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FarmWise raises $45 million to expand AI-powered farm equipment

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Farm automation startup FarmWise Labs has completed an oversubscribed $45 million Series B funding round, led by leading ag-tech venture firms Fall Line Capital and Middleland Capital, with participation from GV and Taylor Farms, a grower and processor of leafy greens and fresh vegetables.

Existing investors Calibrate Ventures, Playground Global, SVG Ventures and the venture arm of Wilbur Ellis also participated in the round. To date, FarmWise has raised $65 million in equity.

With this round, Clay Mitchell, co-founder and managing director of Fall Line Capital and a fifth-generation Iowa farmer joins the FarmWise board of directors. [Read more…] about FarmWise raises $45 million to expand AI-powered farm equipment

Embark provides Texas law enforcement with autonomous trucks

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Embark Trucks, a developer of autonomous technology for the trucking industry, is making progress in its efforts to develop an emergency vehicle interaction capability for Embark-powered autonomous trucks to identify, stop for, and interface with law enforcement vehicles.

Embark is working closely with the Texas Department of Public Safety to train Embark-powered trucks to identify law enforcement vehicles in situations such as traffic stops, and to develop communication protocols and standard operating procedures between autonomous trucks and law enforcement officers.

Embark plans to publicly demonstrate the emergency vehicle interaction capability later this summer. [Read more…] about Embark provides Texas law enforcement with autonomous trucks

Grubhub and Cartken partner to bring robot delivery to college campuses

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Grubhub, an online and mobile food-ordering and delivery platform on college campuses, and Cartken, a technology startup that specializes in self-driving, AI-powered robotics and delivery operations, have formed a partnership to bring robot delivery to college campuses.

This delivery was piloted at Ohio State University this spring, and a full roll out is expected when students return to campus this fall.

Grubhub partners with more than 250 college campuses across the United States to give students the ability to integrate meal plans directly into their Grubhub account and access restaurants both on- and off-campus for delivery and pickup. [Read more…] about Grubhub and Cartken partner to bring robot delivery to college campuses

SafeAI, Siemens and Obayashi collaborate to develop retrofitted autonomous, zero emission, off-road heavy vehicles

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SafeAI, a developer of autonomous heavy equipment, is collaborating with Siemens to create an autonomous, zero emission heavy vehicle fleet for Obayashi Corporation.

SafeAI and Siemens will work with Obayashi Corporation, a Japan-based global leader in construction, to create smarter, safer, more sustainable and productive construction sites.

SafeAI and Obayashi originally announced their partnership in October 2020, beginning with a pilot site in Cupertino, California, USA. [Read more…] about SafeAI, Siemens and Obayashi collaborate to develop retrofitted autonomous, zero emission, off-road heavy vehicles

Avikus conducts ‘world’s first’ transoceanic voyage with autonomous navigation

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Avikus, a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD Hyundai), has successfully carried out the autonomous navigation of a large ship across the ocean, becoming the first company in the world to accomplish such a feat.

Together with SK Shipping, Avikus, which specializes in autonomous navigation, announced on June 2 that it had successfully completed autonomous navigation of Prism Courage, a 180,000 square-meter-class ultra-large LNG carrier.

The vessel is equipped with HiNAS 2.0, Avikus’ Level 2 autonomous navigation solution. This transoceanic voyage is the world’s first case of a vessel using autonomous navigation technology. [Read more…] about Avikus conducts ‘world’s first’ transoceanic voyage with autonomous navigation

Symbotic debuts on Nasdaq under ticker ‘SYM’

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Symbotic, a developer of AI-enabled robotics automation technology, says that shares of its Class A common stock are now trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol “SYM”.

Symbotic’s trading debut comes after the completion of its business combination with SVF Investment, a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of SoftBank Investment Advisers. The combined company now operates as Symbotic.

Symbotic is at the forefront of an addressable market opportunity valued at over $350 billion to reinvent warehouse automation and reshape the global supply chain. [Read more…] about Symbotic debuts on Nasdaq under ticker ‘SYM’

GXO unveils DroneDog and Aerial Drone System from Asylon for security applications

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GXO Logistics, which says it is the world’s largest pure-play contract logistics provider, has deployed advanced air and ground security robotics at one of its major distribution centers in Clayton, Indiana, and plans to significantly increase deployment of automated security systems across other sites within the next year.

This would be the largest air and ground security robotics fleet in the world.

The DroneDog and DroneSentry duo, integrated with the DroneCore security platform from Asylon, are security technologies of the future, providing high-quality data and onsite activity updates that can detect potential issues in real time and simultaneously report them to the security team. Click here to see the DroneDog in action. [Read more…] about GXO unveils DroneDog and Aerial Drone System from Asylon for security applications

DHL surpasses 100 million units picked with Locus Robotics machines

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DHL Supply Chain, the contract logistics subsidiary of Deutsche Post DHL Group, says it has surpassed 100 million units picked in its North American facilities by LocusBots from Locus Robotics.

The milestone was achieved in DHL’s Hanover Township, Pennsylvania location, fulfilling orders for a major apparel retailer. The milestone achieved in this facility is one of more than a dozen DHL sites in North America, using more than 2,000 LocusBots – more than any other contract logistics company.

Sally Miller, CIO, DHL Supply Chain North America, says: “As this milestone illustrates, our unrivaled implementation and productization of assisted picking robots has been a tremendous success for our customers’ supply chains. [Read more…] about DHL surpasses 100 million units picked with Locus Robotics machines

Walmart and Symbotic expand partnership to implement automation system

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Symbotic, an AI-powered supply chain technology company, and Walmart have expanded their commercial agreement to implement Symbotic’s robotics and software automation platform in all 42 of Walmart’s regional distribution centers over the coming years.

This is an expansion of Walmart’s prior commitment to deploy Symbotic Systems in 25 regional distribution centers.

The end-to-end software-enabled high-density robotics platform plays a strategic role in supporting the retailer’s goal of modernizing its vast supply chain network and allows Walmart to transform its regional distribution centers to provide faster responsiveness to store orders, increased inventory accuracy and higher capacity for receiving and shipping freight to stores. [Read more…] about Walmart and Symbotic expand partnership to implement automation system

EAVX unveils autonomous ‘walk-in van’ prototype

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EAVX, a subsidiary of JB Poindexter & Co (JBPCO), and REE Automotive, a provider of electric vehicle platforms and automotive technologies, have unveiled the companies’ new fully electric “walk-in van” prototype will begin customer evaluation this summer.

The class 5 vehicle debuts the EAVX body design powered by REE’s modular P7 platform, making it the first fully drive-by-wire walk-in van on the market.

Evaluations of the new electric walk-in van will take place over several weeks in the Detroit metropolitan area. [Read more…] about EAVX unveils autonomous ‘walk-in van’ prototype