CCTY Bearing will discuss how its technologies can help humanoid robots at the Robotics Summit & Expo. Source: CCTY

To help robot developers make humanoid robots that emulate the mobility and flexibility of human limbs, CCTY designs and manufactures bespoke parts tailored to the unique requirements of each project. At the Robotics Summit & Expo this week, the global motion-control supplier will highlight how its state-of-the-art bearings can enable robots to move articulating joints with lifelike grace.

These critical joints must replicate the natural range of motion found in the human body while remaining lightweight and durable, according to CCTY. The company today said its customized approach overcomes the limitations of conventional, off-the-shelf products.

“The development of humanoid robots has garnered significant attention,” stated Yaman Obaid, robotics engineer at CCTY. “Their seamless motion is enabled by a complex interplay of precision engineering, advanced materials, and cutting-edge technology, with bearings serving as the base that enables these movements.”

CCTY builds bearings to suit

CCTY specializes in custom bearing engineering and development. The company has a 1.8 million sq. ft. (167,000 sq. m) production facility in China and offices in Lake Zurich, Ill.; Schwebheim, Germany; Tokyo; and Gujarat, India.

For the robotics sector, CCTY designs motion-control components and assemblies specific to humanoid and industrial robot applications. They include rod ends, spherical plain bearings, COM bearings, bushings, and roller bearings that enable articulating joints to rotate freely and smoothly.

“At the forefront of innovation, CCTY collaborates closely with our customers to design, develop, and test application-specific humanoid robotic bearing solutions,” said Nik Jerinic, strategic account manager at CCTY. “We’re not like other bearing suppliers. We are problem-solvers who work side-by-side with our clients to create a custom design that meets an application’s precise requirements.”

In addition to custom bearings, CCTY said it develops full assemblies that yield customer benefits such as cost savings, streamlined products, and simplified vendor management. With its ability to manufacture small batches, the company said it is as a trusted engineering partner to businesses in the fast-paced robotics industry.

Learn more at the Robotics Summit & Expo

At Booth 234 in Hall C at the Robotics Summit & Expo on May 1 and 2, CCTY said it will demystify the process of bearing design and assembly for robotic applications. It said its expertise and customer partnerships have resulted in systems that will advance the future of humanoid robots.

During the event, CCTY experts will also discuss key robotics industry trends and themes, including the importance of:

• Seals in robotics applications
• Finding the right balance for minimizing torque and clearance
• Backlash and its impact on humanoid movement

“When speaking with new and potential customers, our engineers often find that they’re able to present or share a new idea or enhancement, for example a new design idea or material selection, that improves upon the customer’s existing idea,” said Jerinic. “This is the type of partner CCTY wants to be for our robotics customers: Someone who helps them raise the bar in this high potential and fast-growing industry.”

Registration is now open for the Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The summit will also feature keynotes and sessions with industry experts, more than 200 exhibitors, a MassRobotics Engineering Career Fair, and several networking opportunities.

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

The post CCTY to showcase bearing solutions at the Robotics Summit & Expo appeared first on The Robot Report.

Forcen says its technology will help robotic manipulation advance as vision has. Source: Forcen

Forcen last week said it has closed a funding round of CAD $8.35 million ($6.1 million U.S.). The Toronto-based company plans to use the investment to scale up production to support more customers and to continue developing its force/torque sensing technology and edge intelligence.

“We’ve been focused on delivering custom solutions showcasing our world-first technology with world-class quality … and we’re excited for our customers to announce the robots they’ve been working on with our technology,” stated Robert Brooks, founder and CEO of Forcen. “Providing custom solutions has limited the number of customers we take on, but now we’re working to change that.”

Founded in 2015, Forcen said its goal is to enable businesses to easily deploy “(super)human” robotic manipulation in complex and unstructured applications. The company added that its technology is already moving into production with customers in surgical, logistics, humanoid, and space robotics.

Forcen offers two paths to robot manipulation

Forcen said its new customizable offering and off-the-shelf development kits will accelerate development for current customers and help new ones adopt its technology.

The rapidly customizable offering will use generative design and standard subassemblies, noted the company. This will allow customers to select the size, sensing range/sensitivity, overload protection, mounting bolt pattern, and connector type/location.

By fulfilling orders in as little as four to six weeks, Forcen claimed that it can replace the traditional lengthy catalog of sensors, so customers can get exactly what they need for their unique applications.

The company will launch its off-the-shelf development kits later this year. They will cover three degree-of-freedom (DoF) and 6 DoF force/torque sensors, as well as Forcen’s cross-roller, bearing-free 3 DoF joint torque sensor and 3 DoF gripper finger.

Off-the-shelf development kits will support different degrees of freedom. Source: Forcen

Force/torque sensors designed for complex applications

Complex and less-structured robotics applications are challenging for conventional force/torque sensing technologies because of the risk of repeated impact/overload, wide temperature ranges/changes, and extreme constraints on size and weight, explained Forcen. These applications are becoming increasingly common in surgical, logistics, agricultural/food, and underwater robotics.

Forcen added that its “full-stack” sensing systems are designed for such applications using three core proprietary technologies:

• ForceFilm — A monolithic thin-film transducer enabling sensing systems that are lighter, thinner, more stable across both drift and temperature, the company said. It is especially scalable for multi-dimensional sensing, Forcen said.
• Dedicated Overload — A protection structure that acts as a 6 DoF hard stop. The company said it allows sensitivity and overload protection to be designed separately and enables durable use of the overload structure for thousands of overload events while still achieving millions of sensing cycles.
• Synap — Forcen’s onboard edge intelligence comes factory compensated/calibrated and can connect to any standard digital bus (USB, CAN, Ethernet, EtherCAT). This can “create a full-stack force/torque sensing solution that is truly plug-and-play with a maintenance/calibration-free operation.

New offerings include features to support demanding robotics applications. Source: Forcen

Learn about Forcen at the Robotics Summit

Brightspark Ventures and BDC Capital’s Deep Tech Venture Fund co-led Forcen’s funding round, with participation from Garage Capital and MaRS IAF, as well as returning investors including EmergingVC.

“Robotic vision has undergone a revolution over the past decade and is continuing to accelerate with new AI approaches,” said Mark Skapinker, co-founder and partner at Brightspark Ventures. “We expect robotic manipulation to quickly follow in the footsteps of robotic vision and Forcen’s technology to be a key enabler of ubiquitous human-level robotic manipulation.”

Forcen is returning to the Robotics Summit & Expo this week. It will have live demonstrations of its latest technology in Booth 113 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. 

CEO Brooks will be talking on May 1 at 4:15 p.m. EDT about “Designing (Super)Human-Level Haptic Sensing for Surgical Robotics.” Registration is now open for the event, which is co-located with DeviceTalks Boston and the Digital Transformation Forum.

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

The post Forcen closes funding to develop ‘superhuman’ robotic manipulation appeared first on The Robot Report.

The Gentle Duo Mini soft grippers are suitable for food handling. Source: Ubiros

Reliable and delicate robotic grasping has long been a challenge, but Ubiros Inc. said it can solve the problem without the bulky pneumatics or complex coding of previous approaches.

The company’s electrically driven and modular grippers are easier to deploy and use than other soft grippers, according to Onder Ondemir, president of Ubiros. He is also a professor in the engineering department at Northeastern University.

Ubiros offers the Gentle Flex Module and Gentle Flex CC for users that want to build their own grippers. The spinout of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) also offers Gentle Duo with two soft fingers and Gentle Pro with four fingers, as well as Touch models for both that include force control, part sensing/confirmation, and a low-power mode.

The Natick, Mass.-based company said its compliant grippers are suitable for food handling and packaging, textiles, and some warehouse applications. Ubiros, which is a resident startup at MassRobotics, already has distributor agreements in China, South Korea, Turkey, the U.K., and the U.S.

Founder fascinated by technology

“I loved Knight Rider as a kid and asked my mom, ‘Who makes [smart car] KITT? What do I need to become to make something like that?’” recalled Ondemir. “She said ‘mechanical engineer.’”

“I grew up and became an industrial engineer, but I’ve always been fascinated with mechanical systems,” he told The Robot Report. “I worked at an insurance company modeling the capacity of systems and demand forecasts, and I became a vice president.”

Ondemir later ran into a friend [Cagdas Onal] who was doing post-doctoral associate work at MIT and collaborating with Harvard University researchers working on soft robotics.

“We knew the limitations of pneumatics – precision is low, control is hard, and the equipment needed to generate compressed air uses a lot of electricity,” he said. “After spending years in the lab, one day, he came to me and said, ‘Onder, I think I have groundbreaking technology for packaging and gripping in general, but I don’t want to run the company.’ Becoming the CEO was a no-brainer to fulfill my desire to build machines and work with my friend.”

Ubiros President Onder Ondemir at MassRobotics. Source: Ubiros

The genesis of Ubiros

Ubiros has largely focused on food handling.

Automating the handling of fruit and baked goods is not easy, because such delicate food items are easily damaged, Ondemir noted. Rigid grippers typically don’t have sufficient sensitivity, and many other companies are trying to solve problems such as object detection and singulation, he said.

“In farming, crops are being left to rot in the field, which is a huge waste,” added Ondemir. “A key barrier to getting automation is handling food with a soft touch.”

“But the real problem we’re solving is the worker shortage,” he said. “Harvesting and packing jobs aren’t interesting to people, and there are the issues of efficiency for the employer – most people work one shift – and also injuries and finally the cost of food.”

Fingers versus suction cups

For most applications where similar items are picked, suction cups are sufficient, said Ondemir. However, when there’s clutter, such as in e-commerce bins, or tight spaces like bookshelves, picking then requires a combination of sensing to identify each object and the ability to singulate that object.

Suction cups are versatile, but porous, dusty, fragile, or oddly weighted items are not always suitable for suction cups, Ondemir observed.

“We’re proud to be one of the few companies developing individual finger actuation rather than the whole hand,” he said. “For singulation, it can provide alternatives in complex picking situations.”

Ubiros Gentle grippers promise benefits

Ubiros’ Gentle grippers use electric servo motors and a cable-driven system similar to the tendons of the human hand.

“The difficulty in designing the system was maintaining softness while mechanically operating the finger – that’s where our patent is,” Ondemir said. “Our technology allows the finger unit to be flexible in the grasping direction but very rigid in twisting or bending sideways.”

Electric end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) removes the need for tubes, valves, and compressors, he said. Also, while pneumatic systems need to cycle to attempt another grasp, an electric one can reposition more quickly.

In addition, electric grippers have instant torque rather than needing to build up pressure for heavy payloads as hydraulic or pneumatic systems do, said Ondemir.

Up to 35% of the electricity bill in factories is spent on pressurized air, and 40% of the battery life of a mobile manipulator is consumed by a suction cup, he asserted. Thus, Ubiros’ grippers could save a lot of battery power for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) or drones, Ondemir said.

Is Ubiros looking at mobile manipulation?

“We’ve had serious conversations with Staubli,” Ondemir replied. “Our gripper would be in addition to its existing arm and base, unlike others.”

In addition, United Robotics Group has integrated Ubiros’ gripper with a mobile manipulator that will be demonstrated at Automate.

Ondemir surveys tech trends

Beyond mobile manipulation, Ondemir relied on his experience in robotics development to comment on current tech trends.

“Artificial intelligence and machine learning allow us to implement predictive maintenance,” he said. “Our electrical micro-controller is partly a system for force control and partly sensing. It’s able to collect temperature data from inside the gripper, plus cycle counts and electric current to build models to predict failures. That’s in our roadmap.”

Ubiros is not currently working with digital twins because it’s difficult to know the actual deflection of soft objects and where something is in space, acknowledged Ondemir. A lot of research is being devoted to this topic, he said.

What about humanoids? “They’ll have to have soft components for safety and to guard against falling,” Ondemir said. “This will be a key use for soft robotics in general, not just soft grippers. Because we’re a spinoff of WPI, we already have soft 3D sensors and a patented design of a soft arm, but there’s a lot still to do.”

Mechanical intelligence for manipulation

“The idea behind what we call ‘mechanical intelligence’ is that if you can mechanically achieve something, you need expensive programming, motion control, and vision less,” said Ondemir. “We built something that is under-actuated, with fewer motors to move the joints. Electric actuation allows us to have full-bodied fingers rather than hollow ones that can be punctured or leak in otherwise sanitary environments.”

“Depending on the shape of the object, the gripper can automatically conform to it. It’s more forgiving of inaccuracies, and you don’t need extreme precision,” he continued. “Because the grippers bend themselves over an object like an egg or an apple, the force is distributed over a larger area.”

Ubiros did build some force control into its Gentle grippers, allowing users to increase or decrease pressure, but it’s not necessary in most cases, Ondemir said.

Ubiros and its partners recently participated in a MassRobotics Demo Day. Source: Ubiros

Ubiros looks ahead

The Gentle gripper is initially tackling labeling and grading of tomatoes and cucumbers, and Ubiros has received a lot of interest recently from bakeries, said Ondemir. A hygienic gripper could then address handling of raw beef, poultry, and fish.

To that end, Ubiros is looking for funding to make its grippers more hygienic and robust against cleaning agents. It is working on safe-food handling certifications.

On the industrial side, Ubiros is conducting a pilot with Mitsubishi to handle a variety of objects and manage robot grasping through Mitsubishi’s teach pendant.

“Down the road a few years, we want to focus more on the data side, allowing customers to access data through the end effectors,” Ondemir said. “We plan to eventually bring other patented technologies into the workplace – 3D sensors, haptic gloves, human-in-the-loop systems, remote manipulation, and soft arms.”

Ubiros will be at the Robotics Summit & Expo next week and Automate the week after that.

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

The post Ubiros Gentle grippers go all electric for reliability, flexibility appeared first on The Robot Report.

UR cobots are can now use SRCI, a standard interface between PLCs and robots. | Source: Universal Robots

Collaborative robots are designed to be easy to use, but they also need to work with other systems. Universal Robots A/S announced that it has integrated the Standard Robot Command Interface, or SRCI, into its software. The Odense, Denmark-based company claimed that it is among the first cobot vendors to offer this functionality.

“By having our robots connect seamlessly to a global industry leader like Siemens, we can now offer our partners and customers, both existing and prospective, faster integration and higher ease of use,“ stated Daniel Friedman, global director of strategic partnerships at Universal Robots. “We strive to make cobot automation as simple as possible for our customers, and this is yet another step in our commitment to provide automation for anyone, anywhere.”

Universal Robots said SRCI is available for its e-Series family of cobots and the next-generation UR20 and UR30. It can be installed and activated with PolyScope Version 5.15 or higher using the URcap software add-on. 

SRCI offers a universal interface for robot makers

Siemens said SRCI is a new standard for robot manufacturers that aims to create a single interface between programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and robots. It aims to reduce service and maintenance complexity through a single robot library and enhanced connectivity. 

Universal Robots added that the uniform cross-platform data interface of the SRCI will make robot implementation interoperable. It also standardizes definitions and robot commands between UR collaborative robots and Siemens PLCs.

“This allows for easier and quicker setup and simplifies the deployment of UR robots into existing and new Siemens ecosystem-based production lines,” the company said. Earlier this month, Siemens, Universal Robots, and 3D camera vendor Zivid said they have joined forces to help automate intralogistics fulfillment.

Siemens asserted that it “is the first — and currently only — PLC vendor supporting SRCI in the automation market.” 

“We are encouraged that cobots from Universal Robots can now be controlled via the SRCI and can be programmed by Simatic users,” said Rolf Heinsohn, senior vice president of factory automation segment control at Siemens.

“We want to accelerate factory automation and scale the use of robots in industry by making them simple and available to all our customers` employees,” he added. “It is a great advantage for our customers to be able to easily integrate and use UR’s robots together with the Siemens PLCs in their production.”

Catch up with Teradyne at the Robotics Summit

Universal Robots is a subsidiary of Teradyne Inc. Ujjwal Kumar, group president of Teradyne Robotics, will be giving a keynote presentation at the Robotics Summit & Expo next week. In it, he will share some lessons he has learned and how they can be applied to accelerate the transformation of industry with robotics.

An RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award Winner, Universal Robots will be among the organizations honored at the inaugural RBR50 Gala.

Registration is now open for the Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be on May 1 and 2 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The event will include more than 200 exhibitors, various networking opportunities, a Women in Robotics breakfast, a career fair, an engineering theater, a startup showcase, and more.

The post Universal Robots integrates cobots with Siemens PLCs appeared first on The Robot Report.

HowToRobot is combining its marketplace with Gain & Co.’s expert advice. Credit: Adobe Stock

HowToRobot.com ApS, a provider of a global automation market platform, and Gain & Co., a robotics and automation advisor, announced a merger last week. The newly formed company has also received an investment from Sagitta Ventures, which will be taking a seat on its board. 

Now operating under the name “HowToRobot,” the combined company said that while the need for robotics is stronger than ever, most businesses still struggle to automate. By combining its automation market and vendor-independent advice, HowToRobot said it will support businesses with every aspect of their automation journeys.  

“Businesses need automation and robotics like never before to make up for labor shortages and supply chain disruptions and simply to protect them in the long run,” stated Søren Peters, now co-CEO of HowToRobot. “But without help, only few are able to fully take advantage of the technology. The merger and investment allow us to extend that help to every business that needs it.”

Founded in 2017, HowToRobot said it offers companies with an overview and easy access to automation and robotics suppliers globally. It also offers advisors that give guidance on everything from getting started with automation to technology selection and implementation.

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

HowToRobot to help companies keep up with innovation

Global robot installations have more than tripled over the past decade, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). This demand has resulted in more innovation, making it difficult for prospective customers to keep up with the industry, said Peters. 

“Robotics is developing so fast that it can easily seem overwhelming,” he said. “What most need is often just someone to talk to who knows the market and who they can trust for reliable and impartial advice. By letting our two companies join forces, we can now provide all that in one place.”

The Copenhagen, Denmark-based company claimed that the new HowToRobot provides the support that businesses need when looking to automate. At the R-24 event earlier this year in Odense, Denmark, Gulshan Akhtar Din, a senior advisor then at Gain & Co., explained how it worked with hospitals to properly integrate automation with both physical infrastructure and business processes.

Despite global robot installations hitting a record high in 2022, according to the IFR, HowToRobot said it has found that the average business has explored only about 5% of its addressable potential for automation. Peters asserted that this is mainly due to limited expertise and knowledge about automation. 

“Most businesses have still only scratched the surface of what is possible and makes sense to automate,” he said. “With the right guidance and easy access to potential solutions, robot adoption can reach a whole new level.”

Inside the merger

With the merger, Peters, the former CEO of HowToRobot, and Søren Pap-Tolstrup, the former CEO of Gain & Co., will serve as co-CEOs. The company did not disclose financial details of the merger or investment from Sagitta Ventures. 

“The world of robotics is still new to many, and most need help to some extent – from technical advice to finding solutions and building the business case or simply finding the best place to start,” noted Pap-Tolstrup. “When combined, our platform and advisory have the depth, reach, and flexibility to support businesses where and when they most need it.”

HowToRobot said its latest investment will enable it to expand its platform, advisor team, and partner network across the world, adding expertise and the capacity for conducting on-site automation screening. The company said it also plans to broaden its market understanding of robotics and automation to better provide expert advice.

The post HowToRobot merges with Gain & Co., brings in investment appeared first on The Robot Report.

InOrbit has joined the Open Source Robotics Alliance to support community software development. | Source: InOrbit

InOrbit Inc. this month joined the Open Source Robotics Alliance, or OSRA. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said it is a milestone in its commitment to fostering collaboration and innovation within the robotics community.

“Having members like InOrbit is crucial to us because it’s an indicator of support from long-standing community members for our vision for the future of the ROS ecosystem,” stated Vanessa Yamzon Orsi, CEO of the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF). She referred to the Robot Operating System. 

The OSRF last month launched the OSRA as an alliance of companies aimed at strengthening the governance of open-source robotics software projects. The OSRA said it has a mixed-membership, meritocratic model inspired by organizations such as the Linux Foundation. 

The OSRA invites community stakeholders to participate in the oversight, direction, development, and support of key open-source projects, including ROS, Gazebo, Open-RMF, and their infrastructure.

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

OSRA supports shared goal of industry collaboration

By joining the OSRA, InOrbit said it is reaffirming its commitment to advancing open-source projects and promoting collaborative innovation in the robotics industry.

“The open-source community has enabled great advancements in the development and deployment of robotics solutions in the past 15 years,” said Julian Cerruti, co-founder and chief technology officer of InOrbit. “As the robotics industry grows, it’s increasingly important to create the space and organize ourselves properly to support a consensus-based advancement of these technologies that multiple companies depend on.”

“At InOrbit, we greatly appreciate the work that OSRF has done over the years to support and promote this effort and are happy to lend our support by sponsoring and participating in this initiative,” he added about the OSRA.

InOrbit said its cloud platform enables efficient robot operations (RobOps) and provides observability through secure, real-time analytics and data collection, robot performance monitoring, incident response, and root-cause analysis.

Open-source is key to interoperability, says InOrbit

InOrbit said it has been working with open initiatives since its inception, supporting ROS and ROS 2, among others. The company said this supports its approach to interoperability.

As the landscape changes for mobile robot makers and users, interoperability is becoming a concern, noted InOrbit. The company said that as robot fleets grow, and organizations add more automation to work alongside or with existing systems, they need a new level of orchestration. 

InOrbit said interoperability as key to realizing more complex tasks and safely managing interactions with human collaborators and other robots in a given space. This need goes beyond traditional fleet management, it claimed.

The company added that it is a driving factor behind its ongoing support for emerging interoperability standards and tools like the Open Robotics Middleware Framework (Open-RMF). 

Last year, InOrbit announced the availability of the open-source InOrbit RMF Fleet Adaptor. The adaptor is available on GitHub and was created with Ekumen Labs, another OSRA member.

As a silver members of the OSRA, InOrbit said it expects to contribute to shaping the future of robotics and to exploring opportunities for advancing RobOps with the alliance.

The post InOrbit joins the Open Source Robotics Alliance appeared first on The Robot Report.

The new PixONE force-torque sensor on an industrial robot. | Source: Bota Systems

Bota Systems AG today released PixONE, a sensor that brings together high-performance electronics with a compact, lightweight design. Founded in 2020 as an ETH Zurch spin-off, the company specializes in multi-axis force-torque sensors. 

Zurich-based Bota said it designed its latest sensors for “seamless integration into robotic systems.” PixONE features a through-hole architecture facilitating internal cable routing to enhance robot agility and safety, claimed the company.

The sensor’s hollow shaft design makes it easier for users to connect a robot’s arm and end-of-arm tooling (EOT or EOAT) while maintaining the integrity of internal cable routing, said Bota Systems. It added that this design can be particularly helpful because many robot arm manufacturers are moving toward internal routing to eliminate cable tangles and motion restrictions. 

“Our objective is to equip robots with the sense of touch, making them not only safer and more user-friendly, but also more collaborative,” stated Klajd Lika, co-founder and CEO Bota Systems. “PixONE is an advanced, OEM-ready sensing solution that enables robot developers and integrators to effortlessly enhance any robot in development with minimal integration effort.”

PixONE minimalist design is lightweight

PixONE has a minimalistic two-piece design. Bota Systems said this simplifies the assembly and significantly reduces the sensor’s weight, making it 30% lighter than comparable sensors on the market. This is critical for dynamic systems such as fast-moving robots, where excess weight can impede performance and operational efficiency, it said. 

Bota Systems offers PixONE in various models with an external diameter starting at 2.36 in. (60 mm) and a through-hole diameter of 0.59 in. (15 mm). The sensors include an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and have a IP67 waterproof rating. The company said these features make it suitable for a wide range of operational environments. 

“The PixONE offers a higher torque-to-force ratio than comparative sensors with integrated electronics, which gives integrators more freedom in EOT design, especially with larger tools,” said Ilias Patsiaouras, co-founder and chief technology officer of Bota Systems. “PixONE elevates the sensor integration by offering internal connection and cable passthrough, making it ideal for a wide spectrum of robotic applications, ranging from industrial to medical.”

The PixONE configurations can support payloads up to 551 lb. (250 kg). Bota said it maintained a uniform interface across all models to facilitate rapid integration.

The PixONE’s design also minimizes external connections and component count, enhancing system reliability, according to the company. PixONE uses EtherCAT technology for high-speed data communication and supports Power over Ethernet (PoE).

See Bota Systems at the Robotics Summit & Expo

Bota Systems is an official distribution and integration partner of Universal Robots and Mecademic. In October 2023, it added NEXT Robotics to its distributor network.

That same month, Bota Systems raised $2.5 million in seed funding. The company said it plans to use the funding to grow its team to address increasing demand by leading research labs and manufacturing companies. It also plans to accelerate its product roadmap.

To learn more about Bota Systems, visit the company at Booth 315 at the Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be on May 1 and 2 in Boston.

“Our vision is to equip robots with the sense of touch, making them not only safer and more user-friendly, but also more collaborative,” Klajd Lika, co-founder and CEO of Bota Systems, told The Robot Report. “We look forward to the Robotics Summit & Expo because it brings together the visionaries and brightest minds of the industry — this interaction is valuable for us to shape the development of our next generation of innovative sensors.” 

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

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

The post Bota Systems launches PixONE force-torque sensors for robotics appeared first on The Robot Report.

New offerings include the igusGO AI-driven app and more low-cost automation. Source: igus

At its annual press conference last week, igus GmbH previewed numerous new products in advance of the Hannover Messe trade show. The Cologne, Germany-based company announced 247 new products, including  lubrication-free drives using motion plastics and new robots for educational, service, and industrial applications.

“We’re offering a mobile manipulator for small companies,” said Alexander Mühlens, head of automation technology and robotics at igus. He touted the company’s low-cost automation approach.

“ReBeL on Wheels” combines a collaborative robot arm with an autonomous mobile robot for €17,999 ($19,202 U.S.). An educational version is available for €14,699 ($15,682). igus said that is 10x more affordable than other models, and it is starting to offer the systems in the German market. 

The company, whose U.S. headquarters are in Rumford, R.I., won a 2024 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award for a finger gripper to go with the ReBeL cobot. igus will be exhibiting at next week’s Robotics Summit & Expo at Booth 414 in Hall C in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

In addition, Mühlens will present a session at 2:45 p.m. EDT in Room 50 on Wednesday, May 1, on “Automate Your Factory for $2,799.” Registration is now open for the event.

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

Tools make robots easier for SMEs to configure

Users can easily add sensors, the igus Robot Control programming software, and a sound bar to ReBeL on Wheels, said Mühlens. The mobile manipulator includes gearboxes using the company’s patented motion plastics.

To help people “try before you buy,” igus allows for free remote testing. “You can scan a QR code into your mobile phone for to test the robot butler,” Mühlens noted.

In addition, the “Envisioner” in igus Robot Control can help robotics developers and integrators, he said. The Configurator in the RBTX online marketplace shows the center of gravity for every part in a delta robot cell, allowing the system to easily pick and place them.

“It automatically knows the center of gravity, and you can just buy the webcam for under €100 [$106.67],” said Mühlens. “We’ll be picking RBTX chocolates at Hannover Messe.”

“Everyone is looking for solutions for screwing and gluing in the furniture industry, for instance,” he said. “Now with RBTX and our 3D machine planner, you can combine robots with grippers and conveyors into cells for one fixed price.”

In fact, igus uses AI so that if a user uploads a photo, it can give a 3D recommendation.

“With the Configurator, a customer can take a few steps and get a live price,” Mühlens explained. “For example, you could choose ReBeL and a gripper for a cell, get measurements within the program, download files, and check out all the parts and prices. You can also choose an installation and buildup service or do it yourself.”

igus said its new machine planner offers small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) the ability to define cobot workspaces, build around its robots, and choose robot housings.

Motion-plastic parts get four-year guarantee

Machine failures due to insufficient lubrication cost $750 billion annually, and more than 24 million tons of lubricant seep into water and soil every year, according to igus. The company said its self-lubricating, high-performance polymers, as well as the use of artificial intelligence and virtual reality in design, can reduce such costly waste.

This year, igus is extending its four-year product guarantee to all of its dry-tech products. It also offers free replacement of bearings, drives, 3D-printed parts, and linear actuators.

These moves demonstrate the company’s confidence in their long service life and consciousness of the importance of sustainability in Industry 4.0, said Stefan Niermann, vice president and head of the drylin division, and Rainer Rössel, vice president and head of the chainflex division at igus.

“The performance of motion plastics is often underestimated,” added Lars Butenschön, business unit manager for iglidur bearings at igus. He cited their utility in construction and agriculture. The company is also offering new high-load bearings for heavy machinery in its “Zero Lubrication” range. 

In addition, lubrication-free bearings are suitable for food and packaging applications, said Michael Offner, vice president and head of industry management at the family-owned company.

“An enormous range of applications could use them,” noted Tobias Vogel, igus’ CEO of bearings and linear technology. With the igusGO app, machine builders can use voice controls and AI chat to configure excavators with such parts, he said.

As electrification garners more interest worldwide, particularly in e-mobility, battery production, and shore power, motion plastics can be an enabling technology, asserted Martin Tiling, head of igus’ shore power business unit.

igus reports €1.13B turnover, launches bike brand

After generating €1.15 billion ($1.23 billion) in 2022, igus reported €1.13 billion ($1.21 billion) for 2023. While the global economic slowdown affected the company, it is still approaching its goal of 1 million industrial customers per year, stated Michael Blass, managing director of e-chain systems.

“We are therefore pleased that we have at least come a little closer to this goal in a difficult year,” he said. “We have invested €433 million [$464.6 million] in this plan over the last three years, €210 million [$224.8 million] of which at the Cologne site.”

igus has invested in expanded production in Germany and the U.S., accelerating fulfillment of orders to within a few days, and continuing research and development, according to Blass. It is also planning construction in China, Taiwan, India, Italy, Spain, Poland, Mexico, and Turkey.

To demonstrate its motion plastics at human rather than industrial scale, the company has developed the igus:bike from recycled materials. The bicycle, which won’t rust and can be recycled itself, is now going into serial production under the new brand name RCYL. It will go on the market in Germany for €1,200 ($1,284) this year.

The post igus to show affordable automation at Hannover Messe, Robotics Summit appeared first on The Robot Report.

Rockwell works with partners to streamline automated manufacturing. Source: Business Wire

Rockwell Automation yesterday announced that it is working with Microsoft “to enable intelligent factories by simplifying complexity and helping empower customers to achieve sustainability goals and operational excellence.” The companies said their innovations will be on display this week at Hannover Messe.

Late last year, Rockwell added Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service to its FactoryTalk Design Studio to accelerate time to market for its customers. The partners said they “will provide cutting-edge industrial transformation systems across the value chain, rapidly, and at scale with AI-assisted design, connected data, and agile production optimization.”

“Rockwell’s partnership with Microsoft is a shared vision of creating and delivering the best solutions to empower the future of industrial operations,” stated Nicole Denil, global vice president of market access at Rockwell Automation. “We simplify complexity in how manufacturers design, operate, and maintain their enterprises and empower their people.”

Rockwell Automation develops industrial automation and digital transformation systems. The Milwaukee-based company employs approximately 29,000 people in more than 100 countries.

In 2021, it made $7 billion in sales, over $3 billion of which were in intelligent devices. In September 2023, Rockwell acquired mobile robot maker Clearpath Robotics and its OTTO Motors unit.

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

Partners to apply AI to design, simulation

Rockwell’s FactoryTalk Design Studio is a cloud-based, software-defined industrial automation design environment. The company said it enables developers to improve their collaboration and productivity with a simplified way to work.

Microsoft and Rockwell said the integration of Azure OpenAI Service into FactoryTalk Design Studio will help engineers generate code using natural language prompts, automate routine tasks, and improve design efficiency. Manufacturers will have access to edge AI, Internet of Things (IoT), and automation systems to allow people, processes, and technology to operate seamlessly between physical and digital twin environments, they asserted. 

Microsoft claimed that Azure’s adaptive cloud approach will enable manufacturers to unify and streamline siloed teams, sites, and systems with FactoryTalk edge and cloud systems while scaling applications and insights. 

“Manufacturers are always looking for ways to drive modernization, optimize efficiency, and reduce costs,” said Dominik Wee, corporate vice president of manufacturing and mobility at Microsoft. “By combining Microsoft’s AI capabilities and trusted cloud platform with Rockwell’s industrial automation solutions, manufacturers will have the tools they need to speed up these objectives and create smart factories of the future.”

The companies are also building on their recently announced partnership with NVIDIA. The trio said it’s working to allow the creation, real-time management, and simulation of digital twins that will be accelerated using Microsoft’s AI-assisted tools and cloud technology. 

In addition, the companies are integrating Rockwell’s Plex manufacturing execution system (MES) with FactoryTalk Data Mosaix and Microsoft’s Cloud for Manufacturing. Manufacturers will benefit from AI tools that help drive productivity, safety, and quality, said the partners. All of these tools focus on resolving quality issues with corrective actions and root-cause analysis. 

See Rockwell Automation at the Robotics Summit

Ryan Gariepy, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Clearpath Robotics, a subsidiary of Rockwell Automation, will be speaking at the Robotics Summit & Expo on May 2 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

His talk, “The Bots Are Here. What’s Next?” will take a look at how companies and organizations can take advantage of the latest robotics trends to shape their futures.

The Robotics Summit & Expo focuses on the design, development, and scaling of commercial robots. WTWH Media, which also produces The Robot Report, said it expects a record 5,000 attendees and more than 200 exhibitors. This year’s event will also include an Automated Warehouse track and pavilion. Register now for the event.

The post Rockwell Automation partners with Microsoft on three projects appeared first on The Robot Report.

Custom user interface for Flexiv Rizon 4 sanding robot. Source: Flexiv Robotics

By integrating sensing, robotics, and artificial intelligence, Flexiv Robotics Inc. claimed that it can improve multiple industrial processes, from sanding to sortation. It develops and manufactures general-purpose, adaptive robots.

Founded in 2016, Flexiv produces the Rizon arm with seven degrees of freedom and the Moonlight force-controlled parallel robot. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company has offices in China, Taiwan, and Singapore.

Last month, Red Bluff, Calif.-based systems integrator DOCO Engineering partnered with Flexiv to further expand its presence in North America. More recently, Flexiv shared a case study and Earth Day initiatives.

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

EsVata Shutter chooses, quickly installs Rizon 4

Flexiv Robotics recently helped Rosemead, Calif.-based EsVata Shutter automate sanding of window blinds. The company said its adaptive technology sped up the sanding process by 80% and increased the quality and consistency of surface finishing.

“Our commitment to quality led us to select the Rizon 4 from a sea of competitors,” stated Paul Hsieh, founder of EsVata. “Its exceptional precision, powered by advanced force sensors in each of its seven joints, made it the ideal solution for our sanding needs.”

Flexiv said it combined its robotic arm and sensing technology with an OnRobot Sander to free employees for more value-added tasks.

Howard Huang, operations director for North America at Flexiv, replied to the following questions from The Robot Report:

What was required to integrate Flexiv and EsVata’s systems?

Huang: The integration of Flexiv’s Rizon 4 sanding solution within EsVata’s production facility required a customized approach due to EsVata’s lack of a PLC [programmable logic controller] or an existing automated production environment.

Understanding that EsVata is a smaller manufacturer that values modularity and customizability, we implemented a standalone system to boost EsVata’s production capabilities that didn’t necessitate a comprehensive revamp or modification of their current infrastructure, enabling a smooth, trouble-free integration.

How long did it take to set up?

Huang: Integrating Flexiv’s technology into EsVata’s manufacturing operations was achieved in a relatively brief period. The initial setup, which included the installation, configuration, and calibration of the robotic system, was completed in about three days.

This quick deployment reflects the system’s inherent useability and ease of programming, as well as the effective collaboration between Flexiv’s and EsVata’s technical teams. With the installation completed over a long weekend, starting on the Saturday, production was able to resume on Tuesday.

Rizon has automated shutter sanding at EsVata. Source: Flexiv Robotics

System reduces staff effort, production time

What do the people who previously did this sanding do now? Do they supervise the robots, or what other tasks can they do?

Huang: With the sanding solution incorporated into the production line, some staff members have transitioned into supervisory roles to monitor the automated processes or have been assigned to specialized sanding tasks that require a human touch, such as fine corner sanding, which the robot is not programmed to handle.

This redistribution of labor has safeguarded jobs by increasing production efficiency and improved job satisfaction by reducing the physical strain and the monotony associated with manual sanding tasks.

How long did it take for EsVata to realize the time savings on the shutter sanding?

Huang: EsVata recognized the time savings immediately, as the efficiency gains were apparent from the onset of the system’s initiation. With the massive reduction in the time taken to sand a shutter, it was clear that our sanding solution could not only replicate the human sanding process, but also do it far quicker and to a higher standard.

To get consistency of output with manual labor requires a time investment, whereas for a robot, replicating a precise set of actions to achieve a predetermined outcome is simple. As the robot never tires or makes a mistake, it was obvious that the automated system would be faster, but both EsVata and ourselves were surprised at the 80% time decrease.

What are the next steps in this deployment?

Huang: While the current project is complete, EsVata is contemplating installing further adaptive automation solutions within its factory to boost production capacity. This decision is being carefully considered, taking into account a return-on-investment [ROI] analysis, prevailing market conditions, and EsVata’s strategic expansion goals.

An EnVata worker supervises the Rizon sanding robot. Source: Flexiv Robotics

Flexiv Robotics gripper, cleaning station to aid recycling  

Last week, Flexiv Robotics said it has modified the Grav Enhanced robotic gripper to be cleaned in its Grav Enhanced Automated Cleaning Station. The company said this helps the gripper retain its effectiveness in picking up objects weighing up to 5 kg (11 lb.) and those covered with dust.

For Earth Day today, Flexiv showed off a combination of its Grave Enhanced Gecko Gripper, a Rizon 4 adaptive robot, a 3D depth camera, and its AnyGrasp algorithm to identify and sort household waste for recycling (see video below). The company added that the new cleaning station has helped expand its product capabilities.

The post Flexiv Robotics improves sanding efficiency for shutter company, sorts recyclables appeared first on The Robot Report.

Advanced Navigation’s Hydrus micro autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) deployed. | Source: Advanced Navigation

Advanced Navigation is bringing humans closer to the ocean with Hydrus, a relatively small underwater drone. The company recently sent Hydrus to the depths of the Rottnest ship graveyard, located in the Indian Ocean and just off the coast of Western Australia. 

The Sydney, Australia-based developer of AI robotics and navigation technology said that upon seeing the gathered data, the team discovered a 210-ft. (64-m) shipwreck scattered across the sea floor. This means the wreck was more than twice the size of a blue whale. 

“We’ve found through all of our testing that Hydrus is very reliable, and it will complete its mission and come to the surface or come to its designated return point,” Alec McGregor, Advanced Navigation’s photogrammetry specialist, told The Robot Report. “And then you can just scoop it up with a net from the side of the boat.”

Robot can brave the ocean’s unexplored depths

Humans have only explored and charted 24% of the ocean, according to Advanced Navigation. The unexplored parts are home to more than 3 million undiscovered shipwrecks, and 1,819 recorded wrecks are lying off Western Australia’s shore alone.

These shipwrecks can hold keys to our understanding of past culture, history, and science, said the company.

The Rottnest graveyard is a particularly dense area for these abandoned ships. Beginning in the 1900s, the area became a burial ground for ships, naval vessels, aircraft, and secretive submarines. A majority of these wrecks haven’t been discovered because the depth ranges from 164 to 656 ft. (50 to 200 m). 

Traditionally, there are two ways of gathering information from the deep sea, explained McGregor. The first is divers, who have to be specially trained to reach the depths Advanced Navigation is interested in studying. 

“Some of the wrecks that we’ve been looking at are in very deep water, so 60 m [196.8 ft.] for this particular wreck, which is outside of the recreational diving limit,” McGregor said. “So, you actually have to go into tech diving.”

“And when you go deeper with all of this extra equipment, it tends to just increase the risks associated with going to depth,” he said. “So, you need to have special training, you need to have support vessels, and you also have to be down in the water for a long period of time.”

The second option is to use remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) or autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). While this method doesn’t involve putting people at risk, it can still be expensive. 

“Some of the drawbacks with using traditional methods include having to have big support vessels,” McGregor said. “And getting the actual ROVs in and out of the water sometimes requires a crane, whereas with the Hydrus, you can just chuck it off the side of the boat.”

“So, with Hydrus, you’re able to reduce the costs of operation,” he added. “You’re also able to get underwater data super easily and super quickly by just chucking a Hydrus off the boat. It can be operated with one person.”

Advanced Navigation uses ‘wet electronics’

One of the biggest challenges with underwater robotics, McGregor said, is keeping important electronics dry. Conventional ROVs do this with pressure chambers. 

“Traditional ROVs have big chambers which basically keep all the electronics dry,” he noted. “But from a mechanical point of view, if you want to go deeper, you need to have thicker walls so that they can resist the pressure at depth.”

“If you need thicker walls, that increases the weight of the robot,” said McGregor. “And if you increase the weight, but you still want the robot to be buoyant, you have to increase the size. It’s just this kind of spiral of increasing the size to increase the buoyancy.”

“What we’ve managed to do with Hydrus is we have designed pressure-tolerant electronics, and we use a method of actually having what we call ‘wet electronics,'” McGregor said. “This involves basically potting the electronics in a plastic material. And we don’t use it to keep the structural integrity of the robot. So we don’t need a pressure vessel because we’ve managed to protect our electronics that way.” 

Once it’s underwater, Hydrus operates fully autonomously. Unlike traditional ROVs, the system doesn’t require a tether to navigate underwater, and the Advanced Navigation team has limited real-time communication capabilities. 

“We do have very limited communication with Hydrus through acoustic communications,” McGregor said. “The issue with acoustic communications is that there’s not a lot of data that can be transferred. We can get data such as the position of Hydrus, and we can also send simple commands such as ‘abort mission’ or ‘hold position’ or ‘pause mission,’ but we can’t physically control it.”

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

Hydrus provides high-resolution data

While Hydrus has impressive autonomous capabilities, it doesn’t find wrecks all on its own. In this case, McGregor said, Advanced Navigation worked closely with the Western Australian (WA) Museum to find the wreck.

The museum gave the company a rough idea of where a shipwreck could be. Then the team sent Hydrus on a reconnaissance mission to determine the wreck’s exact location. 

“When we got Hydrus back on board, we were able to offload all the data and reconstruct the mission based on the images and from that, we were then able to see where the shipwreck was,” McGregor said. “One of the good things about Hydrus is that we can actually get geo-referenced data onto the water with auxiliary systems that we have on the boat.”

Hydrus gathered 4K geo-referenced imagery and video footage. Curtin University HIVE, which specializes in shipwreck photogrammetry, used this data to rebuild a high-resolution 3D digital twin of the wreck. Ross Anderson, a curator at the WA Museum, closely examined the digital twin. 

Anderson found that the wreck was an over 100-year-old coal hulk from Fremantle Port’s bygone days. Historically, these old iron ships were used to service steamships in Western Australia. 

In the future, the team is interested in exploring other shipwrecks, like the SS Koombana, an ultra-luxury passenger ship. The ship ferried more than 150 passengers before it vanished into a cyclone in 1912.

However, Advanced Navigation isn’t just interested in gaining information from shipwrecks. 

“Another thing we’re doing with a lot of this data is actually coral reef monitoring. So we’re making 3D reconstructions of coral reefs, and we’re working with quite a few customers to do this,” McGregor said.  

Hydrus reduced the surveying costs for this particular mission by up to 75%, according to the company. This enabled the team to conduct more frequent and extensive surveying of the wreck in a shorter period of time. 

The post Advanced Navigation’s Hydrus explores shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean appeared first on The Robot Report.

Bota offers vision systems intended to allow robots to work and move safety. | Source: Bota Systems

Bota Systems will exhibit its recently unveiled sensors featuring a through-hole flange design and enhanced cable management at the Robotics Summit & Expo. The company can be found in Booth 315 on the event’s show floor.

“During the Robotics Summit, we will showcase our complete range of sensors at our booth, and we invite you to experience these sensors in action,” Marco Martinaglia, vice president of marketing at Bota Systems, told The Robot Report. “You’ll see a live demonstration of inertia compensation with a handheld device, and a Mecademic Robot equipped with our cutting-edge MiniONE Pro six-axis sensor will perform automated assembly and deburring tasks.”

The company said it designed its latest sensors for humanoids, industrial, and medical robots. It claimed that they can improve functions in fields such as welding and minimally invasive surgeries.

Bota Systems added that its force-torque sensors can give robots a sense of touch, enabling them to accurately and reliably perform tasks that were previously only possible with manual operators.

Bota Systems designs for ease of integration

“We are particularly excited to have just announced the release of our latest sensor, the PixONE,” said Ilias Patsiaouras, co-founder and chief technology officer of Bota Systems.

“The PixONE sensor’s innovative hollow shaft design allows it to be seamlessly integrated between the robot’s arm and the end-of-arm tooling [EOAT], maintaining the integrity of internal cable routing,” he added. “This design is particularly advantageous as many robotic arm manufacturers and OEMs are moving towards internal routing to eliminate cable tangles and motion restrictions.”

Bota Systems is an official distribution and integration partner of Universal Robots and Mecademic.

In October 2023, the company added NEXT Robotics to its distributor network. NEXT is now its official distributor for the German-speaking countries of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. That same month, Bota Systems raised $2.5 million in seed funding.

See sensors at the Robotics Summit & Expo

“Our vision is to equip robots with the sense of touch, making them not only safer and more user-friendly, but also more collaborative,” Klajd Lika, co-founder and CEO of Bota Systems, told The Robot Report. “We look forward to the Robotics Summit and Expo because it brings together the visionaries and brightest minds of the industry — this interaction is valuable for us to shape the development of our next generation of innovative sensors,” 

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

The post Bota Systems to showcase its latest sensors at Robotics Summit appeared first on The Robot Report.

Chinese and U.S. companies led March 2024 robotics investments. Credit: Eacon Mining, Dan Kara

Thirty-seven robotics firms received funding in March 2024, pulling in a total monthly investment of $642 million. March’s investment figure was significantly less than February’s mark of approximately $2 billion, but it was in keeping with other monthly investments in 2023 and early 2024 (see Figure 1, below).

California companies secure investment

As described in Table 1 below, the two largest robotics investments in March were secured by software suppliers. Applied Intuition, a provider of software infrastructure to deploy autonomous vehicles at scale, received a $250 million Series E round, while Physical Intelligence, a developer of foundation models and other software for robots and actuated devices, attracted $70 million in a seed round. Both firms are located in California.

Other California firms receiving substantial rounds included Bear Robotics, a manufacturer of self-driving indoor robots that raised a $60 million Series C round, and unmanned aerial system (UAS) developer Firestorm, whose seed funding was $20 million. For a PDF version of Table 1, click here.

March 2024 robotics investments

Drones get fuel for takeoff in March 2024

Providers of drones, drone technologies, and drone services also attracted substantial individual investments in March 2024. Examples included Firestorm and Gather AI, a developer of inventory monitoring drones whose Series A was $17 million.

In addition, drone services provider Preneu obtained $11 million in Series B funding, and DRONAMICS, a developer of drone technology for cargo transportation and logistics operations, got a grant worth $10.8 million.

Companies in U.S. and China received the majority of the March 2024 funding, at $451 million and $100 million, respectively (see Figure 2, below).

Companies based in Japan and the U.K. were also well represented among the March 2024 investment totals. Four companies in Japan secured a total of $34.7 million, while an equal number of firms in the U.K. attracted $13.5 million in funding.

Nearly 40% of March’s robotics investments came from a single Series E round — that of Applied Intuition. The remaining funding classes were all represented in March 2024 (Figure 3, below).

Editor’s notes

What defines robotics investments? The answer to this simple question is central in any attempt to quantify them with some degree of rigor. To make investment analyses consistent, repeatable, and valuable, it is critical to wring out as much subjectivity as possible during the evaluation process. This begins with a definition of terms and a description of assumptions.

Investors and investing

Investment should come from venture capital firms, corporate investment groups, angel investors, and other sources. Friends-and-family investments, government/non-governmental agency grants, and crowd-sourced funding are excluded.

Robotics and intelligent systems companies

Robotics companies must generate or expect to generate revenue from the production of robotics products (that sense, analyze, and act in the physical world), hardware or software subsystems and enabling technologies for robots, or services supporting robotics devices. For this analysis, autonomous vehicles (including technologies that support autonomous driving) and drones are considered robots, while 3D printers, CNC systems, and various types of “hard” automation are not.

Companies that are “robotic” in name only, or use the term “robot” to describe products and services that do not enable or support devices acting in the physical world, are excluded. For example, this includes “software robots” and robotic process automation. Many firms have multiple locations in different countries. Company locations given in the analysis are based on the publicly listed headquarters in legal documents, press releases, etc.

Verification

Funding information is collected from several public and private sources. These include press releases from corporations and investment groups, corporate briefings, market research firms, and association and industry publications. In addition, information comes from sessions at conferences and seminars, as well as during private interviews with industry representatives, investors, and others. Unverifiable investments are excluded and estimates are made where investment amounts are not provided or are unclear.

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

The post March 2024 robotics investments total $642M appeared first on The Robot Report.

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.

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

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.”

The post Boston Dynamics debuts electric version of Atlas humanoid robot appeared first on The Robot Report.

Bumblebee X is a new GigE-powered stereo imaging solution that delivers high-accuracy and low-latency for robotic guidance and pick-and-place applications. | Credit: Teledyne FLIR

Teledyne FLIR IIS (Integrated Imaging Solutions) today announced the new Bumblebee X series – an advanced stereo-depth vision solution optimized for multiple applications. The imaging device is a comprehensive industrial-grade (IP67) stereo vision solution with onboard processing to build successful systems for warehouse automation, robotics guidance, and logistics.

Bumblebee X 5GIGE delivers on the essential need for a comprehensive and real-time stereo vision solution, the Wilsonville, Ore.-based company says. Customers can test and deploy depth sensing systems that work up to ranges of 20 meters with the wide baseline solution.

The Teledyne FLIR Bumblebee X camera is packaged in an IP76 enclosure, and ready for industrial use cases. | Credit: Teledyne FLIR

Available in three configurations

The new camera is available in three different configurations, which are identical except for the field of view (FOV) of the camera lens. Teledyne designed the camera to operate accurately across varying distances. The low latency and GigE networking make it ideal for real-time applications such as autonomous mobile robots, automated guided vehicles, pick and place, bin picking, and palletization, the company said. 

“We’re thrilled to announce the release of Bumblebee X, a new comprehensive solution for tackling complex depth sensing challenges with ease,” said Sadiq Panjwani, General Manager at Teledyne FLIR IIS. “Our team’s extensive stereo vision expertise and careful attention to customer insights have informed the design of the hardware, software, and processing at the core of Bumblebee X. With high accuracy across a large range of distances, this solution is perfect for factories and warehouses.”

Specifications

This table compares the specs for the three different configurations of the Bumblebee X camera. Check the website for actual specs. | Credit: Teledyne FLIR

Key features include:

• Factory-calibrated 9.4 in (24 cm) baseline stereo vision with 3 MP sensors for high accuracy and low latency real-time applications
• IP67 industrial-rated vision system with ordering options of color and monochrome, different field-of-views, and 1GigE or 5GigE PoE
• Onboard processing to output a depth map and color data for point cloud conversion and colorization
• Ability to trigger an external pattern projector and synchronize multiple systems together for more precise 3D depth information

Teledyne FLIR manages a software library with articles, example code, and Windows, Linux, and Robotics Operating System (ROS) support. Order requests will be accepted at the end of Q2, 2024.

The post Teledyne FLIR IIS announces new Bumblebee X stereo vision camera appeared first on The Robot Report.