Left: Vivian Chu and Andrea Thomaz, the co-founders of Diligent Robotics; right: Kathleen Brandes and Ros Shinkle, the co-founders of Adagy Robotics. | Sources: Diligent Robotics, Adagy Robotics

Almost half of all startups that began in 2021 were formed by women, according to human resources cloud software company Gusto. Within the robotics industry, however, it’s a different story. Women make up only 34% of the STEM workforce, according to the National Girls Collaborative Project, and they hold only 16% of robotics and engineering roles. 

Those numbers, however, don’t tell us how many women start robotics companies. There isn’t a lot of data about the number of startups that begin every year or how many robotics companies are operating, in general. Let alone about the backgrounds of the founders behind them. 

To get a picture of how many women are founders of robotics companies, I combed through our 2024 February and March funding recaps. Of the 78 robotics companies that raised money during those two months, and whose founders could be identified, only 10 had a woman on their founding team, just 12.8%.

Of course, this metric doesn’t tell us how many robotics companies in general have female founders, but it does give us a better idea of what that breakdown might look like. This is why I spoke to Ros Shinkle and Kathleen Brandes, the founders of Adagy Robotics, and Andrea Thomaz and Vivian Chu, the founders of Diligent Robotics, about their experiences within the industry. 

Founders talk about the early days of a startup

Diligent and Adagy are in two very different places as companies. Adagy launched earlier this year, and it specializes in remote intervention services. Shinkle and Brandes are at the beginning of their journey as founders and are part of Y Combinator, a startup accelerator. They’re currently the only employees of the company. 

“Adagy Robotics is currently a remote intervention service for rescuing robots,” said Brandes, the company’s chief technology officer (CTO).

“For example, when a tractor robot fails in the field, instead of calling out to the farmer who has a lot more important things to do in his day, that tractor robot can now call out to our trained operators,” she said. “They’ll take over, drive the robot to safety, and allow it to resume its autonomous operations.”

Adagy looks to a future with AI

Today, Adagy Robotics is starting out with fully human-driven operations, said Shinkle, CEO. In the future, however, the company is interested in layering machine learning and generative AI techniques to assist human operators and allow them to do their jobs more efficiently. The company is also exploring error-prevention techniques for robots. 

“We’re really excited about logistics and manufacturing right now,” Shinkle said. “In particular, I think AMRs [autonomous mobile robots] are widely used in logistics. And although they’re widely used, they still continue to face the same kinds of problems.”

“For example, they often rely on these sort of dense visual clues called fiducials or APR tags to help localize in a facility,” she noted. “If one of those is scuffed or torn or falls down, the robots can get lost. This is a great example of a situation in which we could come in and help the robots get back safely. We’re also excited about manipulation and failed picking tasks as well.”

Shinkle and Brandes described the early days of running a startup as challenging but fun. Every day is about putting out the most urgent fire, said Shinkle.

Ros Shinkle and Kathleen Brandes, the founders of Adagy Robotics, met at Boston Dynamics. Source: Y Combinator

Bringing a startup to maturity 

On the other hand, Diligent Robotics was founded in 2017. Like many robotics companies, Diligent started in a research lab. Thomaz, the company’s co-founder and CEO, was running a robotics lab that Chu, its co-founder and CTO, joined as a Ph.D. student in 2012.

The start of the company was slow, Thomaz said. She was still a professor and Chu a graduate student. Tomaz’s lab earned two National Science Foundation grants that gave Tomaz and Chu the opportunity to learn from around 150 people in the healthcare industry. 

“I don’t know that we would have been able to start this company as two men,” Thomaz said. “Because the thing that we did, for two years at least, was go and embed ourselves in nursing teams, with a robot, and ask nurses, who are 80% women, ‘What would you have this robot do?’”

“I’m not sure we would have been as accepted in that community as a couple of guys with their robot,” she continued. 

Once they had found a use case that would address the needs of the industry, Thomaz and Chu said they spent a summer pitching and looking for venture capital. In total, Thomaz said they spent a year and a half in the research stage before officially launching the company.

Last year, Diligent hit 90 robots working in the field. Its flagship robot, Moxi, aids hospital staffers by performing non-patient-facing tasks like running supplies, delivering lab samples, fetching items from a central supply, distributing personal protective equipment (PPE), and delivering medications. Moxi is now opening 100,000 doors every month across its various deployments.

Diligent is dedicated to diversity

As Diligent Robotics has grown, Thomaz and Chu said they’ve actively tried to keep the company diverse. 

“Early on, we recognized that it’s not only important to have a diverse team, but to have a diverse team at all levels,” Thomaz said. “It’s really good to make sure that your most junior people aren’t the most diverse, and then your more senior people are all one type of person.”

Chu also said the team focused on making job postings well-known among all intersections of the robotics community, instead of just relying on the applications that passively came in. Shinkle echoed similar sentiments when talking about building Adagy’s team as it grows. 

“We believe that diversity is a strength,” Shinkle said. “Diversity of background and diversity of thought leads to stronger problem solving, so that’s definitely a closely held company belief.” 

Female founders find community within the industry 

All four of the women I spoke to both emphasized the importance of finding mentors and a community within the industry. 

“One thing that’s been really helpful is the amazing community, unity, and friendship that women have within the industry,” Brandes said. “We’ve become great friends and are now starting a company together, as one example. And I think fostering that community and having that community continue to grow and expand has been a big component.” 

“For me, it was fantastic seeing these role models that blaze through all of the stereotypes,” Chu said. “It really gives me the confidence to do the same.”

“I’ve had friends that obviously didn’t have that experience, and it’s hard hearing what they’ve had to go through,” she acknolwedged. “I’ve been very lucky to have some amazing champions throughout a lot of my career.” 

The founders also had advice to share with women who are considering starting a robotics company. 

“Reach out to as many people for advice as possible, because there’s so many that have gone through the startup journey,” Chu said. “If you collect a wide variety of people that you can reach out to … you can just continually ask questions.”

“My advice would be to just do it,” Brandes said. “Be confident that your are strong enough and successful enough to do this.” 

“I think robotics is a great place for female leadership,” Thomaz said. “Historically, there’s been a lot of really great trailblazers, and some people who’ve really defined the field like Manuela Veloso and Maya Tarik, and there are a bunch of other people that I’m not naming.”

“But I think that in and of itself makes robotics a great place for women to lead the way in commercialization as well,” she concluded. “It’s a big, broad systems-level problem, which I think requires a diverse solution, and so that’s ripe for a really diverse team.”

Editor’s note: The Robotics Summit & Expo this week will be hosting a Women in Robotics Breakfast and the MassRobotics Engineering Career Fair, among other networking events.

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The 2024 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards have recognized the Mushiny Intelligent 3D Sorter. Source: Mushiny

WTWH Media has named Mushiny Co. a 2024 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award winner this month. It recognized the Suzhou, China-based company for its Intelligent 3D Sorter as an innovative technology.

“This recognition highlights China’s global innovation and marks a significant step for Mushiny in smart warehouse logistics,” said the company.

The annual RBR50 awards honor the top 50 robotics companies for their leadership in automation hardware and software, business models, and emerging applications.

“The incredible products of this year’s RBR50 winners represent the cutting edge of robotics technology and also raise the bar for the industry,” stated Steve Crowe, WTWH’s executive editor for robotics. WTWH Media produces The Robot Report, Mobile Robot Guide, and the Robotics Summit & Expo.

3D Sorter pioneers efficiency, flexibility

Mushiny has publicly shown that its Intelligent 3D Sorter can overcome sorting challenges beyond the capabilities of traditional methods, including handling spikes in business, sorting soft goods, documentation, fragile items such as books, and traceable pharmaceuticals and food. It said the system is innovative for the supply chain industry in three ways: high sorting efficiency, strong flexibility, and optimal return on investment (ROI).

The company cited the following potential benefits:

• Improvement in order-fulfilment efficiency, with the highest efficiency exceeding 10,000 picks per hour (up to 14,400 items per hour)
• Sorting efficiency increased by three to five times.
• Better ROI
• Save 70% of space compared with the traditional cross-belt sorter

“Mushiny’s Intelligent 3D Sorter automates the picking process and enables warehouse operations to grow their batch or wave sizes,” noted The Robot Report. “The Intelligent3D Sorter could fulfill many orders concurrently, as robots continuously transfer completed orders and buffer them as needed before dispatching. The combination of robots and human pickers could increase retail and e-commerce productivity, as well as efficiently process returns.”

Meet Mushiny at the Robotics Summit & Expo

Founded in 2016, Mushiny is a leading global provider of intelligent systems for logistics. The company operates across more than 20 countries and regions, with overseas markets making up 50% of its business.

Mushiny Intelligence has two business divisions: The Intelligent Warehousing Division offers clients bespoke intelligent intralogistics systems and guarantees 60-day delivery worldwide. The Standard Products Division specializes in customizing robot chassis, delivering a range of software and hardware services to partners and clients with development capabilities.

The company said it empowers global partners and users in e-commerce, postal and courier, automobiles, new energy, household appliances, 3C (computers, communications and consumer) electronics, and many other industrial and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) applications.

Mushiny will be at Booth 448-3 at the Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be on May 1 and 2 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The event will also include keynotes by industry leaders, more than 60 speakers in 40 sessions, 200 exhibitors, several networking opportunities, a MassRobotics Engineering Career Fair, and the co-located Digital Transformation Forum and DeviceTalks Boston.

This year’s RBR50 honorees will also be celebrated in the inaugural RBR50 Gala and a showcase on the expo floor. Registration is now open for next week’s summit.

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Outrider has obtained more patents to automate movement of semi-trailers. Source: Outrider

Between the automated warehouse and self-driving long-haul vehicles, there is the opportunity to add robotics to yard management. Outrider Technologies Inc. today announced that it has received its latest patent, which covers the task of determining where a trailer is in respect to a self-driving tractor.

U.S. Patent No. 11,927,676, for the “Systems and Methods for Determining an Articulated Trailer Angle,” will facilitate safe and accurate autonomous trailer movement in all weather conditions, claimed the Brighton, Colo.-based company.

“Outrider’s patent portfolio covers the numerous inventions, innovations, and technologies our team developed to re-define the logistics yard,” stated Andrew Smith, founder and CEO of Outrider. “In 2017, we recognized that autonomously moving 50,000-lb. semi-trailers day and night in all weather conditions would require unique inventions to dramatically improve the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of the global supply chain.”

“One of the biggest pain points we learned about was losing trailers,” he told The Robot Report at Manifest. “Yard operations have been the same for decades, and there’s pent-up demand because of labor turnover, the need for safety, and hundreds of billions of dollars tied up in warehouses.”

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Outrider builds robotics portfolio

Once trucks get to the yard, hitching and unhitching trailers can be hazardous and repetitive, noted Outrider. The private company said its customers represent more than 20% of all yard trucks operating in North America.

In January, Outrider raised $73 million in Series C financing. It has employees in 10 countries developing and supporting its industrial-grade technology.

“Over-the-road trucks may wait up to four hours to get a trailer, during which drivers don’t get paid, and that’s dead time for just-in-time fulfillment,” Smith said. “We’ve been training deep learning models with data from hundreds of yards.”

The company’s electric systems could reduce idling of diesel-powered vehicles, which in North America alone could save 3.8 billion metric tons of carbon, he asserted.

The latest patent joins a portfolio covering “the core technologies required for automating yards,” said Outrider. It has one or more patents or patents pending covering the following:

Autonomous yard operations

Outrider said it invented an “end-to-end system for safely moving trailers autonomously.” This includes navigating obstacles in complex environments, hitching and unhitching from trailers using autonomous fifth wheel movement, and connecting and disconnecting brake lines.

The system also enables precise backing to warehouse dock doors and parking spots. In addition, it can track trailer inventory, monitor electric yard-truck charging, and manage autonomous operations.

Robotic connection of air brake and electrical lines 

TrailerConnect is Outrider’s branded adapter-based and adapterless method for connecting and disconnecting air brake and electrical lines on autonomous yard trucks to modified or unmodified semi-trailers and chassis.

Using deep learning, the commercial robotic arm will rapidly connect and disconnect to unmodified trailers in less than 30 seconds, said the company. Trailers outfitted with low-cost adapters will connect within seconds, it said. 

Loading dock operations

Outrider explained that its innovations focus on safe, autonomous operations at the loading dock – the connection point between the inside and outside of the facility. Autonomous yard trucks communicate with proprietary dock door safety systems to determine whether a dock is ready for loading or unloading.

The company’s dock door modifications allow swing doors on trailers and shipping containers on chassis to be opened and resealed inside the facility while the trailer remains at the loading dock. Outrider said this and subsequent patents will allow it to solve the challenge of opening and closing swing doors when operating automated yard trucks.

Outrider said its systems integrate with warehouse, yard, and transportation management systems.

TrailerConnect uses a robotic arm to connect air brake and electrical lines. Source: Outrider

Outrider patent efforts advance

Outrider now has 11 issued patents and over 50 pending patents in the U.S. and internationally. Shortly after its first patent was issued in August 2021, the company used its proprietary technology to perform fully autonomous trailer moves at Georgia-Pacific in November 2021.

Since then, Outrider said it has completed tens of thousands of autonomous trailer moves for customers in the package shipping, consumer packaged goods, automotive manufacturing, retail and e-commerce, and intermodal industries. 

“This patent portfolio demonstrates the Outrider team’s continued commitment to automating the vast array of manual, repetitive tasks involved in inhospitable yard environments,” said Vittorio Ziparo, chief technology officer and executive vice president of engineering at Outrider. “These inventions, combined with relentless attention to the safety, reliability, and scalability of our technology, are changing the transportation and logistics of the global supply chain.”

Outrider said its patents for autonomous trailer movement complement its integration with warehouse, yard, and transportation management systems. In the second half of 2024, the company plans to begin shipping its commercial system to top Fortune 500 customers.

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Magna International will manufacture more delivery robots. Source: Serve Robotics

Serve Robotics Inc. today said it has expanded its existing partnership with Magna International Inc. to increase production of Serve’s sidewalk delivery robots. Under the terms of the new production and purchase agreement, Magna is the exclusive contract manufacturer of Serve’s autonomous systems, supporting its plan to deploy up to 2,000 robots on the Uber Eats platform across multiple U.S. markets.

“Magna is excited to continue collaborating with Serve, leveraging our manufacturing and technical expertise to help fuel Serve’s growth potential,” stated Matteo Del Sorbo, executive vice president for New Mobility globally at Magna.

Aurora, Ontario-based Magna is one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers. The new agreement extends a previously disclosed agreement effective Feb. 20, under which Serve granted the company a non-exclusive license to its technologies and expertise, enabling Magna to further develop new products in the robotics and logistics space.

Serve Robotics builds on IPO

The announcement came less than a week after Serve Robotics went public, raising $40 million.

“Serve is a leader in creating robots that navigate complex human environments,” said Ali Kashani, CEO of Serve Robotics. “Following our successful public offering, we are excited to start working to scale our robotic fleet with Magna’s world-class manufacturing capabilities.”

“This collaboration supports the natural progression of our business beyond food delivery and positions our proprietary robotics technology as a platform upon which new robots can be built,” he added. “Magna is a valuable partner in this effort.”

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Investors, customers fuel delivery robot rollout

Redwood City, Calif.-based Serve Robotics spun out of Uber Technologies Inc. in 2021. The company claimed that its low-emissions robots using artificial intelligence for Level 4 autonomy will make delivery more sustainable and economical. It has backing from NVIDIA and Uber subsidiary Postmates, among others.

Since 2022, Serve said it has completed thousands of deliveries for customers including Walmart, 7-Eleven, and Uber Eats. The company offers its mobile robots through a robots-as-a-service (RaaS) model.

The global market for robotic last-mile delivery could grow from $70 million in 2022 to $670 million by 2030, predicted ABI Research. It attributed this expansion to labor and vehicle costs, improving autonomy technologies, inflation, and consumer expectations of rapid service.

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The PUDU T300 mobile robot dis designed for use in tight aisles with heavy payloads. Source: Pudu Robotics

Pudu Technology Co. said today at Hannover Messe that it is expanding from service robots into supply chain applications with the new PUDU T300 mobile robot. The Shenzhen, China-based company said its new robot offers maneuverability, a “map-and-go” feature, and flexible deployment to help manufacturers worldwide.

“There is a huge demand from industrial clients for automated, flexible robotics solutions that can operate continuously to meet high production rates and improve operational efficiency,” stated Felix Zhang, founder and CEO of Pudu Robotics.

“As manufacturers struggle to attract and retain talent, the T300 fills the immediate gap by seamlessly integrating with facilities’ current processes, as well as optimizing operations to spur sector-wide innovation,” he said.

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Pudu said that it holds nearly 1,000 patents worldwide and that it has shipped more than 70,000 units to retail, dining, hospitality, healthcare, entertainment, and education customers. The company also specified the following capabilities:

• VSLAM+ navigation: The new mobile robot can adapt to environments with ceilings up to 30 m (98.4 ft.).
• Internet of Things (loT): PUDU T300 includes secure door access, elevator control, a self-configuring network with call options, and production-line material requests via an app for integration into production processes.
• Multimodal interaction: High-brightness operation-indicator lights and traffic-signal lights display PUDU T300’s position and cruising intentions, with customizable buttons for collaboration and audible alerts for reminders.
• Efficient charging: Pudu said the T300 features automatic recharging in about two hours and quick battery-swapping capabilities, allowing for continuous 24/7 operation to cater to different customer requirements.
• Safety compliance: PUDU T300 adheres to ISO 3691-4 industrial safety requirements and includes lidar, depth camera, collision-protection edges, and emergency stop buttons.

Zhang replied to the following questions from The Robot Report:

Pudu Robotics sets its sights on manufacturers

Since there are already numerous mobile robot providers serving manufacturing and warehousing, why did Pudu decide now to get into that space?

Zhang: Pudu Robotics decided to venture into the industrial mobile robot market due to the recognition of a significant demand for lightweight material transportation within industrial settings.

These environments often present complex challenges such as narrow pathways, mixed-traffic scenarios with both humans and machines, and areas with suspended obstacles that require robots to operate safely and flexibly. Unfortunately, there is a gap in the market, as existing products do not adequately fulfill the needs of these specific applications.

Our experience in the foodservice industry, where similar demands for safety, flexibility, and advanced navigation exist, has allowed us to accumulate a wealth of technical expertise, such as SLAM technology and a robust supply chain system. We believe that these skills and resources are directly transferable and highly beneficial to the industrial domain.

Moreover, the industrial robotics market presents several favorable conditions for Pudu Robotics:

• The market potential is vast.
• The frequency of item delivery in the industrial sector is much higher, with a stronger need for such services. A single robot can perform over 200 delivery tasks per day compared with the food service industry, where a robot performing over 70 tasks a day is already considered significant.
• The acceptance of robot deliveries in the industrial sector is higher due to the commonality of automated transportation and manufacturing processes.
• Our market research and practice have shown that by selling standardized products, we can successfully cater to industrial customers.

What was the biggest difference in developing mobile robots for manufacturing in comparison with the service robots that Pudu is known for?

PUDU T300 moving a box in standard mode. Source; Pudu Robotics

Zhang: The biggest difference in developing robots for manufacturing in comparison to service robots lies within the distinct market needs and opportunities of the industrial sector. Manufacturing allows for more standardization, higher frequency of use, and stronger customer demand than the service industry.

Yet the value-added is similar. Both manufacturing and service industries turn to automation to alleviate labor shortages, bolster workplace safety and productivity, and adapt to an evolving market. Pudu can easily leverage its expertise in one to innovate within the other.

What’s the biggest differentiator between the T300 and other companies’ robots?

Zhang: PUDU T300 features automatic recharging and quick battery-swapping capabilities. This allows for continuous 24/7 operation and allows customers to expedite production.

With its ability to navigate through spaces as narrow as 60 cm [23.6 in.], the T300 can shuttle between production lines, delivering supplies without hindrance.

T300 also supports several key functions like PUDU VSLAM+, a fusion of laser SLAM and visual SLAM for positioning, which PUDU has extensive experience in, this lets the robot adapt to its environment and update its map in real time.

PUDU T300 can tow a cart. Source: Pudu Robotics

PUDU T300 will work with PUDUlink platform

What’s the new robot‘s payload capacity? What sorts of goods is the T300 designed to move — machine parts, pallets, or something else?

Zhang: The PUDU T300 has a payload capacity of 300 kg [661.3 lb.] and is specifically designed to serve in the material logistics of discrete manufacturing, handling tasks like delivering supplies to production lines, transferring materials between different production areas, and assisting in the delivery of samples for quality inspection.

The PUDU T300 is capable of transporting raw materials, cardboard boxes, material bins, material racks, and more.

PUDU T300 in lifting mode. Source: Pudu Robotics

Since the new robots are designed for narrow aisles, are they capable of backing up if they encounter obstacles?

Zhang: The T300 has exceptional maneuverability, remaining agile if it encounters obstacles. The robot is able to cross 0.7 in. [1.7 cm] thresholds and 1.3 in. [3.3 cm] gutters, as well as to leverage laser and visual SLAM for positioning in spaces up to 200,000 sq. m [2.1 million sq. ft.].

In addition to these capabilities, the T300 is also designed with a reverse function, enabling it to back up and disengage from any impediments it may encounter.

In addition to the VSLAM capabilities, how will Pudu’s latest robots be monitored — will the company offer fleet management software, or will it work with third-party platforms?

Zhang: The PUDU T300 will be monitored using our proprietary distributed scheduling system, which allows for efficient management and coordination of the robot fleet.

Additionally, the T300 supports PUDUlink, a platform developed by Pudu Robotics for remote device management. This platform enables operators to monitor, control, and update the robots from a centralized location, ensuring smooth operation and quick response to any issues that may arise.

Furthermore, for those clients who wish to integrate the T300 with their existing third-party fleet management or scheduling systems, the T300 is designed to be compatible with third-party APIs [application programming interfaces]. This ensures that our robots can be seamlessly incorporated into a wide range of industrial and logistical environments, providing flexibility to users who already have established systems in place.

What customers did Pudu work with in developing this robot, and is it in trials or is it already available?

Zhang: T300 was developed specifically for customers within the industrial sector. Target customers include entities within manufacturing, such as 3C [computer, communication, and consumer] electronics manufactures, automotive parts processing facilities, metalworking and hardware processing enterprises, and more.

PUDU T300 in shelf mode. Source: Pudu Robotics

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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.

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Locus says its systems are now involved in picking 6 million to 7 million units per day. | Source: Locus Robotics

Locus Robotics Corp. today announced that it has surpassed 3 billion total picks across its global customer deployments. The company reached this milestone just 33 weeks after it recorded its 2 billionth pick. It claimed that the achievement underscores its continued rapid growth and solidifies its position as a leader in autonomous robotics automation for the warehouse. 

The Wilmington, Mass.-based company said its 3 billionth pick was a Carhartt T-shirt. The pick occurred at a Carhartt facility in Hanson, Ky. Just milliseconds later, other items were picked at more than 300 Locus customer sites around the world. 

“Surpassing 3 billion picks across our global deployments is a significant milestone that reflects the trust our customers have placed in our innovative robotics solutions,” stated Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “As we continue to push the boundaries of innovation, we remain focused on our mission to revolutionize the supply chain industry and empower our customers to drive operational efficiencies and productivity gains in order to thrive in an increasingly complex and demanding fulfillment landscape.”

Founded in 2014, Locus Robotics provides autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that collaborate with human pickers to increase warehouse efficiency. Locus serves the retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and third-party logistics (3PL) industries and offers a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) model.

Locus continues to ramp up operations

It took nearly seven years for Locus to reach its first billion picks. Since then, the company’s growth has accelerated rapidly. It reached 2 billion picks just 11 months later, and now 3 billion just 33 weeks later. Locus received a 2024 RBR50 award for hitting 2 billion picks. 

“I first saw a demo of the Locus bots the year the company was founded. I instantly understood the potential this system had,” said Steve Banker, vice president of supply chain services at ARC Advisory Group. “Their impressive growth trajectory is a clear indication of the value their proven solutions bring to customers, enabling them to improve productivity, lower costs, and stay ahead of the competition.”

During the 2023 peak holiday season, LocusBots picked more than 331 million units. This is a 66% increase compared with the 2022 peak holiday season. In all of 2023, Locus picked a total of 1.2 billion units, an 82% increase over the previous year. 

As the industry continues to evolve, Locus Robotics said it remains committed to driving innovation and delivering cutting-edge robotics systems that enable its customers to scale and meet growing demand. The company asserted that its focus on research and development ensures it is well-positioned to continue to grow rapidly. 

Despite its growth, Locus has also seen some recent setbacks. In January, the company confirmed it had a “small, targeted RIF,” or reduction in force. It did not specify how many employees were affected by the layoffs. Faulk said that Locus overhired and overestimated how much business it would get after the COVID-19 peak. 

Locus Robotics at the Robotics Summit

Sean Pineau, head of 3PL segments at Locus Robotics, will be speaking at the Robotics Summit & Expo, which takes place on May 1 and 2 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Pineau will present a session on “AI in the Warehouse: What You Really Need to Know” at 1:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 1. He will discuss the considerations and potential benefits and impacts of implementing AI in the warehouse.

Locus will also take part in the RBR50 Showcase in Booth 448 on the show floor. The showcase will feature current and past RBR50 winners and their innovations. 

The 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo will be the largest ever, according to WTWH Media, which also produces Mobile Robot Guide and The Robot Report. It will include up to 5,000 attendees, 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 Locus Robotics surpasses 3B picks just 33 weeks after its last milestone appeared first on The Robot Report.

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

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

Digit named Robot of the Year

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

Autopicker wins Application of the Year

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

Electric Sheep is Startup of the Year

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

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

Come celebrate at the 2024 RBR50 Gala

We introduced three new categories in 2024 – Robot of the Year, Application of the Year, and Startup of the Year – and will be holding the inaugural RBR50 Gala on May 1 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the end of Day 1 of the Robotics Summit & Expo.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Walmart deploys FoxBots to unload pallets

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

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

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

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

Fox Robotics pulls ahead in dock robot race

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Collaborative Robotics has been developing a system for trustworthy operations. Source: Adobe Stock, Photoshopped by The Robot Report

Collaborative Robotics today closed a $100 million Series B round on the road to commercializing its autonomous mobile manipulator. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said it is developing robots that can safely and affordably work alongside people in varied manufacturing, supply chain, and healthcare workflows. In many cases, this is the same work that humanoid robots are jockeying for.

Brad Porter, a former distinguished engineer and vice president of robotics at Amazon, founded Collaborative Robotics in 2022. The Cobot team includes robotics and artificial intelligence experts from Amazon, Apple, Meta, Google, Microsoft, NASA, Waymo, and more.

“Getting our first robots in the field earlier this year, coupled with today’s investment, are major milestones as we bring cobots with human-level capability into the industries of today,” stated Porter. “We see a virtuous cycle, where more robots in the field lead to improved AI and a more cost-effective supply chain. This funding will help us accelerate getting more robots into the real world.”

The Robot Report caught up with Porter to learn more about the company and its product since our last conversation in July 2023, when Cobot raised its $30 million Series A.

Nothing to see here

Collaborative Robotics has been secretive about the design of its robot. You won’t find any photos of the cobot on the company’s site or anywhere else on the Web yet.

However, Porter told The Robot Report that it is already in trials with several pilot customers, including a global logistics company. He described the machine as a mobile manipulator, with roughly the stature of a human. However, it’s not a humanoid, nor does it have a six degree-of-freedom arm or a hand with fingers.

“When talking about general-purpose robots versus special-purpose robots, we know what humanoids look like, but with a new morphology, we want to protect it for a while,” he said. “We’ve been looking at humanoids for a long time, but in manufacturing, secondary material flow is designed around humans and carts. Hospitals, airports, and stadiums are usually designed around people flow. A huge amount of people is still moving boxes, totes, and carts around the world.”

The new cobot’s base is capable of omnidirectional motion with four wheels and a swerve-drive design, along with a central structure that can acquire, carry, and place totes and boxes around the warehouse. It is just under 6 ft. (2 m) tall and can carry up to 75 lb. (34 kg), said Porter.

The robot can also engage and move existing carts with payloads weighing up to 1,500 lb. (680 kg) around the warehouse. How the robot engages carts remains part of the mystery. But by automating long-distance moves and using existing cart infrastructure, Porter said he believes that the Collaborative Robotics system is differentiated from both mobile robot platforms and humanoid competitors.

“We looked at use cases for humanoids at Amazon, but you don’t actually want the complexity of a humanoid; you want something that’s stable and could move faster than people,” Porter added. “There are orders of magnitude more mobile robots than humanoids in day-to-day use, and at $300,000 to $600,000 per robot, the capital to build the first 10 humanoids is very high. We want to get robots into the field faster.”

Collaborative Robotics has kept its actual robot out of public view. | Source: Adobe Stock image Photoshopped by The Robot Report

Robots must be trustworthy

Porter said that he “believes that robots need to be trustworthy, in addition to being safe. This philosophy is driving the design and user-interface decisions that the company has made so far. Users need to understand what the robot should do by looking at it, unlike some of the existing designs of mobile robots currently on the market.”

In addition to a human-centered design approach, Collaborative Robotics is using off-the-shelf parts to reduce the robot bill of materials cost and simplify the supply chain as it begins the process of commercialization. It is also taking a “building-block” approach to hardware and plans to adjust software and machine learning for navigation and learning new tasks.

“The robot we’ve designed is 70% off-the-shelf parts, and we can design around existing motors, while every humanoid company is hand-winding its own motors to find advanced actuation capabilities,” Porter noted. “We designed the system digitally, so we don’t have to hand-tweak a bunch of things. By using 3D lidar, we know the state of the art of the technology, and it’s easier to safety-qualify.”

With large language models (LLMs), Porter said he sees the day when someone in a hospital or another facility can just tell a robot to go away. “It’s about user interaction rather than just safety, which is table stakes,” he said. “We think a lot about trustworthiness.”

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

Collaborative Robotics preps for commercialization

General Catalyst led Collaborative Robotics’ Series B round, with participation from Bison Ventures, Lux Capital, and Industry Ventures. Existing investors Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Mayo Clinic, Neo, 1984 Ventures, MVP Ventures, and Calibrate Ventures also participated.

Since its founding in 2022, Cobot said it has raised more than $140 million. The company plans to grow its headcount from 35, adding production, sales, and support staffers.

In addition, Collaborative Robotics announced that Teresa Carlson will be joining it as an advisor on go to market at scale and industry transformation. She held leadership roles at Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Splunk, and Flexport.

“I’m super-excited to be working with Teresa,” said Porter. “We’ve kept up since Amazon, and she thinks a lot about digital transformation at a very large scale — federal government and industry. She brings a wealth of knowledge about economics that will elevate the scope of what we’re doing.”

Paul Kwan, managing director at General Catalyst, is joining Alfred Lin from Sequoia on Collaborative Robotics’ board of directors. 

“In our view, Brad and Cobot are spearheading the future of human-robot interaction,” said Kwan. “We believe the Cobot team is world-class at building the necessary hardware, software, and institutional trust to achieve their vision.”

Editor’s note: Eugene Demaitre contributed to this article.

The post Collaborative Robotics raises $100M in Series B for mysterious mobile manipulator appeared first on The Robot Report.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See Agility at the Robotics Summit

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

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

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

Registration is now open for the Robotics Summit & Expo.

The post Agility Robotics’ Digit wins inaugural Robot of the Year award appeared first on The Robot Report.

The fourth installment of the Automated Warehouse research series captures market sentiment about stationary robots. | Credit: WTWH Media

Warehouse operators are grappling with a formidable challenge in the fast-paced logistics world: a severe shortage of available labor. With the increasing demand for operational efficiency, the optimization of warehouse processes has become an imperative rather than simply an objective.

In this fourth session of our Automated Warehouse webinar series, we will explore the current state of stationary robotics, specifically examining how these systems are being integrated with human workers through smart controls. Attendees will learn valuable insights derived from recent bespoke research conducted directly with warehouse operators.

Stationary robots can be found in various workflows, performing a diverse array of tasks. To better understand what kinds of systems are being used in fulfillment operations, distribution centers, and warehouses, we asked respondents about their stationary robot setups. The responses from these participants provide a snapshot of the state of the market.

The session is targeted at robotics OEMs, systems integrators, and warehouse operators. This webinar will be the last in this initial series of research projects that started with mobile robotics and then dug into the digitization of warehouse workflows, and how fixed conveyance is being used today.

The webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, at 2:00 p.m. EDT and will share approaches and examples with warehouse operators seeking to modernize and gain better control over workflows. Attendees will learn more about the following:

Insights from market research: Our experts have conducted a fresh market survey, uncovering the latest trends and developments in warehouse technology. By attending this webinar, you’ll gain exclusive access to this research, providing you with a competitive edge in the industry.

Q&A: You will have an opportunity to have your burning questions answered live.

Register now to save your spot and stay current on the market trends.

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

The post Tune in to Automated Warehouse webinar on stationary robots, smart controls appeared first on The Robot Report.

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.”

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

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.”

The post Kiwibot acquires AUTO to strengthen delivery robot security appeared first on The Robot Report.

Agility Arc is a cloud-based platform for managing fleets of humanoids. Source: Agility Robotics

Agility Robotics made a couple of strategic moves this week as it continues to commercialize its Digit humanoid. Let’s start with the good news.

Agility is partnering with Manhattan Associates, a global leader in supply chain and omnichannel commerce. There are a lot of warehouse management systems (WMS) on the market, but as one source told The Robot Report, Manhattan Associates is “the standard bearer when it comes to large 3PL operations.”

Agility is joining the Manhattan Value Partner (MVP) program and the Manhattan Automation Network for warehouse automation providers. Manhattan and Agility will integrate Digit and Agility Arc, the company’s new fleet management software introduced at MODEX 2024, with the Manhattan Active Warehouse Management solution.

WMS integration an important step for Digit

Integrating new tools with existing systems can be challenging for warehouse operators. Ensuring compatibility with the industry-leading WMS is an important first step for Digit.

“Digit is already the world’s only bipedal robot currently delivering useful work for customers, increasing productivity and safety while helping workers with difficult and repetitive tasks in warehouse and manufacturing operations,” stated Peggy Johnson, CEO of Agility Robotics. “We’re thrilled to partner with Manhattan to streamline adoption of Agility’s solutions into existing best practices and bring Digit to more warehouses around the world.”

Manhattan Associates said Agility is the first humanoid to join both the MVP and the Manhattan Automation Network. Manhattan has similar partnerships with Exotec, a provider of automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) and Locus Robotics, the leading developer of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).

“Companies are under enormous pressure to deliver more products faster and more efficiently, while facing massive and growing labor shortages,” said Eric Lamphier, senior director of alliances for Manhattan Associates. “Innovative robotics solutions, like Digit, can help fill those gaps, connecting islands of automation and improving operational efficiency.”

“We’re proud to be the first WMS provider to partner with a humanoid robotics provider,” he added. “Together, Agility and Manhattan are making it easy for customers to integrate cutting-edge technology, like Digit and Agility Arc, into their warehouse workflows.”

Agility Arc is a new cloud-based platform designed to give customers better control and insight into their Digit humanoids. Users can monitor the status and performance of each Digit, create workcells and workflows, and assign new tasks to the robots.

Agility Robotics also now offers a few accessories for the Arc platform, including a charging dock, a control pendant, and a workcell that comes with guarding, e-stops, monitored entrances, and more. Since there are no safety standards yet for humanoids, these robots will need to be caged off as they initially make their way into the world.

Agility Robotics lays off staff

Now for the bad news. Agility laid off an unspecified number of employees yesterday. Now-former employees posted about the layoffs on social media, and The Robot Report confirmed the reduction in staff. The company sent the following statement:

“As part of Agility’s ongoing efforts to structure the company for success, we have parted ways with a small number of employees that were not central to core product development and commercialization. At the same time, we are focused on meeting the extraordinary demand for bipedal robots across industrial use cases. That means ramping up production of Digit while continuing to win top-tier global customers, and adding new roles that meet these goals. We believe today’s actions will allow us to focus on the areas that drive productization, commercialization, and production of Digit.”

Johnson was named CEO of Agility Robotics one month ago. The veteran technology leader most recently served as CEO of Magic Leap, which produces augmented reality headsets. She led the company’s shift from consumer to enterprise and helped recapitalize the company.

Before Magic Leap, Johnson spent six years as executive vice president of business development at Microsoft. She reported directly to CEO Satya Nadella and was responsible for driving strategic partnerships and transactions to accelerate growth for the company and its customers.

Agility Robotics co-founder Damion Shelton, who served as CEO since the company’s founding in 2015, is now the company’s president and part of Johnson’s leadership team.

Humanoid robot race continues to accelerate

As we’ve said repeatedly over the past year, the humanoid race is heating up. And moves like this partnership with Manhattan, coupled with its fleet management system, show that Agility is the humanoid developer most ready to take on real-world work. The company has piloted its Digit humanoid with Amazon and GXO Logistics.

There are several other humanoid developers entering early pilots with customers. Figure recently raised $675 million and is working with BMW. And Apptronik is working with Mercedes-Benz.

Of course, all these humanoids still need to prove their reliability. NVIDIA is trying to help with its new foundation model for humanoids, called GR00T, that is designed to bring robotics and embodied AI together.

Accenture is also getting in on the action. Last week, it announced a strategic investment in Sanctuary AI, which is developing the Phoenix humanoid. The amount of the funding was not disclosed.

“AI-powered humanoid robots are essential to reinventing work and supporting human workers as labor shortage is becoming an issue in many countries and industries,” said Accenture.

You can learn more about the state of humanoids at the Robotics Summit & Expo, which takes place May 1-2 in Boston and is produced by The Robot Report and parent company WTWH Media.

Jonathan Hurst, co-founder and chief robot officer of Agility Robotics, will deliver a keynote called “Humanoid Robots Get to Work.” It will explore the technological breakthroughs propelling humanoids like Digit into real-world use cases. Attendees can learn about the ongoing challenges and opportunities and will go inside Digit’s first pilots.

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

The post Agility Robotics partners with leading WMS provider, cuts staff appeared first on The Robot Report.

Here are the top 10 most popular stories on The Robot Report this past month. Subscribe to The Robot Report Newsletter or listen to The Robot Report Podcast to stay updated on the latest technology developments.

10. Robotics Engineering Career Fair to connect candidates, employers at Robotics Summit

The career fair will draw from the general robotics and artificial intelligence community, as well as from attendees at the Robotics Summit & Expo. Past co-located career fairs have drawn more than 800 candidates, and MassRobotics said it expects even more people at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center this year. Read More

9. SMC adds grippers for cobots from Universal Robots

SMC recently introduced a series of electric grippers designed to be used with collaborative robot arms from Universal Robots. Available in basic and longitudinal types, SMC said the LEHR series can be adapted to different industrial environments like narrow spaces. Read More

8. Anyware Robotics announces new add-on for Pixmo unloading robots

Anyware Robotics announced in March 2024 an add-on for its Pixmo robot for truck and container unloading. The patent-pending accessory includes a vertical lift with a conveyor belt that is attached to Pixmo between the robot and the boxes to be unloaded. Read More

7. Accenture invests in humanoid maker Sanctuary AI in March 2024

In its Technology Vision 2024 report, Accenture said 95% of the executives it surveyed agreed that “making technology more human will massively expand the opportunities of every industry.” Well, Accenture put its money where its mouth is. Accenture Ventures announced a strategic investment in Sanctuary AI, one of the companies developing humanoid robots. Read More

6. Cambrian Robotics obtains seed funding to provide vision for complex tasks

Machine vision startup Cambrian Robotics Ltd. has raised $3.5 million in seed+ funding. The company said it plans to use the investment to continue developing its AI platform to enable robot arms “to surpass human capabilities in complex vision-based tasks across a variety of industries.” Read More

5. Mobile Industrial Robots launches MiR1200 autonomous pallet jack

Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are among the systems benefitting from the latest advances in AI. Mobile Industrial Robots at LogiMAT in March 2024 launched the MiR1200 Pallet Jack, which it said uses 3D vision and AI to identify pallets for pickup and delivery “with unprecedented precision.” Read More

4. Reshape Automation aims to reduce barriers of robotics adoption

Companies in North America bought 31,159 robots in 2023. That’s a 30% decrease from 2022. And that’s not sitting well with robotics industry veteran Juan Aparicio. After working at Siemens for a decade and stops at Ready Robotics and Rapid Robotics, Aparicio hopes his new startup Reshape Automation can chip away at this problem. Read More

3. Mercedes-Benz testing Apollo humanoid

Apptronik announced that leading automotive brand Mercedes-Benz is testing its Apollo humanoid robot. As part of the agreement, Apptronik and Mercedes-Benz will collaborate on identifying applications for Apollo in automotive settings. Read More

2. NVIDIA announces new robotics products at GTC 2024

The NVIDIA GTC 2024 keynote kicked off like a rock concert in San Jose, Calif. More than 15,000 attendees filled the SAP Arena in anticipation of CEO Jensen Huang’s annual presentation of the latest product news from NVIDIA. He discussed the new Blackwell platform, improvements in simulation and AI, and all the humanoid robot developers using the company’s technology. Read More

1. Schneider Electric unveils new Lexium cobots at MODEX 2024

In Atlanta, Schneider Electric announced the release of two new collaborative robots: the Lexium RL 3 and RL 12, as well as the Lexium RL 18 model coming later this year. From single-axis machines to high-performance, multi-axis cobots, the Lexium line enables high-speed motion and control of up to 130 axes from one processor, said the company. It added that this enables precise positioning to help solve manufacturer production, flexibility, and sustainability challenges. Read More

The post Top 10 robotics news stories of March 2024 appeared first on The Robot Report.