RBR50 awards recognize innovation and excellence in robotics

The RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards have honored industry leaders for the past 12 years. And now we’re taking the RBR50 to the next level.

We introduced three new categories in 2024 – Robot of the Year, Application of the Year, and Startup of the Year – and will be holding the inaugural RBR50 Gala on May 1 from 6-8 PM at the end of Day 1 of the Robotics Summit & Expo.

The RBR50 Gala offers a chance to connect with the world’s leading robotics innovators. It’s also an evening of celebration to honor leading roboticists and their impressive achievements.

You can find profiles of all of this year’s RBR50 winners on The Robot Report.

The post April 2024 Issue: RBR50 Innovation Awards appeared first on The Robot Report.

In this special edition:

Welding cobot delivers 10X production boost for marine exhaust manufacturer

DeAngelo Marine Exhaust has increased weld speed, lowered lead times, and improved quality using its new cobot colleague.

Inside the development of Apptronik’s Apollo humanoid

The company’s R&D work on exoskeletons and bipedal locomotion for the U.S. government and Department of Defense has it primed for the humanoid era.

Teaching robots new tricks with generative AI

Researchers are exploring how large language models can be applied to robotics design, model training, simulation, control algorithms and more.

3D cameras enable automatic loading of pressed parts

Four 3D cameras from IDS Imaging each record a part of the entire image field, resulting in data from multiple perspectives for a higher quality 3D point cloud.

Read these stories and more in the Robotics Handbook.

The post November 2023 Issue: Robotics Handbook appeared first on The Robot Report.

The October 2023 issue includes the following articles:

How TRI is using GENERATIVE AI to teach robots

New approach is a step towards building Large Behavior Models for robots, analogous to Large Language wwModels for conversational AI

Haptic foot interface enables 4-arm robotic surgery

Researchers at EPFL have developed the first system that enables four-arm laparoscopic surgery by controlling two additional robotic arms via haptic foot interfaces

The post October 2023 Issue: Haptic foot interface enables 4-arm robotic surgery appeared first on The Robot Report.

The September 2023 issue includes the following articles:

100+ mobile robots help healthcare company improve picking times

At the beginning of the pandemic, the team at ABB Optical struggled with recruiting new associates to perform their manual warehouse processes. Here’s how Locus Robotics came to the rescue.

IAM Robotics pivot teaches valuable lessons

The rebirth of IAM Robotics is significant because it is the latest chapter in what was a valiant attempt to commercialize mobile manipulators.

The post September 2023 Issue: IAM Robotics pivot teaches valuable lessons appeared first on The Robot Report.

The August 2023 issue includes the following articles:

Humanoids ready to take first steps

A detailed look at the challenges and opportunities that exist for the evolving world of humanoids.

How torque, radial and axial load impact motor selection

Understanding the load on a motor will help pinpoint the necessary motor power and required motor accessories.

Motion control goes small

How robotics engineers can build systems that use less power, make less noise, and take up less space.

The post August 2023 Issue: Motion control goes small appeared first on The Robot Report.

Welcome to the 2023 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards

What do a humanoid, an autonomous tire-changing system and an asteroid redirection spacecraft all have in common? Well, if you guessed “robotics,” you would be correct. But the similarities do not end there, and they are more pointed and correlated. All the aforementioned examples are also winners of the 2023 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards (RBR50).

For more than a decade, Robotics Business Review has produced the RBR50 to recognize and celebrate forward-thinking companies from across the globe and the original, impactful solutions they have created. Widely recognized throughout the world as a leading indicator of robotics innovation leadership, the RBR50 is also a critical indicator of robotics sector growth.

For the robotics sector, the role, importance, and impact of innovation has never been greater. Moreover, it is the confluence of multiple, diverse innovation determinants – technological, business, and market – that act to accelerate robotics sector growth overall.

The RBR50 reflects that diversity of innovation and celebrates robotics innovation in all its forms, including:

• Business and Management Innovation – Business and management initiatives or practices that enhance a company’s commercial standing, foster robotics sector growth or improve society.
• Technology, Products and Services Innovation – New commercial solutions that have the potential to positively impact markets or the whole robotics sector.
• Application and Market Innovation – Industry-specific, newly developed applications that deliver value, provide entry to new markets or improve performance over existing approaches (i.e. improve productivity, increase quality, reduce cost, etc.).

The editors in WTWH Media’s Robotics Group – Steve Crowe, Mike Oitzman and Brianna Wessling – enjoyed the challenge of evaluating and selecting the 2023 RBR50 award winners and learned much during the process. We hope you share that enthusiasm and that the 2023 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards also increase your understanding of the global robotics sector. In that small way, the RBR50 will have done its part to drive the robotics sector forward.

Steve Crowe | Executive Editor, Robotics, WTWH Media

The post April 2023 Issue: RBR50 Innovation Awards appeared first on The Robot Report.

The February 2023 issue includes the following articles:

Cobot assists plastic finishers with quality inspection

Like many companies that turn to automation, FMO Surface had difficulty attracting human employees for monotonous yet demanding tasks.

5 robotics predictions for 2023

2023 will be the year of turnkey robotics solutions.

Teaching simple grippers new tricks

Using its environment, even a simple gripper can perform complex manipulation tasks.

The post February 2023 Issue: How Soft Robotics uses simulation to train its grippers appeared first on The Robot Report.

The October 2022 issue includes the feature story along with the following article:

4 tenets of medical robotics development

Teams must embrace a multileveled approach to product development and employ “deliberate innovation” that flows from the ideation stages all the way to commercialization.

The post October 2022 Issue: Why NASA is sending a surgical robot to the ISS appeared first on The Robot Report.

The September 2022 issue includes the following articles:

IKEA deploys MiR robots to help clean up warehouse

MiR500 autonomous mobile robot works with warehouse employees to transport pallets and other loads that weigh up to 500 kg.

How 5G can enhance AMRs

5G private wireless networks can deliver the high bandwidth, reliable, low-latency connectivity and IoT capabilities to meet the needs of current and future AMR deployments.

And more…

The post September 2022 Issue: AMRs and the Cloud: brains & brawn powering demand-driven warehouses appeared first on The Robot Report.

The August 2022 issue includes the following articles:

What’s the difference between a servo drive and motion controller?

There can be a fine line between what is considered a motion controller and what represents a basic servo drive. It is critical to understand the functionality and intelligence of both.

How precise motion systems drive AMRs

Selecting the correct motor is critical to overall performance for autonomous mobile robots.

How the mini cheetah robot learns to run

MIT developed a learning pipeline for the four-legged robot that learns to run entirely by trial and error in simulation.

And more…

The post August 2022 Issue: How a new joint design powers the UR20 cobot appeared first on The Robot Report.

Welcome to the 2022 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards

What do a universal operating system, mobile robot interoperability standard, sorting robot, and robotaxi have in common? Well, if you are reading this paragraph, you can probably guess “robotics,” and you would not be wrong.

But the similarities do not end there, and they are more pointed and correlated. All the examples are representative of winners of the 2022 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards (RBR50).

For more than a decade, Robotics Business Review has produced the RBR50, which recognizes and celebrates forward thinking companies from across the globe and the original, impactful solutions they have created. Widely recognized throughout the world as a leading indicator of robotics innovation leadership, the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards are also a critical indicator of robotics sector growth.

For the robotics sector, the role, importance, and impact of innovation has never been greater. Moreover, it is the confluence of multiple, diverse innovation determinants – technological, business, and market – that act to accelerate robotics sector growth overall.

The 2022 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards reflect that diversity of innovation, and celebrates robotics innovation in all its forms including:

• Business and Management Innovation – Business and management initiatives or practices that enhance a company’s commercial standing, fosters robotics sector growth or improves society.
• Technology, Products and Services Innovation – New commercial solutions that have the potential to positively impact markets or the whole robotics sector.
• Application and Market Innovation – Industry specific, newly developed applications that deliver value, provide entry to new markets, or improve performance over existing approaches (i.e. improve productivity, increase quality, reduce cost, etc.).

The editors in WTWH Media’s Robotics Group enjoyed the challenge of evaluating and selecting the 2022 RBR50 awards winners, and learned much during the process. We hope you share that enthusiasm, and the 2022 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards also acts to increase your understanding of the global robotics sector. In that small way, the RBR50 will have done its part to drive the robotics sector forward.

The post April 2022 Issue: RBR50 Innovation Awards appeared first on The Robot Report.

The February 2022 issue includes the following articles:

Why component makers should target cobots

Collaborative robots are expected to see high growth in the years ahead, with end effectors representing the largest component market.

A system for general in-hand object re-orientation

Model-free framework for robotic hand performs in-hand reorientation of 2,000-plus objects without prior knowledge of the object’s shape.

Tactile sensing provides advantages for cobots

Touch sensing technologies are quickly evolving to increase both the applicability and safety of cobots, especially for demanding applications that require handling delicate materials.

And more…

The post February 2022 Issue: Swiss Manufacturer Automates CNC Machine Tending appeared first on The Robot Report.

Inflatable robotic hand gives amputees real-time tactile control

A computer model relates a finger’s desired position to the corresponding pressure a pump would have to apply to achieve that position.

Building on success Q&A with Intuitive CEO Gary Guthart

CEO of surgical robotics leader discusses how Intuitive coped with COVID, what must be done to maintain market dominance, and what keeps him up at night.

The post October 2021 Issue: Building on success during COVID: Q&A with Intuitive CEO Gary Guthart appeared first on The Robot Report.

The September 2021 issue includes the following articles:

Novanta acquisition a win-win for ATI employees

ATI offers an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, a federally-qualified ERISA benefit plan that makes employees owners in the company.

Metallic glass gears up for collaborative robots

Bulk metallic glass could reduce the prices of cobots and lead to advanced 3D printed metals.

Designing a durable cobot arm joint

The design had to meet industry-leading cobot requirements, including high levels of functional safety, high load-bearing capacity with increased arm speed.

Tips for choosing your robot’s motors

This guide will simplify your motor selection process.

And more…

The post September 2021 Issue: How Atlas Runs, Flips & Vaults appeared first on The Robot Report.

The May 2021 issue includes the following articles:

Designing an omnidirectional mobile manipulator with 7 DoF

ROS integration, reduced power consumption, ease of use, and flexibility are key to new mobile manipulator.

WTWH Media acquires Mobile Robot Guide

Acquisition of industry-leading mobile robotics website strengthens WTWH Media’s robotics brand and serves as a catalyst for future growth.

5 critical sensor integration challenges for AMRs

Sensor integration challenges can lengthen product development roadmaps and create unexpected downtime during deployments.

Evolution of Boston Dynamics box-moving robots

The company’s newest robot, Stretch, is a mobile manipulator designed to move boxes out of trucks and build pallets inside warehouses.

The post May 2021 Issue: Evolution of Boston Dynamics box-moving robots appeared first on The Robot Report.