approaches by industrial robot makers to transition to service robotics

2012-06-07T17:49+00:00

... KUKA launched a new lightweight and sensitive arm that can be affixed to a tabletop. YASKAWA MOTOMAN has an ambitious and well-thought-out plan to provide human assist robots. ADEPT is acquiring mobility and food-processing tech to add capabilities. BOSCH is buying, partnering and investing in new tech while making their own robots as backup.
... Disruptive startups such as Heartland Robotics and Foxconn could radically change the whole dynamic.
... Read more.

Flexible, Intelligent Robotics Debuted In Materials Handling Marketplace

2012-06-07T03:50+00:00

... Symbotic, formerly CasePick Systems, is providing mobile robots that grab closed boxes of goods and brings them to a pallet-loading robot. Different from Kiva Systems, recently acquired by Amazon, which moves racks of open boxes to an order-picker who removes items and packs them into shipping boxes.
... Vetex and Yaskawa Motoman will soon be offering a combined mobility platform and robot arm for location to location material handling.
... Underneath them all are the sophisticated software packages that direct the navigation, safely and efficiently move the arms and grippers of the robots, and sense and recognize the materials being handled. Case in point: Universal Robotics (not to be confused with Danish Universal Robots) and their new Neocortex control software for 3D sensing of random objects. It integrates random 3D data, processes it and determines what it is and how it is to be handled, and then integrates that information into user systems, for example, into Yaskawa’s Motoman 2-armed robots, or to robots loading or unloading pallets or to other software providing load sequencing or similar applications.
... I wrote about material handling systems at MODEX 2012 earlier this year but many new products are changing the dynamic.
... BOTTOM LINE: businesses are beginning to make long-put-off capital purchases to automate their warehouses and material handling and new sensing, software and robotic companies are emerging in the process, particularly those that can make sense of and use sensor data.

Hansen Medical Receives FDA Clearance for it’s Magellan Robotic System

2012-06-06T14:59+00:00

... Today, most catheter and catheter-based technologies for vascular disease use blood vessels as highways to guide their movement to specific parts of the body, manually-controlled, with handheld instruments.
... The Magellan Robotic System offers simultaneous and independent distal tip control of a catheter and a sheath as well as robotic manipulation of standard guide wires, all with incredible stability. This leads to faster, easier, and safer vessel navigation, which may result in less vessel trauma, reduced patient healing time, faster, more predictable procedures, and an improved case rate.
... Hansen Medical plans to offer the Magellan Systems to the same hospitals using their Sensei systems because these institutions already are aware of the benefits of an active intuitive surgical robotics program.

What’s happening to the big industrial robot stocks?

2012-06-02T01:57+00:00

... Compared to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is back to where it started the year, the big four robot manufacturers are down 20% year to date. Yet 2011 robot sales were great (see story below). And prospects for 2012 sales were expected to be just as good. Particularly in Asia. So why are these stocks 20% down?
... Rising wages and demands for faster, safer production are driving Chinese manufacturers to buy more robots. China bought 15,000 robots last year and expects that figure to expand 30-40% annually.
... KUKA, the largest European industrial robot maker, is building a regional hub in China.
... FANUC tripled production capacity to handle new sales into China. It’s stock is the only one of the four that is positive for the year.
... YASKAWA ELECTRIC is building plants in Japan and China to meet the rising demand.
... ABB, the second-largest European robot maker, said that it sells one out of three robots to customers in Asia, and just shipped it’s 200,000th robot to a solar manufacturer in China.
... Nevertheless, stocks of the Big 4 are significantly trailing the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Teledyne Technologies Acquires BlueView

2012-06-01T16:41+00:00

... BlueView Technologies, a provider of underwater vision systems for many underwater robotics providers, announced that it would be acquired by Teledyne effective in July.
... BlueView delivers instrumentation for underwater vision, monitoring, survey, detection and navigation and has pioneered new technologies in compact forward-looking imaging sonar, microbathymetry systems and 3D scanning sonar.
... Teledyne RD Instruments, itself a subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies, will be the acquiring agent.
... Sale prices was not announced.

2012 IERA Invention and Entrepreneurship Awarded to RoboCoaster and Universal Robots

2012-05-31T17:25+00:00

... “The important advancement in safe robots for the entertainment industry by RoboCoaster and the development of a new generation of simple robots for SME’s by Universal Robots not only represent positive steps forward for the robotics industry but also reflect businesses that have successfully translated technology into commercial success.”
... Runners-up included HiBot‘s Expliner robot for inspection of high-voltage transmission lines, Evolution Robotics’ Mint™ mopper and sweeper robot and Reflexxes library of instantaneous trajectory generation algorithms.
... Awards given at AUTOMATICA 2012, a trade fair for automation and mechatronics held in Munich.
... Click photo to enlarge.

Global robot sales up 37% for 2011

2012-05-30T22:26+00:00

... China, the US and Germany all reached new peak levels between 39% and 51%.
... Auto industry, metals and machinery industries were the main drivers.
... “In 2011, about 165,000 industrial robots were sold worldwide, by far the highest level ever recorded, 37% more than 2010. The increase of demand in 2010 and 2011 following the worldwide economic crisis exceeded all our expectations. We expect 2012 robot sales will further increase and again reach a new peak level.” [Source: Intl. Fed. of Robotics]

UAV’s finding uses outside of military, space and defense

2012-05-26T19:24+00:00

... AeroVironment doing test for FCC of an aerial communications relay station which could be used in the event of a disaster. “Small UAVs can provide instant communications capabilities to preserve lives, property and resources,” says AV VP Roy Minson.
... World Surveillance Group‘s Argus Hybrid blimp-like aerostat/airship is a variation on the same theme: to stay on station and provide 24/7 streaming data or a steady platform for communications relay.
... Bluesky, a UK military UAV provider, has launched a surveying wing to collect site specific images and data. “The integrated camera captures high res photogrammetric images that can be used to create map-accurate aerial survey data including height models,” says James Eddy, Bluesky Tech Director.
... Spanish startup Intelligenia Dynamics is working with the U of Granada to use quadcopters to autonomously scan buildings in order to construct 3D models of historical sites.
... WinterGreen Research publishes new “First Responder, Border Patrol, Homeland Security and Security Robots” report ($3,700) reviewing 30+ vendors and including revenue projections to 2018.

Wackiness and STEM-stimulation at MakerFaire

2012-05-21T15:59+00:00

... MakerFaire 2012 was a glorious success. A fire-breathing dragon; the audience pedal-powering the electronics for a concert; a dozen R2-D2s; lectures on everything from laser cutting to DARPA’s new STEM outreach program; 3D printers; turkey legs and corn-on-the-cob; and people dressed for the occasion. Click to see 44 pics.
... MakerFaire, besides being fun and wacky, is a mecca for hands-on, interactive demos of STEM-stimulating software and devices. Topobo (center pic) is the perfect example. A snap-together robotic toy with the ability to record and playback physical motion, invented at the MIT Media Lab, had kids, parents and teachers enthralled.
... Don’t pass up the next MakerFaire—in New York, September 29-30. It’s an inspiring experience.

Navy Buys Eight $33 Million Fire Scout Unmanned Copters

2012-05-15T17:50+00:00

... Navy awards Northrop Grumman with $262 million contract for 8 Fire Scouts with plans to add an additional 20 at a later date.
... The Fire Scout has the ability to autonomously take off and land on any aviation-capable warship, can fly at 125+ knots at up to 20,000 feet, for up to 8 hours.
... The newly upgraded UAV can provide battle damage assessment, be a communications relay device, is interoperable between land and sea-based actions, and can be armed.

Finally a Launch Date for Heartland Robotics!

2012-05-14T18:06+00:00

... The long awaited launch of Heartland Robotics’ new co-robot product line finally has a launch date - next January 21-24 at the Automate 2013 show in Chicago.
... Heartland has reserved a big space right amongst robotics’ largest players. Click here to see the exhibition floor map.
... It is likely that the actual media launch date will be earlier, but the Automate 2013 show, where Heartland reserved a large booth, will be the place to see the new bots in action and an outside date for Heartland’s launch.

Mako Surgical’s Stock Takes A Big Hit

2012-05-14T16:59+00:00

... Stock drops from $41 to $21. Many reasons given: slow sales of RIO systems; utilization rates of existing systems are down; class action suits; and investor restlessness.
... The problem of utilization rates, ie, systems sitting idle; of surgeons taking a long time to learn to effectively use the system, is not limited to MAKO. It’s just not talked about publicly.

Largest Robotics Program in DARPA’s History

2012-05-09T02:48+00:00

... DARPA has created it’s largest robotics program to date: the DARPA Robotics $2 Million Challenge (DRC), to help the world’s resiliency to disasters through the use of robotics.
... Some disasters prove too great in scale, scope or hazard for effective human response; hence the DRC’s challenge to develop ground robots capable of executing complex tasks in dangerous and degraded environments by using standard tools and equipment commonly available (hand tools to vehicles) using non-expert operators, supervised autonomy, and to provide effective operation even with low-fidelity and intermittent communication.
... Proposals due this month; project will run for 27 months with three competitions, one virtual and two live.

Silicon Valley: In Search of a Robotics Cluster

2012-05-07T21:15+00:00

UPDATE 5/7/12: Thorough review of event and situation by Chris O’Brien of the Silicon Valley MercuryNews. He captured the flavor as well as the details. (Saved me from having to write the story!)
... The May 3rd event in Palo Alto was a forum to talk about cultivating a robotics cluster in the Bay Area.
... In an attempt to duplicate the synergies and serendipity of developing robotics projects in the Boston and Pittsburgh areas, XConomy hosted with a who-who’s list of speakers worth the price of admission: Helen Greiner, Mick Mountz, Steve Cousins, Curt Carlson, Rich Mahoney, John Dulchinos, Brian Gerkey, Aaron Edsinger, Tiffany Montague, Charlie Duncheon, James Gosling and Yoky Matsuoka!
... Read more...

New spin-off from SRI: Grabit gaining traction

2012-05-06T17:30+00:00

... Grabit’s electroadhesion gripping products provide a technique for holding or grasping objects without the need of bulky, energy-intensive clamping or vacuum suction devices.
... Grabit’s “grippers” are actually flexible soft pads which, at the flick of a switch, will cling or stick to things to which it comes in contact. Electroadhesion is like a magnet that forms an attraction to almost any material.
... At a recent forum at SRI, Charlie Duncheon, the new CEO, evangelized about Grabit’s reinventing of the way robots grasp objects.

Meka Robotics + Willow Garage + SRI = Redwood Robotics

2012-05-04T18:23+00:00

... Meka Robotics, Willow Garage and SRI announced a new startup competitor to Heartland Robotics: Redwood Robotics.
...The new website says that Redwood will be offering a new generation of robot arms that are simple to program, inexpensive, and safe to operate alongside people.
... Those three partners bring a lot of robotic talent to the table and a formidable competitor for Heartland.

Recon Robotics: In the news with sales and acquisitions

2012-05-02T20:44+00:00

... Last month Recon acquired Xollai LLC, a systems engineering firm with a broad base of intellectual property in automated guidance technology, optics-based autonomous control systems, and image processing and recognition.
... This month Recon received an order for Scout XT robots for the Washington, DC area for 13 different urban area police, sheriff and security agencies.

List of Publicly-traded Robotics Stocks

2012-05-02T00:00+00:00

... Robotics is becoming a big deal and people want to invest in the industry. But choosing robotics stocks is complicated. Many of the companies are international, some are small subsidiaries within much larger companies, many are start-ups or otherwise privately held, and others are outright wastes of time.
... Here is a list of publicly-traded stocks to whet your appetite - with explanations as to why they are appropriate.

2012 Robotics H.S. Championships Energize Thousands

2012-04-30T04:55+00:00

... 30,000+ fans, family, educators and industry leaders attended the 2012 FIRST Championship held in Atlanta, Georgia. More than 600 teams from 32 countries competed in the three levels of FIRST competitions.
... One week earlier, in Anaheim, California, the 2012 VEX Robotics World Championship boasted similar-sized crowds and included top teams from over 230 VEX Robotics Competition tournaments which happened in cities around the world from May 2011 to March 2012.
... Both events concluded months of design, construction, software development and competitions leading to the championship contests in Atlanta and Anaheim, all the while providing sports excitement with the rigors of science and technology.

iRobot stock plunges again on Q1 earnings report… but then rebounds

2012-04-26T00:52+00:00

... Click to enlarge.
... After suffering a 33% price drop early February upon announcing that future governmental sales would be down because of DoD cutbacks and delays, iRobot drops another 6.5% when actual Q1 earnings were reported.
... Quarterly earnings were 2 cents per share versus $0.27 last year Q1; the company said earnings would grow to 5 to thirteen cents in the next three months.
... To bolster consumer sales, iRobot just launched a new ad program for their home products with the tagline, “iRobot. Do you?”

AeroVironment Gets Additional Puma Orders

2012-04-21T21:59+00:00

... AeroVironment receives 3 new orders ($28.4 million from Army, Marines and Air Force) for their popular Puma drone.
... More than 1,000 Puma’s are produced and in the field already. AeroVironment also makes Raven and Wasp drones for the DoD.

Health Robotics has banner 1st quarter

2012-04-03T23:15+00:00

... Health Robotics, an Italian supplier of life-critical intravenous medication automation, produces robotic devices which make sterile, accurate, tamper-evident and ready-to-administer IVs for hospital use worldwide.
... The 31 contracted devices sold in the quarter just ended brings to 150 the total number of units under contract.

GM Robo-Glove to help workers relieve hand stress

2012-03-28T21:03+00:00

... One of the features of the GM/NASA co-development of Robonaut 2, the robotic assistant now residing in the space station, was the grasping capabilities of its hands.
... GM has now translated those robotic features to help factory workers reduce gripping and squeezing muscle tension with the use of a robotic glove called Robo-Glove.
... Says GM’s Marty Linn, “We don’t know yet what the best applications will be… our approach is to try it out on a bunch of tasks and let the operators, who are the real experts, tell us whether it helps or not.”

“Robots Ate My Job” airs all week on PBS

2012-03-26T23:28+00:00

... American Public Media’s ‘Marketplace’ has produced a 5-part audio series entitled ‘Robots Ate My Job.’
... The issue of jobs being displaced by automation is very topical. Many reputable sources are providing research or opinion: NY Times, Harvard Business Review, Metra Martech, and the International Federation of Robotics to name a few.
... The recent acquisition of Kiva Systems by Amazon raises the fear that Kiva robots will displace thousands of Amazon warehouse workers.
... In China, Foxconn plans to deploy 1 million robots in the next 3 years - a feat that will displace 500,000 workers. They claim they will try to move the displaced workers up the salary scale.
... Is it true that jobs will be lost or just rearranged when robots are installed? Is it also true that more robots mean fewer jobs lost to offshore sources? Read more....

Military Ground Robotics Displayed in San Diego

2012-03-25T18:48+00:00

... Robots of all types were displayed at the Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference and Exhibition held in San Diego and sponsored by the National Defense Industrial Association and the DoD.
... Hits were Recon Robotics’ Scout XT, iRobot‘s FirstLook throwable robot, and HDT‘s MK2 robotic arm.
... In recent weeks Recon Robotics received Marine and Army orders for 1,100 of their Scout XT robots ($13.9 million) and iRobot received a DoD order for 105 of their FirstLook robots ($1.5 million).

Military Still Doling Out Orders and Getting Attention for Drones and Robots

2012-03-25T17:51+00:00

... AeroVironment gets $11.1 million order for hand-launched 4-pound Raven UAV. Same company makes the kamikaze drone (Switchblade) which explodes on impact and the hummingbird drone (Nano Air Vehicle) which was one of Time Magazine’s 50 New Inventions of 2011.
... Navy opens cutting-edge lab for robotics and autonomous systems in Washington DC. This is where the new fire-fighting and damage control robots are being developed and robotic fueling of unmanned vessels is being tested.
... These research centers are big businesses - like the Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, RI which handles about $1.1 billion annually and awards 30% to nearby private contractors.
... Really interesting infographic about drones from InnovationNewsDaily includes comparisons and a history of deployment beginning in 2001 for the 1st military action to 2011 in Texas for a civilian drug raid.

Closed vs. Open Source for Robotics?

2012-03-23T04:56+00:00

... Impromptu debate at cocktail party in Lyon, France at Innorobo 2012 between Colin Angle of iRobot and Robert Bauer of Willow Garage and their opposing views on how to nurture profitable robotics businesses. Spirited and well-presented.
... Short version via IEEE Spectrum here; unabridged version on Everything-Robotic here.

Turkish Start-up for Paraplegics

2012-03-22T16:26+00:00

... $15,000 device enables paraplegics to be vertical and mobile. Click image to enlarge.
... Turkish start-up company AMS Mekatronik begins selling devices this week in Turkey; US and EU later this year.

Another big robot acquisition: Amazon buys Kiva Systems

2012-03-19T21:42+00:00

... Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) will acquire privately-held Kiva Systems for approximately $775 million!
... Kiva’s novel warehousing system uses robots to bring the shelves to the picker and packer instead of vice versa.
... The acquisition is expected to close next quarter.

Softbank Acquires Aldebaran… Maybe

2012-03-15T07:01+00:00

UPDATE 3-25-2012: Translated from an Aldebaran post on their user forum: “Hello everyone. Information originally issued by the Financial Times is false. The reporter called us several times. We have denied, said that its source is not reliable. But the article came out anyway. We are surprised that the FT can leave this type of erroneous article to be published.”
... According to the Financial Times, Softbank paid about $100m for an 80%+ stake in Aldebaran.
... Softbank will also invest an additional $40m to $50m to accelerate development.
... Softbank, a conglomerate engaged in telecommunications and Internet businesses, bought out existing shareholders Intel Capital, CDC Innovation, iSource and Crédit Agricole Private Equity.
... Aldebaran, famous for its Nao line of robots, is also developing Romeo, a bigger robot which will be able to perform more socially assistive tasks such as helping people open doors, fetch items and twist open jars. Romeo is partially funded by the French government to enable eldercare and also therapeutic assistance for autistism and other disabilities.

Korean company to produce 20,000 window-cleaning robots

2012-03-11T23:04+00:00

... Korean manufacturer Ilshim Global is working on orders for $4 million (20,000 window-cleaning robots) for resellers Euroboats of Germany and Ezicom of France.
... The iWindoro version of this window washer requires you to affix the outside half of the device to the inside half using magnets through the glass. Consequently the current version won’t work on buildings where access to the outside is difficult or dangerous.

FAA told to integrate UAVs into airspace by 2015

2012-03-11T22:43+00:00

... President Obama signed into law a bill which gives the FAA three years to integrate UAVs into the national air space.
... The DoD has hundreds of camera-carrying drones from Iraq and Afghanistan that need recycling for training, natural disaster response and homeland security missions.
... And local police and firefighters want their own drones for their own crime-fighting and first-responder purposes.

3 Robotics Companies Included in 50 Most Innovative List

2012-03-05T19:03+00:00

... Kiva Systems - for their disruptive warehousing robots, Liquid Robots - for their versatile wave gliders, and Siemens AG - for their extensive R&D in energy, transportation and healthcare, were included in FastCompany’s The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies.
... One might not think of Siemens as a robotics vendor but Siemens owns many subsidiaries which provide various services, control systems, sensors and Tecnomatix Robotics & Automation Planning software (which is widely used in defense UAVs and factory material handing applications).

$160 million for VC-Funded Robotic Projects in 2011

2012-03-05T18:21+00:00

... One roboticist’s opinion why VC funding for robotics is a tough nut to crack: projects have large capital requirements, few potential acquirers and little “Google-scale” IPO prospects.
... $160 million is a far cry from the $6.9 billion that went into 997 VC funded deals in web and Internet startup companies in 2011.
... Most money went to a company that uses a robot to provide image-guided technology for hair follicle harvesting.
... Read about all 14 companies here.
... This list doesn’t mention the many acquisitions, strategic partnerships and mergers that occurred. The most recent two are the $18 million acquisition of French Cybernetix by Technip, an oil resources and ROV service provider to the industry, and the $100 million acquisition of Aldebaran Robotics by Softbanks (see preceding article).

The wacky (and not so wacky) robots of Innorobo 2012

2012-03-04T18:23+00:00

... Innorobo 2012 is a trade show and conference to be held March 14-16 in Lyon, France, where companies display their latest and also participate in three days of conferences on technological breakthroughs, transitions, problems and market analysis.
... Focus is on service robots, ie, every type of robot that isn’t involved in manufacturing, and meeting and spending time with industry players.
... There’s still time to register and attend.

When a 3rd shift starts, 7.85 new jobs are created. What happens when a robot is deployed?

2012-02-28T00:56+00:00

… A study commissioned by the Intl. Fed. of Robotics found that 3.6 jobs are created for every robot deployed. Click the image to enlarge.
… The logic is complicated and nets out jobs displaced against jobs saved by not moving offshore, but also shows where new jobs in robotics, and downstream, are actually created.
… Read a review of the details here or the full Metra Martech study here.
... Read a poignant story of the plight of American workers in TheAtlantic.

Did you know? 12,500 robot milking systems installed by Lely

2012-02-26T21:48+00:00

… Lely, the world’s first robotic milking system provider, reached the 12,500 sales event in December.
… AgriNews recently featured an Albany farmer that uses the Lely system and describes the myriad benefits derived from its use. The system tracks and reports upon each cow’s production, milk quality, and issues which can be indicators for further breeding or illness.
… Gone are the traditional twice-a-day milkings - now cows visit the robot as often as four times a day… all without intervention by the dairy farmer who has more time for other activities. “I enjoy farming with the robot. You aren’t tied down.” Read more.

Kiva Systems Presents a Glimpse of Future Pick n’ Pack Fulfillment

2012-02-24T23:56+00:00

... At the recent Modex 2012 in Atlanta, Kiva Systems’ booth featured a fully-functioning warehouse operation where attendees walked up and placed their orders on an iPad and then picked their order right from the Kiva system just seconds later.
... It even validated the product was as called for and that the picker took only the number he ordered.
... Supplychain magazine did a cover story special report about new-tech warehousing methods and featured Kiva as the disruptive player in the crowd.

Japanese Robotic Farming Experiment

2012-02-23T23:47+00:00

... Japan just launched a $130 million (10 billion yen) robotic farming project on a 600 acre plot of land, It is hoped the 6 year experiment will rejuvenate the Japanese agricultural industry. Funding is from a consortium of farmers, high-tech manufacturers and the government’s agricultural ministry; the land was swamped by the March tsunami.
... Unmanned tractors will work fields and other robots will harvest and pick and pack rice, wheat, soybeans, fruit and other vegetables.
... The consortium plans to urge local farmers to consolidate their farmland in similar co-ops where the economics make the use of robots for farming automation affordable.

From concept to commercialization: one woman’s journey into robotics

2012-02-20T20:49+00:00

... After observing that children attentively played with her interactive animatronic robot, she decided that it had commercial value and began her journey.
... Interbots, a small 5-person Boston start-up, is her vehicle. It has received funding through competitions, awards, regional grants and angel investors.
... Interbots’ robots come bundled with software, an interactive website, and lesson plans for therapists and teachers.
... Read the complete story of Seema’s journey thus far, as written by Babs Carryer.

Paraplegic patients walk during first session

2012-02-16T15:36+00:00

... Ekso Bionics delivers first commercial-version exoskeleton to Denver hospital and is beginning to ship additional units to hospital rehab centers across the US.
... The new 45# exoskeleton is ready-to-wear, battery-powered, and designed for patients with spinal cord injuries that inhibit their ability to walk.
... Preliminary results of the 70-person investigational studies showed that all were able to walk an average 200 steps during their first session.

Adept begins to use Willow Garage’s ROS for their line of industrial robots

2012-02-15T19:11+00:00

... Adept Technology appears to be bridging the gap between industrial robotics and the very real need for safer, more flexible, vision-enabled, mobile and easily trainable service robots. Today they announced a collaboration with Willow Garage to harness Willow Garage’s ROS (robotic operating system) so that new methods can be used to control, simulate and program legacy industrial robots.
... Read how they are entering the material handling marketplace as an OEM, a components provider, and partner with other OEMs.

Robotics and smart technologies merge for material handling

2012-02-15T17:19+00:00

... There were more buyers than in previous years and they appeared to be holistic in their approach to material handling in the factory and picking and packing in the warehouse. Their reasoning and underlying economic drivers detailed in this report.
... Brad Berger, editor-in-chief of SupplyChainBrain magazine, said that investing in automation for material handling is back after a few years of being put off because of the economy. Buyers are creating smart warehouses where RF, voice, barcodes, tablets and software all work together seamlessly as tools in the bigger picture of moving, handling, picking and packing our materials and products.
... 18-20,000 attendees of which 2,000+/- were international, 560 exhibitors, 170,000 sq ft of exhibition space. Very impressive; very busy (and very tiring).

Hiring Demand for Robotics Jobs Grows 44% and Robot Sales Jumped 30%

2012-02-14T19:46+00:00

... According to WANTED Analytics, a real-time talent analytics site, there were over 2,100 U.S. job ads for robotics skills in January, 2012, a 44% year-over-year growth rate from 2011. The majority of listings (650) were for engineering jobs and represented a 51% year-over-year increase.
... Underlying this surge in employment, the International Federation of Robotics reported that investment in robot automation surged globally to 150,000 unitis sold in 2011 - a year-over-year growth of 30%.

iRobot shares plummet 33%; GM of government & industrial robots division to leave

2012-02-09T15:14+00:00

... Fourth quarter net income jumped 52 percent compared to the year before on strong demand for robots built for the consumer market. But CEO Colin Angle warned that robot sales to government agencies might slow in 2012.
... iRobot expects revenue in 2012 to be between $465 million and $485 million while net income will be between 75 cents and 95 cents per share - well below expectations of $1.44 per share and revenue of $532.7 million that analysts were predicting.
... Most UAV and robot manufacturers are suffering US DoD cuts but much of that is being offset by actively marketing foreign military and government purchases as drones and robotic warriors spread around the world.
... UPDATE 2/17: Robert Moses, the general manager of the government and industrial robots division of iRobot will leave and an interim manager has been chosen.
... There’s also the problem of repatriating the thousands of robots returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The first to figure out a marketable civilian use wins!

Pres. Obama funds and encourages STEM education

2012-02-07T21:28+00:00

... Obama, at a White House Science Fair honoring winners of the nation’s top science competitions, announced (and partially funded) a goal of 1 million more math and science graduates in the next decade.
... 100,000 science teachers will be trained by Carnegie University - future roboticists all!

Ubiquitous displays - Corning’s vision for the decade

2012-02-04T16:55+00:00

... In a wonderfully illustrative video, Corning shows how its glass and fiber, with companion technologies, will shape our world and shift our ways of communication in the near future.
... Teachers, healthcare providers, techies, car-buffs, and investors will want to invest 11 minutes to watch this video.

The Future of Chinese-manufactured Apple Products

2012-01-30T23:03+00:00

... Two NY Times articles expose details about the treatment of 400,000+ Chinese workers involved in the production of Apple products: (1) In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad and (2) How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work.
... Editorial: Two solutions to the question of what can and should Apple and other companies do when their sub-contractors are not abiding to acceptable Western standards?
... This is not just an Apple problem. Amazon, HP and most of the phone makers all use Foxconn and other Chinese manufacturers, e.g.: Nokia just announced plans to stop assembling phones in Europe and shift production to China.

Divergent Views on Communicating with Machines

2012-01-21T17:46+00:00

... Most products at CES were demonstrating “smart” in that they are connected to the Internet, have sensors or AI that gather and process data and make decisions.
... The Apple iPad has already changed our expectations as to how we interact with our computers, tablets and phones. And Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Kinect are leading us on to even newer ways.
... Thus the views of Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer and Mercedes’ Dieter Zetsche were sought out to get their spin on the future. But they differed not only in content but in manner of presentation. Read details of what they had to say.

My kind of movie: Robot and Frank

2012-01-18T02:32+00:00

... Shown at Sundance and starring Frank Langella, Susan Saradon, James Marsden and Liv Tyler.
... Offbeat buddy movie about an ex-jewel thief whose grown kids install a robot as his caretaker.

Competition for Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci Surgical System

2012-01-17T19:17+00:00

... Funded by a NSF grant, seven identical Raven II open source surgical robots using open source software (ROS), will be placed in seven universities. Four more universities are in line waiting to get their own Raven II robots.
... “These [seven or eleven universities] are leading labs in the nation in the field of surgical robotics, and with everyone working on the same platform we can more easily share new developments and innovations.”
... “We decided to follow an open-source model, because if all of these labs have a common research platform for doing robotic surgery, the whole field will be able to advance more quickly.”
... The lock that Intuitive Surgical has had with their patented da Vinci Surgical System may be threatened by the results of this new endeavor.

Consumer Robots at CES 2012

2012-01-16T23:24+00:00

... 25+ robotic vendors; a few hits; some duds; and, except for Nathan’s hotdogs, bad food.
... CES is always a wonderful experience. This year the unadvertised theme was digital to smart to every type of consumer product.
... Lots of pictures and links. Read the review.

Disappointing 4-years for robotic stock investors

2012-01-08T04:22+00:00

... Year-end ROBO-STOX™ results show that robotic industrials are down 28% from their 2007 highs and did poorer than the Dow Jones Industrial Average which is also still down 8.5%. Service robotic stocks are down 15% from 2007 while the NASDAQ is down 2.5%.
... Industrial robot companies represent 62% of the $9.3 billion industry revenue; service is 38% of which 75% was for military/defense.
... Industrials took a big fall from their 2007 highs and have not yet recovered. A small rise in the latter part of 2010 was blown away with the Japanese disasters, Thailand floods and EU economic turmoil.
... Service companies (mostly start-ups or privately held; few are publicly-traded) fall into three main sectors: medical, defense/security and a mixture of academic and consumer niche products. Medical robotic stocks are booming; defense/security stocks are holding steady; and the remainder are all over the place.

Is 2012 The Year That Robot Applications Take Root?

2012-01-02T17:34+00:00

... Three competing ideas on a theme of using the cloud to provide apps, updates and libraries of robotic data are reviewed in depth here.
- MyRobots, by Canadian RobotShop, will attempt to be a combination app store and Windows-like environment to permit robotics products to be monitored, repaired, and updated seamlessly.
- Robots App Store, by San Francisco serial entrepreneur Elad Inbar, is developing their portal to be an online marketplace for selling robot apps.
- RoboEarth, an EU public-private consortium, aims to use the internet to create a giant open source network and database repository that can be accessed and updated by robots around the world.

ABC Nightline Interviews Lifelike Hanson Robot

2012-01-02T11:09+00:00

... “It feels weird to be a robot sometimes,” the robot said in the interview. “You know, like I shouldn’t exist outside of a science fiction story. It makes me wonder if this is actually real like if it isn’t a dream or a story being written by a science fiction writer.” Throughout the interview and ABC Nightline story, David Hanson’s advanced cognitive artificial intelligent robot projects are visualized and discussed as is David’s passion to have a robot as a friend.
... Similar to the NY Times’ 2010 interview of Bina48, another Hanson robot of a real person, the robot interviewed by ABC Nightline is improved, surprisingly human, not just in mechanics, but also in appearance. It’s a wonderfully illustrative way to end 2011 in robotics with the promise of more wonders from Hanson and others in the years to come.

Study shows positive attitude toward healthcare telepresence robots

2012-01-02T11:09+00:00

... In a study to assess how surgical intensive care patients and their families perceived robotic telepresence, 92% of respondents were comfortable with the robot and 84% believed that communication was “easy.”
... Further, 90% did not perceive the robot as annoying and 92% did not believe that “the doctor cared less about them” because of the robot. Also, 92% supported the continued use of the robot.

Two newsworthy examples of healthcare robots

2011-12-19T04:08+00:00

... Children’s Hospital Boston sends Vgo telepresence robots home with post-op patients in a pilot program that includes the robots into its regular post-op care program. Doctors and nurses now have a direct line of communication and observation between themselves, the patients and their family as they recover at home. Vgo telepresence visits take 10-15 minutes with no commute time and, most importantly, appointments can occur every three days instead of waiting six weeks for a post surgical visit.
... In Auckland, NZ, the University of Auckland and four Korean and Japanese robot vendors, have placed 31 robots into a retirement village to help older people be more independent, and more socially interactive. The robots will serve as friend, guide, provide comfort, tutor residents in brain stimulating activities, and provide waiter services.The robots will also do simple tasks giving staff more time to spend with the residents.

Google’s Response to Apple’s Siri: Buy Cleversense

2011-12-19T01:28+00:00

... Cleversense, a learning AI with a natural language processing front-end - and the developer of the popular Alfred personal assistant app - has been sold to Google for an undisclosed amount.
... Fear that Apple’s Siri “could provide a new paradigm for searching the Web that circumvents Google’s search engine and ads” may be the reason.
... The first language processing front-end made available to developers by either Apple or Google will be a windfall for human-robot communication systems development.

Google Gets Patent for Driverless Car

2011-12-18T02:54+00:00

... Google was granted a US Patent “for transitioning a mixed-mode autonomous vehicle from a human driven mode to an autonomously driven mode.”
... Now comes the endless red tape over safety, negotiations with vehicle manufacturers, etc., that will tie things up for years.
... Patent experts say that Google’s patent will not prevent others developing rival self-drive vehicles.
... But imagine how your commute will change as you sip your coffee, handle emails, and check the latest headlines without jeopardizing anyone’s safety.

Robots in the Kitchen: Sooner Than You Think

2011-12-18T01:43+00:00

... “James (a PR2 robot from Willow Garage) and Rosie (a custom lightweight two-armed robot from Kuka and DLR) aren’t specifically programmed with a “left, right, break egg, stir” type command set. They’re taught the ingredients for the dishes, and the order that things work in, and whether they need heating and so on. The robots then make all the decisions about adding items, mixing, turning on the stove and so on. Essentially they’re acting as very dim sous-chefs, and this hints at an exciting future of robotic home assistants that may be useful far ahead of when we’d been assuming.” Kit Eaton, FastCompany.

Iranians Hacked US Drone And Instructed It To Land In Iran

2011-12-17T23:00+00:00

... In an exclusive to The Christian Science Monitor, an Iranian engineer describes how they hacked a U.S. military drone - a Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel - into landing at an Iranian airbase.
... First they cut off communications links and then reconfigured the drone’s GPS coordinates to make it land at what the drone thought was its actual home base - but instead was in Iran.
... Iran’s “electronic ambush” jammed the drone’s communications forcing it into autopilot where it used stored GPS coordinates to fly home. But the home coordinates were hacked into and altered to be the coordinates for an airfield in Iran.

Will there be a universal robotic control system?

2011-12-06T06:58+00:00

... From a highly fragmented industry with few common standards or platforms, there will soon be a universal interface so that 3rd parties can add platforms and modules to robotic systems.
... There won’t be a commercial version of Willow Garage’s ROS nor any other universal robotic operating system, but within academia and the emerging service robotics sector, there will be greater dependence and use of ROS.
... More industrial robot manufacturers will announce plans to migrate to and provide service robots.
... Read more about these projections and trends.

Y-T-D Global Robo-Stox™ Chart - a very ugly picture!

2011-12-06T05:21+00:00

... All the gains from the early months of 2011 have been lost for the whole global robotics industry.
... Only American defense contractors and service robotic companies are holding their own.

2011 Robot Gift Suggestions

2011-12-02T00:06+00:00

... Gift and book suggestions for almost every family member.
... Product descriptions, photos, prices, and where to buy.

Robotics Labs and Companies Open Up for EU Robotics Week

2011-11-28T17:58+00:00

... Today is the start of the first European Robotics Week: from 28th of November to 4th of December 2011. Check events calendar for an event near you.
... In a novel approach to show their labs efforts, more than 45 European Robotics Labs open their doors to the public via live-streaming.

Intelligrated adding 200 tech/engineering jobs at new Ohio facility

2011-11-23T05:38+00:00

... Intelligrated, a material handling automation integrator, is building a new R&D facility in Ohio. 200 new tech and engineering jobs will be added.
... The new facility will support the company’s plans for strategic growth in the material handling industry, a growth area for industrial robotics.
... Intelligrated’s move gives credence to IFR statement at iRex: “Robots to create more than a million jobs by 2016.” And also Metra Martech 64-page report: “Positive impact of industrial robots on employment.”

Aldebaran Robotics Acquires Siri-like Front-End for their NAO Robot

2011-11-23T02:38+00:00

... Aldebaran Robotics, the venture-funded Paris-based developer of the NAO robot, has acquired the assets of the recently defunct Mindscape, a French gaming software company. NOTE: there are now 2,000 NAO robots in and around academia and a lower-cost commercial version is on the way.
... Karotz, a Siri-like internet-connected device which Mindscape acquired when Karotz’s parent Violet had financial problems, will now be operated and funded by Aldebaran and also merged into the NAO robot platform - think Siri on a NAO robot. Siri, on all new Apple iPhone 4’s, is a speech recognition, internet-connected method of easy communication.

Foxconn to mass produce their own robots

2011-11-19T02:43+00:00

... Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) breaks ground for $223 million R&D and manufacturing facilities in Taiwan to develop and produce robots.
... The project is expected to generate an estimated $4 billion in production value in the next three to five years, create about 2,000 jobs, replace 500,000 mainland Chinese workers with 1 million robots and double the world’s industrial robot population.
... Details in Christian Science Monitor article.

Toyota displays four new healthcare robots available in 2013

2011-11-16T04:00+00:00

... Toyota displays four new nursing and healthcare robots which are scheduled to be commercialized and available for sale in 2013.
... Two robots assist with walking, another with balance and the fourth is for patient transfer from bed to toilet and back.
... Photos and details here.

Robots Coming Online in 2012, 2013 and 2014

2011-11-11T20:20+00:00

... Harvest Automation’s labor-saving potted plant mover to go commercial in 2012 and 2013
... Sea Robotics hull-cleaning navy robot is slated for 2014
... Foxconn factory robots - from their own robot manufacturing plant to their own factory floors - are planning to deploy 300,000 in 2013 and another 700,000 in 2014 and 2015
... Plus companies like KIVA Systems having record sales.

iRobot to cut 9% of workers from military div; consumer products booming

2011-11-05T23:17+00:00

... iRobot CEO Colin Angle said the workforce reduction will result in a $1 million charge but won’t impact the home robots business unit.
... Federal government cutbacks in military R&D spending are the reason for the reduction in force.
... The home robot business grew 32 percent in the quarter — with 56 percent growth outside the U.S.

More disasters plaguing Japanese auto industry

2011-11-02T04:06+00:00

... Thailand flooding inundates Honda auto manufacturing plant and many auto parts providers; robots and computers under water.
Flooding continues and the factory remains submerged.
... Toyota shuttered for at least 60 days and prepared for flooding; no damage yet.
... Thailand’s worst flooding in decades has exposed the complexity of the global supply chain and a lack of components has forced Japan’s automakers to halt or slow production in Asia and beyond.

Help for independent scientists and early-stage companies developing radical ideas

2011-10-26T20:08+00:00

... Peter Thiel, of Google’s driverless car fame, launched Breakout Labs, a new program to help independent scientists and early-stage companies develop their most radical ideas.
... Funding agreements range from $50,000 to $350,000 depending on the nature of the project. Breakout Labs uses a revolving funding model where successful projects help fund the next generation of audacious scientific exploration.

Emerging Underwater Businesses

2011-10-25T00:19+00:00

... ROVs repairing underwater oil rigs; treasure hunters finding $230 million in silver; recovering the black box from a crashed airline; tracking sea creatures - these are just a few of the non-defense/security uses of unmanned maritime systems and devices.
... iRobot, Liquid Robotics and Teledyne Technologies all have maritime operations and each are profiled in this interesting report.

iWalk expanding availability of lower limb bionic prosthetics

2011-10-08T16:22+00:00

... MIT spinoff iWalk now producing a leg system that replaces the combined functions of the foot, ankle and calf regions of the human body for amputees.
... Prosthetic emulates or even augments physiological function through electromechanical replacement.

MS Donates 2,500 Kinects to F.I.R.S.T.

2011-10-08T15:23+00:00

... The Kinect sensor will be a valuable enhancement to the FIRST robot competition experience. Teams will be able to either program their robots to respond to their own custom gestures, or use default code and gestures.
... The Kinect sensor includes a depth camera and both video and audio sensors to capture video data in 3D.
... During the 2011 F.I.R.S.T. season, 2,072 teams totaling 51,800 students competed at 59 events in the U.S., Canada, and Israel.

Five Finalists Chosen for RoboBowl Healthcare Robotics Competition

2011-10-05T21:36+00:00

... Five finalists in the RoboBowl next-generation competition for healthcare robotic devices hosted by CMU were announced. Each wins $5,000. The best of the five wins another $20,000.
... Proposals include (1) personalized video games and robotics for stroke and trauma patients; (2) toy-like robots that therapeutically interact with autistic children; (3) providing low-cost robots for STEM education and therapy outreach; (4) integrating the latest search and rescue robots with medical diagnostics and treatment technologies; and (5) a haptic feedback system from contact to the surgeon’s fingertips.
... Presentations before a distinguished panel of judges. Winner to be chosen October 13; prize given October 14.

James Cameron wins Popular Mechanics’ 2011 Leadership Award

2011-10-04T00:15+00:00

... Cameron wins Breakthrough Leadership Award not only for technologies he has pioneered for his movies, but for his other explorations in providing 3D cameras for NASA’s next Mars rover, for underwater exploration, shipwreck hunting, and for ROVs engineered and used for his movies. Says Cameron, “I believe in exploration.”
... AeroVironment and DARPA’s Robotic hummingbird also wins Breakthrough award for it’s wing design and wing-stroke velocity.
... Winning one of 10 most innovative tech product awards was Microsoft’s Kinect and their software developer kit (SDK). The Kinect device was seen in many booths at last weeks IROS conference in San Francisco.

Notes from IROS 2011 San Francisco

2011-09-26T14:43+00:00

... Week long conference on intelligent robots and systems had presentations, exhibitions, demonstrations and interactive sessions.
... Read one observer’s picks for most interesting, crowd pleasing and unusual presentations and demonstrations at the show.
... See 15 photos taken at the conference by the Denver Post.

Yaskawa Porting ROS to Robot Line

2011-09-10T22:26+00:00

... Southwest Research Institute porting Willow Garage’s Open Source ROS Robotic Operating System to Yaskawa line of Motoman robots.
... Work to be done by Q1 2012.
... “The next step for industrial robotics is to be more sensor aware; to be able to accomodate the many new capabilities showing up in the service sector. It’s clear that ROS is able to handle all of these,” says Erik Nieves, Technology Director for Yaskawa America’s Motoman Robotics Division.

PerkinElmer acquires Caliper Life Sciences for $600 million

2011-09-10T15:33+00:00

... Both companies design, produce and market lab automation robots.
... Sale will be finalized in two months.

IFR Says Robots Did Well In 2010

2011-09-08T02:19+00:00

... 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).