Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

strong

Avidbots raises $70 million in latest funding round

by Leave a Comment

Avidbots, one of the world’s leading robotics companies, today announced it has raised $70 million in Series C funding.

The financing was led by Jeneration Capital, with strong participation from existing investors True Ventures, Next 47, SOSV, GGV Capital, BDC Capital, Golden Ventures, and Kensington Capital Partners.

New investors – BMO Capital Partners, Golden Vision Capital and Nicola Wealth – also joined in the latest funding round. With this financing, Avidbots has raised more than $107 million to date. [Read more…] about Avidbots raises $70 million in latest funding round

Volvo Group to establish battery production plant in Sweden

by Leave a Comment

The Volvo Group has initiated the process to establish a large-scale production plant for battery cells in Sweden.

The company says the initiative is designed to meet “the growing demand for battery electric heavy-duty vehicles and machines”.

Martin Lundstedt, president and CEO of the Volvo Group, says: “We aim to lead the transition to a decarbonized transport system and have the long-term ambition to offer our customers solutions that are 100 percent fossil free. [Read more…] about Volvo Group to establish battery production plant in Sweden

Fanuc plans to double Michigan campus to accommodate ‘automation demand’

by Leave a Comment

Fanuc, the world’s largest manufacturer of industrial robots, has launched a West Campus expansion that will push its operational space in Oakland County, Michigan to nearly two million square feet.

The construction will include a 655,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility to house manufacturing, engineering and R&D projects.

This investment in Michigan’s growing manufacturing area includes the purchase of 67 acres of land as well as the site of the former Thomas M. Cooley Law School Campus, which will provide future growth in the education of the next generation of robotics and automation workers. [Read more…] about Fanuc plans to double Michigan campus to accommodate ‘automation demand’

Ottonomy closes $3.3 million seed funding round

by Leave a Comment

Ottonomy has closed its seed funding round of $3.3 million, bringing its total funding to date to $4.9 million.

The funding is planned to support the scale of Ottobots for fully autonomous airport, retail and restaurant deliveries with its robots.

The funding round is led by Pi Ventures who back deep tech startups. Connetic Ventures and Branded Hospitality Ventures and the Founder & CEO of Addverb Technologies, Sangeet Kumar, also joined this round; making the group a dynamic mix from retail, food and robotics industry investors for Ottonomy’s seed round. [Read more…] about Ottonomy closes $3.3 million seed funding round

Geek+ and Reesink Logistic Solutions partner to implement robots in warehouses

by 1 Comment

Geekplus, a manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots for warehouses, has agreed a new partnership with one of Europe’s top system integrators, Reesink Logistic Solutions.

The two companies are entering a non-exclusive cooperation covering the entire Geekplus product range and targeting primarily Northern Europe, with a focus on the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland.

Gert Bossink, vice-president of Royal Reesink and division director of Reesink Logistic Solutions, says: “The warehouse automation market is becoming increasingly competitive and dense. [Read more…] about Geek+ and Reesink Logistic Solutions partner to implement robots in warehouses

Continental and Octiva to develop autonomous mobile robots for agriculture

by Leave a Comment

Continental and Dutch-Belgian technology company Octiva are partnering to develop autonomous mobile robotic solutions for horticulture applications.

The agreement follows Continental’s announcement that it has started the volume production of autonomous mobile robots for intralogistics.

The new AMRs being developed with Octiva will become part of Continental’s second product line “Agriculture” in the market of autonomous mobile robots. [Read more…] about Continental and Octiva to develop autonomous mobile robots for agriculture

Volvo, Daimler, and Traton partner to build high-performance charging network

by Leave a Comment

Europe’s three leading commercial vehicle manufacturers – Volvo Group, Daimler Truck, and Traton Group – have signed a binding agreement to create a joint venture to install and operate a high-performance public charging network for battery electric, heavy-duty long-haul trucks and coaches across Europe.

As previously publicised, the parties are committed to initiating and accelerating the necessary build-up of charging infrastructure for the increasing number of customers of electric vehicles in Europe and contribute to climate-neutral transportation in Europe by 2050.

The joint venture creation is subject to regulatory approvals. [Read more…] about Volvo, Daimler, and Traton partner to build high-performance charging network

MiR autonomous mobile robot sales increase by 42 percent in 2021

by Leave a Comment

Mobile Industrial Robots, a manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots, says it experienced a 42 percent increase in sales in 2021 compared with 2020.

December alone was a “record month” for the company, with close to 300 robots shipped, which is more than any previous month.

Søren Nielsen, president of MiR, says: “We grew significantly in 2021 despite component shortages as customers recognize the value of our safe, reliable and easy-to-deploy AMRs. [Read more…] about MiR autonomous mobile robot sales increase by 42 percent in 2021

Universal Robots’ latest results are ‘a strong indication of growth to come’, says president

by Leave a Comment

Collaborative industrial robot maker Universal Robots’ latest results are “a strong indication” of future growth, says its president, Kim Poylsen.

Universal Robots, which has just released its Q3 results for 2021, has reported record quarterly revenue of $78 million, up 46 percent on last year’s Q3 revenue and 31 percent up from its pre-pandemic Q3 revenue of 2019.

Since creating the world’s first commercially viable collaborative robot in 2008, the Danish company has gone on to sell over 50,000 of its ‘cobots’ for use across a range of industrial uses, primarily in the manufacturing sector. [Read more…] about Universal Robots’ latest results are ‘a strong indication of growth to come’, says president

Nasa awards Geisel Software grant to develop multi-robot perception

by Leave a Comment

Geisel Software, a Massachusetts-based custom software development firm, has partnered with Fayetteville State University to perform research funded by NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project Space Technology Artemis Research grant.

The grant will fund Active and On-demand Multi Robot Perception research designed to develop multi-robot perception, a technology that utilizes highly specialized image sensors, to support NASA’s use of autonomous multi-robot systems performing scouting missions on the surface of the Moon or other planets. [Read more…] about Nasa awards Geisel Software grant to develop multi-robot perception