Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

navigation

Naïo Technologies raises €14 million for farm robot business

by Leave a Comment

Startup company Naïo Technologies has raised €14 million in a new funding round to develop and expand its farming robots business.

After a first round of €3 million in 2015, the French start-up Naïo Technologies specialized in agricultural robots, announces the closing of a €14 million funding round led by Bpifrance.

Impact investor Pymwymic and Codema and its historical shareholders, Demeter and Capagro, flanked Bpifrance in this investment round. [Read more…] about Naïo Technologies raises €14 million for farm robot business

Silicon Sensing to provide navigation technology for Mayflower autonomous ship

by Leave a Comment

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

BlueBotics signs up South Korean distributor

by Leave a Comment

BlueBotics, the global reference in natural feature navigation for automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), has further strengthened its footprint in Asia by announcing a new distribution agreement with South Korean motion and control pioneer MacPion.

BlueBotics’ Autonomous Navigation Technology (ANT) is being integrated by an ever-growing number of industrial vehicle original equipment manufacturers and system integrators across the globe, having been applied across a wide range of applications – from shop floors to warehouses, clean rooms, hospitals and more – over the past decade.

Nicola Tomatis, the CEO of BlueBotics, says: “Our ANT technology is fast becoming the localization and navigation solution of choice for Asia’s autonomous vehicle producers. [Read more…] about BlueBotics signs up South Korean distributor

Aceinna launches ‘smallest’ high-precision localization tech

by Leave a Comment

Automotive electronics company Aceinna has launched the new OpenRTK330L, which it describes as a “low cost, state-of-the-art, high-performance” triple-band RTK/GNSS receiver with built-in triple redundant inertial sensors.

Designed to replace the expensive and bulky precision RTK/INS systems used in today’s autonomous systems, this compact navigation solution meets the challenging performance, reliability and cost requirements of the automotive market along with the needs of robot, drone, construction and agriculture systems.

Mike Horton, CTO of Aceinna, says: “The combination of a triple-band GNSS receiver and a high-precision IMU has enabled us to make a remarkably accurate, small, reliable and cost-effective GNSS/INS solution. [Read more…] about Aceinna launches ‘smallest’ high-precision localization tech

ACEINNA wins award for autonomous car navigation and guidance technologies

by Leave a Comment

ACEINNA has received an AVT ACES Award for their industry leading OpenIMU technology platform from Autonomous Vehicle Technology Magazine for autonomous vehicle guidance and navigation.

AVT magazine awarded the ACES Award to ACEINNA’s OpenIMU open-source software stack, spotlighting it as an affordable and easy to use method to develop navigation solutions for many types of autonomous vehicles.

AVT Magazine also recognized ACEINNA for developing innovative products and demonstrating ACEINNA’s industry leadership. [Read more…] about ACEINNA wins award for autonomous car navigation and guidance technologies

Advanced Navigation raises $13 million to ‘transform’ robotics and self-driving cars

by Leave a Comment

Robotics and artificial intelligence sensor developer Advanced Navigation has raised $13 million in a Series A funding.

The investment round was led by Main Sequence Ventures’ CSIRO Innovation Fund, alongside US venture firms Brick & Mortar Ventures and In-Q-Tel.

The round will fund a significant global expansion for Advanced Navigation and accelerate research and development programs for what the company describes as “transformative new robotics, navigation and sensor technologies”. [Read more…] about Advanced Navigation raises $13 million to ‘transform’ robotics and self-driving cars

BlueBotics marks 10 years of its AGV operating system

by Leave a Comment

BlueBotics has marked 10 years of its Autonomous Navigation Technology operating system for automated guided vehicles.

BlueBotics chose the recent CeMAT event in China as the platform to celebrate ANT’s 10-year milestone, since the first vehicle driven by its ANT went into commercial operation.

The company also showcased its ANT lite+ and ANT localization+ products’ new support for omnidirectional vehicle movements at the show. [Read more…] about BlueBotics marks 10 years of its AGV operating system

Zimmer robotic surgery system found to improve accuracy

by Leave a Comment

A newly developed robotic surgery system has been found to improve surgeon accuracy in knee operations.

The Zimmer Biomet ROSA Knee System provides surgeons “an intuitive inference displaying planned resections throughout cuts and a validation tool to verify cuts’ accuracy in real-time”, says the company.

Zimmer Biomet is a Warsaw, Indiana-based company which designs and manufactures a range of musculoskeletal healthcare products. [Read more…] about Zimmer robotic surgery system found to improve accuracy

MIT develops navigation method to help delivery robots find the front door

by Leave a Comment

MIT has developed a navigation method that is designed to help delivery robots find the front door of an address. (See video below.)

Standard approaches for robotic navigation involve mapping an area ahead of time, then using algorithms to guide a robot toward a specific goal or GPS coordinate on the map.

MIT says that, while this approach might make sense for exploring specific environments, such as the layout of a particular building or planned obstacle course, this method can become “unwieldy in the context of last-mile delivery”. [Read more…] about MIT develops navigation method to help delivery robots find the front door

HRG launches new ‘automated guided vehicle’

by

HRG has launched what it describes as an “automated guided vehicle”, although it appears to have the technology that is also found in autonomous mobile robots, which are slightly different.

AGVs are older technology and are limited in their ability to navigate their way round a facility – usually, magnetic strips are fixed to the floor to guide them.

HRG says its AGV integrates “simultaneous localization and mapping”, or SLAM, the navigation technology that gives AMRs their autonomy. [Read more…] about HRG launches new ‘automated guided vehicle’