Robotic manipulation and teleoperation have advanced in the past few years, but researchers at MIT and UC San Diego have developed Open-TeleVision to overcome limitations.
Top 10 robotics stories of June 2024
From exciting deployments and humanoid robotics developments to emerging partnerships, there was no shortage of robotics news to cover in June 2024.
Maja Matarić’s work with socially assistive robotics earns her the Athena Lecturer Award
Matarić is the Chan Soon-Shiong Chair and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at USC, and a Principal Scientist at Google DeepMind
Autonomous vehicle legislation withdrawn from California senate
SB 915 would have allowed California municipalities to restrict and tax AV companies, similar to how taxi companies are regulated in the state.
Formic brings in $27.4M to expand its global fleet, increase support network
Since its previous funding, Formic’s fleet of robotic equipment has completed 100,000 production hours at more than 99% uptime.
GM invests another $850M into Cruise as it expands manual operations
To date, General Motors has invested more than $8 billion into Cruise, and in 2023 alone, the company lost $3.48 billion.
NASA spinoff Seatrec offers a new power source for underwater robots
Seatrec says its technology can allow robots to work in the open ocean indefinitely and without any intervention.
Waymo updates software after robotaxi drives into telephone pole
Software update corrects an error in the software that “assigns a low damage score” to telephone poles and updates the company’s map.
Waymo expands Phoenix service area; Zoox starts testing in Austin and Miami
Waymo plans to widen its robotaxi service area, while Zoox said it will begin testing autonomous vehicles in two more cities.
Chinese automaker to use UBTECH humanoid
Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor says UBTECH’s Walker S humanoid will be performing various tasks in its car manufacturing process.
Top 10 robotics stories of May 2024
In May, exciting events, like the Robotics Summit & Expo and Automate, brought a batch of new product releases and partnership announcements.
ETRI develops omnidirectional tactile sensors for robot hands
ETRI is introducing a tactile sensor fits into a robotic finger with stiffness and shape similar to a human finger.
AMP’s robot recycler deployed in Virginia waste facility
RDS will use AMP technology to extract mixed recyclables and organic materials from municipal solid waste for further processing.
Re-Up to deploy Nala Robotics automated frier in its convenience stores
Re-Up CEO Michael Salafia describes how Nala Robotics will help it improve food quality and keep up with customer expectations.
Hyundai picks up some Aptiv shares of Motional for $448M
As Aptiv pulls back its support in Motional, Hyundai has invested nearly $1 billion in the driverless vehicle developer this year.
Former Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt launches new venture
Vogt said that the company has already raised $150 million but didn’t give many details on plans for service robots.
SpaceHopper robot wants to hop along small celestial bodies
Developed at ETH Zurich, SpaceHopper is designed to use its three legs to hop along asteroids or far away moons to search for rare minerals.
Techman launches heavy payload TM30S cobot
Techman’s new TM30S cobot has a maximum payload of 35 kg (77.16 lbs) and a reach of 1,702 mm (67.01 in) across six joints.
Female robotics founders discuss their journeys in the industry
We spoke to the founders of Adagy Robotics and the founders of Diligent Robotics about their experiences within the industry.
Advanced Navigation’s Hydrus explores shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean
Advanced Navigation recently sent Hydrus to the depths of the Rottnest ship graveyard, located off the coast of Western Australia.
Bota Systems to showcase its latest sensors at Robotics Summit
Bota Systems will be at Booth 315 on the show floor at the Robotics Summit & Expo, which takes place on May 1 and 2, 2024.
Locus Robotics surpasses 3B picks just 33 weeks after its last milestone
Locus Robotics reached the three billion picks milestone just 33 weeks after it recorded its two billionth pick.