2020 was a challenging year for the robotics, automation and drone industry, both globally and for companies in Denmark, which is one of the strongest robotics clusters in the world. Nevertheless, robotic and automation companies on Funen increased the number of colleagues abroad by 26% to a total of 1,200 abroad and maintaining the status…
igus releases e-spool flex cable reel for industrial robots
igus has developed the e-spool flex 2.0, a new cable reel designed for industrial robots that has no slip ring. This allows for management of robot teach pendants. The system even supplies bus signals without interruptions, which can be typical with slip rings. The solution can extend cables up to 50 ft. Installation into a…
How Wilder Systems is automating rapid COVID-19 tests
A lack of testing has been one of the biggest challenges to combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Testing facilities often have a shortage of personnel to analyze samples and provide results. Throughout 2020, Americans were turned away from testing centers. Rapid testing is becoming vital to mitigating the spread of the novel coronavirus. Austin, Texas-based Wilder…
Cruise, Waymo lead way in Calif. autonomous vehicle testing
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) yesterday released its annual Disengagement Report, which breaks down the number of times a human driver takes over control of an autonomous driving system being tested on the state’s public roads. The DMV released reports for 29 companies for the period from December 2019 to November 2020. Waymo (29,944.69)…
WiBotic Commander offers energy management for robot fleets
WiBotic, a Seattle-based developer of wireless charging and power-optimization systems for robots, today launched fleet energy management software called Commander. It can help robotics users visualize, configure, and optimize delivery of energy throughout their fleet of robots or drones. Commander offers a visual display of charger availability and status, and historical information about which chargers…
PickNik developing ROS 2 driver for UR cobots
PickNik is collaborating with Universal Robots (UR) and Forschungszentrum Informatik (FZI) on developing the official ROS 2 driver for UR’s collaborative robot arms. PickNik is developing the UR ROS 2 driver as a test platform for ros2_control, the popular control framework for the Robot Operating System (ROS) that is in the final stages of porting…
Plus raises $200M for autonomous truck technology
Plus, a developer of autonomous truck technology, raised $200 million in funding. The round was led by new investors Guotai Junan International, CPE, and Wanxiang International Investment. Existing investors also participated. Plus told The Robot Report it has now raised about $400 million since it was founded in 2016. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company just raised…
Aurora partners with Denso, Toyota on robotaxi development
We posed the following question on a recent episode of The Robot Report Podcast: why did Aurora buy Uber’s Advanced Technology Group (ATG)? Well, it appears access to Uber’s existing investors and partners was a big reason why. Aurora today announced a partnership with Toyota and Denso. The companies will develop a fleet of autonomous…
How shadows can help robots understand human touch
Cornell University researchers created a low-cost method for soft robots to detect a range of physical interactions, from pats to punches to hugs, without relying on touch at all. Instead, a USB camera located inside the robot captures the shadow movements of hand gestures on the robot’s skin and classifies them with machine-learning software. The…
DoorDash acquiring robotics startup Chowbotics
DoorDash, the popular food delivery service, is acquiring Chowbotics, a Calif.-based robotics startup best known for Sally, a vending machine-like robot that can make salads and other fresh meals. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The move indicates DoorDash is interested in automating food production. According to The Wall Street Journal, which was first…
3 ABB robots help belt manufacturer increase production 33%
BJ Minson didn’t like the imperfect fit and sloppy profile of the standard belts he could find on the market, with the buckle and excess strap end awkwardly protruding from under his untucked shirt. So while working on a master’s degree in microfluidics, he began playing around with the design for a sleeker belt with…
EndoWays, developer of disposable robot for cathlab, acquired by Ascendum
EndoWays, an Israeli developer of a disposable robotic system for the cathlab, has been acquired by Ascendum Capital, a healthcare-focused investment platform founded in 2020. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. EndoWays, founded in 2018, developed a fully disposable robotic system to support navigation and operation within blood vessels in neurovascular, peripheral and…
Renowned economist Beaulieu offers positive outlook on 2021
WTWH Media, parent company of The Robot Report, hosted a webinar with renowned economist Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics. The event, which you can watch on demand here, offered an interesting look at the economy over the coming months and years. And the outlook Beaulieu gave was quite positive in nature, something we all could…
DroneDeploy raises $50M in Series E funding
Enterprise drone data company DroneDeploy raised $50 million in Series E financing. The round was led by existing investors Energize Ventures and AirTree, with participation from Bessemer, Scale, Emergence, Angelpad, Uncork and Frontline Ventures. This funding brings DroneDeploy’s total fundraising to date to $142 million. The investment will be used to expand the company’s products…
Researchers developing self-propelled robots for U.S. Army
Army-funded researchers discovered how to make materials capable of self-propulsion, allowing materials to move without motors or hands. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst discovered how to make materials that snap and reset themselves, only relying upon energy flow from their environment. This research could enable future military robots to move from their own energy. “This…
SLAMcore extends ROS integration in software update
The Robot Operating System (ROS) has played a fundamental role in the development of robots as solutions to real-world challenges in many different sectors. From warehouses and logistics, to agriculture and healthcare, ROS-based designs are delivering real value. Since its birth at Willow Garage in 2007, this flexible framework has helped thousands of robotics developers.…
Robot arm opens new doors for Spot
Boston Dynamics today released several updates to its Spot product line. The goal is to enhance the quadruped’s ability to autonomously monitor job sites. To do so, the RBR50 company introduced a new version of the robot, Spot Enterprise, the Scout web-based teleoperation platform and its long-awaited Spot Arm. None of these products is more…
10 most popular stories of January 2021
What a month it was for robotics. Whether it was behind-the-scenes looks at how Boston Dynamics’ robots learned to dance, Bossa Nova Robotics Europe shutting down or Kyle Vogt, co-founder, president & CTO of Cruise saying the LiDAR industry is headed for consolidation, there was no shortage of robotics stories to cover in January 2021. Here…
TripleA robotics launches WINGMAN tool changer for cobots
TripleA robotics’ WINGMAN Tool Changer for collaborative robots. | Credit: TripleA robotics Last month, Denmark-based TripleA robotics left the Odense Robotics StartUp Hub and launched its first product, the WINGMAN Tool Changer System for collaborative robots. After 18 months in the robotics incubator at the Danish Technological Institute, TripleA robotics exits the hub with a…
Robot orders up 3.5% as non-automotive sales surged
For the first time, yearly orders of robots from non-automotive sectors surpassed automotive robot orders, as sales of robotic units in North America increased 3.5% in 2020 from 2019. This growth was driven by a strong Q4 that was the second-best quarter ever for North American robotic sales with a 63.6% increase over Q4 2019.…
AutoX’s Shenzhen robotaxi service opens to public
Chinese self-driving pioneer AutoX is opening up its fully driverless robotaxi pilot program to the public in Shenzhen this morning. This is the first time the general public in China can book a ride in a robotaxi that doesn’t have a safety driver, AutoX claimed. Interested parties can sign up for a ride via this…
SICK develops IP69K-rated incremental encoder with added ingress protection
SICK has released its DBS60I-W, an IP69K-rated incremental encoder with added ingress protection from a new, patented deflector shield. SICK said the encoder can withstand frequent high-pressure chemical washdowns in demanding food and beverage applications, for example. The SICK DBS60I-W washdown encoder delivers the high-resolution performance of SICK’s DBS60 incremental encoder but in a IP69K-rated,…