Robotics & Automation News

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Wingtra lands $22 million funding round for its commercial drones

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The business use case and appetite for drone technology is growing rapidly, a marketplace that was worth $29.8 billion in 2022 and is growing 38.6 percent annually.

Serving this demand, Wingtra, which claims to be the world’s largest producer of commercial vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones, has closed a $22 million series B funding round as they accelerate their operations globally.

The funding round included DiamondStream Partners, EquityPitcher Ventures, Verve Ventures, the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund), ACE & Company, John L. Steffens (founder of Spring Mountain Capital) and some of the most successful Swiss Entrepreneurs. [Read more…] about Wingtra lands $22 million funding round for its commercial drones

3 Things to Know When Transporting Your Robot

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We’re now on the pace of mechanical and AI technology advancement and development. A time when people use the help of a robot for a particular task.

Robots are now in demand for health care, agriculture, food preparation, manufacturing industries, and the military. There are even robotic pets now for common households. [Read more…] about 3 Things to Know When Transporting Your Robot

Yamaha Motor Ventures leads $7.5 million funding round for Verge Ag

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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

Electric Sheep Robotics launches its Dexter robotic lawnmower system

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Electric Sheep Robotics, the leader in autonomous lawn mowing, has officially launched its Dexter robot.

Dexter takes existing commercial lawn mowers, both gas and electric, and turns them into autonomous vehicles. Dexter is designed to address critical labor shortages in the landscaping, facilities, and property management industries.

Nationally, a record 4.5 million US workers quit their jobs in November. There are more job openings than there are workers. The labor market in landscaping is particularly dire. [Read more…] about Electric Sheep Robotics launches its Dexter robotic lawnmower system

Volarious demonstrates drone that can accompany boats

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Volarious has demonstrated a new tethered drone system that enables the DJI Mavic 2 drone to autonomously take off, follow, and land safely on small vessels.

Firefighters and police drone team has been using the V-Line tethered system for the Mavic 2 drone in a variety of situation on land. The Volarious product is called the V-Line boat mode.

It can also be used in coastline surveillance, search and rescue operations. A drone can take off, follow, and land on small vessels autonomously while providing a real-time elevated view of high resolution thermal and RGB images and video streams at the comfort of the cabin. [Read more…] about Volarious demonstrates drone that can accompany boats

Agtonomy launches out of stealth to address farm labor crisis with $4 million

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Agtonomy, a hybrid autonomy and tele-assist service platform, has launched out of stealth and has announced a $4 million seed round from Grit Ventures, GV (formerly 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.

The Agtonomy mission is to address the massive labor crisis gripping local farm and land maintenance operations. The executive team consists of veterans from the AI, EV, cloud service and agriculture industries, with extensive experience at tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Dell, Uber and Cruise, as well as lifelong farming experience at Northern California agriculture operations such as Trattore Farms.

By 2050, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization predicts that we will need to produce 60 percent more food on a smaller amount of land just to feed a growing global population of 9.3 billion. [Read more…] about Agtonomy launches out of stealth to address farm labor crisis with $4 million

The Future of Robotics in Large-Scale Clearing Operations

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Remote-controlled garbage bins used to glide through America’s most beloved theme parks, Disneyland and Walt Disney World, encourage visitors to put trash inside of them, but the widespread usage of robotics in larger-scale cleaning operations, such as land clearance, is still on the horizon.

Large machinery, such as mulchers, backhoes, and bulldozers, is generally utilized to clear spaces for new developments, whether they are industrial, commercial, or residential.

The technology used in these large machines is evolving rapidly, so these big machines do provide impressive performance. However, when it comes to efficient, eco-conscious cleaning and clearing in the future, robotics will surely play a bigger role. [Read more…] about The Future of Robotics in Large-Scale Clearing Operations

Mitsubishi Electric to acquire Sharp factory to expand power device business

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Mitsubishi Electric has agreed to acquire buildings and land from Sharp Fukuyama Semiconductor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sharp Corporation located in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

The acquired properties will serve as a new site where Mitsubishi Electric’s Power Device Works will process wafers for the manufacture of power semiconductors.

New production facilities scheduled to start up in November of next year will enable Mitsubishi Electric to expand its power device business. [Read more…] about Mitsubishi Electric to acquire Sharp factory to expand power device business

9,000 elephants: Heaviest things ever moved on land

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People travel all over the globe to see the many great wonders of our world, but does it ever cross your mind of how they got there in the first place?

Transporting impossibly large items has been a mechanical and logistical challenge for thousands of years, becoming even more tricky when shifting things overseas with ships.

Famous sites such as the Statue of Liberty were disassembled in Paris and then packed into 214 wooden crates and shipped across the Atlantic in 1885. [Read more…] about 9,000 elephants: Heaviest things ever moved on land

Wynright aims to double sales after opening new $26 million manufacturing facility

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Wynright, a wholly-owned subsidiary of material handling giant Daifuku, says it aims to double sales after it opens its new $26 million manufacturing facility at the end of this year.

Wynright plans to expand its North American US manufacturing capabilities in the Greater Chicago area. The company will consolidate its existing factories in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, and Oak Lawn, Illinois into a new, larger facility in Hobart, Indiana, in phases, by the end of December 2019.

In line with the completion of the new factory, the existing factories in Elk Grove and Oak Lawn in Illinois will close. Daifuku Wynright has offered all employees at both sites the opportunity to continue with the company at the new facility. More than 80 percent of current employees have confirmed their intention to do so. [Read more…] about Wynright aims to double sales after opening new $26 million manufacturing facility