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RE2 Robotics is creating an underwater robot to autonomously neutralize underwater mines for the U.S. Navy.

RE2 Robotics, a 2021 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award winner, shared a recap of what it accomplished in 2021 and some thoughts on what to expect in 2022.

RE2 said some of its technical and operational successes in 2021 included:

• Celebrated its 20th anniversary, establishing itself as one of the longest-tenured robotics companies in Pittsburgh.
• It grew revenue 40% and doubled its staff to more than 100 employees over the past 24 months.
• Launched the RE2 Sapien line of intelligent robotic arms.
• Strengthened key strategic partnerships to enable market penetration of our autonomous mobile manipulation solutions for aviation, construction, medical, and underwater applications.
• Awarded contract with the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technology Office (SETO) to develop a system for autonomous solar field construction.
• Secured its largest Department of Defense award to date: a $9.5 million U.S. Navy contract to develop an underwater robotic system for the autonomous neutralization of underwater mines.
• Expanded underwater testing capabilities through the construction of a 36,000-gallon tank, which enables the on-site testing of RE2 Sapien Sea Class systems.

“Since we founded this company in 2001, our primary mission has been to develop robotic technologies that improve worker safety and productivity,” said Jorgen Pedersen, president and CEO of RE2. “The future of work is changing, driven, in part, by a shortage of skilled workers.

“As we move into 2022, RE2’s intelligent mobile manipulation solutions will be used to augment that limited workforce, enabling companies to improve productivity, safety, and the ability to meet market demand. For example, applications such as aircraft maintenance and solar field construction require skilled workers to perform complex tasks at height. We believe that robotic manipulation and supervised autonomy will empower the available skilled workers to efficiently perform complex tasks at height while remaining safely on the ground.”

RE2 Robotics won an RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award for its Outdoor Autonomous Manipulation of Photovoltaic Panels (O-AMPP) robotic system that can autonomously deliver and install photovoltaic (PV) modules. The O-AMPP base unit consists of the RE2 Sapien robotic manipulator fixed to the top of a large unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). Using computer vision, the system registers the target installation location and uses the Sapien arm to lift a PV panel and install it into the array.

Pedersen recently joined The Robot Report Podcast to discuss the evolution of the company. RE2 was focused nearly 100% on defense work in 2016, but now the defense sector accounts for less than one-third of its business. So the R3EM project seemingly is right up RE2’s alley. We also discussed on the podcast RE2’s new Sapien line of intelligent robotic arms. The arms, which were originally engineered for the rugged requirements of the U.S. military, can operate in both structured and unstructured environments. You can listen to that podcast below.