Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

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Mitsubishi Electric takes a stake in Realtime Robotics

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Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has taken an equity stake in Realtime Robotics, Inc. a U.S. technology startup that develops and commercialises motion-planning technologies.

Motion planning is the process of calculating and determining the optimised path that a robot should take to reach a goal without colliding with any obstacle. Realtime Robotics’ motion path planning solution performs the necessary calculations in real time.

Funding by Mitsubishi Electric is expected to accelerate the development of industrial robot systems offering enhanced safety and performance.

[Read more…] about Mitsubishi Electric takes a stake in Realtime Robotics

Robotic toymaker Anki to close down

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Anki, a startup company which made robotic toy cars and trucks, is planning to close its doors, according to a report on the Recode website.

The company had raised more than $200 million in funding for the venture, and generated $100 million in revenue in 2017, but is now making all of its 200 employees redundant.

In a statement to Recode, the company says that it had been left “without significant funding” which meant it could not finance its hardware and software development plans going forward.

[Read more…] about Robotic toymaker Anki to close down

Swisslog wins two large orders in Scandinavia and Southeast Asia

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Swisslog has been commissioned to carry out the comprehensive automation of the Coop warehouse in Langhus.

The delivery includes a high-bay pallet warehouse with six Vectura stacker cranes and a conveyor system, which are controlled by the intelligent Swisslog software SynQ.

 The new distribution centre will be in full operation at the beginning of 2021.

[Read more…] about Swisslog wins two large orders in Scandinavia and Southeast Asia

AImotive raises $38 million funding for its autonomous driving technology

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AImotive, a startup developer of autonomous vehicle technology, has closed its $38 million Series C funding round.

The funding round was led by B Capital Group and Prime Ventures, with participation from Cisco Investments, Samsung Catalyst Fund, and Series A and B investors Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Inventure, Draper Associates and Day One Capital.

AImotive will use this new round of funding to continue developing its proprietary autonomous driving technology, which relies primarily on affordable, off-the-shelf camera sensors and artificial intelligence-based vision processing.  [Read more…] about AImotive raises $38 million funding for its autonomous driving technology

If you enjoy doing the laundry, this could be your nightmare come true

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threadrobe VerticalUnit_DoorOpen

Startup company ThreadRobe launches “automated wardrobe”, eliminates laundry chores

There are few chores that Americans hate more than laundry, according to ThreadRobe, the Alexandria-based startup which aims to change millions the drudgery of the chore by introducing an automated piece of furniture that eliminates the need to fold, hang, and put away laundry. 

Users place loads of clean clothing from the dryer directly into the automated wardrobe’s bin – no sorting, folding, or hanging required.

The wardrobe separates, identifies and stores them. When you want clothes back, select an outfit in the mobile app, which notifies the wardrobe to retrieve and steam those items to your specifications.  [Read more…] about If you enjoy doing the laundry, this could be your nightmare come true

Startup launches desktop robot selling for less than $300

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ufactory uarm robot

These days, it seems barely a week goes by without someone somewhere building a robotic arm of some description. 

Using components which can be bought from almost anywhere online, and chipsets such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi, the “makers” of the world are launching more and more sophisticated pieces of equipment.

While there are internationally agreed codes about what defines a true “collaborative” robot and other industrial-standard machines, startups are bypassing those specifications and releasing products which may eventually require some sort of regulation of their own.  [Read more…] about Startup launches desktop robot selling for less than $300

Startup claims launch of ‘world’s first robot to sew complete garment’

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Sewbo says its development is a major breakthrough in clothing manufacturing 

A startup company in America is claiming to have developed a robotic system which can make complete garments. 

The simple combination of a robot and a sewing machine has resulted in what the owner, Jonathan Zornow, says is “the world’s first robotically-sewn garment”.

Zornow says: “Many people are surprised to learn that this is the very first time that a robot has sewn a piece of clothing.

“Despite decades and millions of dollars worth of industrial research, the big hurdle has been that robots can’t reliably handle fabrics.”  [Read more…] about Startup claims launch of ‘world’s first robot to sew complete garment’

Startup company claims it has developed ‘the world’s best’ all-in-one Arduino-based platform

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A startup company has released an Arduino-based, open-source prototyping platform which can be used to build autonomous vehicles and robotic arms as well as home automation systems. 

Called Evive – and stylised as evive – the electronic prototyping platform has been raising funds on Indiegogo, reaching 75 per cent of the way to its goal of $30,000.

In exclusive comments to Robotics and Automation News, Akshat Agarwal, CTO and co-founder, says: “Evive is an Arduino based open-source platform for learning and prototyping electronics circuits, creating robots and hacking together IoT solutions. It has been designed as a one-stop solution for the student, hobbyist and maker communities.”  [Read more…] about Startup company claims it has developed ‘the world’s best’ all-in-one Arduino-based platform

Yamaha buys into autonomous vehicle tech startup

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veniam, v2x, v2v, yamaha
Veniam already has customers for its autonomous vehicle networking technology, which utilises IoT

Yamaha has bought a tech startup that develops networks for autonomous road vehicles. The Japanese manufacturer most famous for its motorcycles made an investment of $2 million into Silicon Valley startup company Veniam.

The company says this investment represents the first opportunity explored by its new business subsidiary, Yamaha Motor Ventures and Laboratory Silicon Valley (YMVSV), which began operations in Silicon Valley in August 2015.

Veniam is engaged in the service provision and communication hardware development and sale of wireless mesh networking, a technology that is suited to communication between moving vehicles, and between moving vehicles and stationary objects.

In other words, Veniam has developed technology which provides fleets of vehicles with network connectivity for vehicle telemetry and communications, as well as internet access to passengers in the car. [Read more…] about Yamaha buys into autonomous vehicle tech startup