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Advanced Farm Technologies completes $25 million Series B funding round

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Advanced Farm Technologies, developers of robotic technology for farmers, has completed a series B investment round raising $25 million to support the company’s growth in strawberry harvesting and the adaptation of its technology to apple harvesting.

The Series B funding round was led by Catapult Ventures and included all the Series A investors Kubota Corporation, Yamaha Motor Corporation, and Impact Ventures.

Kyle Cobb, president, and co-founder of Advanced Farm Technologies, says: “It is gratifying to have the ongoing support and commitment from our early investors in this funding round. It reflects all of our team’s hard work to develop and bring our TX Strawberry Harvester to the market. [Read more…] about Advanced Farm Technologies completes $25 million Series B funding round

Ambi Robotics raises $26 million in Series A funding led by Tiger Global

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Ambi Robotics, a developer of AI for highly-dexterous robotics, has closed a $26 million Series A funding round. The investment is led by new investor, Tiger Global Management, and builds on participation from existing investors Bow Capital, Vertex Ventures US and The House Fund.

The new funding comes at a time of significant customer growth and expansions just five months after the company emerged from stealth.

The funding round enables Ambi Robotics to scale the team and operations to support rapid deployments of AI-powered robotic systems throughout US supply chain operations. [Read more…] about Ambi Robotics raises $26 million in Series A funding led by Tiger Global

Berkshire Grey partners with AHS to develop warehouse robotics services

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Berkshire Grey, a developer of robotic solutions that automate supply chain processes, is partnering with Advanced Handling Systems, a system integrator of fulfillment and distribution solutions within the supply chain.

The partnership aims to help companies grow despite the labor shortages and logistics challenges that are straining the supply chain.

The two companies will combine their AI-enabled robotic automation and system design and integration services to deliver “next-generation warehouse robotics” to the world’s largest and best-known e-commerce and third party logistics providers. [Read more…] about Berkshire Grey partners with AHS to develop warehouse robotics services

Fuzzy Logic Robotics raises €2.5 million to ‘put robots in the hands of operators’

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The Franco-American start-up Fuzzy Logic Robotics announces a €2.5 million seed round of financing from two European “deeptech” funds: 42CAP, an industry-specialized German fund based in Munich, and Karista (via the Paris Region Venture Fund), an early-stage VC firm based in Paris.

Fuzzy Logic, which originated in the French start-up ecosystem (Agoranov and Wilco), is developing an “all-in-one” software platform that dramatically simplifies every step of robotization, from robotic cell design to daily reprogramming in the factory by operators.

It reproduces a virtual environment in which the robot in the factory can be controlled “on the fly” and as simply as a video game. [Read more…] about Fuzzy Logic Robotics raises €2.5 million to ‘put robots in the hands of operators’

New IDTechEx report outlines future of agricultural robotics industry

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IDTechEx has released Agricultural Robotics Market 2022-2032, a market research report exploring the technical and market factors that are shaping the emerging industry around agricultural robotics.

The agricultural robotics industry has grown quickly in recent years, spurred on by advances in robotics technology and artificial intelligence, and may be set to help alleviate some of the labor issues that are currently threatening global agriculture.

Agricultural robotics, as covered in the new IDTechEx report, can be used to automate a range of agricultural tasks, including weeding, seeding, and harvesting of fresh fruit. [Read more…] about New IDTechEx report outlines future of agricultural robotics industry

RC Mowers exceeds sales projections for its robotic mowers

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RC Mowers, makers of remote-operated robotic mowers, believes there is nothing like seeing its mowers in-person and in-action to convince prospects they need one.

The sales team has been traveling on an extensive “Great American Road Show” all over the US to meet commercial landscapers, public works departments, city, county, state and federal park systems, and city, county and state road departments.

The response and related sales of RC Mowers remote-operated robotic mowers, which are for mowing steep slopes, difficult terrain and other hazardous landscapes, has been “tremendous”, says the company. The commercial mower market is estimated to be a $4 billion industry. [Read more…] about RC Mowers exceeds sales projections for its robotic mowers

Quest Industrial launches new version of its Box Bot

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Quest Industrial has launched a new version of its palletizing robot, Box Bot.

The company says it is bringing robotic palletizing to more customers and markets with the launch of its new standardized Box Bot, the QB300 series, which is debuting at the ongoing Pack Expo.

The Box Box, a space-saving robotic palletizer with a small footprint, starting at just 8’x10’, allows an operator to design and produce exact pallet patterns quickly and easily from bags to boxes and other product types. [Read more…] about Quest Industrial launches new version of its Box Bot

RE2 Robotics launches new robotic arm for outdoor mobile applications

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RE2 Robotics, a leading developer of intelligent mobile robotic manipulation systems, marks its 20th year in business with the launch of its newest robotic arm, the RE2 Sapien 6M.

The milestone marks two successful decades of innovation and growth for the Company in the robotics industry.

Originally founded on July 20, 2001 as a defense subcontractor to Carnegie Mellon University by alumni Jorgen Pedersen, the Company incubated at the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. [Read more…] about RE2 Robotics launches new robotic arm for outdoor mobile applications

US DoD selects Stratom to migrate robotic systems from ROS-1 to ROS-2

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Stratom, a developer of autonomous ground vehicles and robotic systems for logistics and operational applications, has been selected as part of an exclusive team to deliver the US Department of Defense’s Stage II of the Modular Autonomy and Robotic Software program, which involves the collaborative migration of Robotic Technology Kernel software modules from the first version of the Robot Operating System to ROS 2. 

For nearly a decade, the US government has been developing ROS-M (Robotic Operating System-Military), an ecosystem of software architectures, reusable components and supporting infrastructure to enable rapid development and fielding of robotic and autonomous systems.

Built on ROS 1, ROS-M enables the DoD to benefit from open-source development practices while maintaining tight control over the community-developed code. However, ROS 1’s current revision, Noetic, is set to be the last version, with support ending in 2025. [Read more…] about US DoD selects Stratom to migrate robotic systems from ROS-1 to ROS-2

Timken acquires automation solutions manufacturer Intelligent Machine Solutions

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The Timken Company, a maker of engineered bearings and power transmission products, has acquired Intelligent Machine Solutions, a builder of industrial robotics and automation solutions.

The addition of iMS expands and complements Timken’s Rollon linear motion product range with larger and heavy-duty applications, such as seventh-axis robotic transfer units (RTUs) and gantry systems.

iMS, which was founded in 2008, is based in Norton Shores, Michigan, in the United States. The company, which has approximately 20 employees, designs and manufactures floor-mounted, overhead, rotary and extreme seventh-axis RTUs and gantry systems used by manufacturers across industries to automate certain production processes. [Read more…] about Timken acquires automation solutions manufacturer Intelligent Machine Solutions