Jennifer Apicella (left) of the PRN and Fady Saad (right) of Cybernetix Ventures have announced a strategic partnership. | Source: Pittsburgh Robotics Network

Cybernetix Ventures yesterday announced a strategic partnership with the Pittsburgh Robotics Network. The early-stage venture capital firm said it is part of its long-term robotics cluster engagement efforts. 

The partnership is a joint initiative to set Pittsburgh’s robotics startups up for success, and bring more of the cluster’s investable robotics opportunities to global markets. The Pittsburgh Robotics Network (PRN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering innovation and growth in southwestern Pennsylvania. 

“The Pittsburgh Robotics Network is one of the top robotics clusters in the U.S., with a powerhouse team and strong robotics innovators emerging,” stated Fady Saad, founder and general partner of Cybernetix Ventures. “Like our firm, the PRN is focused on markets-driven, actionable, scalable use cases for robotics. We are excited to amplify their efforts and connect the cluster further with the larger investment community.”

Founded in 2021, Cybernetix focuses on robotics, automation, and industrial AI investments. The venture capital firm works with robotics clusters around the world to elevate the most promising robotics founders and startups to the global stage. 

Cybernetix expands robotics focus

Cybernetix aims to connect the PRN’s startups with the firm’s diverse ecosystem of potential customers, later-stage investors, financial institutions, and acquirers. The company will join forces with the PRN as a Leader Premier Partner to provide advice to startups. 

“Cybernetix Ventures is a premier investment firm for robotics, and this partnership represents a unique opportunity for not only robotics companies, but for accelerating the commercial adoption of robotics solutions overall,” added Jennifer Apicella, executive director of the PRN.

“Both Cybernetix Ventures and the PRN share a set of aligned values that promise to bring significant benefits to robotics companies on the path to commercialization,” she said. “We admire their unique expertise and understanding of how robotics will directly contribute to the advancement of specific industries, both now and into the future.”

The partners announced their collaboration at the Agriculture & Robotics Summit, where the PRN welcomed innovators, investors, and industry to Pittsburgh to explore the future of smart agriculture. Cybernetix, which has focused on vertical robotics applications in manufacturing, logistics, construction, and healthcare since its inception, participated in the event as a launchpad for its expanded focus on agriculture and climate robotics.

“The new use cases and overall necessity for robotics innovation in agriculture have accelerated the sector’s investment potential, and we will explore investments in agriculture and climate robotics to add to our solid portfolio,” Saad said.

PRN head to speak at the Robotics Summit

Apicella will be taking part in a panel discussion at the 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo, which takes place on May 1 and 2 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. She will be joined by Stephen M. Muck, executive chairman of Advanced Construction Robotics; Brandon Contino, CEO of Four Growers; and Andy McMillan, chair of the board of directors at Cirtronics.

During the session, “Paving the Road to Success in Robotics Commercialization,” attendees can learn how the four industry leaders have conquered obstacles, scaled operations, and transformed ideas into viable products. 

This will be the largest Robotics Summit ever. It will include more than 200 exhibitors, various networking opportunities, a Women in Robotics breakfast, a career fair, an engineering theater, a startup showcase, and more! The PRN is also a sponsor of the Robotics Summit. Registration is now open for the event.

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Interested attendees have only today left to register for the first-ever RBR50 Gala held at the Robotics Summit & Expo. At the event, attendees will have the opportunity to network and learn from roboticists working on the most cutting-edge technology in the industry.  

The inaugural RBR50 Gala will be on May 1 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. EDT at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center at the end of the first day 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. 

The event will include a cocktail hour, a plated dinner, photo opportunities, and the chance to hear from the Robot of the Year, Startup of the Year, and Application of the Year winners. Each RBR50 winner will receive two complimentary tickets to the Robotics Summit and RBR50 Gala. A limited number of tickets is also available to summit attendees. 

In addition to the RBR50 Gala, the Robotics Summit will have a dedicated area on the show floor for current and previous RBR50 winners to showcase their technologies. This year, the showcase will feature demonstrations from Agility Robotics, Brightpick, HEBI, Capra Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Electric Sheep, Opteran, Indoor Robotics, Instock, Mushiny, Locus Robotics, Relay Robotics, and Mecademic.

Learn from Agility Robotics, Amazon, Disney, Teradyne and many more.

More about the 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo

The Robotics Summit & Expo focuses on the design, development, and scaling of commercial robots. WTWH Media, which also produces The Robot Report, said it expects a record 5,000 attendees and more than 200 exhibitors.

Keynotes will feature luminaries from Agility Robotics, Amazon Robotics, Teradyne, Disney Research, and Medtronic. The event will also include various networking opportunities, a startup showcase, a career fair, and more!

The Robotics Summit will be co-located with DeviceTalks, an event focused on medical devices, and the inaugural Digital Transformation Forum. Registration is now open for the event.

The post RBR50 Gala at Robotics Summit registration ends today appeared first on The Robot Report.

maxon says it can provide all key components of a tightly integrated robotics drive from a single source. | Source: maxon

maxon group has launched its new drive systems portfolio specifically designed for modern robotics applications. The company said it believes that developers and startups should focus on their core value drivers and challenges and leave it to maxon to take care of key complexities typically associated with robotic actuators, including high performance, reliability, supply chains, integration, and testing. 

Modern robots require highly scalable manufacturing of complex and high-performance actuators, asserted maxon. Therefore, robustness and reliability are key, especially for systems operate in unstructured environments, the company added. maxon said this is one of its strengths because it designs and tests all of its robotics products to the highest quality standards. 

The Sachsein, Switzerland-based company’s new portfolio contains 15 different actuators divided into two families: High Efficiency Joints and High Precision Joints. It said each provides unique benefits to address a broad range of industrial applications. 

maxon’s High Efficiency Joint line

The High Efficiency Joints integrate torque-dense electric motors from maxon’s EC frameless DT motor lineup, planetary gears, electronics, sensing, and support structures into a fully integrated IP67 ingress-protected actuator unit. 

maxon said this line of joints can achieve up to 86% efficiencies and can output high continuous power, thanks to their integrated cooling capabilities. The joint line’s control system can be configured flexibly and support independent control of the joint. 

Target applications are mobile robots in unstructured environments, explained maxon. This includes humanoids, quadrupeds, exoskeletons, or mobile manipulators. The company said its systems enable roboticists to quickly create a high-performing robot that follows modern design principles such as those dictated by deep reinforcement learning and related simulation approaches. 

Thje new High-Efficiency Joint HEJ 90-48-140 provides 140 Nm and 13 rad/s at the joint, is IP67 rated, and contains electronics and sensors for modern robotics control systems. | Source: maxon

maxon targets systems integrators with High Precision Joints

The High Precision Joints are more configurable systems based on strain-wave gearboxes and high-resolution output encoders, said maxon. While these actuators also feature torque-dense electric motors, the company said it’s targeting systems integrators. It said hopes to enable them to quickly create robotics systems like collaborative or industrial manipulators or surgical robots. 

maxon’s High Precision Joints allow the creation of well-optimized robots. When combined with its customer-facing robotics design simulation, optimization, and consulting services, the company said it can ensure that customers obtain the right systems for their applications. 

maxon is a fully vertically integrated provider of actuation systems ranging from brushed to brushless motors, sensors, gears, and electronics. The company said this enables it to provide robotics actuators that are high-performing, low-cost, and adaptive to customer requirements.

maxon’s High Precision Joints feature strain-wave gearboxes with no backlash and high-resolution output encoders. | Source: maxon

See maxon at webinar and Robotics Summit & Expo

Carsten Horn, applications engineering manager at maxon, and Dario Renggli, business development engineer at maxon, will participate in a free webinar at noon EDT on Wednesday, April 17, on “Motion Control for Healthcare Robotics Applications.”

In addition, Tobias Wellerdieck, head of robotic drive systems at maxon, will be speaking at the Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be on May 1 and 2 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. His talk, “Holistic Drive System Optimization for Robotics,” will discuss the challenges that come with developing robotic systems for new, complex markets. 

maxon will also be exhibiting on the Robotics Summit & Expo show floor at Booth 327. The company is also a Gold Sponsor of the event. Registration is now open.

Learn from Agility Robotics, Amazon, Disney, Teradyne and many more.

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This week, we announced the honorees for the 2024 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards. On the podcast episode this week, the entire The Robot Report editorial staff brings its opinions, observations, and highlights of the 2024 awards program. Host Steve Crowe discusses the awards with editors Mike Oitzman, Eugene Demaitre, and Brianna Wessling.

Listen as the editors discusses some of their favorite robotics companies and products from this cohort of honorees. You’ll learn what impressed the editors about several of the winners and what’s notable in this year’s program.

Digit named Robot of the Year

2023 was the year of humanoids, and Agility Robotics has taken an early lead with commercial trials. The company’s Digit humanoid stole the show at ProMAT, where it demonstrated its ability to pick up totes from a shelf, walk over to a conveyor, and place the totes onto the conveyor.

Autopicker wins Application of the Year

Cincinnati-based Brightpick, which spun out of Photoneo, was named the inaugural Application of the Year winner. In 2023, Brightpick unveiled Autopicker, which it said is the first commercially available AMR that can pick and consolidate orders directly in warehouse aisles.

Electric Sheep is Startup of the Year

San Francisco-based Electric Sheep’s unique business model allows it to bring in revenue as it takes its time deploying its technology. This business model led to it being named Startup of the Year.

Note that the rules for the RBR50 state that innovations have to be announced within the calendar year. Keep that in mind as your organization plans its product roadmap, and be sure to submit your nomination the next iteration of the RBR50 later this year.

Come celebrate at the 2024 RBR50 Gala

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 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the end of Day 1 of the Robotics Summit & Expo.

The 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.

Tickets to the gala are available through Wednesday, April 17.

Learn from Agility Robotics, Amazon, Disney, Teradyne and many more.

The post Inside the 2024 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards appeared first on The Robot Report.

State-of-the-art surgical and healthcare robotics depend on precise motion control. Source: maxon

Technological advances continue to drive growing adoption of robotics in healthcare, particularly for surgical applications. Robots promise to enhance precision and safety, with 5% to 10% of robot-assisted procedures reportedly resulting in positive patient outcomes.

The global market for surgical robots is about $18 billion and could grow to $83 billion by 2032, according to Statzon. In addition, a Bain & Co. study found that 78% of U.S. surgeons are interested in robotics, but many procedures have yet to benefit from automation.

Robotics developers, suppliers, and integrators, as well as healthcare providers and practitioners, should understand how the latest, best-in-class motion-control components can improve accuracy and enable the next generation of patient care.

Learn more about motion control for healthcare robotics applications in a free webinar at noon EDT on Wednesday, April 17.

How to build better healthcare robotics

In this webinar, Carsten Horn, applications engineering manager at maxon, and Dario Renggli, business development engineer at maxon, will join Eugene Demaitre, editorial director for robotics at WTWH Media.

Horn has more than 20 years of engineering and research and development experience with robotics. Renggli specializes in healthcare applications and works at maxon’s headquarters in Switzerland. They will discuss the following topics:

• Trends in customer demands and designing for the future
• The industry’s needs for precise actuation and motion-control systems
• The pace of healthcare robotics development
• How regulatory requirements affect the design of surgical systems
• Common challenges for healthcare robot controls
• Considerations for off-the-shelf components and subassemblies versus custom designs
• The growing importance of software and artificial intelligence
• How to identify and partner with product and service providers

Register now to watch this webinar and have your questions answered live. This robotics engineering conversation will be available on demand after the broadcast date.

Sponsors:

The post Webinar: Learn about motion control for healthcare robotics applications appeared first on The Robot Report.

igus relies on AI-supported low-cost robotics, smart maintenance, and AI-based online tools like the igusGO app to get customer applications ready for Industry 4.0. | Source: igus

igus GmbH will be introducing igusGO, an AI-powered app, alongside a series of smart sensor technologies at Hannover Messe. The company said it designed its latest sensor technologies “to streamline maintenance and optimize production processes for the lubrication-free industry of tomorrow.”

The Cologne, Germany-based company said igusGO is the centerpiece of its innovation. The app uses artificial intelligence to instantly identify optimization opportunities for designers using motion plastics. 

The app simplifies the selection process without the need for traditional catalog browsing, according to igus. The company said the app reflects its commitment to enhancing operational reliability and cost-efficiency across various applications, from heavy-duty machinery to everyday devices. 

“Our aim with igusGO and our suite of smart products is to navigate the vast potential of motion plastics with unprecedented efficiency and transparency,” stated Tobias Vogel, CEO of plain bearings and linear technology at igus.

Michael Blass, CEO of E-Chain Systems, added that innovations such as superwise, a digital service for comprehensive maintenance insights, can bolster competitiveness during challenging times. 

“By merging our innovative products with digital services, we’re demonstrating how our motion plastics can significantly enhance a wide array of applications, driving them towards a more sustainable and technologically advanced future,” he said.

The benefits of polymer bearings

igus cited its collaboration with RWTH Aachen University as an example of the economic and ecological advantages that its polymer bearings offer. They could result in potential savings of up to $14.9 million (€14 million) annually. 

Polymer bearings can also provide substantial CO₂ reductions, as exemplified by Heineken Brazil’s savings of 396.8 lb. (180 kg) of CO₂ equivalents per year through the switch to polymer bearings, said igus. 

igus also offers affordable, precise automation

igus also offers low-cost automation. The Rumford, R.I.-based company has introduced user-friendly robotics with AI-based voice and gesture control, exemplified by the ReBeL collaborative robot and its plug-and-play capabilities.

The company won a 2024 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award for its $2,760 finger gripper for the cobot. igus said these advancements are complemented by its RBTX online marketplace, which facilitates access to compatible accessories and promotes an inclusive approach to automation for companies of all sizes. 

Earlier this year, igus launched a double-shaft stepper motor for its drylin linear technology. The company said the double-shaft design allows for precise control over linear motion, enabling a range of automation, transfer-station, and format-adjustment applications.

Editor’s note: At the Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be held in Boston, igus will exhibit at Booth 414. The company will also participate in a session on “Democratizing Automation” at 2:45 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 1. Register now to attend.

Learn from Agility Robotics, Amazon, Disney, Teradyne and many more.

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The FoxBot ATL moves pallets in loading docks for Walmart. Source: Fox Robotics

The word’s biggest retailers are continuing to add automation. Walmart Inc. today announced that it has entered into a multiyear agreement with Fox Robotics Inc. In addition to its initial rollout of 19 FoxBot autonomous forklifts, Walmart has invested growth capital for a minority stake in Fox Robotics.

“At Walmart Distribution Center 6020 in Brooksville, Fla., we’re used to pioneering new technology,” wrote Maurice Gray, general manager for the Walmart distribution center, in a blog post. “In fact, 6020 was Walmart’s first high-tech DC. Once again, innovation is afoot in our facility, where associates have been working alongside a new autonomous forklift system that’s bolstering their skills and bettering their jobs while building our business.”

“After a 16-month proof of concept, I’m proud to announce Walmart is taking another step into the future, rolling 19 autonomous forklifts across four high-tech DCs, with the potential for more as we evaluate the benefits to our associates and operations,” he said. “As our facility has worked with Fox Robotics, the developer of autonomous forklifts, we’ve learned a lot. But I can sum it up easily: Automation isn’t just good for business – it’s good for our associates too.”

Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart is the largest private employer in the U.S., according to Statista. The company has worked with other robotics suppliers, and it acquired grocery fulfillment provider Alert Innovation in 2022.

Walmart deploys FoxBots to unload pallets

When trucks arrive at the Brooksville distribution center, Fox Robotics’ Autonomous Trailer Loader/Unloaders (ATLs) use artificial intelligence, machine vision, and dynamic planning to safely and accurately unload pallets, said Gray. The forklifts then move the pallets to be inducted into an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS).

Gray likened the warehouse associates’ evolving role to playing Tetris. “Instead of unloading the pallets manually, associates become conductors – considering the best, most efficient way to unload trailers based on their own experience,” he said.

For example, Jose Molina, a 26-year associate, has received training to shift from unloading trucks to managing autonomous lifts and tripling productivity, added Gray.

Walmart said that it could roll out more systems from Fox Robotics, pending the continued performance of the FoxBots.

Fox Robotics pulls ahead in dock robot race

“As the leader in autonomous trailer loading and unloading, Fox Robotics is pleased to deepen its relationship with Walmart as a key customer and investor,” stated Marin Tchakarov, president and CEO of Fox Robotics. “We see this collaboration as the latest massive validation point of our technology and product capabilities, solidifying our leadership position in the warehouse shipping and receiving dock automation space.”

In January, Fox Robotics said its autonomous forklifts had autonomously pulled 2.5 million pallets. Founded in 2017, the company said at the time that its installed fleet had doubled in the prior 12 months and that its revenue nearly tripled between 2022 and 2023.

Austin, Texas-based Fox Robotics also has financial backing from BMW i Ventures and Zebra Technologies Corp., raising $20 million in 2022. Its customers include DHL Supply Chain.

“Fox Robotics has unlocked the final step of the fully end-to-end automated warehouse of the future with its FoxBot autonomous loader/unloader capabilities,” added Till Reuter, board member of Fox Robotics and former CEO of Kuka Robotics. “The logistics space is the single biggest market for automation for the next five to 10 years, and the shipping and receiving dock — the gateway to the warehouse — will see a disproportionate share of that growth due to its virtually entirely unautomated present state.”

Other companies working on automating loading-dock operations include Boston Dynamics, Dexterity, Gideon, Honeywell, Mujin, Pickle Robots, and 2024 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award winner Slip Robotics. See the RBR50 honorees at the RBR50 pavilion and RBR50 Gala at the Robotics Summit & Expo.

Learn from Agility Robotics, Amazon, Disney, Teradyne and many more.

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AMD’s Kria K26 SOM will power the hardware with the BlackBerry QNX SDP. | Source: AMD

BlackBerry Ltd. announced at Embedded World this week that it is collaborating with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. The partners said they want to enable next-generation robotics by reducing latency and jitter and with “repeatable determinism.”

The companies said they will jointly “address the critical need for ‘hard’ real-time capabilities in robotics-focused hardware.” BlackBerry and AMD plan to release an affordable system-on-module (SOM) platform that delivers enhanced performance, reliability, and scalability for robotic systems in industrial healthcare. 

This platform will combine BlackBerry’s QNX expertise in real-time foundational software and the QNX Software Development Platform (SDP) with heterogeneous hardware powered by the AMD Kria K26 SOM. It features both Arm and FPGA (field programmable gate array) logic-based architecture.

“With the QNX Software Development Platform, customers can start development quickly on the AMD Kria KR260 Starter Kit and seamlessly scale to other higher-performance AMD platforms as their needs evolve,” stated Chetan Khona, senior director of industrial, vision, healthcare, and sciences markets at AMD.

“Combining the industry-leading strengths of AMD and QNX will provide a foundation platform that opens new doors for innovation and takes the future of robotics technology well beyond the constraints experienced until now,” he said.

BlackBerry, AMD provide capabilities with less latency

With Kria, an Arm sub-system can power the advanced capabilities of the QNX microkernel real-time operation system (RTOS), said Advanced Micro Devices and BlackBerry. It can do this while allowing users to run low-latency, deterministic functions on the programmable logic of the AMD Kria KR260 robotics starter kit. 

This combination enables sensor fusion, high-performance data processing, real-time control, industrial networking, and reduced latency in robotics applications, said the companies.

They added that customers can benefit from integration and optimization of software and hardware components. This results in streamlined development processes and accelerated time to market for robotics innovations, said AMD and BlackBerry. 

“An integrated solution by BlackBerry QNX through our collaboration with AMD will provide an integrated software-hardware foundation offering real-time performance, low latency, and determinism to ensure that critical robotic tasks are executed with the same level of precision and responsiveness every single time,” said Grant Courville, vice president of product and strategy at BlackBerry QNX.

“These are crucial attributes for industries carrying out finely tuned operations, such as the fast-growing industries of autonomous mobile robots and surgical robotics” he added. “Together with AMD, we are committed to driving technological advancements that address some of these most complex challenges and transform the future of the robotics industry.”

The integrated system is now available to customers.

See AMD at Robotics Summit & Expo

For more than 50 years, Advanced Micro Devices has been a leading innovator in high-performance computing (HPC), graphics, and visualization technologies. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company noted that billions of people, Fortune 500 businesses, and scientific research institutions worldwide rely on its technology daily.

AMD recently released the Embedded+ HPC architecture, the Spartan UltraScale+ FPGA family, and Versal Gen 2 for AI and edge processing.

Kosta Sidopoulos, a product engineer at AMD, will be speaking at the Robotics Summit & Expo, which takes place May 1 and 2 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. His talk on “Enabling Next-Gen AI Robotics” will delve into the unique features and capabilities of AMD’s AI-enabled products. It will highlight their adaptability and scalability for diverse robotics applications.

Registration is now open for the Robotics Summit & Expo, which will feature more than 70 speakers, 200 exhibitors, and up to 5,000 attendees, as well as numerous networking opportunities.

Learn from Agility Robotics, Amazon, Disney, Teradyne and many more.

The post BlackBerry and AMD partner to reduce latency in robotics appeared first on The Robot Report.

Electric Sheep is vertically integrating its field operations team with autonomous mowers. | Credit: Electric Sheep

This year, the annual RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards added new categories: Application of the Year, Startup of the Year, and Robot of the Year. We received numerous submissions for some incredible startups innovating in some interesting markets. The Robot Report‘s team chose autonomous landscaping company Electric Sheep Robotics as the inaugural RBR50 Startup of the Year.

The San Francisco-based company has a novel business plan that is immediately bringing in revenue while it takes its time to evolve the underlying technology. This is different from many robotics businesses, which simply sell or lease systems to integrators and end users.

“We are honored to be recognized by WTWH Media’s Robotics Group with this inaugural award. I want to also acknowledge our dedicated team at Electric Sheep that are passionate about creating the most advanced robotics that can change an often overlooked industry,” stated Nag Murty, co-founder and CEO of Electric Sheep. “We are doing things differently than other robotic companies by using AI and ML at a higher level for localization and high-level control. We are scaling physical agents across the country to care for our outdoor spaces.”

Founded in 2019, Electric Sheep has grown to over 100 employees, and it has raised more than $25 million in funding to date, according to Crunchbase.

You can also learn more about Murty’s entrepreneurial philosophy and Chief Technology Officer Michael Laskey’s design principles on a recent episode of The Robot Report Podcast.

Acquisitions add data for autonomy AI

Electric Sheep develops autonomous robots for outdoor maintenance. Its flagship robot is an autonomous mower backed by the company’s ES1 foundation model.

Based on recent advances in generative AI, ES1 is a learned-world model that enables reasoning and planning for the Verdie robot. ES1 powers both the RAM robot for mowing and now Verdie for edging and trimming lawns and bushes and blowing leaves.

In addition, Electric Sheep acquired four landscaping companies last year and said that this is a key part of its long-term plan. This strategy isn’t just about revenue. The businesses it acquires can also use ES1 and provide crucial data to make the model more effective.

This information can help improve Electric Sheep’s operations, enabling its robots to start working as soon as they arrive at a job site. 

Since taking this two-pronged approach to development and business, the company reported that its sales have grown eightfold. Electric Sheep has set itself apart from other startups by making sure it always has money coming in and by finding a unique way to get important data about its business.

Meet Electric Sheep at the Robotics Summit & Expo 

This year’s RBR50 award winners will be celebrated at the Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be on May 1 and 2 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Electric Sheep will be demonstrate its newest robot powered by ES1, Verdie, the RBR50 showcase on the expo floor.

Attendees at the 2024 Robotics Summit and Expo at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center will have an opportunity to meet members of Electric Sheep’s executive team. Co-founder and CEO Nag Murty will present a session titled “Startup Survival Guide to Lean Times” at 2:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, May 2.

Murty will be joined by Oliver Mitchell, partner of ff Venture Capital; Fiona O’Donnell McCarthy, principal of True Ventures; and Steve Crowe, executive editor of robotics at WTWH Media. This panel will share tips from experienced investors and robotics companies on what they’re looking for and attendees will learn how organizations can navigate the challenging path to commercialization.

In addition, tickets are available for the first RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards Gala, which will be at the end of Day 1 of the event. The Robotics Summit & Expo will be the biggest yet, with keynotes and sessions from leading companies, more than 200 exhibitors, up to 5,000 attendees, a Women in Robotics Breakfast, and a Robotics Engineering Career Fair.

Co-located events include DeviceTalks Boston, which focuses on medical devices, and the inaugural Digital Transformation Forum. which will focus on manufacturing. Registration is now open for the Robotics Summit.

Learn from Agility Robotics, Amazon, Disney, Teradyne and many more.

The post Electric Sheep wins 2024 RBR50 Startup of the Year appeared first on The Robot Report.

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.

Two Autopicker mobile manipulators in a warehouse aisle. Source: Brightpick

This year, the annual RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards added new categories: Application of the Year, Startup of the Year, and Robot of the Year. We received numerous submissions, but the Autopicker system from Brightpick stood out for automating both mobile manipulation and each picking.

Other robots combining mobility with manipulation have come and gone, from Fetch and Freight to Swift, in part because getting to commercially viable levels of reliability has been challenging. Not only has Autopicker added newer artificial intelligence to the mix, but it has also been deployed in existing customer warehouses.

“On the AI side, this was not possible five to six years ago,” Jan Zizka, co-founder and CEO of Brightpick, told The Robot Report. “Serious breakthroughs enable machine learning to generalize to unseen items.”

Autopicker learns with each pick

Autopicker combines a mobile base, a robotic arm, machine vision, and AI for e-commerce order fulfillment. The system reduces the need for warehouse associates to travel with carts, thanks to its patented design, which enables it to pick items from standard shelving and place them in either of two totes.

Brightpick said Autopicker can pick groceries, cosmetics, electronics, pharmaceuticals, apparel, and more with 99.9% accuracy. Its AI algorithms have been trained on more than 500 million picks to date, and they are improving with each pick, added the company.

Announced in February 2023, the system also supports pallet picking, replenishment, dynamic slotting, buffering, and dispatch. It can store up to 50,000 SKUs, said Brightpick. It also offers a goods-to-person option for heavy or hard-to-pick items, and Autopicker can raise its bins to waist height for ergonomic picking.

In the past year, customers such as Netrush and Rohlik Group began deploying the company’s latest system. Autopicker is available for direct purchase or through a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) model.

See Brightpick at the Robotics Summit & Expo 

Cincinnati-based Brightpick is a unit of Bratislava, Slovakia-based machine vision provider Photoneo s.r.o. The company said its systems can “enable warehouses of any size to fully automate order picking, consolidation, dispatch, and stock replenishment.”

Brightpick, which has more than 200 employees, claimed that its robots take only weeks to deploy and can reduce labor assigned to picking by 98% and picking costs by half. In January 2023, the company raised $19 million in Series B funding for its U.S. expansion, and it said demand for Autopicker has been strong.

This year’s RBR50 award winners will be celebrated at the Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be on May 1 and 2 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Brightpick will be part of the RBR50 showcase on the expo floor.

In addition, tickets are available for the first RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards Gala, which will be at the end of Day 1 of the event. The Robotics Summit & Expo will be the biggest yet, with keynotes and sessions from leading companies, more than 200 exhibitors, up to 5,000 attendees, a Women in Robotics Breakfast, and a Robotics Engineering Career Fair.

Co-located events include DeviceTalks Boston, which focuses on medical devices, and the inaugural Digital Transformation Forum. which will focus on manufacturing. Registration is now open for the Robotics Summit.

Learn from Agility Robotics, Amazon, Disney, Teradyne and many more.

The post Autopicker wins 2024 RBR50 Application of the Year for Brightpick appeared first on The Robot Report.

Collaborative robots could become easier to program and use, thanks to new developer tools. Universal Robots A/S yesterday said it has strengthened its partnership with The MathWorks Inc. by joining the MathWorks Connections Program. The program supports developers and distributors of commercial products, training, and consulting based on MATLAB and Simulink.

The two companies have already worked closely together, co-developing a support package for Robotics System Toolbox that launched in 2023. Engineers can design, simulate, test, and deploy collaborative robot applications onto UR cobots using MATLAB and Robotics System Toolbox from MathWorks.

In addition, MathWorks became a UR+ partner last year, joining Universal Robots’ ecosystem of more than 300 companies creating products for the UR platform.

MathWorks brings MATLAB and Simulink to cobot apps

“In conjunction with MathWorks joining UR+, Universal Robots’ entry into the Connections Program formalizes the organizations’ commitment to helping engineers develop advanced cobot applications and ensures compatibility with new MathWorks releases,” said Jim Tung, a fellow at MathWorks. “With Universal Robots’ market leadership and the ability of MATLAB and Simulink to accelerate the pace of innovation, integrators and end users will continue to solve ever-more complex automation workflows.”

Founded in 1984, MathWorks is a leading developer of mathematical computing software. MATLAB, the language of technical computing, is a programming environment for algorithm development, data analysis, visualization, and numeric computation.

The Natick, Mass.-based company described Simulink as a graphical environment for simulation and model-based design of multidomain dynamic and embedded systems. MathWorks said engineers and scientists worldwide rely on its products to accelerate the pace of discovery, innovation, and development in automotive, aerospace, electronics, financial services, biotech-pharmaceutical, and other industries.

MathWorks asserted that its products are “fundamental teaching and research tools in the world’s universities and learning institutions.” It employs more than 6,000 people in 34 offices around the world.

Universal Robots co-sponsors ARM Challenge

“We are delighted to be a part of the Connections Program and to expand our collaboration with MathWorks,” said Jesper Kildegaard Poulsen, senior director of digital ecosystems at Universal Robots.

“At Universal Robots, we constantly push the boundaries of what can be automated and how easily it can be done,” he added. “Together with MathWorks, we look forward to continuing our common quest to simplify advanced cobot deployments for robotics engineers.”

In addition, Universal Robots has partnered with MathWorks to organize the Autonomous Robot Manipulation (ARM) Challenge this July in Eindhoven, Netherlands, as an affiliated event to RoboCup 2024. The ARM Challenge young researchers and students to address problems related to autonomous robot manipulation.

RoboCup and MathWorks have organized the competition since 2021. As a co-organizer in 2024, Universal Robots will provide its UR5e cobots to participants for the final rounds of the competition.

Founded in 2005, Universal Robots is a leading provider of collaborative robots used across a wide range of industries and in education. The Odense, Denmark-based unit of Teradyne Inc. offers a portfolio of cobots with a range of reaches and payload capacities.

Universal Robots said it has sold more than 75,000 robots worldwide, and its partner ecosystem offers components, kits, and systems for a a wide range of applications. The company said it “aims to create a world where people work with robots, not like robots.”

Editor’s note: Ujjwal Kumar, group president of UR parent Teradyne Robotics, will present a keynote on “Driving the Transformation of the Robotics Industry” on Day 2 of the Robotics Summit & Expo.

An RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award Winner, Universal Robots will be among those honored at the first RBR50 Gala at the Robotics Summit. Registration is now open for the event, which will be at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on May 1 and 2.

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2023 was the year that humanoid robots took big strides onto the public stage, and Agility Robotics pulled ahead in that race with Digit, which is our first-ever RBR50 Robot of the Year.

At ProMAT last year, Digit stole the show by demonstrating its ability to pick up totes from a shelf, walk over to a conveyor, and place the totes onto the conveyor. At the time, Corvallis, Ore.-based Agility Robotics said the demo was based on a real customer use case.

Later in 2023, the company announced pilots with two major customers: Amazon and GXO Logistics, which claims to be the world’s largest pure-play contract logistics provider. Digit is 5 ft., 9 in (175cm) tall, weighs 143 lb. (64.8 kg), and can carry up to 35 lb. (18 kg).

In October, Amazon and Agility said the humanoid robot was being tested at Amazon’s robotics research and development facility outside of Seattle. The initial use of Digit is to help employees with tote recycling, a highly repetitive process of picking up and moving empty totes once inventory has been completely picked out of them.

In December 2023, GXO announced that Digit is being tested for logistics tasks at a SPANX facility in Georgia. Digit is moving totes filled with products off of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and onto a conveyor. Agility said at the time that Digit will communicate with the AMR fleet manager in the future.

Adrian Stoch, chief automation officer at GXO, said Digit’s potential flexibility gives it a nod over other types of robots, including AMRs with top modules.

“The real application here is end-to-end product flow throughout the warehouse,” he said. “Until now, solutions have been mostly discrete applications: goods-to-person, sorters, wearable tech. Solving discrete problems in one part of the puzzle.”

For companies operating fulfillment centers with a wide product mix or fluctuating demand, the potential flexibility of humanoids could help fill the ongoing labor crisis.

Agility Robotics recently launched Agility Arc, a cloud platform for managing operations, and it partnered with warehouse management systems (WMS) provider Manhattan Associates.

We’ve never seen a humanoid perform real tasks in a commercial setting, until now. Humanoids have long been relegated to research labs, but the goalposts began to seismically shift in 2023.

Learn from Agility Robotics, Amazon, Disney, Teradyne and many more.

See Agility at the Robotics Summit

Jonathan Hurst, co-founder and chief robot officer at Agility Robotics, will be keynoting the Robotics Summit & Expo, which takes place May 1 and 2 in Boston and is produced by The Robot Report and parent company WTWH Media. His talk, “Humanoid Robots Get to Work,” will explore the technological breakthroughs propelling humanoids like Digit into real-world use cases.

Agility Robotics will also be featured in the show’s RBR50 Showcase. Visit Booth 448 on the show floor to see Digit in action. The showcase will also feature technology from Boston Dynamics, Brightpick, Locus Robotics, and more.

You can also learn more about Agility Robotics and the rest of this year’s RBR50 award winners at the first-ever RBR50 Gala. At 6:00 p.m. EDT after Day 1 of the show, the ticketed reception will allow attendees to network with the people behind this year’s most innovative robots.

Registration is now open for the Robotics Summit & Expo.

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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.

“The incredible work of this year’s RBR50 winners represents the cutting edge of robotics and raises the bar for the industry, said Steve Crowe, Executive Editor, Robotics, WTWH Media. “We look forward to celebrating all of the innovators at the inaugural RBR50 Gala during the Robotics Summit & Expo. Congratulations to the RBR50.”

Here are some highlights and trends from this year’s winners.

Digit is Robot of the Year

2023 was the year of humanoids, and Agility Robotics has taken an early lead with commercial trials. The company’s Digit humanoid stole the show at ProMAT, where it demonstrated its ability to pick up totes from a shelf, walk over to a conveyor, and place the totes onto the conveyor.

Later in 2023, Agility announced pilots with two major customers to perform a similar task: Amazon and GXO Logistics, which claims to be the world’s largest pure-play contract logistics provider. Digit is 5 ft, 9 in. (175 cm) tall, weighs 143 lb. (64.8 kg), and can carry up to 35 lb. (15.8 kg).

Digit’s potential flexibility gives it an edge over other types of robots, including autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) with top modules.

Autopicker wins Application of the Year

Cincinnati-based Brightpick, which spun out of Photoneo, was named the inaugural Application of the Year winner. In 2023, Brightpick unveiled Autopicker, which it said is the first commercially available AMR that can pick and consolidate orders directly in warehouse aisles.

Autopicker combines a mobile platform, a robotic arm, machine vision, and artificial intelligence for e-commerce fulfillment. The innovative system’s patented two-tote design enables it to retrieve orders from bins on shelving and pick items to one of its totes. This reduces the need for associates to spend time traveling with carts.

Electric Sheep named Startup of the Year

San Francisco-based Electric Sheep’s unique business model allows it to bring in revenue as it takes its time deploying its technology. This business model led to it being named Startup of the Year.

Electric Sheep develops autonomous robots for outdoor maintenance. Instead of selling or leasing the robots to commercial landscaping businesses, Electric Sheep is becoming vertically integrated by purchasing landscaping companies. This allows it to get to know how these businesses operate and where the robots can best be deployed while still bringing in revenue.

Since implementing this strategy, Electric Sheep said it has grown revenue by eight times. Last year, the company acquired four landscaping businesses.

RBR50 winners innovate in several areas

This year’s RBR50 demonstrated the growing relevance of generative AI to robotics. The availability of large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT is making new breakthroughs possible. For example, Sereact released PickGPT, a robotics transformer that combines LLMs with the company’s computer vision technology to create unique pick-and-place robots that use natural language.

Other notable winners include Harvard University’s development of a soft exoskeleton that helped a 73-year-old man with Parkinson’s walk without freezing. And Seattle-based startup Glidance developed a robot that offers autonomous mobility assistance for the visually impaired.

To learn more about the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards 2024, peruse the winner profiles below.

RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards 2024

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The AMD Versal AI Edge and Prime Gen 2 are next-gen SoCs. Source: Advanced Micro Devices

To enable more artificial intelligence on edge devices such as robots, hardware vendors are adding to their processor portfolios. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. today announced the expansion of its adaptive system on chip, or SoC, line with the new AMD Versal AI Edge Series Gen 2 and Versal Prime Series Gen 2.

“The demand for AI-enabled embedded applications is exploding and driving the need for solutions that bring together multiple compute engines on a single chip for the most efficient end-to-end acceleration within the power and area constraints of embedded systems,” stated Salil Raje, senior vice president and general of the Adaptive and Embedded Computing Group at AMD.

“Based on over 40 years of adaptive computing leadership in high-security, high-reliability, long-lifecycle, and safety-critical applications, these latest-generation Versal devices offer high compute efficiency and performance on a single architecture that scales from the low end to high end,” he added.

For more than 50 years, AMD said it has been a leading innovator in high-performance computing (HPC), graphics, and visualization technologies. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company noted that billions of people, Fortune 500 businesses, and scientific research institutions worldwide rely on its technology daily.

Versal Gen 2 addresses three phases of accelerated AI

Advanced Micro Devices said the Gen 2 systems put preprocessing, AI inference, and postprocessing on a single device to deliver accelerated AI. This provides the optimal mix for accelerated AI meet the complex processing needs of real-world embedded systems, it asserted.

• Preprocessing: The new systems include FPGA (field-programmable gate array) logic fabric for real-time preprocessing; flexible connections to a wide range of sensors; and implementation of high-throughput, low-latency data-processing pipelines.
• AI inference: AMD said it provides an array of vector processes in the form of next-generation AI Engines for efficient inference.
• Postprocessing: Arm CPU cores provide the power needed for complex decision-making and control for safety-critical applications, said AMD.

“This single-chip intelligence can eliminate the need to build multi-chip processing solutions, resulting in smaller, more efficient embedded AI systems with the potential for shorter time to market,” the company said.

Learn from Agility Robotics, Amazon, Disney, Teradyne and many more.

AMD builds to maximize power and compute

AMD said its latest systems offer up to 10x more scalar compute compared with the first generation, so the devices can more efficiently handle sensor processing and complex scalar workloads. The Versal Prime Gen 2 devices include new hard IP for high-throughput video processing, including up to 8K multi-channel worflows.

This makes the scalable portfolio suitable for applications such as ultra-high-definition (UHD) video streaming and recording, industrial PCs, and flight computers, according to the company.

In addition, the new SoCs include new AI Engines that AMD claimed will deliver three times the TOPS (trillions of operations per second) per watt than the first-generation Versal AI Edge Series devices.

“Balancing performance, power, [and] area, together with advanced functional safety and security, Versal Series Gen 2 devices deliver new capabilities and features,” said AMD. It added that they “enable the design of high-performance, edge-optimized products for the automotive, aerospace and defense, industrial, vision, healthcare, broadcast, and pro AV [autonomous vehicle] markets.”

“Single-chip intelligence for embedded systems will enable pervasive AI, including robotics … smart city, cloud and AI, and the digital home,” said Manuel Uhm, director for Versal marketing at AMD, in a press briefing. “All will need to be accelerated.”

The Versal Prime Gen 2 is designed for high-throughput applications such as video processing. Source: AMD

Versal powers Subaru’s ADAS vision system

Subaru Corp. is using AMD’s adaptive SoC technology in current vehicles equipped with its EyeSight advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS). EyeSight is integrated into certain car models to enable advanced safety features including adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, and pre-collision braking.

“Subaru has selected Versal AI Edge Series Gen 2 to deliver the next generation of automotive AI performance and safety for future EyeSight-equipped vehicles,” said Satoshi Katahira. He is general manager of the Advanced Integration System Department and ADAS Development Department, Engineering Division, at Subaru.

“Versal AI Edge Gen 2 devices are designed to provide the AI inference performance, ultra-low latency, and functional safety capabilities required to put cutting-edge AI-based safety features in the hands of drivers,” he added.

Vivado and Vitis part of developer toolkits

AMD said its Vivado Design Suite tools and libraries can help boost productivity and streamline hardware design cycles, offering fast compile times and enhanced-quality results. The company said the Vitis Unified Software Platform “enables embedded software, signal processing, and AI design development at users’ preferred levels of abstraction, with no FPGA experience needed.”

Earlier this year, AMD released the Embedded+ architecture for accelerated edge AI, as well as the Spartan UltraScale+ FPGA family for edge processing.

Early-access documentation for Versal Series Gen 2 is now available, along with first-generation Versal evaluation kits and design tools. AMD said it expects Gen 2 silicon samples to be available in the first half of 2025, followed by evaluation kits and system-on-modules samples in mid-2025, and production silicon in late 2025.

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