Goodbye to the hydraulic version of Atlas and hello to the electric model designed for commercialization. That’s the message from Boston Dynamics Inc., which yesterday retired the older version of its humanoid robot after 15 years of development and today showed a preview of its successor.

“The next generation of the Atlas program builds on decades of research and furthers our commitment to delivering the most capable, useful mobile robots solving the toughest challenges in the industry today: with Spot, with Stretch, and now with Atlas,” said the company in a blog post. Spot is a quadruped used in facilities inspection and other tasks, and Stretch is designed to unload trucks.

Boston Dynamics began with humanoids by sawing one of its pneumatically powered quadrupeds in half back in 2009. By 2016, the Waltham, Mass.-based company showed that its robot could walk, open a door, and maintain its balance while being shoved by a person holding a hockey stick, all without a tether.

Roboticists continued to improve Atlas, giving it a smaller form factor and more sensors, training its artificial intelligence, and enabling it to do increasingly impressive feats. They ranged from parkour and dancing to taking tools through a mock construction site.

In fact, it was that demonstration of Atlas manipulating a plank, picking up a bag of tools, and taking it to a worker that earned Boston Dynamics an RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award. The company will be exhibiting at the RBR50 Showcase at the Robotics Summit & Expo on May 1 and 2.

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Boston Dynamics evolves with the times

As capable as the YouTube darling was, the older version of Atlas still had limitations, both in range of motion and in terms of size and power usage. Boston Dynamics noted that it designed its legged robots to operate in unstructured environments, and it acknowledged that Atlas was initially a research and development project rather than a commercial product.

In the meantime, the company itself changed owners, from Google in 2013 to SoftBank in 2017 and most recently to Hyundai in 2020. Along with those changes came an increasing focus on robots such as Spot and Stretch serving industrial needs. To continue pure research, Hyundai founded the Boston Dynamics AI Institute in 2022.

“The AI Institute recently launched a new version of Spot with an API [application programming interface] designed for researchers,” said Robert Playter, CEO of Boston Dynamics. “We’re talking about how to jointly solve some big challenges — the diversity of manipulation tasks we need to do with this robot [Atlas] is huge, and AI is essential to enabling that generality.”

Playter told The Robot Report that Boston Dynamics needs results within two to three years, while the AI Institute has more of a five-year timeframe.

Robot lessons apply to fleets, new Atlas

“It takes a solid year from a clean sheet to a new robot,” said Playter. “We wanted to know that we could solve essential dexterous manipulation problems before releasing the product.”

Boston Dynamics learned numerous lessons from commercializing Spot and Stretch, he said. It has improved control policies, upgraded actuation, and minimized joint complexity. The new Atlas has three-fingered grippers.

The Orbit fleet management software, which initially applies to indoor deployments of Spot, could also help supervise Stretch and Atlas.

Atlas gets ready for mobile manipulation in industrial settings. Source: Boston Dynamics

“Everything we understood, from the time of launching Spot as a prototype to it being a reliable product deployed in fleets, is going into the new Atlas,” Playter said. “We’re confident AI and Orbit will help enhance behaviors. For instance, by minimizing slipping on surfaces at Anheuser-Busch, we proved that we can develop algorithms and make it reliable.”

“Now, 1,500 robots in our fleet have them running,” he added. “It’s essential for customers like Purina to monitor and manage fleets as a vehicle for collecting data. As we develop and download new capabilities, Orbit becomes a hub for an ecosystem of different robots.”

Safety and autonomy are basic building blocks

Boston Dynamics has considered safe collaboration in its development of the new Atlas. ASTM International is developing safety standards for legged robots.

“We recognized early on that Atlas is going to work in spaces that have people in them,” said Playter. “This sets the bar much higher than lidar with AMRs [autonomous mobile robots].”

“We started thinking about functionally safe 3D vision,” he recalled. “We started with Stretch inside a container, but ultimately, we want it going everywhere in a warehouse. Advanced, functionally safe, remote vision and onboard systems are essential to solving safety.”

While Spot and Atlas are often teleoperated, Playter said this is a necessary step toward greater levels of autonomy.

“Making the robots knowledgeable about different types of objects and how to grasp them, teleoperation is just a tool for providing examples and data to the robot,” he explained. “It’s not a useful way of building intuition, but it’s easier if you can operate robots at a higher and higher level. Like you don’t need to tell Spot where to plant its feet, you don’t want to tell Atlas where to grasp.”

In the new video below, the previous version of Atlas handles automotive parts and real products weighing up to 25 lb. (11.3 kg).

Atlas ready for rivals in the humanoid race

Over the past two years, the number of humanoid robots in development has rapidly grown. It now includes Agility Robotics‘ Digit, Tesla’s Optimus, and Figure AI‘s Figure 01. In the two past weeks alone, Rainbow Robotics, Sanctuary AI, and Mentee Robotics have all made announcements.

Investment has also been flowing to humanoid companies, with 1X Technologies raising $100 million in January, Figure AI raising $675 million in February, and Accenture investing in Sanctuary AI in March.

Humanoid robots have advanced in parallel with generative AI, and Playter said he welcomes the competition.

“There were three seminal events: Boston Dynamics got acquired for $1 billion, interest in Tesla’s robot validated what we’ve done for a long time, and the emergence of new AI holds the promise of generalization of tasks,” he said. “They’ve inspired lots of new players, but having new tech isn’t all you need to have a commercial product. You need to focus on a use case, build a reliable machine, and manufacture it in a way to build a business. We want to avoid a ‘humanoid winter,’ so rollouts have to be real.”

Playter added that practical design and proper implementation of AI will help differentiate robots rather than focusing on making them more human-like. The new version of Atlas demonstrated that point in how it stood up in the video at the top of this article.

“It’s not talking to a robot that moves the needle, but whether you can build a robot that eventually does 500 tasks,” he said. “Anthropomorphism blows things out of perspective. We did not want a human-shaped head for Atlas. We want people to remember it’s a machine and that it can move in ways humans can’t.”

The financial stability of the businesses involved will also be relevant for commercial success, said Playter. 

“It takes sustained investment; these are expensive products to launch,” he noted. “Having products already out helps build momentum.”

Atlas is humanoid — to a point. Source: Boston Dynamics

When will we see the new robot in the wild?

Boston Dynamics will begin testing the all-electric version of Atlas with parent company Hyundai and select partners next year, said Playter.

“We’re beginning in their factory,” he told The Robot Report. “In addition to the target application of a lot of parts movement — a special kind of logistics in automotive production — I think that will evolve as the dexterity of the robots improves over time.”

“We see robots in the workplace as an evolution, a continuum from Spot to Atlas,” asserted Playter. “Each product in the series informs the launch of the next.”

“Industries will have to figure out how to adapt and incorporate humanoids into their facilities,” he said. “We’ll actually see robots in the wild in factories beginning next year. We want a diversity of tasks.”

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Kiwibot will add intellectual property from AUTO Mobility Solutions to its delivery robot portfolio. Source: Kiwibot

Consolidation among mobile robot providers is not limited to warehouses. Kiwibot today announced that it has acquired AUTO Mobility Solutions Co.

“This strategic collaboration marks a significant milestone in both companies’ journeys towards innovation and safeguarding privacy in the robotics industry, particularly for intelligent robots sourced from China and deployed in the Western markets,” Kiwibot stated.

“The acquisition of AUTO is a game-changer for us, bringing a wealth of technological innovation and a strong patent portfolio that will significantly enhance our cybersecurity measures for AI-powered robotics,” asserted Felipe Chavez, founder and CEO of Kiwibot. “This move not only strengthens our position in the market, but also connects the manufacturing expertise from Asia with the AI development in the West securely.”

Kiwibot develops delivery robots

Berkeley, Calif.-based Kiwibot has developed autonomous robots using artificial intelligence. The company claimed that it is a market leader of robotic deliveries on U.S. college campuses.

Since 2017, Kiwibot said it has successfully deployed robots across the U.S., Dubai, and Saudi Arabia. In 2020, it raised pre-seed funding and was an early guest on The Robot Report Podcast. It raised $10 million for deliveries as a service (DaaS) in December 2023.

“Kiwibot is actively exploring opportunities to expand our robotic delivery services beyond college campuses,” Chavez told The Robot Report. “We will soon announce customers in two different categories.”

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AUTO brings cybersecurity expertise

“Becoming a part of Kiwibot opens up new avenues for our technologies and patents,” noted Sming Liao, CEO of AUTO Mobility Solutions. “Together, we are poised to redefine the landscape of autonomous delivery services, ensuring greater security and efficiency.”

The Taipei, Taiwan-based company was incubated by ALi Corp. and develops integrated circuit (IC) chips for AI, self-driving vehicles, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and cybersecurity. Its systems feature advanced path planning, positioning, and obstacle-avoidance technology.

AUTO Mobility Solutions has built a patent portfolio in AI, IoT, and cybersecurity in Taipei. Source: Kiwibot

AUTO said its team will add more than 100 licensed patents to Kiwibot’s offerings.

“Our decision to join forces was solidified after recognizing the complementary nature of our technologies and the potential for a synergistic relationship,” said Chavez. “One of our investors from Taiwan introduced us, and we started the relationship as a customer for a custom cybersecurity chip.”

“The acquisition strategically positions us to bolster our cybersecurity infrastructure, especially considering the rising interest in AI and its associated vulnerabilities,” he added. “Together, Kiwibot and AUTO are looking to develop enhanced capabilities in autonomous navigation, AI-powered decision making, and advanced cybersecurity measures.”

Acquisition to expand global presence

The companies also said the acquisition will help the merged entity deliver leading systems globally and meet the evolving needs of both businesses and consumers.

“AUTO’s established presence in Taiwan and Shenzhen [China] will play a crucial role in helping Kiwibot navigate geopolitical and supply chain challenges,” explained Chavez. “Their expertise and strategic locations will aid in diversifying our supply chain and providing stability in our manufacturing and development processes, ensuring Kiwibot’s continued growth and scalability.”

Felipe Chavez, CEO of Kiwibot (left), and Sming Liao, CEO of AUTO (right). Source: Kiwibot

Kiwibot is still evaluating consolidation and rebranding, he told The Robot Report.

“The Taipei team will maintain a high degree of autonomy to leverage their specialized expertise and local knowledge effectively. While we are unified in our mission and strategy, we recognize the importance of fostering innovation through autonomous operations,” Chavez said. “We are currently evaluating how best to integrate our brands to reflect our unified strength while honoring the established identity and contributions of AUTO’s team.”

What are Kiwibot’s plans for the near future?

“Looking forward, Kiwibot’s roadmap includes the continuous improvement of our autonomous delivery robots, the expansion of our service areas, and the integration of AUTO’s technological advancement,” Chavez replied. “We are committed to pioneering the future of robotic services and ensuring a seamless and secure experience for our users. Stay tuned for exciting updates as we progress on this journey.”

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NEURA has developed cognitive robots in a variety of form factors. Source: NEURA Robotics

Talk about combining robotics and artificial intelligence is all the rage, but some convergence is already maturing. NEURA Robotics GmbH and Omron Robotics and Safety Technologies Inc. today announced a strategic partnership to introduce “cognitive robotics” into manufacturing.

“By pooling our sensor and AI technologies and expertise into an ultimate platform approach, we will significantly shape the future of the manufacturing industry and set new standards,” stated David Reger, founder and CEO of NEURA Robotics.

Reger founded the company in 2019 with the intention of combining sensors and AI with robotics components for a platform for app development similar to that of smartphones. The “NEURAverse” offers flexibility and cost efficiency in automation, according to the company.

“Unlike traditional industrial robots, cognitive robots have the ability to learn from their environment, make decisions autonomously, and adapt to dynamic production scenarios,” said Metzingen, Germany-based NEURA. “This opens new application possibilities including intricate assembly tasks, detailed quality inspections, and adaptive material handling processes.”

Omron has sensor, channel expertise

“We see NEURA’s cognitive technologies as a compelling growth opportunity for industrial robotics,” added Olivier Welker, president and CEO of Omron Robotics and Safety Technologies. “By combining NEURA’s innovative solutions with Omron’s global reach and automation portfolio, we will provide customers new ways to increase safety, productivity, and flexibility in their operations.”

Pleasanton, Calif.-based Omron Robotics is a subsidiary of OMRON Corp. focusing on automation and safety sensing. It designs and manufactures industrial, collaborative, and mobile robots for various industries.

“We’ve known Omron for quite some time, and even before I started NEURA, we had talked about collaborating,” Reger told The Robot Report. “They’ve tested our products, and we’ve worked together on how to benefit both sides.”

“We have the cognitive platform, and they’re one of the biggest sensor, controllers, and safety systems providers,” he added. “This collaboration will integrate our cognitive abilities and NEURAverse with their sensors for a plug-and-play solution, which everyone is working toward.”

Omron Robotics’ Olivier Welker and NEURA’s David Reger celebrate their partnership. Source: NEURA

Collaboration has ‘no limits’

When asked whether NEURA and Omron Robotics’ partnership is mainly focused on market access, Reger replied, “It’s not just the sales channel … there are no really big limits. From both sides, there will be add-ons.”

Rather than see each other as competitors, NEURA and Omron Robotics are working to make robots easier to use, he explained.

“As a billion-dollar company, it could have told our startup what it wanted, but Omron is different,” said Reger. “I felt we got a lot of respect from Olivier and everyone in that organization. It won’t be a one-sided thing; it will be just ‘Let’s help each other do something great.’ That’s what we’re feeling every day since we’ve been working together. Now we can start talking about it.”

NEURA has also been looking at mobile manipulation and humanoid robots, but adding capabilities to industrial automation is the “low-hanging fruit, where small changes can have a huge effect,” said Reger. “A lot of things for humanoids have not yet been solved.”

“I would love to just work on household robots, but the best way to get there is to use the synergy between industrial robotics and the household market,” he noted. “Our MAiRA, for example, is a cognitive robot able to scan an environment and from an idle state pick any known or unknown objects.”

MAiRA cognitive robot on MAV mobile base. Source: NEURA Robotics

Ease of use drives NEURA strategy

NEURA and Omron Robotics promise to make robots easier to use, helping overall adoption, Reger said.

“A big warehouse company out of the U.S. is claiming that it’s already using more than 1 million robots, but at the same time, I’m sure they’d love to use many more robots,” he said. “It’s also in the transformation from a niche market into a mass market. We see that’s currently only possible if you somehow control the environment.”

“It’s not just putting all the sensors inside the robot, which we were first to do, and saying, ‘OK, now we’re able to interact with a human and also pick objects,'” said Reger. “Imagine there are external sensors, but how do you calibrate them? To make everything plug and play, you need new interfaces, which means collaboration with big players like Omron that provide a lot of sensors for the automation market.”

NEURA has developed its own sensors and explored the balance of putting processing in the cloud versus the edge. To make its platform as popular with developers as that of Apple, however, the company needs the support of partners like Omron, he said.

Reger also mentioned NEURA’s partnership with Kawasaki, announced last year, in which Kawasaki offers the LARA CL series cobot with its portfolio. “Both collaborations are incredibly important for NEURA and will soon make sense to everyone,” he said.

NEURA to be at Robotics Summit & Expo

Reger will be presenting a session on “Developing Cognitive Robotics Systems” at 2:45 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 1, Day 1 of the Robotics Summit & Expo. The event will be at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, and registration is now open.

“I’ll be talking about making robots cognitive to enable AI to be useful to humanity instead of competing with us,” he said. “AI is making great steps, but if you look at what it’s doing, like drawing pictures or writing stories — these are things that I’d love to do but don’t have the time for. But if I ask, let’s say, AI to take out the garbage or show it a picture of garbage, it can tell me how to do it, but it’s simply not able to do something about it yet.”

NEURA is watching humanoid development but is focusing on integrating cognitive robotics with sensing and wearables as it expands in the U.S., said Reger. The company is planning for facilities in Detroit, Boston, and elsewhere, and it is looking for leadership team members as well as application developers and engineers.

“We don’t just want a sales office, but also production in the U.S.,” he said. “We have 220 people in Germany — I just welcomed 15 new people who joined NEURA — and are starting to build our U.S. team. In the past several months, we’ve gone with only European and American investors, and we’re looking at the Japanese market. The U.S. is now open to innovation, and it’s an exciting time for us to come.”

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OmniOn supports multiple technologies, including robotics. Click here to enlarge. Source: OmniOn Power

As delivery robots and autonomous vehicles spread, much of the design and development attention has focused on safe navigation and obstacle detection, according to OmniOn Power Inc. However, they will also require reliable charging and communications infrastructure, it said.

“We’ve mainly seen mobile robots indoors in factories, warehouses, or even restaurants,” said Gopal Mitra, global segment leader for industrials at OmniOn. “2023 was a big year for cost optimization for robotics companies. They tried to address space challenges and labor shortages in e-commerce, and power supply for delivery robots outdoors is another real challenge.”

“We look at three basic technologies: cloud and edge computing, which need to be supported by 5G, and power,” he told The Robot Report. “OmniOn Power addresses high-voltage DC, outdoor installations, and products for onboard robotics, including mounted power that should be able to work with fluctuating voltages as batteries deplete.”

OmniOn spun out of ABB

Formerly known as ABB Power Conversion, AcBel Polytech Inc. acquired the division in July 2023 and renamed it OmniOn Power Inc. in October.

The Plano, Texas-based company gained telecommunications experience as a part of Bell Labs and was part of General Electric Co. and ABB Ltd. OmniOn claimed that its “reliable products, industry expertise, and partnerships are helping customers realize the full potential of 5G, supporting expansive data center demands, [and] powering Industry 4.0.”

“Our business has grown in the robotics space, partly because of the lack of innovation as a lot of folks focused on scaling up rather than introducing new designs,” Mitra said. “Channels are trying to adopt the right robots for ‘order online, pick up at store,’ direct fulfillment, and warehouses. The increasing amount of returns is also a big concern, and we’re addressing a $500 million portion of the total addressable market by optimizing for the cost of development and implementation.”

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Power innovations to enable autonomy

Batteries add weight to robots and drones, and they can be affected by extreme cold. OmniOn said that more innovation is needed.

“There are two schools of thought for batteries — they could be long-lasting, or you can go with capacitors,” said Mitra. “As for the environment, there’s the harmonics on the grid and temperature, which can be up to 120 to 130 degrees [Fahrenheit; 48.8 to 54.4 Celsius] in places like Dallas.”

“Cold is more of an issue on the battery side than the internals, where the 2% heat generated is usually enough to keep power electronics warm,” he added. “We’re looking at the optimal time to charge, as well as discharge and weight.”

“There have been a number of innovations in batteries,” Mitra noted. “Lithium-ion is very popular in robotics and electric vehicles, and sodium-ion and other polymers are being explored. How U.S. investment in the semiconductor industry responds to China’s prevalence will also affect innovation in the next 10 years. Some are now looking at vertical stacking for denser chips.”

“OmniOn already has engineers working on providing power supplies to telecom and 5G networks,” he said. “We’re enablers of autonomy.”

OmniOn is working on providing power and connectivity to delivery and warehouse robots. Source: Adobe Stock

Other considerations for robotics

Ways to increase robot uptime include hot-swappable batteries, software that directs opportunistic recharging, and persistent wired or wireless charging on embedded grids, mostly indoors.

“Cost is a big deal — wireless charging is usually near-field using inductive charging, which is very attractive for many robots but can be expensive,” said Mitra. “With contact-based charging, you don’t need a converter circuit onboard the robot.”

By contrast, farming equipment or robotic lawnmowers can have wireless docking, eliminating the risk of clippings getting into contacts, he said. Wireless charging pads throughout a warehouse or factory have a high installation cost but can reduce the weight of batteries and operational costs. All of these options require industry consensus to become more widespread, Mitra observed.

How much can fleet management software help with power?

“It depends on the type of fleet,” replied Mitra. “We’re maturing simple routing within the constraints of restaurants, but delivery robots and vehicles have variable package loads. On the software side, we’ll see the impact of artificial intelligence on warehouse management, from machine vision to order processing.” 

Mitra also said that distributed power generation from photovoltaic cells could change the cost of energy.

“There are lots of opportunities to improve overall efficiency, but it’s a chicken-and-egg problem — first, the application has to come,” he said. “In hardware, non-isolated board-mounted products are emerging.”

5G to play a role as edge/cloud computing shifts

“For delivery robots, most of the compute is onboard, with nearby 5G hubs enabling mesh networks,” Mitra explained. “Edge computing needs to be supported by a 5G backbone, and peer-to-peer networks can manage the load.”

While robots and autonomous vehicles (AVs) need onboard processing for a spatial understanding of their environments and to navigate complex surroundings, the delivery function and reporting would benefit from 5G, he said.

“Look at certain regions in San Francisco — AVs are limited to certain areas, where the routes are largely pre-programmed,” said Mitra. “Once we see a prevalence of 5G and edge computing, machine learning for transport will be more scalable.”

“We have an engagement with a robotics company working with a major retailer on managing inventory and goods-to-person materials handling in the warehouse. Multi-tenant warehouses are coming,” Mitra said. “In addition to automated storage and retrieval systems [ASRS], we’re looking at multi-robot scenarios in the parking lot for groceries.”

The BPS 48V stackable power system is designed for 5G systems. Source: OmniOn

AI, humanoids could create new demands

Growing interest in applying generative AI to robotics will also affect networking and power demands.

“They’re not talked about yet in the context of on-premise or edge computing, but it will be interesting to see if delivery robots get these capabilities,” Mitra said. “AI has helped industry understand the need for high-performance computing, which has put a lot of pressure on power-supply manufacturers for smaller, more efficient systems.”

Similarly, interest in mobile manipulation and the humanoid form factor will also intensify pressure on compute and power management.

“Even if you just put an articulated robot arm on a mobile base, stepper motors require eight times the current to start, just to change from static to movement,” said Mitra.

“We still don’t have a good solution for batteries that can support humanoids for the long term,” he asserted. “They’ll also need a power train that can handle a wide range of discharge, from walking to the necessary strength for lifting boxes.”

OmniOn said it expects the demand for delivery robots, automated warehouses, and connected infrastructure to grow at 12% to 14%. Power management may not be standardized, depending on the size of a robot and its number of sensors, and edge/cloud computing and different charging approaches will continue to evolve, said Mitra. 

“We’re excited see how wireless charging affects the robotics space,” he said. “While the cost has led to different adoption than initially expected, in the long term, the cost of infrastructure could be lower, and it could be more easily managed.”

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Delta exhibited its data center and other technologies at NVIDIA GTC 2024. Source: Delta Electronics

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Artificial intelligence and robotics both devour power, but simulation, next-generation processors, and good product design can mitigate the draw. At NVIDIA Corp.’s GTC event last week, Delta Electronics Inc. demonstrated how its digital twin platform, developed on NVIDIA Omniverse, can help enhance smart manufacturing capabilities.

“We’ve partnered with NVIDIA on energy-efficient designs to support AI,” Franziskus Gehle, general manager of the Power Solutions business unit at Delta, told The Robot Report. “We’ve co-developed 5.5 kW designs for 98% efficiency.”

The Taipei, Taiwan-based company explained how its technologies can benefit industrial automation and warehouse operations. Delta also showed its ORV3 AI server infrastructure product and DC converters and other technologies designed to support graphics processing unit (GPU) operations.

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Delta designs simulation to manage automation

Founded in 1971, Delta Electronics said it is a global leader in switching power supplies and thermal management products. The company’s portfolio includes systems for industrial automation, building automation, telecommunications power, data center infrastructure, electric vehicle charging, renewable energy, and energy storage and display.

Delta added that its energy-efficient products can support sustainable development. The company has sales offices, research and development centers, and factories at nearly 200 locations around the world. It provides articulated robot arms, SCARA robots, and robot controllers with integrated servo drives.

“Since 1995, Delta has supplied automation components, and it now offers a full product line,” said Claire Ou, senior principal for strategic marketing in the Power and System business group at Delta. “We’ve used NVIDIA simulation for our customers and ourselves, for machine tools and semiconductors.”

“Because Delta has a lot of factories around the world, it’s best to do test runs to fine-tune our hardware and software before implementation,” she told The Robot Report. “Our solutions can monitor and manage warehouses and factories for maximum productivity.”

In addition, Delta has developed its own standalone simulation software in addition to NVIDIA Omniverse, and it can integrate data from both. In the past, automation designers, manufacturers, and users worked with different tools, but customers are now optimistic about easier collaboration, said Ou.

“In 2012, Industry 4.0 was about digitalizing manufacturing,” she noted. “Since then, our management and monitoring systems have been integrated into global factories. We’re also working with data for construction and smart buildings.”

NVIDIA partners for digital twins to manage power

“We are honored to be the only power and thermal management solutions provider at NVIDIA GTC 2024, where we will showcase the NVIDIA Omniverse-powered digital twin we have developed, which underscores our superior expertise in next-generation electronics manufacturing,” stated Mark Ko, vice chairman of Delta Electronics. “We look forward to helping transcend the boundaries of energy efficiency in the AI realm using the latest technologies.”

Delta has deployed its power management technology to leading cloud solution providers (CSPs) and AI developers such as Meta (parent of Facebook), Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services, noted Gehle.

“Our customers have doubled their power requirements in the past six months rather than in years,” he said. “All of their road maps anticipate a significant increase in power demand, so they need management in place for next-generation GPUs and power-hungry generative AI.”

“We used digital twins and Omniverse to design and pre-qualify our products worldwide,” Gehle explained. “It’s important that our data center plans are aligned with those of our customers.”

At GTC, Delta presented an integrated Open Rack Version 3 (ORV3) system for AI server infrastructure with server power supplies boasting energy efficiency as high as 97.5%. It also included SD-WAN, Common Redundant Power Supply Units (CRPS) with 54Vdc output, ORV3 18kW/33kW HPR Power Shelves, a Battery Backup Unit (BBU), a Mini UPS, and a liquid cooling system.

In addition, the company showed its portfolio of DC/DC converters, power chokes, and 3D Vapor Chambers for GPU operations.

“The new era of AI-powered manufacturing is marked by digital twins and synthetic data, which can enhance efficiency and productivity before actual production begins,” said Rev Lebaredian, vice president of Omniverse and simulation technology at NVIDIA, in a release.

“By developing its digital platform on NVIDIA Omniverse, Delta can virtually link specific production lines and aggregate data from a diverse range of equipment and systems to create a digital twin of its operations,” he said. “And with NVIDIA Isaac Sim, it can generate synthetic data to train its computer models to achieve 90% accuracy.”

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Artificial intelligence is already making robots smarter. Teradyne Robotics announced at GTC 2024 a collaboration with NVIDIA to add new AI capabilities to collaborative and mobile robots.

North Reading, Mass.-based Teradyne owns collaborative robot maker Universal Robots A/S (UR) and autonomous mobile robot (AMR) company Mobile Industrial Robots A/S (MiR), both of which are in Odense, Denmark.

“This is the first of a series of planned AI offerings by Teradyne Robotics,” stated Ujjwal Kumar, group president of Teradyne Robotics. “By adding high-performance compute hardware to our control systems, as well as investing in targeted upgrades to our software stacks, we are investing to establish UR and MiR as the preferred robotics platforms for developing and deploying AI applications.”

“We are working to shape the future of robotics by combining NVIDIA’s state-of-the-art AI platform with Teradyne Robotics’ real-world domain expertise in industrial automation,” he added. “We’re creating the platform for new solutions to previously unsolvable problems.”

Kumar will deliver a keynote at the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston in May.

Universal Robots integrates accelerated computing

Universal Robots is demonstrating at this week’s GPU Technology Conference (GTC) an autonomous inspection system using its cobot arms and AI. The company has integrated NVIDIA accelerated computing into its cobots for path planning 50 to 80 times faster than today’s applications.

“NVIDIA has been working with Universal Robots for three years,” Kumar explained to The Robot Report. “Its researchers were used to the UR cobots, which are inherently safe and thus good for testing AI.”

“While the Microsofts and Googles of the world may own digital AI, NVIDIA wants to be the market leader in physical AI, as CEO Jensen Huang mentioned in his keynote,” he said. “In digital AI, 90% might be OK for an image or text generated with AI, but that’s not sufficient in the real world. Teradyne has experience with quality and reliability.”

The partners said the application combines the following to increase efficiency for automation customers:

• NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin, a complete system-on-module (SOM) designed for edge AI applications
• cuMotion path planner from the NVIDIA Isaac Manipulator platform
• UR’s new PolyScope X software and its UR5e cobot platform

The combination of cuMotion, PolyScope X, and the UR cobot makes possible a range of applications that were previously not feasible to automate fully, according to the partners. It can also improve existing programming concepts.

Teradyne and NVIDIA cited benefits including ease of programming and lower computation time for planning, optimizing, and executing trajectories. For customers, this technology can simplify the setup of common industrial applications, facilitating robot adoption for high-mix, low-volume scenarios.

Not only can cuMotion allow automatic calculation of path planning for collision-free trajectories, but it also enables path optimization for other criteria such as speed, minimum wear, or energy efficiency, according to Universal Robots.

At the GTC demonstration, The Robot Report watched the cobot-mounted camera move to inspect a workpiece that was randomly reoriented. It did so automatically, and a digital twin mirrored its maneuvers.

For the inspection application, users can load CAD files for up to 20 parts with associated test procedures. NVIDIA’s technology enables the robot to identify each part and procedure and conduct path planning accordingly, explained Andrew Pether, principal innovation research engineer at Universal Robots. He said the combination of cuMotion on AGX Orin for dynamic positioning, Isaac Sim for digital twins of the current state and trajectories can improve inspections for automotive, large electronics, and “white goods”/appliances manufacturers.

Teradyne, NVIDIA expect AI robotics apps to grow

Mobile Industrial Robots also announced the MiR1200 Pallet Jack, which uses the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin module for AI-powered pallet detection. This enables it to identify and precisely move objects, navigate autonomously, and operate in complex factory and warehouse environments.

“There are two kinds of workers in factories or warehouses — those in static cells or who are moving,” said Kumar. “We have robots to help both sorts of tasks. Mobile robots and cobots could jointly meet needs in welding, semiconductors, and more.”

Teradyne noted that autonomous inspection and the autonomous pallet handling are two use cases with significant potential for scalability. The MiR1200 Pallet Jack and UR’s cuMotion demo are the two most recent examples of “physical AI” solutions, with others already available through Teradyne Robotics’ ecosystem partners, OEMs, and end users.

“NVIDIA’s Isaac platform is enabling increased autonomy in robotics with rapid advancements in simulation, generative AI, foundation models and optimized edge compute,” said Deepu Talla, vice president of robotics and edge computing at NVIDIA. “This collaboration with Teradyne Robotics will bring the power of AI and accelerated computing to rapidly growing cobot and AMR markets.”

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NVIDIA provided new AI capabilities for the MiR1200 Pallet Jack. Source: Mobile Industrial Robots

Autonomous mobile robots, or AMRs, are among the systems benefitting from the latest advances in artificial intelligence. Mobile Industrial Robots A/S today at LogiMAT launched the MiR1200 Pallet Jack, which it said uses 3D vision and AI to identify pallets for pickup and delivery “with unprecedented precision.”

“The MiR1200 Pallet Jack is our latest effort to push the boundaries in autonomous material handling,” stated Mads Paulin, vice president of research and development at MiR. “We believe that the built-in AI detection system is a significant improvement over older detection technologies.”

“Our approach will reduce pick-and-place cycle times, deliver best-in-class pick accuracy, and allow us to continuously deliver advanced, AI-based functionality and value to our customers,” he claimed.

Why now for the MiR1200 Pallet Jack?

With numerous other AMRs, autonomous forklifts, and semi-autonomous pallet jacks already on the market, why did Mobile Industrial Robots decide to develop one now?

“We announced our intention to create an autonomous pallet jack in 2021,” said Kevin Dumas, vice president of product at the Odense, Denmark-based company. “In this case, being a fast follower is a good strategy.”

“Lots of products on the market use 2D lidar but require pallets in very good condition,” he told Mobile Robot Guide at the R-24 conference in Odense, Denmark. “If you look at pallet jacks built by other companies, they’re focused on building robots first. We expect to run for a long time in many environments, so we built a robust truck.”

“While AMRs already use machine learning for obstacle detection and avoidance, they didn’t need large language models [LLMs],” added Ujjwal Kumar, group president at Teradyne Robotics. “But autonomous pallet jacks must recognize real pallets that are often damaged, painted, or covered in shrink wrap. They needed to get smarter to detect them.”

AMR uses AutoGuide tech, addresses labor shortages

Teradyne is also applying technology from AutoGuide Mobile Robots, which it acquired in 2019 and combined with the MiR brand in 2022. Teradyne had acquired Mobile Industrial Robots in 2022.

“We took the team and technology from AutoGuide but didn’t want to build a standalone pallet jack,” said Kumar, who will deliver a keynote at the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston in May. “We had the AMR experience of MiR and could focus on pallet detection.”

The MiR1200 Pallet Jack’s 3D vision addresses labor-intensive materials handling, The new robot can dynamically modify its route to avoid obstacles such as loose objects on the floor or overhead obstacles.

Mobile Industrial Robots added that its new pallet jack can navigate in tight spaces with minimal changes to the existing infrastructure, making it suitable for optimizing logistics efficiency. Palletizing is a more straightforward workflow to automate than each picking, Dumas said.

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The NVIDIA connection

Mobile Industrial Robots’ new system processes a large amount of camera and lidar data in real time by accelerating the full stack on the GPU and several other processors built into the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin module.

“Mobile Industrial Robots is still the largest AMR player outside of China, with the largest installed base of about 10,000 robots,” Kumar told Mobile Robot Guide at NVIDIA GTC in San Jose, Calif. “NVIDIA recognized the value of MiR’s complementary ecosystem of partners, OEMs, and end users.”

To get to safe, reliable, and complete autonomy, the MiR1200 Pallet Jack trained on 1.2 million images, according to Kumar.

“With NVIDIA Isaac Sim and MiR, customers can add both real and simulated images,” said Dumas. “We’re just at the beginning of that journey, and by future-proofing, we can expand into more areas of AI.”

The MiR1200 Pallet Jack is one of the first AI-enabled products from Teradyne, he observed.

“Simulation isn’t just for modeling; it’s also for infrastructure,” Dumas said. “With transfers, we can validate repeatedly and reliably. With any change to the environment or model, such as a wooden conference floor, you have to do massive testing.”

The MiR1200 Pallet Jack trained on real and simulated images. Source: Mobile Industrial Robots

Mobile Industrial Robots integrates offerings

The MiR1200 Pallet Jack is designed to integrate into existing MiR fleets and work with the company’s deck-load AMRs. Mobile Industrial Robots said the new system can help enterprises that typically operate more complex workflows, with larger fleets and multiple sites.

“As the latest addition to MiR’s wide range of AMRs, the MiR1200 Pallet Jack adds a new application area to our existing solutions for transportation scenarios from small to heavy loads, pallet transportation, and more,” said Jean-Pierre Hathout, president of MiR, in a release.

“All robots can be seamlessly managed and integrated via our industry-leading fleet management tool, MiR Fleet, and monitored and optimized using MiR Insights,” he said.

Customer demand ‘insatiable’

Was the automated pallet jack built in response to market demand?

“Customer demand seems insatiable,” said Dumas. “Pallet manipulation has come up in every conversation with existing and potential customers, after the availability of labor.”

As an established AMR provider, MiR has demonstrated that it can address the total cost of ownership more easily than new entrants to this space, he noted.

“With MiR1200 Pallet Jack, we have developed a rugged AMR pallet jack that will work in existing customer sites that present unique environmental challenges for automation,” Hathout added. “In addition, the MiR1200 Pallet Jacks’ robust tricycle drive system is developed through a partnership with Logitrans, which has 80+ years of experience with material handling.”

MiR has worked with Logitrans on the automated pallet jack. Source: Mobile Industrial Robots

Mobile Industrial Robots makes safety a priority

“Safety is in the DNA of every MiR product,” said Hathout. “The MiR1200 Pallet Jack complies with the latest product safety standards, including ISO 3691-4 [which governs industrial trucks].”

“The fusion of multiple sensor platforms and top-tier safety features provides a much safer alternative to traditional forklifts, pallet trucks and manual pallet jacks,” he said.

NVIDIA Jetson’s sensor fusion of four RGBD cameras and 3D lidar data provides precise detection of obstacles on the floor, overhead, and around the robot in dynamic environments such as warehouses, said Mobile Industrial Robots.

The MiR1200 Pallet Jack has an IP 52 rating for dust and water, with rugged wheels for mobility over multiple surfaces. In addition, it has a high battery capacity, a charging ratio of 1:14, and the option of opportunistic charging for 24/7 workflows.

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Søren Elmer Kristensen, CEO of Odense Robotics, greets global delegates at R-24. Credit: Eugene Demaitre

ODENSE, Denmark — Last week, the R-24 conference for robots, automation, and drones demonstrated why the city of about 206,000 residents is one of the most vibrant for technology in Europe and the world. The spirit of collaboration, from cobots to corporate partnerships, is key, according to Søren Elmer Kristensen. For the past year, he has been CEO of Odense Robotics.

One of the organizers of the event, Odense Robotics represents companies across Denmark. The organization works with local and national industry, academia, and the public sector to share insights, accelerate growth, forge partnerships, nurture people, and drive innovation, said Kristensen in an R-24 keynote.

“Collaborative robots, flexible automation, and drones are changing how we live and work,” he said. “We’re looking at agriculture, food, construction, healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing — places used to automation and not so used to it.”

Denmark turns industry decline into an opportunity

Odense’s robotics cluster has its roots in the city’s steel working and shipbuilding industry, explained Rasmus Torpegaard Festersen, investment manager for robotics and drones at Invest in Odense. By the early 1980s, manufacturing had shifted to Asia, and AP Moller – Maersk decided to invest in research into more efficient means of production.

“The shipyard wanted robotic help with welding, and it was the first collaboration between industry and the University of Southern Denmark,” Kristensen told The Robot Report. “Like other cities, we’ve been through tough times, but visionaries from both parties and the municipality recognized the need to shift the paradigm from production to technology innovation.”

Although the shipyard still closed, the investment led to the founding of cobot leader Universal Robots A/S (UR) and Mobile Industrial Robots ApS (MiR), which Boston-based Teradyne Inc. acquired in 2015 and 2018, respectively.

“That really put us on the map globally,” Festersen said. “Talent attracts talent, and we now have a critical mass.”

Not only have UR and MiR grown, with plans to open a collaborative robotics hub in Odense in May, but Denmark is now home to 593 robotics companies, noted Kristensen.

“Our ecosystem also recognized that to grow, we needed to build trust,” he added. “People can freely move, but companies can’t just steal talent from one another. We’re also looking at mentoring more startups in our incubator.”

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Insight Report tallies growth

Odense Robotics and its partners also last week released its annual Insight Report, which described the growing sector but also noted challenges. Danish robotics, automation, and drone companies employ 13,700 people in Denmark and 4,800 abroad, reflecting 9% growth in the past year, it said.

In 2022, the cluster had a total turnover of DKK 27.5 billion (€3.7 billion or $4 billion U.S.), of which DKK 13.1 billion (€1.8 billion or $1.9 billion) came from exports, said the report. However, supply chain constraints, market awareness, and global economic hurdles have arisen, acknowledged Kristensen. A survey of more than 300 Danish companies found that:

• 91% face constraints related to limited time, resources, and finances for innovation and product development
• 82% must increase customer awareness regarding their technologies’ potential benefits
• 81% struggle with the shortage of qualified workers
• 67% encounter difficulties because of a lack of capital

Still, the Danish robotics cluster expects the creation of 30,000 jobs in the next decade, said Peter Rahbæk Juel, mayor of Odense. He mentioned that two startups had recently relocated from Finland to be part of Odense’s ecosystem.

Peter Rahbæk Juel, the mayor of Odense, Denmark, at the opening of the R-24 conference. Credit: Eugene Demaitre

Odense Robotics continues collaborative approach

“Of our 350 members, 20% were established since 2020, and 87% collaborate with other robotics companies,” said Kristensen. “We’re also working on training and delegation visits with other clusters in Europe and North America, such as Pittsburgh.”

“Denmark punches above its weight,” said Lars Appel Haahr, special advisor to Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which works with Invest in Odense. “It is the most competitive and least corrupt nations, and has proven resilience with dual-use and digital companies.”

From 2015 to 2024, more than €1 billion ($1.09 billion) has been invested in local robotics companies, said the Insight Report. More than 160 robotics organizations are in the vicinity of Odense, making it one of the biggest concentrations in Europe.

The Financial Times recently named the Odense Robotics StartUp Fund as one of Europe’s best startup hubs. The cluster goes through the foreign ministry to work with international partners, and the R-24 conference included delegations from Germany and South Korea.

The Robot Report joined the delegations in visiting the Odense Port, the Danish Technological Institute, the drone test center at Hans Christian Andersen Airport, and Universal Robots. More coverage of these and the Investor Summit to come.

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ABB has expanded production, staff, and training space in Auburn Hills, Mich. Source: ABB

ABB Ltd. today opened its renovated U.S. robotics headquarters and manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Mich. The company said the site will support ABB Robotics’ development and production of leading systems in and for the Americas.

ABB added that it is investing in long-term growth in the U.S. market, which it predicted will experience an 8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The company, which is based in Sweden and Switzerland, said this is its third global robotics factory expansion in three years across China, Europe, and the Americas and is part of its efforts to strengthen its “local-for-local” footprint.

“The opening of our refitted state-of-the-art U.S. robotics headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., is a significant part of our global growth story, reaffirming our commitment to industry leadership in the U.S.,” stated Sami Atiya, president of ABB’s Robotics and Discrete Automation Business Area. “Robotics and AI are essential tools for companies in addressing critical labor shortages, localized supply chains, and the need to operate more sustainably.”

“The advances in AI-driven software and hardware make our robots more accessible to a wider range of businesses, enabling them to increase resilience and become more competitive,” he added. “America is now the world’s second-largest robotics market, and our production facility will help ABB support existing customers, as well as new growth sectors across the U.S. and the Americas region.”

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Auburn Hills gets four enhancements

With a 30% increase in space, the $20 million Auburn Hills facility will support ABB’s efforts to be a strategic partner for its growing customer base.

“We had our first manipulator roll off the line in 2016, and ABB is still the first major robotics company to manufacture systems in the U.S.,” said John Bubnikovich, president of ABB’s U.S. Robotics Division. “We want this and our other competence centers to get closer to customers, to understand their needs and requirements from a segment standpoint.”

He told The Robot Report that the expanded facilities include four key parts: a Customer Experience Center, training space, more flexible production, and modernized employee workspaces.

From left: Marc Segura, John Bubnikovich, and Sami Atiya cut the ribbon opening ABB’s new facility. Source: ABB

Customer Experience Center

Bubnikovich said ABB’s new Customer Experience Center will “showcase its latest and greatest technologies.” It will also provide a venue for ABB to collaborate with educational institutions and customers on digital and AI-powered automation.

“Robots used to be complicated and needed a lot of people to deploy, but it’s now easier,” Bubnikovich said. “Education and outreach are critical factors to growth. An SME [small-to-midsize enterprise] can now effectively apply robots without an army of engineers.”

New training center

While ABB had already trained 5,000 staffers and users to date, the expansion will increase the number of people going through application and robot training, he said.

Complete with a new training center, the Ann Arbor facility will educate more than 5,000 workers and students each year. In addition to capitalizing on the concentration of technical skills in the community, ABB said it will train workers with no prior experience or degree with the skills needed to build a successful career in the robotics and automation industry.

“There will be something for everyone — from basic robot programming to advanced applications like painting,” said Bubnikovich.

ABB expands localized production

The localized production capability will provide flexibility, supply chain resilience, and the opportunity to learn from the experiences of ABB’s units around the world, he added.

“Operations are creating engineering development platforms, or EDPs, in local regions,” said Bubnikovich. “For instance, Mexico recently surpassed China for imports into the U.S., and we can leverage some modular assembly in Mexico for efficiencies of scale.”

“We have three global factories — Auburn Hills, Sweden, and Shanghai — and we’re adding models and autonomous mobile robots [AMRs] for local use,” said Bubnikovich. ABB acquired AMR maker ASTI in 2021. “Our robots will be integrated into production processes throughout the factory. This will help our understanding of how customers apply robots differently, even in the same application space. What better way to demonstrate our products?”

The expanded facility will support ABB Robotics’ specialist centers including its Packaging and Logistics hub in Atlanta; its Life Sciences and Healthcare hub at the Texas Medical Center in Houston; and its AI Research Lab in San Jose, Calif.

“We also opened up a Root-Cause Analysis [RCA] center to increase responsiveness,” Bubnikovich said. “It used to take 60 days to do RCA because we had to send equipment back to Sweden, but now it takes under 10 days. The competence to diagnose a problem and make adjustments — that guarantees quality in addition to local manufacturing,”

The new training center will show that robots have changed manufacturing jobs for the better. Source: ABB

A modern workplace

The workplace modernization is intended to help ABB attract and retain talent, plus build a culture of internal collaboration, said Bubnikovich.

“Jobs in an automated plant are higher-skilled work than just assembly,” said Bubnikovich. “They include doing maintenance on robots, fine-tuning programming, and other things as you evolve production for efficiency and synergy. This investment will be a win-win.”

ABB invests in Michigan manufacturing

ABB noted that the expansion will create jobs with support from a $450,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant.

ABB Robotics has invested $30 million in training since 2019 across four locations, opening its Auburn Hills manufacturing facility in 2015. The latest investment in Auburn Hills is part of the previously announced approximately $170 million that ABB is investing in its electrification and automation businesses across the U.S.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer tours renovated ABB facility. Source: ABB

“ABB’s $20 million investment in Auburn Hills will create more than 70 good-paying, high-skill jobs and build on Michigan’s advanced manufacturing leadership,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer during the opening ceremony. “Around the world, ABB’s technology supports the production of electric vehicles, medical devices, electronics, and even pastries.”

“Today’s expansion at their robotics headquarters will tighten the supply chain and cut down on production delays, while building on ABB’s long-standing investments in local workforce development and hands-on education,” she said. “Let’s keep competing to bring more cutting-edge investments home to Michigan.”

“Through our expanded facility, partner ecosystem and comprehensive AI-enabled product portfolio, we are pushing the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels,” said Bubnikovich. “We look forward to increasing support for our customers, to expanding our role as an employer, and to energizing the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future.”

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RIOS works with NVIDIA Isaac Sim and serves the wood-products industry. Source: RIOS Intelligent Machines

RIOS Intelligent Machines Inc. this week announced that it has raised $13 million in Series B funding, co-led by Yamaha Motor Corp. and IAG Capital Partners. The company said it plans to use the investment to develop and offer artificial intelligence and vision-driven robotics, starting with a product for the lumber and plywood-handling sector.

Menlo Park, Calif.-based RIOS said its systems can enhance production efficiency and control. The company focuses on three industrial segments: wood products, beverage distribution, and packaged food products.

RIOS works with NVIDIA Omniverse on factory simulations. It has also launched its Mission Control Center, which uses machine vision and AI to help manufacturers improve quality and efficiency.

RIOS offers visibility to manufacturers

“Customers in manufacturing want a better way to introspect their production — ‘Why did this part of the line go down?'” said Clinton Smith, co-founder and CEO of RIOS. “But incumbent tools have not been getting glowing reviews. Our standoff vision system eliminates a lot of that because our vision and AI are more robust.”

The mission-control product started as an internal tool and is now being rolled out to select customers, Smith told The Robot Report. “We’ve observed that customers want fine-grained control of processes, but there are a lot of inefficiencies, even at larger factories in the U.S.”

Manufacturers that already work with tight tolerances, such as in aerospace or electronics, already have well-defined processes, he noted. But companies with high SKU turnover volumes, such as with seasonal variations, often find it difficult to rely on a third party’s AI, added Smith.

“Mission Control is a centralized platform that provides a visual way to visualize processes and to start to interact with our robotics,” he explained. ‘We want operators to identify what to work on and what metrics to count for throughput and ROI [return on investment], but if there’s an error on the data side, it can be a pain to go back to the database.”

Smith shared the example of a bottlecap tracker. In typical machine learning, this requires a lot of data to be annotated before training models and then looking at the results.

With RIOS Mission Control, operators can monitor a process and select a counting zone. They can simply draw a box around a feature to be annotated, and the system will automatically detect and draw comparisons, he said.

“You place a system over the conveyor, pick an item, and you’re done,” said Smith. “It’s not just counting objects. For example, our wood products customers want to know where there are knots in boards to cut around. It could also be used in kitting applications.”

RIOS is releasing the feature in phases and is working on object manipulation. Smith said the company is also integrating the new feature with its tooling. In addition, RIOS is in discussions with customers, which can use its own or their existing cameras for Mission Control.

Investors express confidence in automation approach

Yamaha has been an investor in RIOS Intelligent Machines since 2020. The vehicle maker said it has more than doubled its investment in RIOS, demonstrating its confidence in the company’s automation technologies and business strategy.

IAG Capital Partners is a private investment group in Charleston, S.C. The firm invests in early-stage companies and partners with innovators to build manufacturing companies. Dennis Sacha, partner at IAG, will be joining the RIOS board of directors.

“RIOS’s full production vision — from automation to quality assurance to process improvement to digital twinning — and deep understanding of production needs positions them well in the world of manufacturing,” said Sacha, who led jet engine and P-3 production for six years during his career in the U.S. Navy.

In addition, RIOS announced nearly full participation from its existing investors, including Series A lead investor, Main Sequence, which doubled its pro-rata investment. RIOS will be participating in MODEX, GTC, and Automate.

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Automotive manufacturing will continue to drive North American robotics adoption, says A3. Source: ABB

The Association for Advancing Automation, or A3, today released its quarterly and end-of-year report on robot orders in North America for 2023. It found that sales were down by 30% but noted that 2021 and 2022 were record-setting years.

While North American companies ordered 31,159 robots in 2023, compared with 44,196 in 2022 and 39,708 in 2021, A3 said it expects activity to pick up later this year and into 2025. The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based association added that it expects both automotive manufacturers and non-automotive sectors to resume ordering more robots in the coming year.

Jeff Burnstein, president of A3, responded to The Robot Report‘s questions about the latest report on robot orders.

Automotive industry to stay on top despite slowdown

Has the automotive industry completed or postponed retooling for electric vehicle (EV) production? What needs to change for EV adoption to increase in the U.S.?

Burnstein: The automotive industry in the U.S. may be moving a bit slower on retooling than anticipated. Part of the issue may be the demand for EVs, while increasing in states like California, is still lower in other parts of the country.

To see a nationwide expansion, we’ll probably need to see more infrastructure in place for EVs as well as more incentives.  

While automotive has historically been the biggest user of industrial robots in North America, do you see non-automotive industries continuing to surpass it?

Burnstein: I think the automotive industry will remain the largest single user industry for robotics adoption, at least for the next several years. 

Non-automotive industries like warehousing and distribution will grow, as will agriculture, life sciences, construction, food, and many others. Taken as a whole, these non-automotive industries will likely surpass the automotive industry in annual purchases, which is why I’m optimistic about the future potential for robot adoption, despite the current slowdown in sales.

Economy more important than geopolitics, says A3

Do you think the upcoming U.S. elections or geopolitical uncertainty will affect consumer and industry spending? On the one hand, it could help with reshoring or nearshoring, but on the other, it could cause a “wait and see” attitude.

Burnstein: I think the economy has more of an impact on robot sales than geopolitical issues. When companies are doing well financially, they invest more heavily in capital equipment as well as in people — if labor can be found!

Of course, trade wars can impact this picture as we have seen in recent years. Reshoring of manufacturing to Mexico from Asia is a slow-growing trend that will continue, but economic expansion, lower interest rates, and continued labor shortages in nearly every industry will remain the key drivers for increased adoption of automation.

With the Federal Reserve expected to relax its stance a bit on interest rates, would that help manufacturers and the robotics industry?

Burnstein: Lower interest rates should help more companies invest in robotics.

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A peek at Automate 2024

In addition to more attendees, what else will be new at Automate 2024?

Burnstein: We have several new things planned: a new Innovation Awards program, a New Product theater, an expanded Educator’s Day, a Women in Automation program, and new exhibitors from all over the world. We expect 800 exhibitors, our largest number ever.

An exciting new crop of startups [is] taking part in our Automate Startup Competition. [There will also be] new applications that incorporate artificial intelligence [and] an expanded conference program. The automation industry is changing quickly, which is why Automate is now an annual show.

Automate 2024 will be from May 6 to 9 in Chicago. Source: Association for Advancing Automation

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MassRobotics Executive Director Tom Ryden introduces Locus Robotics at RoboXchange. Credit: Eugene Demaitre

BOSTON — MassRobotics last night hosted the first in its RoboXchange series of events intended to encourage collaboration among academia, startups, industry, and global partners around robotics and artificial intelligence. It included presentations by Opteran and Locus Robotics spanning research and development to use cases for mobile robots and software.

MassRobotics started RoboXchange in accordance with its mission to help the Massachusetts and global robotics ecosystems through informative and networking events, said Tom Ryden, executive director of the nonprofit. With its sponsors and partners, MassRobotics also provides workspace and other resources for startups, as well as support for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) educational programs.

Editor’s note: MassRobotics is a strategic partner of WTWH Media, which produces The Robot Report and the Robotics Summit & Expo.

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Warehouses should expect the unexpected, says Locus

While warehouses are increasingly adopting autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), unexpected challenges can still derail deployments, noted Steve Branch, vice president of sales engineering at Locus Robotics. The Wilmington, Mass.-based company has produced over 13,000 robots that have collaboratively picked more than 2 billion units at more than 280 facilities in 18 countries.

Ten percent of Locus’ customer sites have more than 100 robots, its largest has an area of 1.2 million sq. ft. (111,000 sq. m), and the biggest deployment included more than 800 robots at peak, Branch said. Customers include third-party logistics providers (3PLs), retailers and e-commerce companies, and healthcare firms, he added.

Not everyone welcomes robots at first, Branch acknowledged. There have been instances of vandalism, “mostly from the uninformed or the older generation,” he said. “But we’ve been surprised at how quickly the user base adopts the technology once it realizes how robots can make their jobs easier.”

“Robots are cool,” said Branch. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Locus’ clients have become its best promoters, and warehouse associates increasingly realize that AMRs can help extend their careers and offer new opportunities as “robot wranglers,” he said.

Surprises can include environmental challenges, such as changing lighting conditions or dust covering sensors. They can prompt redesigns.

“People do dumb things, like blocking banks of chargers overnight,” said Branch. In addition, users might overload AMRs, add unapproved accessories such as bungee cords, or change throughput for “buy one, get one free” promotions without taking systems into account, he said.

“You can’t control everything, and warehouses already struggle with changing numbers of operators,” Branch observed.

Locus Robotics’ Steve Branch discusses automation challenges at RoboXchange. Credit: Eugene Demaitre

Locus shares tips at RoboXchange

Branch explained that there are ways to prepare for unpredictable problems, including setting expectations, adopting change management best practices like go-live readiness teams, and increasing visibility into processes. Locus Robotics‘ robots-as-a-service (RaaS) model also helps with maintenance and support, according to Branch. It is based on monthly fees, with typical contracts covering three years, he said.

Robotics developers and vendors should focus on demonstrating value at scale to chief financial officers, Branch advised. “We want customers to reach their goals in 60 days,” he said. “Locus has a savings calculator to help before big deployments.”

By visiting clients and soliciting feedback, Locus got pulled into the European market and added the heavy-duty Vector from its Waypoint acquisition to its Origin AMR lineup, he recalled.

In response to questions at RoboXchange, Branch said that Locus supports efforts to make AMRs work across brands and with other equipment. They include the MassRobotics AMR Interoperability Standard. “We’re getting more requests to work with robot arms and workcells for picking and autonomous loading/unloading,” he said.

“We also work with warehouse management systems,” Branch said. “We see ourselves as a software or total solution company, not just a robotics company.”

Opteran looks to insects for new AI model for robots

Conventional machine learning models are based on decades-old understandings of the human visual cortex, asserted Prof. James Marshall. The researcher at the University of Sheffield and chief scientific officer of Opteran presented on “How to Build a Robot Mind” at RoboXchange

“An estimated $75 billion was spent on autonomous vehicles by 2022, and the Apollo program cost $260 billion, adjusted for inflation,” he told attendees. “Imagine if that had been spent on really understanding how intelligence works.”

“Current AI algorithms copy the brain’s spiky processing, but that’s likely a product of how our wetware conserves energy,” Marshall said. “Current navigation such as SLAM, or simultaneous localization and mapping, is data-intensive, compute-heavy, and dependent on network connections.”

Animal brains evolved to solve for motion first, not points in space, he said. Marshall cited examples including the sea squirt, an invertebrate that digests its own brain once it’s no longer needed for its mobile phase of life.

“The fruit fly has only 100,000 neurons, and its brain’s ellipsoid body can still solve navigation and motion,” explained Marshall. “A honeybee with less than 1 million neurons can fly out miles, return to its hive, and communicate where it found flowers as well as conduct other behaviors.”

Other models based on the neural network of C. elegans, or fruit fly, don’t provide the “navigational richness” that Opteran is aiming for, he added. Marshall co-authored a peer-reviewed research paper on “Insect-inspired AI for autonomous robots.”

Opteran’s Prof. James Marshall discusses a new bio-inspired approach to AI at RoboXchange. Credit: Eugene Demaitre

Opteran shows new navigation approach at RoboXchange

Opteran said it has reverse-engineered information-processing principles for a small development kit that works with cheap sensors. The U.K. company provides vision and perception that it claimed is “orders of magnitude” more robust than more deterministic AI. In fact, it doesn’t require plath planning and can dynamically avoid objects, said Marshall.

“We provide I/O for collision prediction and robust output for panoramic, stabilized 3D visualization,” he said.

“To share the technology now, we’ve productized Opteran Mind 4.1,” said Jack Pearson, commercial director at Opteran. “It solves for localization at lower cost than SLAM.”

In a live demonstration at RoboXchange, Opteran’s team showed how a robot could use its technology to autonomously navigate a course lined with mirrors and changing lights — normally a problem for SLAM.

“We’re working toward safety certifications and cognizant engines and are on a journey to build decision engines,” said Marshall.

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Nala provides automation for food bowls and other meals. Source: Nala Robotics

Since the public debut of generative artificial intelligence and large language models in late 2022, robotics developers have been working to take advantage of the latest AI capabilities. Nala Robotics Inc. said that ChatGPT enables its autonomous chefs to prepare almost any recipe.

Generative AI and robots can help restaurants and commercial kitchens save money, as well as address labor turnover and shortages, according to Ajay Sunkara, founder and CEO of Nala Robotics.

“I started the company six years ago, and our automation of commercial kitchens went through different phases of development during the pandemic,” Sunkara told The Robot Report. “Nala started with the intention of making food consistently, but hygiene and labor shortages changed our priorities. Then there was the emergence of generative AI.”

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Nala Robotics pivots post-pandemic

“We built our system to address the issues the industry is facing, as well as the technology innovations emerging our path today,” added Sunkara. “Nala runs one of the only robotic commercial kitchens in the U.S. in Naperville, Ill. It has been operating for more than 25 months.”

The Chicago-based company sells The Wingman robotic fryer, the Nala Chef automated kitchen, and the Spotless robot for loading and unloading dishwashers. It also provides systems that can assemble sandwiches, food bowls, and pizzas.

“We’ve pivoted in the past few years when we learned of the need for end-to-end solutions,” Sunkara noted. “Most previous innovations in food robotics can handle one task or area, but with hygiene concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry needed machines to handle everything from ingredients to delivery.”

“The second aspect or priority we had to change was the cost impact,” he added. “When inflation was low before the pandemic, robotics was a distant arena for traditional commercial restaurants. Now, any small or midsize business can afford to look at robotics because of wage growth. In California, the minimum wage is $20, which made robotics a more affordable alternative to help ease pressure on restaurant owners.”

While the majority of Nala Robotics’ customers are larger chains, adding robotics is more involved for them because of the need to customize systems to their processes. The company is working on pilots with bother larger and smaller customers, said Sunkara.

AI addresses need for kitchen skills

A new employee or a robot now requires about the same amount of time to learn a range of ingredients and how to do things such as build a sandwich and add condiments, asserted Sunkara. 

“A large chain has more throughput than a [delivery-only] cloud kitchen, but robots can help, whether it’s 20 units or less,” he said. “We’ve experimented with machine learning for a long time and have data showing significant results with our models.”

Sunkara said that a key application for AI is in building new recipes.

“For example, fusion restaurants such as our kitchen can tell ChatGPT the ingredients we have for a given day — tomatoes, pumpkins, etc.,” he said. “The AI can come back with a potential recipe. That’s an area where humans have not gone before.”

Optimizing ingredient use can help reduce food waste, said Sunkara. What’s the best mix of automation and human oversight?

“It depends on the application,” he replied. “The majority of preparation of cut vegetables and frozen food has been automated for some time now, but not everything is cost-effective for a commercial kitchen or a small restaurant to automate. We have to be strategic about where we apply automation for cost savings.”

“It’s a matter of paying a worker for eight hours versus a robot for 24 hours, but there’s the utilization rate and payback time,” Sunkara said. “We differ from our competition in our approach to maintenance, and most of our systems are built for end-to-end use.”

“For example, our frying system can not only put fries or wings in oil and take them out it can adjust the count of wings or weight, measure the temperature of the oil, sauce the wings, and clean the utensils and packaging,” he claimed. “This is where you’ll see a significant impact — you need to save a full labor hour, not a half or one-quarter hour of labor.”

Nala Robotics is one of the first food technology companies to integrate with AI for such multi-tasking, said Sunkara. It offers its systems through direct sales, rental, lease, and a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) model. In RaaS, a customer uses Nala’s infrastructure and pays by the dish.

Automating the future of work and home tasks

Nala Robotics is also actively exploring generative AI for human-machine interaction (HMI) and for robots to self-correct and improve efficiency on their own, said Sunkara.

“There is a danger of overexuberance in AI,” he acknowledged. “The past few years have seen a lot of machine learning development, and AI is an extension of those models. But it’s more like the software industry, where the dot-com era went really fast, and the market wasn’t ready to absorb those changes.”

“With robotics, the whole industry has to work together to be accepted,” Sunkara added. “Automation helped as people got more accustomed to remote work during the pandemic, and they’re now ready for AI.”

While relatively little money is currently being invested into household robotics, Sunkara said he believes that the potential market is “huge” if they could do everyday tasks.

“First, our goal is to get into commercial environments, where it was hard to show restaurant owners the potential of robots,” said Sunkara. “Whatever experience we’re gaining can eventually be utilized in at-home tasks.”

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An edited image showing an iRobot Roomba with Amazon branding. | Source: iRobot, Amazon

iRobot Corp. today announced it is terminating its planned acquisition by Amazon.com Inc. The companies mutually agreed on this decision and blamed “undue and disproportionate” regulatory scrutiny for the demise of the deal.

“We’re disappointed that Amazon’s acquisition of iRobot could not proceed,” said David Zapolsky, senior vice president and general counsel at Amazon, in a release. “We’re believers in the future of consumer robotics in the home and have always been fans of iRobot’s products, which delight consumers and solve problems in ways that improve their lives. Amazon and iRobot were excited to see what our teams could build together, and we’re deeply grateful to everyone who worked tirelessly to try and make this collaboration a reality.”

Zapolsky cited the need for global competitiveness and said that regulators are impeding innovation.

“This outcome will deny consumers faster innovation and more competitive prices, which we’re confident would have made their lives easier and more enjoyable,” he said. “Mergers and acquisitions like this help companies like iRobot better compete in the global marketplace, particularly against companies, and from countries, that aren’t subject to the same regulatory requirements in fast-moving technology segments like robotics.”

“Undue and disproportionate regulatory hurdles discourage entrepreneurs, who should be able to see acquisition as one path to success, and that hurts both consumers and competition—the very things that regulators say they’re trying to protect,” stated Zapolsky.

Amazon’s acquisition of iRobot faced multiple hurdles

The companies signed the proposed acquisition agreement on Aug. 4, 2022, and the Seattle-based e-commerce giant would have acquired the Bedford, Mass.-based robotic vacuum vendor for up to $1.7 billion in cash. That amount was lowered to $1.42 billion after iRobot acquired new debt, and it laid off 10% of its staff, or about 140 employees.

iRobot tried to reassure customers that its plans for mapping consumers’ homes would not result in the sale of private information.

In September 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an investigation of Amazon and iRobot’s plans. In October 2022, iRobot and SharkNinja received an initial determination in a patent-infringement lawsuit, which ruled in favor of iRobot on two claims and for SharkNinja on two claims affecting its top-selling products.

In April 2023, iRobot got a bit of good news, as the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority cleared the proposed acquisition. In September 2023, iRobot introduced the Rooma j9+ robot vacuum, the Roombo Combo j9+ robot vacuum and mop, and iRobot OS 7.0.

In November 2023, the European Commission said that its preliminary view was that the acquisition could restrict competition. 

The companies have signed a termination agreement that resolves all outstanding matters from the transaction, including Amazon paying iRobot a previously agreed-upon $94 million termination fee.

Co-founder Colin Angle steps down as CEO

iRobot also announced that co-founder Colin Angle has stepped down as chairman and CEO. He will continue to serve on its board of directors until his current term expires in May 2024. Angle has agreed to remain with the company as a senior advisor for up to 12 months.

“iRobot is an innovation pioneer with a clear vision to make consumer robots a reality,” stated Angle in a release. “The termination of the agreement with Amazon is disappointing, but iRobot now turns toward the future with a focus and commitment to continue building thoughtful robots and intelligent home innovations that make life better, and that our customers around the world love.”

“When I founded iRobot more than three decades ago, having more than 50 million of our products in homes worldwide was beyond my wildest imagination,” he added. “I am incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished over the years. From the development of the first Roomba in 2002 to our latest generation, they have been relentless in building and delivering new and iconic ways for consumers to clean and live.”

“At the same time, I know there is a lot of work to do to map iRobot’s next chapter,” noted Angle. “Given the nature of the challenges facing the company, the board and I have mutually decided that iRobot will be better served by a new leader with turnaround experience. I would like to sincerely thank our team members around the world for their commitment to our mission of helping people do more.”

iRobot has appointed Glen Weinstein, executive vice president and chief legal officer, as interim CEO. He has been with the company since 2000. Andrew Miller, lead independent director of iRobot’s board, has been appointed chairman of the board. Miller previously worked at PTC, among other high-tech companies.

“iRobot is a pioneer of the consumer robot field and beloved by its customers around the world,” asserted Miller in a release. “With a legacy of innovation and a foundation of creativity, the board and I believe that iRobot can – and will – grow its presence and continue to build a cutting-edge suite of robotic floorcare solutions that help consumers make their homes easier to maintain and healthier places to live.”

“To do this successfully, however, we must rapidly align our operating model and cost structure to our future as a standalone company,” he added. “Though decisions that impact our people are difficult, we must move forward with a more sustainable business model, and a renewed focus on profitability. We are confident that the actions we are announcing today will enable us to chart a new strategic path for sustainable value creation.”

“On behalf of the board, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to Colin for more than 33 years of leadership in building a company that has changed the world,” said Miller. “I particularly appreciate Colin’s support of this transition. We are also grateful to Glen for stepping up to guide our company through this important period. As the search for our next CEO progresses, I know we will benefit from Glen’s deep knowledge of our business, having been an integral member of iRobot’s leadership team for over 20 years.” 

iRobot shares restructuring plans

iRobot today also announced preliminary fourth-quarter results. It said it anticipates reporting full-year 2023 revenue of $891 million, a 25% drop from the same period in 2022 and a GAAP (generally accepted accounting principle) operating loss of between $265 million and $285 million, and a non-GAAP operating loss of approximately $200 million.

The company ended fiscal year 2023 with $185 million in cash and cash equivalents, funded primarily from its previously announced three-year $200 million credit agreement with The Carlyle Group, which matures on July 24, 2026.

iRobot announced a number of moves to “more closely align its cost structure with near-term revenue expectations and drive profitability.” This includes restructuring its supply chain, research and development, and sales and marketing, as well as laying off more staffers and abandoning work on robotic lawn mowing, among other things. 

iRobot announced a reduction in force (RIF) of 350 employees, representing 31% of its workforce as of Dec. 30, 2023. The company plans to notify all the affected workers by March 30, 2024, and it will take restructuring charges of between $12 million and $13 million for severance and related costs.

iRobot named Jeff Engel as chief restructuring officer, and he will report directly to the board and Weinstein. It also listed the following financial and strategic initiatives:

• Achieving margin improvements and generating approximately $80 million to $100 million in savings by renegotiating terms with joint design and contract manufacturing partners
• Reducing research and development expenses by approximately $20 million year-over-year through increased offshoring of non-core engineering functions to lower-cost regions
• Centralizing global marketing activities and consolidating agency expenditures to reduce sales and marketing expenses by approximately $30 million year-over-year while seeking efficiencies in demand-generation activities
• Rightsizing the company’s global real estate footprint through additional subleasing at its corporate headquarters and the elimination of offices and facilities in smaller, underperforming locations
• Focusing iRobot’s product roadmap on core value drivers and pausing all work related to non-floorcare innovations, including air purification, robotic lawn mowing, and education

“The company will continue executing key strategic activities to support iRobot’s return to profitability, including increasing its brand recognition, driving product innovation, and redesigning its go-to-market strategy,” it said. “Enhancements to the company’s go-to-market playbook will focus the business on iRobot’s most profitable customers, geographies, and channels, including its growing direct-to-consumer channel, while rebalancing the company’s spending mix between price, promotion, and demand generation to optimize returns.”

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Parkhotel employees in Eisenstadt, Austria, celebrate the arrival of service robots. Source: Pudu Robotics

Commercial service robots are more common in East Asia than elsewhere, but the rest of the world could catch up in 2024, according to Pudu Technology Co. The Shenzhen, China-based company claimed that it is China’s top exporter of such robots.

“If 2023 was the year of GenAI, I believe 2024 will be the year of the robot,” stated Felix Zhang, founder and CEO of Pudu Robotics. “While humanoid robots and food-making robots grabbed headlines in 2023, the untold story is that it’s the humble service robot — robots that skillfully deliver items and clean floors, often in high-traffic areas — that are actually ready to scale in 2024.”

Last year, Pudu Robotics said it deployed robots across 600 cities in 60 countries. The company also partnered with SoftBank and Nippon Otis Elevators, opened its autonomous mobile robot (AMR) management platform to developers, and won Red Dot and iF Design awards. In addition, it raised more than $15 million in Series C3 funding.

Zhang discussed Pudu’s current offerings and his outlook for this year with The Robot Report:

Service robots to take on more healthcare roles

You have predicted more robots in hospitals and senior living facilities. Does Pudu offer robotics specifically for elder care?

Zhang: Pudu Robotics offers several robots that are deployed in senior living facilities to assist facility staff and residents in their day-to-day tasks and improve the emotional well-being of the elderly. The robots include the BellaBot and KettyBot, two models of delivery robots that can serve food or medicine, assist with returning items, and in some cases even interact with residents.

In addition, although it’s not designed to interact with residents, the PUDU CC1 cleaning robot can help keep senior living facilities tidy, as it is designed to scrub, sweep, vacuum and mop in care homes and other commercial settings. These capabilities automate menial tasks for overwhelmed workers and set the standard for hygiene in autonomous cleaning.

For example, a chain elderly care institution in Hong Kong, which operates 12 nursing homes with 1,600 beds, has adopted CC1 for cleaning the internal environment, reducing the workload of the staff.

PUDU’s robots are especially timely, as more than 1 in 6 Americans are now 65 years or older, and life expectancy continues to grow, thanks to medical advancements. Our aging population is contributing to a major healthcare staffing crisis.

The next 12 months will see the increased adoption of robots in healthcare, as short-staffed senior-living facilities employ the technology to complete tasks. They can monitor daily routines, provide reminders for medication schedules, detect changes in body temperature, and warn medical professionals and families of any abnormalities. 

Robots can also provide emotional support for the elderly and robot-assisted living will become a crucial asset for the growing elderly population. Loneliness is a common problem for many older people, robots provide company and can engage in activities such as communication, storytelling, and playing music.

The traditional way of caring for the elderly often falls short of meeting all of their needs, and robots are able to fill the gaps.

Pudu addresses global markets, economic headwinds

How is the U.S. market for service robots growing in comparison with other regions?

Zhang: The global market for service robots is soaring, and the U.S. is beginning to catch up with its peers in Asia. According to the International Federation of Robotics [IFR], a non-profit industry association, sales of robots used in the service industry grew by 37% worldwide in 2022.

In 2024, the U.S. market is expected to generate the most revenue in the service robot industry, but regions like Japan are leading the way in development and adoption of the technology. In many developing countries, the service industry is hobbled by ever-mounting challenges in hiring workers.

In response, Pudu Robotics has engaged in a massive expansion beyond the borders of its home market since 2020, achieving rapid growth in shipments. Pudu leads the global market as China’s No. 1 service robot exporter, and cumulative global shipments are over 70,000 units. 

In the U.S., employers facing staff shortages have turned to commercial service robots to provide relief for their remaining workers. Quick-service restaurants [QSRs], for example, expect 51% of tasks to be automated by 2025, while full-service restaurants expect to automate 27% of tasks. Service robots are automating menial tasks, improving overall efficiency, and preventing burnout among their human colleagues. 

While the challenge of labor shortages is universal, how will robotics adoption overcome current economic headwinds?

Zhang: Currently, there are 4 million more open jobs than there are available workers in the U.S. to fill them. As society’s tolerance and acceptance of new technology grows, robots will plug this hole.

U.S. restaurants are a prime example. Owners face a “perfect storm” of an aging population, soaring child-care costs that shrink the pool of available workers, and a pandemic that pointed many workers towards more stable careers.

While economic headwinds may cause some delay, the world is still turning towards an increasingly automated future. Robots are the long-term solution for massive problems facing several industries.

Integration and AI to make robots more useful

From hospitality to healthcare and retail, which areas have the most demand? How much integration will be necessary?

Zhang: We’re seeing an increase in demand for service robots most from the restaurant industry, followed by hospitality, healthcare, and retail by order of demand increase. To meet that global demand, Pudu Robotics is building two new factories near Shanghai that will triple the company’s annual capacity.

Businesses across all four categories are finding it hard to maintain adequate service levels due to staffs being stretched thin. Integration will happen across these industries, as they all are dealing with the effects of the labor shortage. Business will still need human workers, but robots can supplement and improve efficiencies. 

While large language models (LLMs) are improving human-machine interactions, how will they be instantiated in robots rather than on tablets and phones?

Zhang: Large language models can effectively enhance human-robot interaction, particularly in semantic understanding. Take, for instance, a robot serving as a shopping guide in a supermarket.

Previously, to find a specific brand of electric toothbrushes, customers needed to navigate through “personal care,” then “toothbrushes,” followed by “electric toothbrushes,” and finally the brand. With significant improvements in voice recognition and semantic understanding, it’s now possible to locate the item directly through a single command. 

LLMs are highly beneficial for advancing end-to-end algorithms in modules such as positioning, navigation, and perception, significantly enhancing the efficiency of their evolution to achieve global optimization. Robots and LLM integration is already under way, but manufacturers need to ensure that the generated content aligns with human values and safety standards, while also ensuring that robots can reliably and responsibly interact with the real world.

In 2024, these models will be used effectively in robots — as well as tablets and phones — as robots with AI voice interactions and eye-catching displays make use of the advancing technology.

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