UPDATED 11-11-14: Andy Rubin leaves Google; Sundar Pichai promoted to #2 man at Google; Google invests in $542 million funding for Magic Leap; and commits $1.36 billion for NASA facility to house Google's robotics, space and flight technologies. Andy Rubin, the Google executive, who was in charge of the company’s robotics group and spearheaded the Android…
How to convert energy into mechanical work
By Leslie Langnau / Managing Editor Actuators for robots range from the “tried and true” to newer versions of actuator muscles. Here’s a look at your range of options. In robot design, electric, hydraulic and pneumatic actuators are the typical choices available when developing the means to convert energy into mechanical work. However, a couple […]
Robot uses piezo motors to work in tandem with MRI machines
Surgeons treating brain cancer face a conundrum: They can capture ultra-high-resolution images of the tumor using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or they can use ultra-precise surgical tools to remove the tumor, but they can’t do both at the same time. At least they couldn’t previously. Worcester Polytechnic Institute professor Greg Fischer is in the process […]
Two robotic start-up companies make news
Two robotic start-up companies, one in India and the other California, received favorable media attention recently. Gridbots Technologies, a start-up located in Ahmedabad, India, has focused their efforts on providing the power industry, particularly nuclear power companies, defense organizations and space agencies with robotics, AI and vision products. The company has grown to a team of more…
1 + 1 = 3
The business world sometimes likes to use the “1 + 1 = 3” for mergers and acquisitions where businesses seek to leverage the strengths of two complementary businesses. What is frequently missing in the current discussion about 3D printing is metaphorically the same thing; the ability of 3D to integrate shapes that were previously made […]
2013 Stats from the IFR; 3rd qtr results for 2014 set new records in US
The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) recently released their annual statistical recap and four-year forecast for the robotics industry. The IFR produces two research books; one which covers industrial robots and the other for service robots. The two IFR books can be purchased and downloaded in PDF form for $728.00 by linking here. Industrial Robots In 2013, 178,132…
Seegrid files for Chapter 11 protection
Seegrid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this week. The bankruptcy judge authorized Seegrid to borrow from its lender and biggest shareholder, Giant Eagle, so that it could continue operations. Giant Eagle is a $9 billion supermarket and convenience store chain serving Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland. It has tested and used Seegrid AGVs in…
Google adding to UK DeepMind Acquisition
In January, 2014, Google acquired London-based DeepMind Technologies for $643 million. Now it is adding to that purchase with 2 more companies, 10 new hires and a substantial contribution to Oxford University. Google DeepMind was a British AI start-up with some high-profile investors and a whiz kid founder (Demis Hassabis) and their forte was smart recommendations…
The Robot Report’s 2014 Holiday Gift List
By Frank Tobe, Editor and Publisher, The Robot Report Product: mamaRoo robotic rocker Manufacturer: 4moms For: babies 0-6 months, gift for soon-to-be parents, baby shower gift Availability: Amazon Comment: A pioneer in duplicating the human parent motions of rocking, dancing, cradling and driving, the mamaRoo robotic rocker sets the standard for smart baby swings. Competitors…
Unmanned vehicle design considerations for civil and military applications
Guest blog by Michael Carter, CEO, IXI Technology As the adoption and use of unmanned vehicles (air, ground and undersea) continues to grow, the next five to eight years will see an acceleration of technology adoption across the board for military, security and commercial applications. However, with that, standards and safety regulations must catch up. […]
Medrobotics, Monsieur and Arago all get funding
Venture funding is continuing to flow. Three recent recipients: $20 million to Medrobotics, $2 million to Monsieur and $55 million to Arago AG. Medrobotics, a medical robotics start-up company, has raised $109.3 million in six rounds from a single venture fund: Hercules Technology Growth Capital. The most recent, a $20 million preferred stock financing, just…
Industrie 4.0 is really Work 7.0
Work is what we do to feed, clothe and house ourselves. Work in the last 100 years has changed so dramatically that it may not be recognizable as work. What started as simple mechanical automation to reduce the labor required to make things like clothing, has evolved over the years into the daydream of producing […]
KUKA acquires Swisslog for $357 million
Late last month KUKA made a public offer to Swisslog shareholders to purchase their shares at 8.9% above the market price. Swisslog’s Board of Directors have recommended that the offer be accepted. KUKA, one of the Big Four global robot makers, stated that the purchase price would be $357 million and that the transaction would…
nLink mobile drilling robot wins RoboBusiness Pitchfire startup contest
Norway-based nLink, maker of the world’s first Mobile Drilling Robot, wins the 2014 RoboBusiness Pitchfire contest, beating out 14 other robotics startups.
At RoboBusiness, start-up contest chooses 3 winners
At RoboBusiness this week in Boston, Pitchfire – a Shark Tank-like pitch and question session – presented 14 start-up companies who pitched their wares to 5 judges. 3 winners were chosen. SoftRobotics Inc, a Boston-based start-up (not to be confused with SoftRobotics, a Los Angeles area software and systems developer), presented their new soft gripper, a…
4 reports predict steady growth for robotics
Four recent research reports covering service robots, vision guided robotics, material handling robots, and robot component speed reducers, all predict steady growth, particularly in China. QY Research offers their $2,200 report on the Global and China Vision Guided Robotics Industry and predicts steady growth for the industry segment through 2019. Another $1,500 report by Research in China covers…
RobotShop continues acquisition spree
RobotShop, one of Canada's fastest growing small companies, continues to expand and acquire. Its most recent acquisition is FlyingEinstein, a Florida-based manufacturer that designs and produces flight controllers for drones. In August, 2012 RobotShop acquired LynxMotion, a manufacturer and distributor of educational robot kits. In November, 2013, RobotShop acquired DiaLFonZo-Copter, a designer and producer of multi-rotor…
UCSD robotics: A New Investment on San Diego Campus
At a one-day forum on the UCSD campus, Chancellor Pradeep Khosla did two unusual things: he spent most of the day at the Contextual Robotics Technologies Intl Forum, and he announced that UCSD would create five new faculty slots in robotics and plans to develop a world-class robotics cluster in the San Diego area. “This…
What the buzz about Industrie 4.0?
It sounds impressive, has a lot of doctors of philosophy signed on as it’s originators, and it’s imported from Europe. Industrie 4.0, note the German spelling, very fancy, is the latest rage around the world of industrial automation. Personally, I think it’s just a fancy marketing campaign to stimulate sales of automation control systems. Alleging […]
Rethinking iRobot, Samsung and Dyson robotic vacuum cleaners
By Frank Tobe, Editor/Publisher, The Robot Report At a break in a conference in San Diego, I was sitting enjoying my tea, when up walked Rodney Brooks (of Rethink Robotics and Baxter fame) and said (with a mischievious smile): Rodney Brooks “I have a bone to pick with you! Robotic vacuum cleaners didn’t just become…
Self-driving car test sites
Swarm communication and urban city driving are integral to the safe deployment of self-driving cars. Mercedes-Benz and a joint Michigan-based consortium are setting up secure test sites in California and Michigan to test their solutions. Mercedes-Benz, along with local governments, is turning what used to be the Concord Naval Weapons Station into the U.S.’s largest…
Energy and Getting Stuff Done
Electricity in the modern age is taken for granted. Yet our technological society is incredibly dependent on it. Everything we do requires electricity to control, communicate or actually perform tasks. Even in the combustion engine, the starting motor is required to start the engine and the ignition system is required to generate high voltage discharges […]