Robotics & Automation News

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Yarbo secures $27+ million Series B funding to accelerate global expansion

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Yarbo, a provider of multipurpose intelligent yard robots, has successfully closed its Series B funding round, raising approximately $27 million.

The round was backed by a group of strategic and financial investors, bolstering Yarbo’s vision of reimagining how the world handles outdoor work – one season at a time.

This fresh injection of capital will turbocharge Yarbo’s ability to scale mass production, enhance supply chain resilience, and deepen investment in R&D, fuelling faster product optimisation and iteration. [Read more…] about Yarbo secures $27+ million Series B funding to accelerate global expansion

Outrider implements reinforcement learning AI to enhance distribution yard throughput

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Outrider, a startup developing autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, has unveiled its “industry-first” implementation of advanced reinforcement learning (RL) techniques to maximize freight throughput at customer sites. 

Outrider’s RL models increase path planning speed by 10x and enable the Outrider System to move freight more efficiently and safely through busy, complex distribution yards.

Vittorio Ziparo, CTO and executive vice president of engineering, says: “Using the latest advances in AI, Outrider is continually decreasing the turn time of trailers moved autonomously in logistics yards. [Read more…] about Outrider implements reinforcement learning AI to enhance distribution yard throughput

Yarbo to showcase ‘major new upgrades’ to its outdoor robot at CES

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Yarbo, a company that specializes in outdoor automation, is planning to showcase its “cutting-edge” lineup of outdoor robotic solutions, including the latest versions of its Lawnmower, Blower, and Snow Blower modules equipped with the Smart Assist Module.

Yarbo says the new developments demonstrate that the company continues to “push the boundaries of convenience, technology, and performance in outdoor tools”.

After capturing significant buzz during its debut at CES last year, Yarbo says it is “excited” to return for its second showcase at this year’s CES, which starts on the 7th of January. [Read more…] about Yarbo to showcase ‘major new upgrades’ to its outdoor robot at CES

Outrider raises another $62 million to drive growth of yard automation

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Outrider, a developer of autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, has raised $62 million in an oversubscribed Series D financing round.

The round was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) and New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with additional investments from 8VC, ARK Invest, B37 Ventures, FM Capital, Interwoven Ventures, NVentures (Nvidia’s venture capital arm), and Prologis Ventures.

This funding will drive the commercial scaling of Outrider’s autonomous yard operations as a service with Fortune 500 customers in 2025 and solidify its position at the forefront of logistics automation. [Read more…] about Outrider raises another $62 million to drive growth of yard automation

Outrider granted 11th US patent for its AI-powered autonomous yard automation system

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Outrider, a developer of autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, has been issued its latest patent, US Patent No 11,927,676, for the “Systems and Methods for Determining an Articulated Trailer Angle”.

The patent – Outrider’s 11th – covers the critical task of determining where a trailer is with respect to a self-driving tractor, facilitating safe and accurate autonomous trailer movement in all weather conditions.

Andrew Smith, founder and CEO of Outrider, says: “Outrider’s patent portfolio covers the numerous inventions, innovations, and technologies our team developed to re-define the logistics yard. [Read more…] about Outrider granted 11th US patent for its AI-powered autonomous yard automation system

Autonomous yard trucks market predicted to grow at more than 50 percent a year

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The global market for autonomous yard trucks market is forecast to grow at more than 50 percent a year. This is according to a report by technology intelligence firm ABI Research.

The installed base of artificial intelligence-enabled cameras in the yard will reach 11.2 million globally by 2030, and the uptake of autonomous yard trucks will rise significantly at a global compound annual growth rate of 52.7 percent from 2022 to 2030.

Bringing yards up to speed with warehouse and transport digitalization is driving the adoption of established supply chain technologies to help track, allocate, and optimize assets in the yard. [Read more…] about Autonomous yard trucks market predicted to grow at more than 50 percent a year

Outrider launches automated trailer inventory management platform

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Outrider, a developer of autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, has released its system for trailer inventory management at distribution yards.

Part of the Outrider System, this patent-pending trailer inventory feature provides real-time tracking of the semi-trailers and containers in yards. This constantly updated intelligence about asset and freight locations enables large, logistics-dependent enterprises to increase the efficiency of their yard operations.

Today’s yard operations require employees to patrol the distribution yard – either on foot or by driving a vehicle – to manually update the locations of trailers in dock spots, parking spots, and storage areas. This data collection process is tedious, error-prone, and quickly outdated, causing frequent shipping delays. [Read more…] about Outrider launches automated trailer inventory management platform

ASI and SICK optimize and automate logistics truck yard operations

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ASI Logistics and SICK Sensor Intelligence say they have achieved another milestone in the development of autonomous yard truck operations.

Together, the two companies have “solved the issue of reversing into trailers autonomously”. This is one of the final steps in completing fully autonomous yard operations.

ASI Logistics utilized is robust Vehicle Automation Kit (VAK) and SICK’s industry-leading LiDAR to overcome this challenge. [Read more…] about ASI and SICK optimize and automate logistics truck yard operations

Nvidia and Abu Dhabi join $73 million Outrider funding round

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Outrider, a startup developing autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, has closed $73 million in Series C financing led by FM Capital. 

New investors include a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and NVentures, Nvidia’s venture capital arm.

Existing investors participating in the round include Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Outrider has raised $191 million in financing to date based on its technical leadership in autonomous systems for distribution yards. [Read more…] about Nvidia and Abu Dhabi join $73 million Outrider funding round

Outrider equips autonomous trucks with deep-learning driven robotic arms

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Outrider, the startup developing autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, has releaseed TrailerConnect – a patented technology that robotically attaches the needed brake and electric lines from yard trucks to any of the over 10 million trailers and chassis circulating globally.

A deep-learning based technology, TrailerConnect is now available as part of the Outrider System, which automates distribution yards for large, logistics-dependent enterprises.

In distribution yards around the globe, yard trucks transition semi-trailers from dock doors to parking spots to public roads. To move these trailers, truck drivers connect pressurized brake lines to semi-trailers to release the parking brake and move the trailers around the yard – a hazardous manual task that requires the driver to get in and out of the cab constantly. [Read more…] about Outrider equips autonomous trucks with deep-learning driven robotic arms