Market trends and business perspectives
Estonian company Auve Tech has launched a new generation self-driving vehicle.
MiCa is the latest self-driving shuttle from Auve Tech, which specializes in developing and producing autonomous vehicles.
The startup says MiCa takes safety, practicality and self-driving to “a new level” and allows autonomous driving in various weather and traffic conditions. [Read more…] about Auve Tech launches new generation self-driving vehicle
Ally Robotics, a startup making smart and affordable robotic arms, has launched a campaign to raise up to $8.5 million in seed capital via equity crowdfunding site WAX.
Founded by innovative leaders in the robotics and artificial intelligence industry, Ally is already backed by restaurant automation leader Miso Robotics, who has signed a statement of intent to become Ally’s first partner and purchase its robotic arms for its Flippy 2 product line, representing a potential revenue of $30 million.
While robotics and automation have helped alleviate the well-documented labor shortage, the majority of robots in the world are too expensive and are only deployed for the most difficult tasks that require heavy lifting or minute precision. [Read more…] about Ally Robotics aims to raise $8.5 million to bring automation to the restaurant industry
Embark Trucks, a developer of autonomous technology for the trucking industry, says US Xpress has joined the Embark Partner Development Program and plans to add its terminals to the Embark Coverage Map.
This partnership marks a significant milestone by adding a fleet’s properties into an autonomous truck developer’s transfer point network.
Embark pioneered the transfer point model in 2019 when the company unveiled its first sites in Los Angeles and Phoenix. Transfer points are used to move freight from driverless, long-haul trucks to driver-enabled trucks for first- and last-mile delivery. [Read more…] about Embark and US Xpress partner to build nationwide terminal network for autonomous trucks
Yamaha Motor Ventures, the strategic business development and investment arm of Yamaha Motor, has led a $7.5 million Series A funding round for Verge Ag, a precision agriculture company.
Verge claims to be the developer of the world’s first AI-powered interactive software that enables farmers to plan, simulate, and validate the movement of equipment in the field and execute field operations efficiently.
Nolan Paul, partner and Global Ag Tech lead for Yamaha Motor Ventures, says: “This investment in Verge Ag underlines our thesis that precision farming technologies are mission critical to a sustainable future for agriculture. [Read more…] about Yamaha Motor Ventures leads $7.5 million funding round for Verge Ag
Comau and IUVO are developing an innovative wearable robotics solution to improve the ergonomics of operators engaged in manually moving loads at Esselunga, a leading large-scale retail trade company. The aim is to improve well-being by reducing lower back fatigue.
The action of the exoskeleton will assist the back muscles that are typically stimulated during lifting and handling tasks, thus creating short- and long-term benefits through a significant reduction in physical effort and fatigue.
There are three protagonists of the project. Comau’s role is to lead the engineering process related to the new exoskeletal device for lumbar support. IUVO’s design team will specialize in the conception, development and testing of wearable robotic technologies. [Read more…] about Comau and IUVO design new wearable robots to support manual work
Amazon is investing $1 billion into the industrial sector to “spur supply chain, fulfillment, and logistics innovation and further improve the customer and employee experience”.
The $1 billion venture investment program is called the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund (AIIF).
As customers increasingly shop online and look for even faster delivery, Amazon says it is continuing to invent new ways to raise the bar on customer and employee experience while working with other companies focused on those fields. [Read more…] about Amazon launches $1 billion industrial innovation fund
The automotive industry is a vital part of the global economy, and the export of cars is a significant contributor to this.
There are several reasons countries export cars. For example, a country may have a surplus of cars that it cannot sell domestically, or it may seek to take advantage of attractive foreign markets.
Whatever the reason, exporting cars can be a complex process, and there are a number of things that need to be taken into consideration. [Read more…] about Car Exports 101
Shipbuilder Fincantieri and Comau Robotics, two Italian industrial giants in their respective markets, have signed a letter of intent to develop prototypes of robotized steel welding solutions and the resulting construction of series of machines, to be implemented at first in Fincantieri shipyards.
Paolo Carmassi, Comau CEO, and Fabio Gallia, Fincantieri general manager, signed the agreement.
The first joint project, of which the operating agreement is currently under way and related tests are scheduled at the Fincantieri shipyards by the first half of the year 2022, will involve a welding robot vehicle consisting of an anthropomorphic welding robot and a remote control tracked vehicle. [Read more…] about Comau to develop new robotic systems with shipbuilder Fincantieri
A team from the Autonomous Systems Lab at the public research university ETH Zurich in Switzerland is creating robots and intelligent systems that are able to learn on the job. (See video below.)
The team’s machine – which consists of a robotic arm mounted on a mobile platform – can “autonomously operate in complex and diverse environments”, says an article on Clearpath Robotics’ website.
Using a Clearpath Ridgeback as a base and equipped with a Franka Emika Panda manipulator arm (called RoyalPanda, that is Ridgeback + Panda), the team is experimenting with a series of different scenarios to develop best practices of how a robot could “learn”. [Read more…] about Swiss university developing mobile robot that learns on the job
The US Federal Aviation Administration has given Amazon permission to make drone deliveries, certifying the company as an “air carrier” – basically like an airline company.
The world’s largest online retailer has been trying to get permits to operate its Amazon Prime Air drones for several years, making test deliveries by drones while it waits.
One sticking point was that the FAA had originally wanted drone operators to maintain human vision on the drone while in the air. [Read more…] about US gives Amazon permission to make drone deliveries
