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Starship Technologies launches North Carolina’s first robotic delivery service

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North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (A&T) and its food services provider, Sodexo, have partnered with robot maker Starship Technologies to roll out the university’s food delivery service via autonomous robots.

A&T is the first historically Black college or university to partner with Starship, as well as its first partnership in North Carolina.

Starship’s fleet of 20 autonomous, on-demand robots will deliver from three campus eateries: Qdoba, 1891 Bistro and the new Paavo’s Pizza with the goal to expand additional retail locations by next spring. [Read more…] about Starship Technologies launches North Carolina’s first robotic delivery service

UVD Robots sends its machines along supermarket aisles

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UVD Robots, a specialist manufacturer of autonomous ultraviolet disinfection robots, is partnering with OCC Commercial Consulting to offer “complete hospital-grade disinfection solutions” for supermarkets, with the aim of providing a safe shopping experience for employees and customers.

UVD Robots says that the average consumer spends about 60 hours grocery shopping per year – hours spent in an environment that may harbor different germ colonies, include shopping carts, refrigerator doors, and produce.

A study showed that grocery store carts have 361 times more bacteria than a bathroom door knob, with 75 percent of the germs found on those carts considered harmful to humans. [Read more…] about UVD Robots sends its machines along supermarket aisles

Burro raises $10.9 million Series A to accelerate commercialization of its collaborative robot platform for agriculture sector

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Burro, formerly known as Augean Robotics, an autonomy company providing solutions for the agriculture industry, has raised a $10.9 million in its Series A investment round.

The round was led by S2G Ventures and Toyota Ventures, with F-Prime Capital and the Cibus Enterprise Fund joining, along with existing investors including Radicle Growth and ffVC.

Burro robots are the first step towards an autonomous future where robots do work outdoors that people no longer want to do. Burros enable growers to boost profitability and mitigate labor shortages today by working collaboratively to force multiply workers, while also laying the foundation for more comprehensive automation tomorrow. [Read more…] about Burro raises $10.9 million Series A to accelerate commercialization of its collaborative robot platform for agriculture sector

Aim Robotics becomes part of Kassow Robots’ ecosystem

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Aim Robotics, a Danish company with headquarters in Copenhagen and an R&D centre in Odense, and Kassow Robots, also a Danish company with its headquarters in Copenhagen, have entered into a partnership.

The two companies have developed an “innovative dispensing solution” for collaborative robot use, and Aim is now part of the Kassow Robots ecosystem.

Dieter Pletscher, sales manager at Kassow Robots, says: “Innovation is crucial to us, also when it comes to our network. This electronically based robotic dispenser by Aim Robotics offers great advantages to our customers. High repeatability and quality control help companies automate their dispensing application very efficiently and effectively.” [Read more…] about Aim Robotics becomes part of Kassow Robots’ ecosystem

ABB Robotics offers South Africa’s food and beverage industry ‘a taste of the future’

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By Linda Eales, robotics division manager at ABB South Africa

The future has never looked more unpredictable for South Africa’s food and beverage (F&B) sector, as it battles a perfect storm of pressure brought on by Covid-19, changing consumer and retail consumption patterns, disrupted supply chains and ongoing scrutiny around food safety.

The food and beverage sector has been battered by a couple of high-profile food safety scares in recent years, and is scrambling to keep up with mega-trends like digitalisation and shifting consumption patterns. The good news is that this could be the perfect opportunity for the local F&B industry to reposition itself for the present and future.

F&B manufacturers increasingly need more flexibility on their production lines to enable them to adapt to changing consumer tastes and demands. At the same time, they require higher levels of productivity and efficiency, while maintaining the highest levels of product quality. In many cases, the answer to these challenges is to install a robotics solution, which makes F&B operations safer and more productive. [Read more…] about ABB Robotics offers South Africa’s food and beverage industry ‘a taste of the future’

5 French Robotics Startup Success Stories

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More companies than ever are looking to the robotics and automation sector to solve their productivity issues and drive expansion plans. Some of the most exciting leaps forward in the field of robotics are happening in France.

Since the early years of the 21st century, this country has been leading the way in robotics development, with significant innovations in automation that have redefined viticulture, e-commerce and the medical sectors alike.

With so much happening in this part of the world, anyone keen to pursue a career in robotics development may want to consider learning French as a second language. Below, we spotlight five of the biggest French robotics startup success stories. [Read more…] about 5 French Robotics Startup Success Stories

GreyOrange expands robotics reach to new European markets

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GreyOrange, a warehouse robotics and automation company, has expanded its GreyMatter operating system and Ranger MoveSmart robots in Active Ants’ e-fulfilment centre in Willebroek, Belgium.

GreyOrange says its solution to modern fulfilment has already been providing higher value and higher levels of efficiency to the Active Ants fulfilment centre in The Netherlands and has since scaled its offering to the Belgian market in preparation for surges in eCommerce demand over the end of year holiday period.

The expansion is the start of a programme to improve efficiencies across several warehouses in Europe. [Read more…] about GreyOrange expands robotics reach to new European markets

Realtime Robotics opens Japan office

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Realtime Robotics, a developer of autonomous motion planning systems for industrial robots, has opened a new office in Japan to meet the growing demand it has experienced in the region. The new office, located in Tokyo, in the Shinagawa area, will be publicly opening on October 1.

Manufacturing, logistics and automotive companies throughout the region have been looking to accelerate their adoption of industrial robotics to enhance productivity and answer labor shortages. Many have turned to Realtime Robotics to help them remove engineering complexity, reduce cycle time, lower expenses and establish greater operational efficiency.

With the opening of the new office’s lab and demonstration space, these companies will be able to directly collaborate with Realtime Robotics’ team and better understand how the company’s technology works. [Read more…] about Realtime Robotics opens Japan office

Retail robots market expected to reach $55.8 billion by 2028

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The global market for retail robots was valued at $7.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to surpass $55.8 billion by 2028, registering an annual growth rate of 30.1 percent during the forecast period (2021-2028), according to Coherent Market Insights.

Retail service robots bring the intelligence of big-data knowledge of consumers to provide useful and smart in-store customer service. Retail robots can handle scenarios from repetitive customer service inquiries to complex product recommendation.

Companies often have an opportunity to convey real-time data about their company and products whichexplains what they do, why their products are the right fit, and others. [Read more…] about Retail robots market expected to reach $55.8 billion by 2028

Vecna Robotics’ latest cloud release delivers ‘industry’s fastest and safest’ autonomous mobile robots

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Vecna Robotics, a developer of pallet-handling autonomous mobile robots and workflow orchestration, announced at Pack Expo its latest innovation designed to deliver the best AMR performance in the industry.

The new Mark 3 software release helps warehouse, distribution and manufacturing organizations double fleet performance to improve efficiency and throughput, while continuing to exceed industry safety standards.

According to a recent Peerless Research Group industry report, 24 percent of organizations plan to implement AGV or AMR technology within the next year. [Read more…] about Vecna Robotics’ latest cloud release delivers ‘industry’s fastest and safest’ autonomous mobile robots