Humanoids

In September 2020, healthcare robotics, drones for inspection, and industrial automation received funding, but transactions slowed for autonomous vehicle developers.

Toyota Research Institute demonstrated its research into machine learning, simulation, and manipulation in a virtual open house, which included a ceiling-mounted kitchen gantry robot.

OrionStar said its new Robotic Coffee Master has two six-axis arms and relies on 3,000 hours of machine learning to simulate master-level brewing techniques.

Immervision has launched JOYCE, a humanoid robot intended to be a platform for the computer vision community to develop new applications.

In the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, efficient and effective medical training is more urgent than ever. Gaumard said its simulators can help medical personnel train on real equipment.

Companies including Rocos are preparing to deploy service robots including humanoids at hotels and other venues around the 2022 Beijiing Winter Olympics.

The SecondHands consortium said it has completed development of the ARMAR-6 humanoid robot, which includes advances in machine learning, natural language processing, and robotic manipulation.

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

Movia Robotics has been expanding and building software to help robots interact with children with special needs in classrooms.

2019 was an important year for legged robots as Boston Dynamics started leasing its Spot quadruped. The turn of the decade is continuing the momentum of legged robots as Agility Robotics is now selling its Digit humanoid for commercial use. Agility Robotics is on the third version of Digit, which was first introduced February 2019.…

This week, Toshiba Machine Co. announced the launch of two collaborative robots at the International Robot Exhibition, or IREX 2019, in Tokyo. The new robots expand Toshiba’s industrial robotics offerings, according to the company. TM Robotics, Toshiba’s official robot distributor for the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, will support the new products. Toshiba…

Little HERMES, a bipedal robot developed by researchers at MIT and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, uses teleoperation method to improve its balance.

CloudMinds, which is developing cloud-based service robotics and AI, is displaying its XR-1 at Mobile World Congress LA this week.

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.

By training pair of neural networks to solve a Rubik’s Cube with a single robot hand, OpenAI has demonstrated a new technique called automatic domain randomization, which it said can help solve real-world problems without prior data.

Diligent Robotics has released its Moxi service robot to the market and raised $3 million for product launch and further development.

Russia’s Skybot F-850 robot highlighted the ambitions and shortcomings around humanoid robots in space and for other applications.

RT Corp., a Tokyo-based developer of service robots founded in 2005, raised 400 million yen ($3.8 million) in Series B funding for its food-picking collaborative robot Foodly. RT said it will use the funding RT to strengthen its business structure and hire personnel. Foodly is designed to work alongside people in food factories. RT said…

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

The key to social and service robots isn’t making them more humanoid, but making them useful and inspiring customer trust, explains SoftBank Robotics’ HRI lead.

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

CloudMinds, which has developed a cloud-based infrastructure for making service robots smarter, filed for a $500 million IPO.