Where Innovation Meets Imagination
Everyone’s familiar with vending machines – the ones that dispense food and drinks after you pay into it, perhaps using cash or a card.
But they’ve evolved into much larger systems which could be described as fully automated stores.
A company called Cleveron calls the automated stores it supplies “robots”, which makes us wonder yet again about the definition of a robot. [Read more…] about Cleveron launches the world’s first ‘grocery robot’ with two temperature zones
Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), a software-and-hardware technology which enables a mobile device to map its environment while positioning itself within it, is a crucial driver for robotics.
SLAM will enable the transition from automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) in the industrial space.
According to report by global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research, the installed base of SLAM-enabled commercial and industrial robots will exceed 15 million by 2030. [Read more…] about SLAM software paving the way for new generation autonomous mobile robots
Starship Technologies, which makes an autonomous delivery robot, has closed $40 million in Series A funding.
The company, which has just become the first to complete 100,000 commercial deliveries, also announced that it plans to expand its service to 100 university campuses in the next 24 months.
Delivery robots arrived today at the University of Pittsburgh. Purdue University, Indiana is launching on September 9 with more following shortly. [Read more…] about Starship robots make 100,000 deliveries as startup raises $40 million in funding
GreyOrange, a warehouse and supply chain robotics company, says it has reached partnership agreements with eight warehouse industry leaders in the United States.
The companies are:
These companies will join forces with GreyOrange to help sell, integrate and service GreyOrange technology. [Read more…] about GreyOrange partners with eight supply chain companies in the US
Logistics giant UPS has invested in autonomous trucking startup TuSimple, and has already made some deliveries with driverless vehicles.
UPS says its venture capital arm, UPS Ventures, has made a minority investment in autonomous driving company TuSimple.
Together, both companies are testing self-driving tractor-trailers on a route in Arizona to determine whether the vehicles can improve service and efficiency in the UPS network. [Read more…] about UPS invests in and already making deliveries with autonomous trucking company TuSimple
Sportamore, one of the largest and fastest-growing online vendors of sports clothing and equipment in the Nordic countries, has expanded its automated central warehouse in Eskilstuna in cooperation with Swisslog.
The expansion began in February 2018 and was finished according to plan in February 2019.
Sema Söderhäll, chief logistics officer at Sportamore, says: “Together with Swisslog, we were able to complete the expansion without disrupting our regular production, something we’re very grateful for.” [Read more…] about Sportamore opts for Swisslog to expand automated warehouse
Attabotics, a robotics company specialising in supply chain technology, has raised $25 million in Series B funding from financial and strategic investors.
Participants in the round included Coatue, Comcast Ventures, and Honeywell alongside returning early investors Forerunner Ventures and Werklund Growth Fund.
The new funding will go toward supporting Attabotics’ continued, explosive growth, including new hires, scaling manufacturing operations, the development of new technologies, and more. Attabotics has raised $32.7 million in funding to date. [Read more…] about Attabotics raises $25 million to ‘transform supply chains’
Ever since Amazon acquired Kiva Systems in 2012 for $775 million and took the startup company’s robots off the market, warehouse managers have been looking for alternative suppliers.
At that time, there simply no significantly well-known alternatives or proven solutions, but now, seven years on, there is a relatively large number of companies which build and supply warehouse robots.
It’s highly unlikely to be a coincidence that, in the intervening years, Amazon has grown extremely fast to become not only the world’s largest online retailer but also one of the largest logistics companies – not just in its native US, but worldwide. [Read more…] about From old mail order catalogues to same-day delivery: Warehouse robots are the quintessential sign of changing times
Fetch Robotics, a provider of warehouse automation technologies, has raised $46 million in its Series C round of funding.
The round was led by Fort Ross Ventures, with additional participation from CEAS Investments, Redwood Technologies, TransLink Capital and Zebra Ventures.
All existing investors – O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Softbank Capital and Sway Ventures – also participated in this round. [Read more…] about Warehouse automation company Fetch Robotics raises $46 million in latest funding round
The world of logistics has, in recent years, been radically altered by automation.
More than ever before, the process of getting a package from one location to another has been put into the hands of machines, and the change is behind many of the recent improvements in packaging and distribution that even small businesses can enjoy.
But exactly how does automation impact the delivery process, and what changes might we continue to see in the future? Let’s take a look. [Read more…] about How Automation has Transformed the Delivery Process
