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October was a busy month for the robotics industry. From the RoboBusiness event in Santa Clara, to International Women in Robotics Day, to exciting advancements for humanoid robots, there was no shortage of news to cover.
Here are the top 10 most popular stories on The Robot Report in October 2023. Subscribe to The Robot Report Newsletter or listen to The Robot Report Podcast to stay updated on the robotics stories you need to know about.
10. Tiny quadruped robots are powered by combustion actuators
Cornell researchers have combined soft microactuators with high-energy-density chemical fuel to create an insect-sized quadruped robot powered by combustion. These tiny robots can outrace, outfit, outflex, and outleap its electric-driven competitors. Read More
9. Celebrating the first International Women in Robotics Day
Today, women make up 48% of the total workforce, and just 34% of the STEM workforce, according to the National Girls Collaborative Project. When it comes to engineering and robotics roles, the number is even smaller, with women only making up about 16% of the workforce. Women in Robotics also released its yearly list of 50 women in robotics you need to know in coordination with the celebration. Read More
8. Neura Robotics brings in another $16M
Neura Robotics (“NEURA Robotics”), a German-based emerging AI and robotics startup, announced that it brought in $16 million in funding just months after closing a $55 million round. The latest round comes from private equity firm InterAlphen Partners. InterAlphen’s investment in Neura will bolster its growth and expansion into the US market. Neura is currently on track to bringing a multi-purpose humanoid robot to the market. Read More
7. Building a full-stack robotics company in the age of large AI models
In today’s fundraising environment with its intense focus on cash flow-positive business models, robotics entrepreneurs are left navigating some thorny challenges: high CapEx costs, workflow and change management, and long enterprise deployment cycles to name a few. Read More
6. Electric Sheep acquires 2 traditional landscaping companies
Electric Sheep, a provider of autonomous large-scale outdoor maintenance, is acquiring two commercial landscaping businesses, Phenix Landscape and Complete Landscaping. The acquisitions are part of the company’s long-term strategy to consolidate the landscaping industry. Read More
5. PAL Robotics integrates magnetic encoder technology into robots to achieve balance
This case study focuses on REEM-C, PAL Robotics’ full-size biped humanoid robotics research platform. It is one of a family of robots that are used for many applications. REEM-C provides a fully customizable basis for research into exciting areas such as navigation, machine vision, human-robot interaction, artificial intelligence, grasping, walking and speech recognition. Read More
4. UPS unveils robotics innovations at work in its network
UPS has had a long history of driving innovations that help propel its business and bring industry-leading systems to logistics. The company recently gave insights into ways it’s strengthening its network capabilities and enhancing the employee experience through automation. Read More
3. Humanoids getting their feet wet in logistics
Amazon has started to test a humanoid robot, Digit, in its warehouses this week, raising fresh questions about how swiftly humanoids will be utilized in logistics. Made by Agility Robotics, the bipedal robot can grasp and lift objects, and it will start by shifting empty tote boxes as Amazon continues to explore new ways of automating its warehouses. Read More
2. How Zoox uses simulation to ensure its robotaxis are ready for the road
While it becomes second nature for those who have been doing it for years, driving is a complex task that requires those behind the wheel to always be at attention. Your brain is constantly making decisions about the road conditions, your speed and position, the speed and position of the cars around you, observing traffic laws, road marking, and more. Read More
1. Figure 01 humanoid takes first public steps
Figure unveiled its Figure 01 humanoid robot and demonstrated dynamic bipedal walking publically for the first time. The company has grown to 60 employees over the last year and includes engineers across AI, controls, embedded software, electrical, mechanical, actuator design, battery, integration and testing. The company announced its $70M round in May 2023 and developed the robot in a little over 12 months. Read More
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