Mining

Oxbotica’s Selenium platform handles an autonomous vehicle’s navigation, mapping, perception, and machine learning. Oxbotica said Selenium doesn’t need to rely on external infrastructure such as GPS, lane markings or pre-existing HD maps.

In the final Robot Report Podcast for 2020, learn about Boston Dynamics’ plans for its legged robots after its acquisition by Hyundai Motor, as well as the DARPA Subterranean Challenge.

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.

Although robotics investments, mergers, and acquisitions may have dropped a bit in October 2020, autonomous vehicles, drones, and healthcare applications continued to receive funding.

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.

Exyn Technologies said its new ExynAero drone sensor system can map industrial environments in real time without a human pilot.

Kespry said its Kespry Perception Analytics cloud-based system is designed for industries including chemicals, pulp and paper, energy, food and beverage, and ports.

The total number of robotics transactions held steady year over year, but the autonomous vehicle and manufacturing automation providers received less investment. Healthcare systems, field robots, and drones got funding in September 2020.

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

Despite the ongoing pandemic, robotics investment and acquisition activity did not slow down in August 2020, with funding flowing to autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, and drones.

Robotics fundings, mergers, and acquisitions in July 2020 stayed at comparable levels with transactions from a year ago and June.

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.

ATI developed a space-rated force/torque sensor for the Perseverance Rover, which will explore the Martian surface.

Drone analytics provider Kespry has announced its Summer 2020 Aerial Intelligence feature updates, and its CEO explains how drone inspections are evolving.

Microdrones said its new mapping and survey equipment is available as a service for 3D mapping and modeling applications.

RMUS, or Rocky Mountain Unmanned Systems, will distribute, integrate, and service Sarcos Robotics’ Guardian S robotic crawler system. The mobile robot is designed to be a rugged platform for industrial inspection, public safety, and more.

Researchers Aarhus University and the Technical University of Denmark have developed AI pilots to control drones scanning and measuring terrain such as quarries.

The second phase of the DARPA Subterranean Challenge concluded late last week with the completion of the Urban Circuit, held at an unfinished nuclear power plant in Elma, Wash. Similar to the challenge’s first phase, the urban circuit challenged teams to use robots and drones to rapidly map, navigate and search underground environments. Team CoSTAR…

AeroVironment, which claims to be the largest supplier of drones to the U.S. military, is also an example of a pure-play robotics company that is profitable.

   BEDFORD, Mass. – Energid and Motiv announced today a software development kit that would allow users of Motiv’s RoboMantis modular robotic system to more easily program the robot. The companies said Energid’s Actin SDK is a real-time adaptive robotic control tool kit that can help RoboMantis extend its capabilities within sophisticated applications in…

Ascot Resources geologists knew from surface drilling programs that there was still some gold in a mine that had been inactive since the 1940s. But they needed more information to determine how much resource remained. Surveying a previously active mine typically would be done by a specialist with handheld laser tools, but areas of the…

DroneDeploy has updated its software offerings, entered into international partnerships, and raised funding for drone inspections.