The Robot Report

Robotics topics covered in the The Robot Report special issue inserted into the August 2018 issue of Design World include:   –  Automatica 2018 Review – What’s Hot and what’s not at Europe’s largest robotics and automation event.   –  Industrial Exoskeletons Arrive – Exoskeleton systems designed for industrial work are now available, and more…

Engineers have 3D printed a physical artificial neural network that can analyze large volumes of data and identify objects at the actual speed of light. Developed at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering the “diffractive deep neural network” uses the light bouncing from the object itself to identify that object in as little time as…

South African agtech company Aerobotics has closed a $2 million Series A. The data analytics company uses drones and machine learning algorithms to help farmers identify pest and disease early. After receiving $602,000 in seed funding last August, Aerobotics has added new investors to continue its growth. Leading the pack is the VC branch of one of…

German automotive supplier Schaeffler is acquiring drive-by-wire technology Space Drive from Paravan GmbH. Schaeffler said on this will play a key role in self-driving cars. The Schaeffler Group, in cooperation with Roland Arnold and Paravan GmbH, have agreed on a master agreement for the formation of a joint venture company. The transaction is pending regulatory approval…

Increasing the level of navigation autonomy in mobile robots creates tangible business benefits to those companies employing them. But designing an autonomous navigation system is no easy task. San Diego-based Brain Corporation seems to have figured it out, however. The company raised $114 million in mid-2017, led by the Softbank Vision Fund, to continue development…