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From The Editor
Midsummer Surge in Robotics Funding Shows Powerful Investor Confidence
The middle of July usually means a “slow news week” for many industries, but that isn’t the case in the robotics industry. Over the past week, venture capitalists and other investors have continued to pour money into robotics and automation companies, including some pretty big deals for companies like May Mobility, XPENG Robotics, as well as startups in the robots, drone and medical robot spaces. After being relatively quiet in 2020, the past year and a half has exploded in terms of investments – ABI Research said global robotics VC investment reached $5.7 billion in 2021, a 38% year-over-year increase. ABI said funding focused in three major verticals – delivery, warehousing and healthcare. The other big news from the week involves partnerships and deployments, where we saw continued AMR deals and cobot partnership with systems integrators, and deployments such as Pudu Robotics’ BellaBot serving customers at McDonald’s in Slovenia. Now I’m hungry.
– Keith Shaw, Managing Editor. |
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China’s XPENG Robotics Raises $100M for Full-Stack Robotics Platforms
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XPENG Robotics, an affiliate of China’s XPeng Inc., has announced it signed a definitive agreement with a consortium of investors to raise more than $100 million in Series A capital funding. The funding round was led by IDG Capital, supported by XPeng Inc., and other long-time investors. The company said it will use the funding to further strengthen its full-stack R&D investment in robotic hardware and software, continue to acquire talent, accelerate product development and iteration, and boost its technology and product competitiveness. Dedicated to consumer-oriented technology, XPENG Robotics said it expects intelligent robots to enter households in the next two years, enriching the experience of daily routines and bring profound lifestyle changes. |
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FORT Robotics Raises $25M to Fast-Track Smart Machine Controllers
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Philadelphia-based FORT Robotics has announced the close of a $25 million Series B funding round, led by Tiger Global. The company said it will use the funding to accelerate the rollout of its machine communications platform, which aims to make autonomous machines safer and more secure. The company’s platform includes several hardware solutions, including wireless emergency stops and remote control systems, which are being used by companies such as Agility Robotics, Hexagon Metrology, Moog and hundreds of others. The company said it plans to expand its platform functionality and enhance security offerings to address growing demand from end users. |
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Wonder Robotics Raises $4M for Smarter Drone Landing Technology
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Israel-based Wonder Robotics, which is developing autonomous flight and landing of commercial drones, has announced raising $4 million in a seed funding round, led by Elron Ventures in conjunction with Besadno Investment Group. The funds will be used to scale operations and marketing efforts, in addition to developing technology for additional applications. The lack of technology for operating drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) is hindering the ability for companies to provide safe, autonomous drone flights, making the commercialization of drones expensive and unscalable, Wonder Robotic said. To combat this, the company has developed its unique “WonderLand” for precise autonomous landings, which can be installed on any drone. |
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Merlin Labs Raises $105M, Partners with U.S. Air Force
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Merlin Labs, which develops autonomous flight technology for fixed-wing aircraft, has announced it raised $105 million in Series B funding. The new funding brings its total raised to $130 million to date. The company also announced a partnership with the U.S. Air Force to bring autonomy to the C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft, the most-used cargo platform in the fleet. The funding round was led by Snowpoint and Baillie Gifford, with major participation by existing investor GV. Since emerging from stealth mode last year, the company said it achieved several significant milestones in its goal to become the definitive autonomy system for legacy aircraft, validating its “crawl-walk-run” approach with regulators and partners. |
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May Mobility Raises $111M to Develop Next-Gen Mobility Platform
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Michigan-based May Mobility, which develops and deploys autonomous vehicles, has announced raising $111 million in a Series C round of funding. The company said it plans to continue its deployment programs using the Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicle platform, while also beginning development of a new vehicle design centered around mobility, Toyota’s e-Pallet, as it seeks new ways to bring equitable mobility solutions to the masses. In addition to the new round of funding, May Mobility said it will continue its collaboration with Toyota. Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicle platforms modified by May Mobility have already been launched for testing and demonstrations in Ann Arbor, with other public deployment locations anticipated in late 2022. |
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Ganymed Robotics Raises $21.3M to Develop Orthopedic Robot
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Paris-based Ganymed Robotics, which develops computer vision software and robotics technologies for orthopedic surgeons, has announced it raised €21 million ($21.3 million) in an oversubscribed Series B funding round. The new funding will be used to support Ganymed’s expansion in France and the U.S., as well as finalizing the industrial development of its surgical robot assistant for knee arthroplasty (TKA). New capital will also be used to accelerate regulatory and marketing developments, and to diversify its innovation product pipeline. The funding round was led by Cathay Health, with participation from Credit Mutuel Innovation, Kurma Partners, BNP Paribas Developpement and additional surgeons. |
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In Case You Missed It
MARTAC Demonstrates USVs in Australia, Germany
With an overarching theme of “Remote and Autonomous Systems and Artificial Intelligence” (RAS-AI), Autonomous Warrior is the largest unmanned systems Operational Experimentation (OPEX) event conducted in Australia. As reported by NavalNews.com, Autonomous Warrior 22 (AW22) was a recent Australian Navy-led OPEX activity held 16-27 May in the vicinity of Jervis Bay and from several remote sites in Australia and overseas. The event provided Australian and international military and industry partners opportunities to demonstrate innovations in autonomous and uncrewed systems and related technologies for use in maritime and littoral domains, including operations in complex, congested and contested environments. Read More |
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Featured Article
inVia Robotics Launches Algorithm to Reduce Warehouse Congestion for Pickers
Warehouse automation provider inVia Robotics has announced the launch of its Traffic Quality Index (TQI), a new algorithm of its AI-powered inVia Logic warehouse execution software (WES). The latest update aims to speed e-commerce order fulfillment by anticipating and mitigating the congestion of pickers in warehouse aisles. The company said TQI will be added to inVial Logic software versions 7.2 and later. The new algorithm enhances existing inVia Logic optimization algorithms that calculate the most efficient routes for pickers to retrieve ordered goods and assign orders based on SKU proximity (limiting the number of trips pickers make to the same aisle). The company said the new algorithm intelligently anticipates the movements required to fulfill orders in real time, throughout the day. When the paths of individual pickers are predicted to overlap and slow down the process, inVia Logic dynamically recalculates those paths to avoid aile congestion and slowdowns. Read More |
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Industry News
- Canada’s Nexus Robotics Earns $2.6M Grant for Agriculture Robot
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) has awarded a $2.6 million grant to Canada’s Nexus Robotics, which develops an autonomous vehicle that uses machine learning to accurately remove weeds without damaging crops. The company said it will use the grant funding to create the next generation of its robots, and continue to develop to provide farmers with environmentally friendly benefits. Nexus Robotics’ self-driving robots use a combination of articulated arms, artificial intelligence and advanced algorithms to remove weeds and treat diseased plants, helping to increase crop yield. The company said a single Nexus robot can help reduce herbicide and fungicide application by 50%, and also allows for better use of manual labor in weeding-related tasks.
- Outrider Releases Autonomy Kit for Scaling Distribution Yard Automation
Outrider, which develops autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, has announced the release of its next-generation autonomy kit. Supporting over-the-air software updates and field-swappable units, the company’s latest autonomy kit aims to deliver enterprise-class reliability, enable remote technical support, and service the system in the field – all at scale. The new kit includes NVIDIA’s DRIVE autonomous vehicle platform for perception system processing; Ouster’s high-resolution lidar sensors for perception; and Yaskawa’s industrial robotic arm to connect and disconnect trailer lines. The kit can be installed and integrated on autonomy-ready Class 8 battery-electric yard trucks, Outrider said. The company uses the autonomy kit along with proprietary software to transform yard trucks into fully autonomous vehicles.
- Doosan Robotics, Cross Company Partner to Bring Cobots to Southeastern U.S.
Cross Company, a Greensboro, N.C.-based robotics and machine automation systems integrator, have announced a partnership with Doosan Robotics America to help bring collaborative robot (aka ‘cobots’) to the Southeastern United States. Founded in 2015 in South Korea, Doosan Robotics now offers 10 cobot models that includes robots with load capacities racing from 11 to 55 lbs., a working radius of 35 to 67 inches, and unique collision detection technology for enhanced safety.
- Geek+, Systemex Automation Partner on AMR Deployments
Geek+, which develops autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), has announced a strategic partnership with Systemex Automation, a Canadian systems integrator. The partnership will allow Systemex Automation to offer its customers Geek+’s full portfolio of picking, moving, sorting and automated storage and retrieval (ASRS) AMR solutions. The agreement comes after a series of new addition to Geek+’s AMR solutions, including its latest goods-to-person solution, PopPick (pictured above), which debuted earlier this year at Modex 2022, as well as Sky-Storage & Ground-Pick, which combines four-way shuttles for reserve pallet storage with Geek+’s P-series picking robots for forward picking.
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Robotics News
Comau Develops High-Speed Automations for Hydrogen Energy Providers
Comau, which develops industrial automation systems, has announced it is working with multiple clients in different parts of the world to automate the production of fuel cells and electrolyzers. By leveraging its knowledge and expertise in electrification and renewable energies, Comau said it will help facilitate the creation of reliable, zero-emission power. It is doing so by developing a proprietary solutions portfolio to automate key process steps, including cell preparation and stacking, leak testing and more, as part of its commitment to lowering the price point of fuel cell and electrolyzer manufacturing. Read More |
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Comau, Seabery Launch Robotic Welding Training System for Students
Industrial automation provider Comau has announced a partnership with Seabery, which develops augmented reality software for industrial and educational usage. The two companies have unveiled a robotic welding training system that combines Seabery’s AR Soldamatic simulated welding training with Comau’s e.DO educational robot. The program is aimed as a training program for students and workers that lets them practice the skills needed to become proficient and certified robotic welders. The comprehensive and scalable solution is designed to help fill a global demand for expert welding professionals, the companies said. Read More |
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IMI, Lester Partner on Truck Wheel Coating Robot
IMI, which develops the turnkey MILCURE steel wheel refinishing system, has announced a partnership with Lesta to introduce automation into their solution by using robotics to apply powder coating to truck wheels. Whether tire dealers are concerned about labor shortages, throughput, quality, or productivity, IMI said it enhanced its MILCURE system with the Lesta robot to be a resource for the entire commercial trucking industry. Read More |
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Pudu Robotics Deploys Service Robots to Slovenia McDonald’s Locations
China’s Pudu Robotics, which develops commercial service robots, has announced that a team of its robots are working at McDonald’s locations in Slovenia, in a deal set up by local partner ARONAtm. The company said it also worked with other partners to expand its presence in Poland, the Netherlands, the U.K., and other European countries, with robots deployed in gas stations, retail electronics outlets, restaurants and hotels. At the end of 2021, McDonald’s Slovenia started gradually introducing dozens of Pudu’s BellaBot robots into the workforce, to assist restaurant staff with serving and delivering food items, as well as perform other duties. Read More |
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