Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Sam Francis

Numurus secures $2 million to grow its open-source robotic applications software business

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Numurus, a robotic solutions company and developer of NEPI, a commercial open-source software solution for robotic and smart sensing applications, has secured $2 million in funding led by Tokusui Corporation of America.

The startup says the funds will help it to establish its position in the rapidly growing robotics and smart sensing markets.

Combined with previous funding, this investment fortifies Numurus’ first-to-market entrance with its fully-developed NEPI software suite that focuses on edge artificial intelligence (Edge AI), sensor and data abstraction, and system interfacing. [Read more…] about Numurus secures $2 million to grow its open-source robotic applications software business

Port of Rotterdam selects Airwayz as partner to develop prototype drone airspace

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Port of Rotterdam Authority (PoR), in the Netherlands, has selected Airwayz as the partner to build the U-Space Airspace prototype for the port industrial complex.

The partnership is set for a period of two years in which the U-Space services will be set up and the Airwayz unmanned traffic management (UTM) system will be configured to the ports’ needs and requirements.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority believes that monitoring the lower airspace and offering UAS traffic services will in future greatly support drone services and allow them to thrive. [Read more…] about Port of Rotterdam selects Airwayz as partner to develop prototype drone airspace

PickNik Robotics wins contract with US Space Force

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PickNik Robotics, a provider of robotics software and engineering services, has won a SpaceWERX contract to work on robotics for the US Space Force.

In addition, the company recently won a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract for continued work on supervised autonomy for space robotics, as well as a Colorado Advanced Industries Accelerator (AIA) grant for space robotics.

Dr Dave Coleman, CEO of PickNik Robotics, says: “These three wins provide additional validation of our work in space robotics, a major focus area for our company. [Read more…] about PickNik Robotics wins contract with US Space Force

PickNik Robotics partners with Sierra Space to build robots for deep space missions and space habitats

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PickNik Robotics and Sierra Space have agreed a collaboration which will explore the implementation of robotic autonomy and controllability for autonomous maintenance of space habitat environments.

PickNik Robotics is a robotics software and engineering services company, while Sierra Space is a commercial space company with 1,100 employees, more than 500 missions and over 30 years of space flight heritage.

The companies anticipate that the robotic autonomy solutions developed with this collaboration will significantly improve the ability to support low Earth orbit (LEO), lunar and deep space missions. [Read more…] about PickNik Robotics partners with Sierra Space to build robots for deep space missions and space habitats

Bosch acquires Atlatec to boost its autonomous vehicle offerings

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Bosch is expanding its expertise in automated driving and strengthening its market position with the acquisition of Atlatec, a developer of high-definition maps for autonomous driving and simulation.

Atlatec will become part of the Bosch Cross-Domain Computing Solutions division as an independently operated company. Bosch and Atlatec have now signed agreements to this effect.

Bosch says Atlatec is “one of the world’s most innovative providers of high-resolution digital maps for driver assistance and automated driving”. [Read more…] about Bosch acquires Atlatec to boost its autonomous vehicle offerings

Sonatus unveils platform for building software-defined vehicles

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Sonatus, a developer of software defined vehicle technology, has released the next generation of its Sonatus Digital Dynamics Vehicle Platform, which “lives both in-vehicle and in the cloud”, says the company.

Following a successful debut in the Genesis GV60, Sonatus has further enhanced the cloud-side of its platform to bolster automakers’ ability to build software-defined vehicles that can be updated with new features and functionality throughout their entire lifetimes – without requiring new software development.

Given the time and resources required to develop new software, removing this barrier significantly accelerates innovation and bolsters agility, claims Sonatus. [Read more…] about Sonatus unveils platform for building software-defined vehicles

Software-defined vehicles: Apple developing self-driving car chips with South Korean company

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Tech giant Apple is developing chips for self-driving cars in partnership with a South Korean company, according to various media reports.

A website called The Elec, which seems to be a South Korean electronics industry association website, is believed to have broken the story.

In the article, Apple is reported to be “developing the chip modules and packages to be used in its so-called Apple Car with a South Korean outsourced semiconductor assembly and test company”. [Read more…] about Software-defined vehicles: Apple developing self-driving car chips with South Korean company

Facebook files patent for robotic eyeball

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Social media giant Facebook has filed a patent for a robotic eyeball, according to a report on Gizmodo.com.

The “mechanical eyeball” is said to feature human-like abilities and can be integrated to humanoid or other types of robots.

Why Facebook, which recently rebranded itself as Meta, is developing a robot eyeball is subject to considerable speculation. [Read more…] about Facebook files patent for robotic eyeball

Elon Musk and his Tesla Bot: Will humanoid robots take over the world like all of science fiction predicts?

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Arguably the world’s most visionary entrepreneur, Elon Musk, is rarely out of the news, whether it’s because of his super-duper Tesla electric cars or because of his achievements in aerospace, which include rockets and spacecraft built by his SpaceX company docking with and supplying the International Space Station.

In recent days, Musk has been in the news because of his reported comments about humanoid robots. According to Reuters and hundreds of other reputable news outlets, Musk believes humanoid robots will be an even bigger business than his Tesla car company, which at one stage was estimated to be the most valuable automaker in the world.

Musk unveiled his proposed humanoid robot – given the name “Tesla Bot” or “Optimus” for now – at a 3-hour stage presentation, which has been uploaded to YouTube. The machine is also mentioned on the Tesla company website. [Read more…] about Elon Musk and his Tesla Bot: Will humanoid robots take over the world like all of science fiction predicts?

Activ Surgical secures $45 million in Series B funding led by Cota Capital

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Activ Surgical, a digital surgery pioneer, has raised $45 million in a Series B financing round. The Series B round was led by Cota Capital, a multi-stage investment firm focused on private and public modern enterprise technology companies.

Seven new investors, including BAM Funds, Magnetar Capital, Mint Ventures, Castor Ventures, Dream One Vision and Nvidia, join existing investors DNS Capital,Tao Capital Partners, LRVHealth, Rising Tide VC, GreatPoint Ventures and ARTIS Ventures to close out the Series B round of financing.

To date, Activ Surgical has raised a total of $77 million. [Read more…] about Activ Surgical secures $45 million in Series B funding led by Cota Capital