The Robot Report

  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Exoskeletons
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Markets
    • Agriculture
    • Healthcare
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining
    • Security
  • Financial
    • Investments
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Earnings
  • Resources
    • Careers
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Issues
    • Publications
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
      • Robotics Business Review
    • RBR50 Winners 2022
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
    • Robotics Weeks
  • Podcast
    • Episodes
    • Leave a voicemail

Top 10 robotics stories of October

By Steve Crowe | November 1, 2021

Listen to this article
Voiced by Amazon Polly

What a month it was for robotics. Whether it was DeepMind acquiring the MuJoCo physics simulator or Waymo’s self-driving cars getting stuck on a dead-end street in San Francisco, there was no shortage of robotics stories to cover in October.

Here are the Top 10 most popular robotics stories on The Robot Report in October 2021. Subscribe to The Robot Report‘s newsletter to stay updated on the robotics stories you need to know about.


Classic Mini autonomy stack

10. Retrofitting a Classic Mini with an autonomy stack

Adam Rodnitzsky and the folks at Tangram Vision added an autonomy stack to a Classic Austin Mini Cooper. The car didn’t drive autonomously drive around Thunderhill Raceway Park, but it was able to gather data at high speed. It was an opportunity for Tangram Vision to test new sensor streaming, fusion, and runtime modules that our team has been building over the past few months. Read Story


An ABB robot assembles a seat into an automotive

9. ABB paid $190M for ASTI Mobile Robotics

Thanks to the release of its third quarter 2021 financial results, we now know how much ABB paid to acquire ASTI Mobile Robotics. ABB spent $190 million, including $7 million in cash, in July 2021 to acquire the Spanish developer of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). Here’s how this deal compares to other recent acquisitions. Read Story


Leopard Imaging Hawk 3D depth camera

8. Leopard Imaging launches Hawk 3D depth camera for robotics

Leopard Imaging introduced its Hawk 3D depth camera for $349. The camera, which supports NVIDIA’s Jetson edge AI and Isaac robotics platforms, is designed to deliver real-time, accurate depth perception. Read Story


Reliable Robotics partners with Giumarra to bring drone deliveries from farm to market

7. Reliable Robotics raises $100M for autonomous flight tech

Reliable Robotics, a Mountain View, Calif.-based developer of autonomous flight technology, raised $100 million in Series C funding today. Founded in 2017, Reliable Robotics has now raised more than $133 million. Its technology handles all phases of flight, including taxi, takeoff, landing and parking. Licensed pilots remotely supervise each flight from a control center. Read Story


AutoStore

6. AutoStore stock surges during Oslo Stock Exchange IPO

AutoStore, a 2021 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award Winner, made its debut this month on Euronext’s Oslo Stock Exchange. The Norwegian robotics firm priced its initial public offering (IPO) at 31 Norwegian crowns per share, which valued the company at 103.5 billion crowns ($12.4 billion). According to Reuters, AutoStore is Norway’s biggest IPO in two decades. Read Story


Abundant Robotics

5. Wavemaker Labs acquires IP from agtech startup Abundant Robotics

Wavemaker Labs, a corporate venture studio and product development incubator, acquired the intellectual property from Abundant Robotics. Abundant Robotics, an agrobotics startup that spun out off SRI International in 2016, was developing a robot to harvest apples before it shut down in June. Wavemaker portfolio company Future Acres is exploring how to leverage some of the IP to potentially enhance its Carry mobile robot. Read Story


Waymo robotaxis San Francisco

4. Why Waymo’s cars keep hitting same SF dead-end street

Waymo’s self-driving cars kept getting stuck on a dead-end street in San Francisco? According to Waymo, it has nothing to do with its autonomous driving technology being confused, a mapping issue, or a maneuver it’s trying to perfect. Here’s why. Read Story


Dexterity

3. Dexterity raises $140M to scale full-stack robotic picking

After emerging from stealth mode in July 2020 with $56.2 million in Series A funding, Redwood City, Calif.-based Dexterity today raised another $140 million in Series B equity funding and debt. The latest round valued Dexterity, which has already raised more than $200 million since it was founded in 2017, at $1.4 billion. Read Story


2. DeepMind acquires MuJoCo physics engine for robotics R&D

DeepMind, an AI research lab and subsidiary of Alphabet, acquired the MuJoCo physics engine for robotics research and development. DeepMind is currently working to open-source MuJoCo and make it free for everyone in 2022. When open-sourcing the system is complete, the GitHub repository will become the new home for MuJoco. Read Story


TurtleBot 4

1. TurtleBot 4 re-designed from ground up with ROS 2

Clearpath Robotics and Open Robotics announced TurtleBot 4, the next generation of the popular open-source mobile robotics platform. TurtleBot 4 aims to build on the success of previous versions by providing a low-cost, fully extensible, ROS-enabled reference platform for robotics researchers, developers, and educators. Read Story

About The Author

Steve Crowe

Steve Crowe is Editorial Director, Robotics, WTWH Media, and co-chair of the Robotics Summit & Expo. He joined WTWH Media in January 2018 after spending four-plus years as Managing Editor of Robotics Trends Media. He can be reached at [email protected]

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles Read More >

robots in mine
Hiring levels for robotics jobs in mining hit year high in May
UR cobots evolution
The evolution of Universal Robots’ cobot arms
A3 robots
Robot sales hit record high in first quarter of 2022
2022 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award Winners

2021 Robotics Handbook

The Robot Report Listing Database

Latest Robotics News

Robot Report Podcast

Anders Beck introduces the UR20; California bans autonomous tractors
See More >

Sponsored Content

  • Magnetic encoders support the stabilization control of a self-balancing two-wheeled robotic vehicle
  • How to best choose your AGV’s Wheel Drive provider
  • Meet Trey, the autonomous trailer (un)loading forklift
  • Kinova Robotics launches Link 6, the first Canadian industrial collaborative robot
  • Torque sensors help make human/robot collaborations safer for workers

RBR50 Innovation Awards

Leave us a voicemail

The Robot Report
  • Mobile Robot Guide
  • Collaborative Robotics Trends
  • Field Robotics Forum
  • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
  • RoboBusiness Event
  • Robotics Business Review
  • Robotics Summit & Expo
  • About The Robot Report
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search The Robot Report

  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Exoskeletons
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Markets
    • Agriculture
    • Healthcare
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining
    • Security
  • Financial
    • Investments
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Earnings
  • Resources
    • Careers
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Issues
    • Publications
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
      • Robotics Business Review
    • RBR50 Winners 2022
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
    • Robotics Weeks
  • Podcast
    • Episodes
    • Leave a voicemail