India-based cleaning and material handling equipment maker Bharati Robotics has raised an undisclosed amount of funding. The startup company reported raising the capital from the Society For Innovation and Entrepreneurship and other angel investors. The funding will be used to expand the manufacturing capacity and technology applicability and cater to demand from both local and global customers,…
Robotics push Yaskawa Electric to record profits
Yaskawa Electric, one of the worlds’s largest makers of industrial robots, reported a 150% spike in net profit for the six-months ended Sept. 30, compared with the same period last year. The Japanese company posted a company-record $184 million profit for the period, citing demand for its industrial robots in China, Japan and the U.S.,…
Delphi to buy self-driving vehicle startup nuTonomy for $450M
Auto parts maker Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH) said it agreed to buy self-driving car startup nuTonomy for $450 million. The British auto parts supplier plans to buy the Cambridge, Mass.-based startup for $400 million followed by earnouts slated to total another $50 million, according to an Oct. 24 news release. nuTonomy, which was founded in 2013,…
Armio data analytics startup acquired by Panasonic
Panasonic has acquired Arimo, a California company specializing in deep learning and behavioral artificial intelligence technology. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Arimo develops Internet-of-Things and artificial intelligent products for commercial and manufacturing applications. Panasonic, which aggregates sensor data from factories, housing, cold-chain and HVAC, plans to capitalize on Arimo’s data science expertise,…
Ninebot closes $100M funding to focus on mobile robotics
Ninebot, a Chinese transportation technology company, said it raised the equivalent of $100 million in a Series C round to finance the development of mobile robotics and intelligent short-distance transportation products. The startup raised the capital from the SDIC Fund Management Co. and the China Mobile Fund. CEO Lufeng Gao said the investment is being done with the…
Corindus Vascular Robotics to test-drive HeartFlow’s 3D cardiac imaging tech
Corindus Vascular Robotics (OTC:CVRS), a Massachusetts-based surgical robotics company, plans to utilize technology that creates 3D images of arteries for evaluating patients. Company officials said they’d employ California-based HeartFlow’s FFRct Analysis in a case series of robotic-assisted percutaneous coronary interventions to evaluate the technology’s role in clinical decision support. The testing will be done at hospitals…
Medineering touts EU approval of its robotic positioning arm
Medineering, the German maker of surgical robotics, disclosed that its positioning arm won CE Mark approval from the European Commission. Approval means the company’s positioning arm is now OK’d for holding and positioning passive adapters and robots in otolaryngology (ear, nose & throat), neurosurgery and spinal surgery. The positioning arm “is the base of a…
Renishaw wins FDA approval for neurosurgery planning software
Renishaw, a British engineering company, received approval by federal officials to sell the latest version of its neurosurgery planning software in the U.S. The FDA granted 510(k) clearance for Renishaw’s neuroinspire software that blends MRI and CT datasets into a 3D volume, enabling neurosurgeons to identify and outline regions of interest. The approach is designed…
German mail delivery service tests Effidence’s PostBots
German postal officials are testing a robot to assist mail carriers in making their deliveries. The technology, called PostBot, is undergoing a six-week pilot program in the German town of Bad Hersfeld that’s southeast of Bonn. Carriers, who will initially just use the robots for delivery between the city administrative offices, are eventually expected to…
Startup Veo Robotics focuses on robot software and sensors
A Massachusetts startup is planning to capitalize on the lucrative demand for the guts of robots instead of the robots themselves. Veo Robotics is developing the software and sensors for industrial robots, a product focus the Cambridge company calls the “brains for robotic systems.” The cost of software, peripherals and systems engineering can account for…
Robotics funding news: Mapbox, Horizon Robotics, FogHorn Systems
Several technology companies related to the robotics industry reported raising investment capital in recent weeks. They included a $164 million Series C round for Mapbox, the Washington, D.C.- and San Francisco-based company that develops online maps. Investors included the SoftBank Vision Fund, the Foundry Group, DFJ Growth, DBL Partners and Thrive Capital, according to an…
Google robotics: A review
Despite recent attempts to tease the robotics projects incubating at its Google X skunkworks, industry observers say that Google has done more to stifle than advance innovation in robotics. A bit of history On December 4th, 2013, John Markoff, a technology reporter for The New York Times, broke the story that Google had acquired seven…
Autonomous Snake-like Robot to Support Search-and-Rescue
Worcester Polytechnic Institute is creating autonomous snake-like robots that can navigate through the rubble, confined spaces, and rough terrain left in the aftermath of a disaster and send images and information to search-and-rescue teams.
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Built Robotics reveals autonomous excavation plans, $15m funding
Stealthy autonomous construction equipment developer Built Robotics this week revealed its technology platform alongside a $15 million funding round led by New Enterprise Associates, according to a CNBC report. The San Francisco-based company put on a demonstration of its technology, intended to convert existing excavators to autonomous robots that can operate for hours without a…
Titan Medical raises $2m in private placement
Titan Medical (TSX:TMD) said today it raised $2.3 million (CDN $2.9 million) in a private placement round looking to support continued development of its Sport robotic surgical system. In the offering, the Toronto-based company said it floated 11.5 million common shares at 20¢ (CDN 25¢) per share to a group including more than a dozen robotic surgeons…
Intuitive Surgical shares rise on Street-topping Q3 earnings
Shares in Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) rose today after the robotic surgical platform maker handily topped expectations on Wall Street with its 3rd quarter earnings results. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company posted profits of $297.5 million, or $2.55 per share, on sales of $806.1 million for the 3 months ended September 30, for bottom-line growth of 34.3% while…
RE2 Robotics wins US Navy contract for Autonomous Robotic Cargo Handling system
Currently, no autonomous loading or unloading systems exist and cargo missions require manual unloading and loading from air vehicles.
Veo Robotics raises $12m in Series A round backed by Google
Industrial robotics software firm Veo Robotics has raised $12 million in a Series A round led by GV, formerly Google Ventures, according to the Boston Business Journal. GV was joined in the funding round by Lux Capital, according to the Boston Business Journal. As part of the round, Lux Capital’s Bilal Zuberi and GV’s Andy…
Aethon TUG robots for navigation and in-room service used at Sheraton LA hotel
Sheraton’s Los Angeles San Gabriel Hotel said this week it plans on opening the hotel next January with 8 Aethon TUG robots slated to guide guests and deliver in-house services. More normally seen in hospitals, the TUG robots will navigate the hotel using an internal built-in map alongside sensors that allow it to move around…
Robots on the Rise
NEDO, Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, is a regular funder of robotic technology, has an office in Silicon Valley, and participates in various regional events to promote its work and future programs. One such event was Robots on the Rise: The Future of Robotics in Japan and the US held October 16th…
Enaex launches Robominer
Sigdo Koppers Group subsidiary Enaex said this week it launched the Robominer teleoperated robot designed for mine safety and exploration. The Robominer platform, developed in collaboration with SRI International, is designed with an intent to improve miner safety and increase access to minerals which are difficult or expensive to reach with human workers. “SRI is…