Defense / Security

Emesent said its new beyond-line-of-sight autonomy technology will increase drone safety and efficiency in mining, construction, and disaster response.

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.

In August 2020, autonomous vehicles, industrial automation for manufacturing and supply chains, and healthcare robotics continued to receive funding.

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.

About $5 million in Department of Defense funding dedicated to projects that advance the use of robotics to respond to current and future pandemics

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, 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.

The ARM Institute announced the selection of five sustainment projects focused on strengthening U.S. Department of Defense equipment maintenance with robotics.

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.

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…

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.

Sarcos Defense has won a contract for the Guardian XO Alpha exoskeleton, which is designed to multiply the wearer’s strength and be safe to operate for a full shift.

Researchers from the U.S. Army and USC developed the Joint Understanding and Dialogue Interface to improve soldier-robot interaction.

The Pittsburgh-based ARM Institute, a public-private consortium, attributed its significant growth to an increase in interest in robotics during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

ANYbotics’ ANYmal C is a multi-module machine designed to handle varied terrain. The company’s executives explain the computing architecture enabling the quadruped robot’s motion and missions.

Skydio has raised $100 million in Series C funding as the U.S. drone maker expands its offerings to enterprise and government markets. The company also named new executives.

MFE Rentals, which provides inspection equipment, is an official rental and resale partner of Sarcos Robotics for its Guardian S robot, which is designed to remotely communicate from a variety of environments.

Badger Technologies has added the PatrolBot to its retail robotics portfolio. It is also building a partner ecosystem to integrate the autonomous robot with security workforce management systems.

Forcen has developed an award-winning haptic sensor called ForceFilm that can resist extreme heat and cold, is paper-thin, and provides sensitive feedback for devices such as surgical robots.

Landmines continue to pose a lethal danger long after a war’s end. Binghamton University researchers have applied convolutional neural networks to drone data to better spot the “butterfly” landmine.

Sphero, which makes small mobile robots, has spun off Company Six to serve personnel in hazardous environments. CO6 has not shared many details yet of its plans.

GE Research is developing worm-like robots that rapidly dig tunnels for the military. This project is part of a 15-month, $2.5-million DARPA project.