Christopher Calnan

China may be a robotics hotspot now, but the CEO of one of the largest robotics companies in the world says its U.S. investment was a good move. Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of Swedish-Swiss automation giant ABB (VTX:ABBN), said last week that the firm’s investment in the U.S. robotics market is returning dividends, CNBC reported. “You look…

Baidu (NSDQ:BIDU), the operator of China’s most popular online search engine, has lost another artificial intelligence expert. Lin Yuanqing, former director of Baidu’s institute of deep learning, confirmed reports that he resigned in September to launch his own AI company. The departure of Lin, who specializes in image recognition and human-computer interaction, provides the latest setback for…

Long known for its human greeters, Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) is now expanding the use of robots to make sure its shelves are properly stocked. The Arkansas-based retail giant disclosed yesterday plans to increase the use of aisle-roaming robots in more than 50 locations after a pilot test in its home state, Pennsylvania and California. The…

Siasun Robot & Automation, China’s largest robot maker, opened yesterday a 340,000-square-foot facility able to produce 10,000 sets of robots per year. The plant, which is in Shenyang capital of Northeast China’s Liaoning province, cost $302 million and took the company five years to build, the China Daily reported. The tech-focused campus consists of a headquarters…

HTI Cybernetics, a Michigan maker of robotic welding systems, has been acquired by a Chinese investment group. HTI, based in Sterling Heights, Mich., was bought by Chongqing Nanshang Investment for $50 million, according to a Global Times report. HTI Cybernetics, which was founded in 1983, develops robotic welding systems for auto makers such as General…

The drone industry got a big boost from federal officials yesterday with a White House order to establish a three-year pilot program to test drones in partnership with state and local governments in specific jurisdictions. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program was announced with President Trump directing U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao to…

Robotic-guided spinal surgeries reduce both complications and the number of revision surgeries needed, according to a new report released today by Mazor Robotics (NSDQ:MZOR). The study shows that spinal surgeries performed using the company’s guidance system had a five-fold reduction in surgical complications. Such technology also contributed to a seven-fold reduction in revision surgeries versus…

Another country is adopting robotics to assist in postal deliveries — at least on a trial basis. Brisbane, Australia, is now planning to test after-hour deliveries by an autonomous robot from 6 p.m. to midnight for four weeks starting in mid-November. Essentially a mobile locker, the robot will be accompanied by an Australia Post employee and…

The commercial robot market is poised to nearly triple in value during the next five years, with medical robots accounting for more than 40% of the product segment, according to a report. Commercial robotics, which doesn’t include industrial robots, refers to medical robots, drones, autonomous guided robots and field robots. This year, the market for such…

A robotics-focused investment fund is entering its fifth year of operations and reporting returns of nearly 40%. Dallas-based Robo Global Robotics & Automation (NSDQ:ROBO) exchange-traded fund , which claims to be the first robotics investment fund, yesterday reported generating 37.7% for its investors and attracting more than $1.5 billion in assets since launching in late 2013,…

Massachusetts-based iRobot (NSDQ:IRBT) today reported a 34% surge in third-quarter revenue and easily beat analysts’ consensus earnings projections. The company posted third-quarter profits of $22 million, or 76¢ per share, on revenues of $205.3 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, for a bottom-line gain of 13.21% on sales growth of 21.8% compared with Q3…

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,…

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.,…

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,…

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, 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 (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, 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, 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 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…

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…