Delivery drone startup Matternet released its new Matternet Station, which lets its drones refuel and reload autonomously. As the third component in Matternet’s drone delivery platform, the station works with the M2 Drone and Matternet Cloud platform to carry out deliveries. A drawer in the station holds packages ready for the drone to pick up,…
Unity Technologies unveils AI toolkit for training machine learning ‘agents’
Unity Technologies released the open beta version of its Unity Machine Learning Agents, an artificial intelligence toolkit developers and researchers can use to virtually train agents —whether video game characters, autonomous vehicles or robots. “Machine learning is a disruptive technology that is important to all types of developers and researchers to make their games or…
Endeavor Robotics wins government contract for 75 FirstLook robots
Endeavor Robotics secured a contract with the U.S government for 75 of its FirstLook robots, its third major contract with the government in six weeks. “FirstLook is the most preferred lightweight reconnaissance robot in its class because of how easily and quickly it can be deployed while withstanding the abuse of ground operations,” president Tom…
Mazor X surgery platform from Mazor Robotics wins CE Mark
Mazor Robotics (NSDQ:MZOR) said today that it won CE Mark approval in the European Union for its Mazor X robot-assisted surgery platform, setting the stage for strategic backer Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) to put the device on the European market. “Receipt of the CE Mark is an important step in our plan to expand the patient, surgeon and hospital benefits…
Googly-eyed educational robot launches own Kickstarter
The six-legged educational robot Vorpal Combat Hexapod from Vorpal Robotics used one of its appendages to launch its own Kickstarter campaign. “We gave the honor to the oldest surviving prototype hexapod,” founder and product developer Steve Pendergrast said in a press release. “Its name is Scrum. Every Vorpal Combat Hexapod has an individual name.” The campaign…
Lockheed Martin invests in autonomous vehicle developer
Lockheed Martin Ventures is investing in Ocean Aero, a company focused on autonomous vehicle development that created the Submaran unmanned maritime vehicle. The decision is part of Lockheed Martin’s larger efforts around unmanned systems. “Ocean Aero represents the next generation of environmentally powered, autonomous ocean systems,” Chris Moran, executive director and general manager of Lockheed…
Synthetic muscle step forward for soft robotics
A research team from Columbia Engineering’s Creative Machines lab developed a synthetic muscle that has a strain density 15 times larger than natural muscle and can lift 1,000 times its own weight that could propel soft robotics creation forward. According to the study “Soft Material for Soft Actuators” published in Nature Communications, the material solves…
Titan Medical SPORT installed for validation studies
Titan Medical announced the installation of its SPORT Surgical System, a single-port robotic surgical system, at the Florida Hospital Nicholson Center training facility. It’s the first installation for the company’s pre-clinical feasibility and validation studies on the device. “We are thrilled to announce the first of three installations planned in U.S. and European Centers of…
Brookings: Automation concentrated around auto industry
An August report from the Brookings Institution found that industrial robots are largely concentrated in midwestern and southern states, where the automotive industry dominates. Specifically, more than half of the 233,305 industrial robots in the U.S. are clustered in 10 states in these regions with Michigan deploying 12% of the nation’s total. Ohio hosts 8.7%,…
DNA robots transport molecules, could transport medicine in future
A team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology developed DNA robots that could move molecules or deliver medicine in the body, according to a new study published in Science. These cargo-sorting DNA robots are made from a single strand of DNA with three modules: one with a leg and two feet to walk,…
ABB Ltd. to double China robotics production
ABB Ltd. is set to double its robot production capacity in China by increasing the number of research employees in the country, according to CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer. The decision comes as ABB is jockeying with competing robotics companies Kuka AG and Fanuc for share in China’s $11 billion robotics industry. “ABB is ahead of Kuka…
Texas Instruments releases rover ‘bot to engage students
To get middle school and high school students more interested and engaged with STEM topics like coding and robotics, Texas Instruments developed its TI-Innovator Rover bot. By writing programs on their TI graphing calculators, students can make their rovers move, crash, dance or even draw when a pen is attached. “We created Rover to demystify…
TransEnterix responds to FDA more info request
Robotics medical company TransEnterix filed its response to the Food and Drug Administration’s additional information request on its Senhance Surgical Robotic System 510(k) submission. The Senhance robotic-assisted surgery system is designed to improve minimally invasive surgery, namely in laparoscopy operations, through haptic feedback and eye sensing camera control. “We are very pleased to have submitted…
University of Maryland opens drone testing facility
The University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering opened an outdoor flight facility, called Fearless Flight Facility (F3), where students and faculty can test unmanned aircraft systems. The school hopes the facility will foster innovation in flight control, sensing, autonomy, collaboration and counter-UAS. “The University of Maryland continues to make incredible strides in…
Restoration Robotics sets range for $25m IPO
Restoration Robotics filed for an initial public offering that would raise $25 million at the median to fund the development of its ARTAS System, robot-assisted hair restoration system. The medical technology company plans to sell more than 3.1 million shares at a range of $7 to $9 a piece; at the high end of the…
Siemens to open new robotics R&D center in China
Siemens AG is opening a new research center in Beijing to study and develop mechatronics systems, human-robot interactions and collaboration and the use of artificial intelligence in robotic controllers. The company partnered with Siemens’ Center of Knowledge Interchange member Tsinghua University to establish the center, which will lead Siemens’ global R&D efforts in robotics. It…
Cobots from Universal Robots for scalable packaging setups showing at PACK EXPO 2017
Pioneer of collaborative robots showcases new cobot-assisted, mobile, and modular tabletop system featuring vision-guided multiple part feeding and kitting with conveyor tracking and case loading-unloading. While most robotic cells and automated machinery in the market are stationary setups designed to complete one task for their usable life, Universal Robots Certified System Integrator, Allied Technology, has…
Cambridge Medical Robotics raises $26m for Versius robot-assisted surgery device
Cambridge Medical Robotics, fresh from the unveiling of its Versius robot-assisted surgical arm, said today that it added $26 million to the Series A round it plans to use on validation studies and further production. Existing backers Cambridge Innovation Capital, LGT Global Invest, Escala Capital and ABB Technology Ventures were joined by new investor Watrium…
iRobot on the defensive
SharkNinja, a well-known marketer of home consumer products, has entered the American robotic vacuum market with a product that is priced to compete against iRobot’s Roomba line of floor cleaners. Their new ION Robot navigates floors and carpets and docks and recharges automatically. It sells at a very favorable price point to iRobot’s.
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CA chain restaurant to introduce burger-flipping robot
A new burger-flipping robot from Miso Robotics, named Flippy, is set to replace grill masters in 50 locations of California burger joint CaliBurger within two years, the company announced this week. “We focus on using AI and automation to solve the high pain points in restaurants and food prep,” Miso Robotics CEO and co-founder David…
Graffiti-fighting drone wins San Jose competition
A drone designed to get rid of graffiti and tagging won first prize in San Jose, Calif.’s Unleash Your Geek graffiti removal competition and was demonstrated by its inventors at the Civil & Government Tech Showcase. The Graffiti Removal Automatic Drone could save the city millions of dollars in graffiti removal by covering up tags…