Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

accelerate

Pickle Robot raises $26 million to develop robotics for unloading trucks

by Leave a Comment

Pickle Robot, a startup developing robotic automation systems that unload trucks, says it has “live pilot implementations” which are unloading tens-of-thousands of packages per month at customer sites in the greater Los Angeles area.

The company says it has also raised $26 million in series A funding led by Ranpak, JS Capital, Schusterman Family Investments, Catapult Ventures, and Soros Capital.

Additionally, Pickle Robot has added growth-oriented industry veterans to its leadership team to accelerate commercialization of the company’s flagship robotic unload systems. [Read more…] about Pickle Robot raises $26 million to develop robotics for unloading trucks

Pony.ai and SAIC AI Lab to develop fully driverless EV robotaxi

by Leave a Comment

Pony.ai, a leading global autonomous driving technology company, is collaborating with SAIC AI Lab, a division of SAIC Motor (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation), China’s largest auto manufacturer, to jointly explore and advance driverless technology.

Together with SAIC AI Lab, Pony.ai launched a concept vehicle based on the SAIC Marvel R model and will build out a fleet of autonomous vehicles equipped with Pony.ai’s L4-level driverless solutions, over time.

The concept car is equipped with the latest generation of Pony.ai technology, which utilizes 17 integrated automotive-grade sensors to create a 360-degree visual range covering 200 meters, eliminating blind spots around the vehicle. [Read more…] about Pony.ai and SAIC AI Lab to develop fully driverless EV robotaxi

Digital manufacturing startup Bright Machines raises $132 million in new funding

by Leave a Comment

Bright Machines, a startup which describes itself as “an innovator in software-defined manufacturing”, has raised $132 million in debt and Series B equity funding.

The equity portion of the funding, worth $100 million, was led by Eclipse Ventures. The debt portion of the funding, worth $32 million, was led by Silicon Valley Bank, and Hercules Capital.

Bright Machines intends to use the funds to accelerate the company’s growth, which includes continued expansion into high-demand industry verticals, and the development of new software and service offerings to complement its existing portfolio of products. [Read more…] about Digital manufacturing startup Bright Machines raises $132 million in new funding

Nvidia unveils Isaac Nova Orin to accelerate development of autonomous mobile robots

by Leave a Comment

Next time socks, cereal or sandpaper shows up in hours delivered to your doorstep, consider the behind-the-scenes logistics acrobatics that help get them there so fast.

Order fulfillment is a massive industry of moving parts. Heavily supported by autonomous mobile robots, warehouses can span 1 million square feet, expanding and reconfiguring to meet demands.

It’s an obstacle course of workers and bottlenecks for hospitals, retailers, airports, manufacturers and others. [Read more…] about Nvidia unveils Isaac Nova Orin to accelerate development of autonomous mobile robots

Agtonomy raises another $5 million to develop technology platform for local agriculture

by Leave a Comment

Agtonomy, a hybrid autonomy and tele-assist service platform, has raised an additional $5 million in Seed II funding from strategic and venture investors Toyota Ventures, Flybridge, Hampton VC, E²JDJ and Momenta, for a total of $9 million in seed funding to date.

The startup, which is developing a platform for local agriculture, raised $4 million in its seed round from Grit Ventures, GV (formerly called Google Ventures), and Village Global, the venture firm backed by some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Michael Dell, in September last year.

This latest round will be used to accelerate development and trials of the Agtonomy platform to address the growing labor and sustainability challenges facing local agriculture. [Read more…] about Agtonomy raises another $5 million to develop technology platform for local agriculture

SafeAI releases ‘first operating system purpose-built for autonomous heavy equipment’

by Leave a Comment

SafeAI, a developer of software for autonomous heavy equipment, has released its SafeAI Autonomous Framework, which the company claims is “the first operating system built specifically for autonomous heavy equipment”.

The company says that, with the SAF, companies can use both SafeAI’s infrastructure and industry expertise to accelerate their autonomous application development and create safer, more productive job sites faster than ever.

Off-road heavy industries know they need to deploy autonomous solutions to remain competitive. However, many do not have the time, resources or in-house expertise to build the solutions they need from the ground up. [Read more…] about SafeAI releases ‘first operating system purpose-built for autonomous heavy equipment’

DXC Luxoft and AWS partner to accelerate autonomous driving industry with Robotic Drive Cloud

by Leave a Comment

DXC Luxoft has entered into a collaboration with Amazon Web Services to accelerate the autonomous driving industry with DXC Luxoft’s Robotic Drive Cloud offering on AWS.

The Robotic Drive tooling and services provide reduced development and test times with unmatched total cost of ownership (TCO) to customers building autonomous driving systems.

The new relationship offers a tangible competitive advantage to customers by accelerating the development of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving. [Read more…] about DXC Luxoft and AWS partner to accelerate autonomous driving industry with Robotic Drive Cloud

GE Digital upgrades its industrial control offerings for ‘modern’ workers

by Leave a Comment

GE Digital has unveiled enhancements to its Cimplicity and Tracker software that “provide critical decision support for operators to make them more efficient”, says the company.

Cimplicity is GE’s name for its human-machine interface and supervisory control and data acquisition (HMI/SCADA) solution, which provides client-server visualization to monitor and control operations.

Tracker, part of GE Digital’s Proficy Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) offering, automates routing and sequencing to accelerate time to market, reduce warranty and recall exposure, and support Lean operations and building right the first time. [Read more…] about GE Digital upgrades its industrial control offerings for ‘modern’ workers

Cruise and GM partner with Microsoft to commercialize self-driving vehicles

by Leave a Comment

Cruise and General Motors have entered a long-term strategic relationship with Microsoft to accelerate the commercialization of self-driving vehicles.

The companies will bring together their software and hardware engineering excellence, cloud computing capabilities, manufacturing know-how and partner ecosystem to transform transportation to create a safer, cleaner, and more accessible world for everyone.

Dan Ammann, Cruise CEO, says: “Our mission to bring safer, better, and more affordable transportation to everyone isn’t just a tech race – it’s also a trust race. [Read more…] about Cruise and GM partner with Microsoft to commercialize self-driving vehicles

ANYbotics raises $23 million in Series A funding

by Leave a Comment

ANYbotics, a maker of four-legged robots, has raised CHF20 million ($23 million) in its Series A financing round led by Swisscom Ventures.

The startup says the funding will serve to accelerate the commercialization of its autonomous robots for industrial inspection applications.

ANYbotics enhances safety and productivity in industrial operations through autonomous mobile robots capable of navigating complex environments. [Read more…] about ANYbotics raises $23 million in Series A funding