The Cave Circuit, the third stage of the DARPA Subterranean Challenge, was completely virtual, enabling teams to test their software and simulated hardware configurations in difficult environments.
Thales works with North Dakota government on BVLOS drone operations
Thales, a “deep tech” multinational, is working with the state government of North Dakota and other partners to provide the TopSky UAS Traffic Management System to scale safe and secure drone air traffic control.
Delivery drone firm Volansi expands to VTOL development facility in Oregon
VTOL drone delivery developer and service provider Volansi said it is expanding in Bend, Ore., to take advantage of the region’s talent pool and aviation technology expertise and scale its production and operations.
Spot 2.1 from Boston Dynamics includes enhancements for autonomous data collection
Boston Dynamics said its Spot 2.1 release includes enhancements designed for ease of use and stronger integration with sensors and enterprise data systems.
Autonomous Casualty Extraction program awarded to RE2 Robotics by U.S. Army
The U.S. Army has awarded $1.1 million in Phase II Small Business Innovation Research funding to RE2 Robotics to develop an Autonomous Casualty Extraction system.
FBI installs AutoStore records filing and retrieval system for 2B pages of documents
The General Services Administration has implemented the first robotic filing and retrieval warehouse for FBI records using AutoStore’s cube technology.
RTI Connext 6 middleware wrapper bridges gap for robotics developers using ROS 2
Real-Time Innovations said that robotics developers can now use RTI Connext DDS scalability and productivity tools within the ROS 2 ecosystem.
Quaternium, Löweheiser achieve 10 hour, 14 minute flight with HYBRiX drone
Spain-based drone maker Quaternium and fuel-injection system provider Löweheiser said they have set a new endurance record for hybrid-powered aerial drones by combining technologies in the HYBRiX system.
ExynAero, ExynPak expand Exyn’s autonomous drone, sensing offerings
Exyn Technologies said its new ExynAero drone sensor system can map industrial environments in real time without a human pilot.
Researchers building robot with wheels and legs to traverse any terrain
A team of researchers is creating mobile robots for military applications that can determine, with or without human intervention, whether wheels or legs are more suitable to travel across terrains. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has partnered with Dr. Kiju Lee at Texas A&M University to enhance these robots’ ability to self-sufficiently travel…
Guardian DX upper body variant of Sarcos exoskeleton wins U.S. Navy contract
The Sarcos Guardian DX remote-controlled robotic system can be added to a variety of industrial mobility platforms already in use at U.S. shipyards, military bases, and depots.
Autonomy Level 2 in Emesent’s Hovermap designed to ease industrial BVLOS drone flights
Emesent said its new beyond-line-of-sight autonomy technology will increase drone safety and efficiency in mining, construction, and disaster response.
Volansi closes $50M Series B funding for middle-mile, VTOL drone delivery
Volansi said its latest financing, led by Icon Ventures, will enable it to rapidly scale up operations and sales in the U.S. and global emerging markets.
Robotics investments recap: August 2020
In August 2020, autonomous vehicles, industrial automation for manufacturing and supply chains, and healthcare robotics continued to receive funding.
Miniature antenna designed to enable compact robots to team up in complex environments
Researchers from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the University of Michigan have developed a technique for a miniature antenna to enhance bandwidth for networking among multiple robots.
9 automation projects for COVID-19 recovery announced by ARM Institute
About $5 million in Department of Defense funding dedicated to projects that advance the use of robotics to respond to current and future pandemics
Guardian XO exoskeleton maker Sarcos Robotics raises Series C funding
Sarcos Robotics, which has been bringing its Guardian XO industrial exoskeleton to market, has raised $40 million and added members to its board of directors.
Easy Aerial raises Series A funding to scale autonomous drone services internationally
Easy Aerial, which provides ruggedized drones as a service for commercial, government, and military uses, has raised funding that it said will help support its global expansion.
ARM Institute picks 5 Robotics in Sustainment projects for military maintenance
The ARM Institute announced the selection of five sustainment projects focused on strengthening U.S. Department of Defense equipment maintenance with robotics.
Robotics investments recap: July 2020
In July 2020, autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, and surgical robots continued to receive funding at steady levels in comparison with the same period last year.
Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning helping Army advance drone swarms
Army researchers developed a reinforcement learning approach that allows swarms of unmanned aerial and ground vehicles to optimally accomplish various missions while minimizing performance uncertainty. Swarming is a method of operations where multiple autonomous systems act as a cohesive unit by actively coordinating their actions. Army researchers said future multi-domain battles will require swarms of…
MAVNet communication system enables remote piloting of drones over the Internet
Startup Horizon31 has licensed a global communications system called MAVnet from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory that it said could enable remote drone operations over the Internet.