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massachusetts

Baker-Polito Administration awards Harvard and Boston universities $3 million for assistive robotics research

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The Baker-Polito Administration, or the Massachusetts state government, has awarded a new grant award of $3,057,320 to Harvard University and Boston University to support the development of next-generation robotics and wearable technologies.

Researchers aim to improve the lives of people with neuro-motor impairments and to help individuals achieve ambitious fitness goals, driving innovation in a new category of rehabilitation, diagnostic, and assistive devices that are more lightweight, affordable, and connected.

Led by Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the project involves a collaboration with Boston University College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College, as well as with industry partners that are poised to bring innovations to market. [Read more…] about Baker-Polito Administration awards Harvard and Boston universities $3 million for assistive robotics research

Amazon Robotics building $40 million research and development center in Massachusetts

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Amazon is building a new Amazon Robotics innovation hub in Westborough, Massachusetts, creating 200 tech and advanced manufacturing jobs in the process.

Opening in 2021, the company plans to invest more than $40 million in the new site to allow Amazon Robotics to continue to grow its engineering, manufacturing, support and test teams in the state.

The new 350,000 square feet facility, developed by Atlantic Management of Framingham, Massachusetts, will feature corporate offices, research and development labs, and manufacturing space and will be in addition to Amazon Robotics’ current site in North Reading – together serving as the company’s “epicenter of robotics innovation”. [Read more…] about Amazon Robotics building $40 million research and development center in Massachusetts

Silicon Sensing to provide navigation technology for Mayflower autonomous ship

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Two Silicon Sensing Systems ultra-precise AMU30 inertial measurement units (IMUs) will provide critical navigation data to the autopilot capability for the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) throughout her milestone trans-Atlantic voyage this autumn.

Setting sail this September, the 15 meter-long, 5-ton MAS400 will repeat the Mayflower’s original epic voyage 400 years ago. Led by marine research organization ProMare and powered by IBM, she will sail from Plymouth, England to Plymouth Massachusetts, USA.

Instead of a captain and crew, she will use computer vision, machine learning, edge technologies and sensors to navigate and detect hazards.  [Read more…] about Silicon Sensing to provide navigation technology for Mayflower autonomous ship

Stop & Shop installs robotic bakery ‘Breadbot’ at its Massachusetts store

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Stop & Shop has teamed up with the Wilkinson Baking Company to install the Mini Bakery, also known as “Breadbot”, at its Milford, Massachusetts, store.

Stop & Shop is the only grocer on the East Coast with The Mini Bakery, offering sandwich-style bread that is fresh-from-the-oven, delicious and affordable.

The Mini Bakery – which is described as a “robotic bakery” by some – mixes, forms, proofs, bakes and cools 10 loaves of artisan bread per hour. [Read more…] about Stop & Shop installs robotic bakery ‘Breadbot’ at its Massachusetts store

nuTonomy to test its self-driving cars on public roads in Boston

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On-street testing will begin before the end of 2016 in Raymond Flynn Marine Park

nuTonomy, the developer of software for self-driving cars, has signed a deal with the City of Boston and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation that authorizes nuTonomy to begin testing its growing fleet of self-driving cars on specific public streets in a designated area of Boston.

nuTonomy will begin testing its self-driving Renault Zoe electric vehicle before the end of the year in the Raymond L Flynn Marine Park in the Seaport section of the city.

nuTonomy outfits its vehicles with a state-of-the art software system, which has been integrated with high-performance sensing and computing components, to enable safe operation without a driver.  [Read more…] about nuTonomy to test its self-driving cars on public roads in Boston

Massachusetts robotics companies employed 4,700 workers and generated $1.6 billion in revenue

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Massachusetts Robotics Cluster report identifies “world-class companies and research centers driving innovation”, outlines opportunities for future growth

New research released today by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative cites 122 companies that now comprise the Commonwealth’s robotics cluster and that these firms employed over 4,700 workers and generated over $1.6 billion in revenue in 2015 alone.

The report also identified 33 new robotics startups that were created in Massachusetts over the past five years, an increase of 31 percent.

In addition to an assessment of the current state of the industry, the Massachusetts Robotics Cluster Report also outlines the key robotics sub-sectors where the Commonwealth is taking a global leadership role, including marine robotics, ecommerce logistics technologies, and collaborative robotics.  [Read more…] about Massachusetts robotics companies employed 4,700 workers and generated $1.6 billion in revenue