Consumer Robotics

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…

Piaggio Fast Forward has announced the release of its revised gita rolling robot, which is intended to carry items and follow people as they walk on sidewalks.

Catalia Health is working with partners to deploy its Mabu robot to help gather patient information and respond to their needs for care.

Toyota Research Institute shared its latest research on how to train a mobile manipulator for complex household tasks.

Modular Robotics, makers of Cubelets robot blocks, has acquired Dexter Industries, creators of GoPiGo and GiggleBot. The two companies said they “have united with plans to continue creating robotic teaching tools that inspire students to explore STEM, computational thinking, and other big ideas.” Collectively, Cubelets, GoPiGo, and GiggleBot are used in more than 15,000 educational…

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  Consumer robotics company Anki shut down in April, taking many by surprise. But a recent teardown video shed light on some of the complex, costly, and manual manufacturing processes involved with building the Anki Vector robot. Swetha…

Sales value of service robots for professional use increased by 32% to $9.2 billion, according to the International Federation of Robotics’ (IFR) World Robotics Report – Service Robots. Logistic systems such as autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) represent the largest fraction in the professional service robot market (41% of all units sold). The second largest category…

Ori, the MassRobotics resident The Robot Report profiled just yesterday, raised $20 million in Series B funding for its robotic furniture. Ori said the funding will allow it to partner with “architects and builders on designing urban housing and spaces that are flexible, intelligent, sustainable and affordable.” The investors who participated in the Series B…

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  Hanns Tappeiner, who founded Anki with Mark Palatucci and Boris Sofman in 2010, has been named Director of Product Development at Apple’s Special Projects Group. Tappeiner within the last few days updated his LinkedIn profile, which indicates he…

Boston-based startup Ori is making it its mission to ensure downsizing in square footage no longer means sacrificing functionality or experience. Founded in 2015 by a team of MIT engineers, Ori is developing robotically controlled furniture that saves space and allows people to “live large in a small footprint.” Ori raised a $6 million Series…

Reach Robotics, a Bristol, United Kingdom-based consumer robotics company, has shut down its consumer robotics business. Reach Robotics Co-Founder Silas Adekunle made the announcement on LinkedIn. The Robot Report emailed Reach Robotics Co-Founder John Rees and received an automated response that said, “the decision has been made to close the business and appoint administrators, effective as…

From soft polymers to the hardest steel, robotics designers should know their materials options that best suit the intended uses of their machines.

StretchTech is suing shuttered consumer robot maker Anki for allegedly infringing on three of its patents.

Blue Frog Robotics, a social robotics company founded in 2014 in Paris, has opened a subsidiary in the United States called Blue Frog Robotics Inc. Located in MassRobotics‘ office in Boston, the new subsidiary will manage sales and operations of Buddy the social robot for the US, as well as global branding, partnerships and business…

FoldiMate has turned to equity crowdfunding as a bridge between initial trials of its laundry-folding robot and Series A fundraising.

Using Toyota’s Human Support Robot as a base, the two companies will accelerate development by sharing their respective technologies.

PAL Robotics’ TIAGo++ has two arms with seven degrees of freedom. It was designed in response to feedback from universities and industry.

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  The news just broke that Anki Co-Founder and CEO Boris Sofman is now leading Waymo’s autonomous trucking efforts. Sofman wrote a blog on LinkedIn announcing the move and said 12 other former Anki employees have already joined…

iRobot, best known for its robotic vacuum cleaners, has added to its educational product line with its acquisition of Root Robotics.

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  For everyone wondering about a potential Anki comeback, don’t get your hopes up. Starting today and running through June 20, the assets inside Anki’s 40,000-square-foot office in San Francisco are being auctioned off. This is one of…