In Episode 172 of The Robot Report Podcast, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman catch up on the news of the week, including several recent stories about self-driving vehicles. We also catch up with Yoshi Umeno and learn how Kollmorgen helps clients design and build surgical robots.
Featured interview with ABB
In the featured interview this week, Oitzman catches up with Marc Segura, president of ABB Robotics, to learn how the company is using artificial intelligence to make robotics easier to program and deploy.
Show timeline
- 7:50 – News
- 22:22 – Kayleen Brown interviews Yoshi Umeno from Kollmorgen (sponsored by Kollmorgen)
- 29:50 – Interview with Marc Segura, president of ABB Robotics
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News of the week
Schaeffler plans global use of Agility Robotics’ Digit humanoid
Schaeffler, a global leader in motion technology, has invested in Agility Robotics and plans to use Digit in its global operations. This follows successful Agility pilot deployments with Amazon and GXO Logistics.
Waymo robotaxi service opens to the public in Los Angeles
Waymo has expanded its robotaxi service in Los Angeles, removing the waitlist and making it available 24/7. More than 300,000 people have joined the waitlist since the service’s launch eight months ago.
Waymo has gained valuable feedback from hundreds of thousands of paid rides in the city. Jimmy Kimmel recently aired a humorous skit where he tricked his aunt into taking a ride in a Waymo without her knowledge.
Zoox is now testing its robotaxis in San Francisco
Zoox, an Amazon subsidiary, is expanding its robotaxi testing to San Francisco and Las Vegas. While the company is not yet offering public rides in either city, it plans to launch the Las Vegas service in early 2025.
Initial testing in San Francisco will be limited to the SoMa neighborhood and will only be available to Zoox employees.
Justice Department fines Cruise $500k for accident
General Motors’ self-driving car unit, Cruise, admitted to submitting a false report to influence a federal investigation. It will pay a $500,000 criminal fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Moxi reaches milestone of 100,000 autonomous elevator rides in hospitals
The ability of mobile manipulators to independently operate elevators has been a long-anticipated goal in the robotics industry. Diligent Robotics’ Moxi has achieved this milestone in complex healthcare environments.
Similar to the approach taken by Relay Robots, Moxi uses a single arm to interact with doors and elevator buttons. However, Diligent Robotics employed a “humans in the loop” approach to train Moxi’s autonomy and elevator interaction skills.
2025 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards open for nominations
You can now submit nominations for the 2025 RBR50 innovation awards. They will recognize technology and business innovations in the calendar year 2024, and the awards are open to any company worldwide that produces robotics or automation.
The categories include:
- Technologies, products, and services: This category includes primary or applied research focusing on robotics and supporting technologies such as motion control, vision, or machine learning. It also includes new products and business, engineering, or technology services.
- Business and management: This category covers initiatives positioning a company as a market leader or an organization as an important thought leader in the robotics ecosystem. Significant mergers and acquisitions are relevant, as are supplier, partner, and integrator relationships.
- Applications and markets: The RBR50 will also recognize innovations that improve productivity, quality, and cost-effectiveness, as well as those that automate new tasks.
In addition, the 2025 RBR50 awards will celebrate the following:
- Startup of the Year
- Application of the Year
- Robot of the Year
- Robots for Good Award
The deadline for submissions is Friday, Dec. 20, 2024.
Podcast sponsored by RGO Robotics
The show this week is sponsored by RGO Robotics
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