Consumer Robotics

While other social robotics startups have struggled, Embodied has spent the past four years developing Moxie to help children with social interactions.

COVID-19 won’t stop lawns from being mowed, but it looks like you’ll be doing it the old-fashioned way for even longer. iRobot delayed the launch of its long-awaited Terra robot lawn mower. And the Bedford, Mass.-based company didn’t specify a future launch date for the product. In its Q1 2020 earnings call, iRobot said it “suspended…

iRobot has created a new division, iRobot Education, to house all of its education products and services under one roof. iRobot Education includes the Root coding robot, Create 2, a new iRobot Coding platform, and the company’s STEM outreach program. “With students and teachers nationwide currently homebound, virtual learning resources, educational content and tools have…

Contrary to popular belief, older people don’t fear humanoid robots, found German psycholgists.

NTT Disruption, a San Francisco-based company that is part of Japanese telecommunications company NTT Corporation, recently acquired assets from Jibo, the social robotics company that shut down in November 2018.  NTT Disruption acquired the following three patents from Jibo: Persistent Companion Device Configuration and Deployment Platform Embodied Dialog and Embodied Speech Authoring Tools for Use with…

We reported last June Anki already had a prototype of its next consumer robot prior to shutting down. The Robot Report has learned there were multiple products in the works, and none of them are what you’d expect. First, meet Bingo, a security robot with a German Shepherd-inspired design. Anki was working on two versions…

Intuition Robotics, which has developed the ElliQ social companion for older adults and the Q cognitive agent, has received funding from investors including Toyota AI Ventures, iRobot, and Samsung.

The Cutii companion robot is mobile, uses AI to learn its users’ habits and preferences, and enables seniors to stay in contact with loved ones, according to CareClever.

The Misty as a Concierge open-source application template from Misty Robotics is intended to make it easy for developers to create skills for a variety of settings.

Trifo has raised Series B funding and added the Lucy smart robot vacuum to its product line.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on December 27, 2019 at 11 AM EST. The Robot Report spoke to Digital Dream Labs Founder H. Jacob Hanchar and added new information about relaunching Anki products and a potential subscription model and open-source Vector 2.0.  Anki’s robots might be making a comeback, after all. Digital Dream Labs,…

PropTech, or the application of robots, drones, and related technologies to property management, is gaining traction with real estate managers and investors.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on Colin Angle’s LinkedIn page and was republished with permission. To stay updated with his blogs, follow Angle on LinkedIn and Twitter. For an eternity, experts have equated robot intelligence with autonomy. They were wrong. For the world to move past the precipice and into the golden age of…

Autonomous vehicles, sensors, food preparation, and surgical robots received funding in November 2019.

iRobot has long said its robot vacuums can clean up pet hair. Unfortunately, that’s only part of the mess our furry friends are capable of making. Now the Bedford, Mass.-based developer of the Roomba is working on cleaning up after pets in other areas. iRobot was granted on Nov. 5 a patent for “cleaning of…

Robotic furniture startup Bumblebee Spaces has joined Toyota AI Ventures portfolio of service robots along with its Series A funding.

Thanks to a new web-based API, developers can now teach Sony’s Aibo robot dog new tricks. Sony just released software update 2.50 for the ERS1000 Aibo that introduces a developer program for experienced developers and a visual programming tool for beginners that features drag-and-drop block coding. Both allow Aibo owners to program new actions. However,…

Chowbotics is offering Sally 2.0, a fresh food-dispensing robot with a revamped user interface, redesigned containers for ease of swapping and cleaning, and a wider menu of ingredients.

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  StretchTech won its patent infringement lawsuit against Anki, the once-popular consumer robotics company that closed in April 2019. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled (PDF) Anki directly and indirectly infringed…

Miko.ai, which has been selling social robots in Asia for four years, said its Miko 2, which includes telepresence features, will be available in North America in December.

MassRobotics hosted its third annual Robot Block Party in Boston, showcasing local robotics companies and giving people of all ages a chance to see robots up close.

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  The patent portfolio for Anki, the once-popular consumer robotics company that closed in April 2019, is now up for sale. The sale includes patents and trademarks for the Overdrive, Cozmo, and Vector product lines. Hilco Streambank, which is…