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From the Editor
Slew of Funding Gives Robot Firms a Happy Holiday
As the year winds down, we’ve noticed that a lot of robotics companies are receiving their holiday bonuses early, in the form of new investments from venture capital firms and others. Across the robotics landscape, companies are seeing new funds that will help them scale their companies and grow to help other companies with their labor shortages or other tasks that robots can handle. Meanwhile, delivery robots and self-driving cars remain in the news, with new deployments and partnerships made. But the coolest news for me is the announcement of a pilot project by BurgerFi, in which mobile robots will be used to deliver order to customers. We’ve seen table-side robots before, of course, but this one will deliver a nice burger, fries and a shake. If you’re near the Jupiter, Fla., area, swing by the restaurant to see how it operates! Also, please note that next week’s newsletter will be a wrap-up of the year in robotics, and we’ll be back with new “news” in 2022. Happy Holidays to all!
– Keith Shaw, Managing Editor |
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Savioke Announces Relay+ Service Robot for Hotels, Offices, Foodservice
Savioke has announced Relay+, a new generation of its service robot that adds additional benefits for hotels, office properties, foodservice operators, hospitals and healthcare organizations. The service robot provides mobility options for companies looking to deliver items to guests or other co-workers across an organization. The new Relay+ offers several functionality for organizations, including supplements staff in times of labor shortages, allowing existing staff members to focus on “delighting guests, customers, and employees”; increasing revenue by meeting and capitalizing on increased demands for personalized delivery; eliminating previous barriers to robot deployment with a new Rapid Install capability, allowing the robot to start working in days; saving money by consistently operating 24/7/365 at a low cost; and offering a choice of three configurable payloads. |
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StradVision, LG Electronics Develop AR-Based Dashboard for Cars
StradVision, which develops AI-based vision processing technology for autonomous vehicles and advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS), has announced a partnership with LG Electronics to develop an advanced cockpit instrument platform, based on augmented reality. The companies said automakers are paying more attention to the advantages of AR solutions, particularly augmented reality head-up displays (AR-HUD). The technology projects important road information such as navigation and various ADAS warnings into the line of sight of drivers, allowing them to keep their eyes on the road while also perceiving the surroundings accurately through real-time interaction with objects in their path. The StradVision technology for this application is delivered by its SVNet camera perception software, and will focus on improving visuals for head-up displays or center screens of automobiles. |
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Keysight Launches Radar Scene Emulator for Autonomous Vehicle Developers
Keysight Technologies, which provides advanced design and validation solutions, has announced the Radar Scene Emulator, which lets automakers lab test complex, real-world driving scenarios. The company said it will demonstrate the emulator at CES 2022 (Booth #4169) in Las Vegas in January. The company said full-scene emulation in the lab is critical to developing the robust radar sensors and algorithms needed to realize advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving capabilities. The full-scene emulator combines hundreds of miniature radio frequency (RF) front ends into a scalable emulation screen, representing up to 512 objects and distances as close as 1.5 meters, Keysight said. |
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New System on Module Enables AI Edge Camera Performance
SMART Wireless Computing, which provides edge computing embedded solutions, has announced the Inforce 68A1 system-on-module (SoM), designed to provide high performance for compute-intensive network edge IoT camera applications. Based on the Qualcomm QCS8250 system-on-chip, the Inforce 68A1 SoM combines support for multiple high-resolution 8K or 4K cameras with artificial intelligence inference at the edge to enable smart camera systems, high-performance conferencing/collaboration devices, connected healthcare, and intelligent retail devices. SMART Wireless said the Inforce 68A1 SoM includes processing 4K60 ultra HD content for multiple cameras and displays concurrently, plus high bandwidth connectivity via 802.11ax DBS Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5 for connected camera networks. The modulus uses Qualcomm’s Hexagon DSP and AI Engine for high-performance, on-device AI inference used in video analytics to improve the user experience. |
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H3 Dynamics Readies Hydrogen Propulsion for Unmanned Tests in France
H3 Dynamics has announced that its Toulouse, France, team has completed wind tunnel tests of a long-range, unmanned hydrogen-powered test aircraft. The company said its first test flights are expected to occur within the next two months. Pioneered by H3 Dynamics and ISAE-Supaero in 2018, the MERMOZ program received support from the Occitanie Region in France and the European Fund for Regional Development, the company said. The next phases of the program will add on small local companies from Toulouse, including drone maker Delair to support long-range flight operations. The company said it filed international patents for full-scale distributed hydrogen propulsion and refueling systems for aviation in 2018. Since then, H3 has begun development of hydrogen-electric propulsion systems from its engineering centers in Austin, Texas, and Toulouse. |
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Point One Navigation, Ligado Partner to Deliver Precise Location for Robotics
Mobile communications company Ligado Networks and Point One Navigation announced that Liegado will provide pervasive, high-performance satellite capacity to support Point One’s Polaris GNSS correction service. The partnership will initially provide L-Band service to electric vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), with expansion to additional sectors in coming years. Point One said its Polaris service unlocks better than 10-cm accuracy for a broad range of mobile assets with a coast-to-coast footprint in the U.S., and coverage across Europe. Connectivity options include delivery over cellular, and now ubiquitous L-Band. The design includes advanced anti-jam, interference mitigation, end-to-end security and automatic integrity monitoring. |
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Sponsored Content
Robots Handle Large Axial, Radial and Moment Loads Simultaneously with Crossed Roller Bearings.
Crossed Roller Bearings enable complex motion and effective load handling making it possible for robots and cobots to move, position or rotate heavy objects. The Crossed Roller design allows the bearing to handle heavy or complex loads from any direction at the same time and delivers precise, repeatable motion that can handle large axial, radial and moment loads simultaneously. Read White Paper HERE. |
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Featured Article
IFR Says Robot Density Globally has Doubled Since 2015
The International Federation of Robotics said the use of industrial robots in factories around the world is accelerating at a high rate – 126 robots per 10,000 employees is the new global average for robot density in manufacturing. This is nearly double the number from five years ago (66 units per 10,000 in 2015). The IFR issued these numbers as part of the 2021 World Robot Statistics, which also ranked robot density by region and country. For example, the top five most automated countries in the world are South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Germany, and Sweden. “Robot density is the barometer to track the degree of automation adoption in the manufacturing industry around the world,” said Milton Guerry, president of the IFR. Read More View Video |
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News for Robot Makers
- Elementary Raises $30M for AI Vision Platform for Manufacturing
Elementary, which has built an artificial intelligence machine vision platform for quality and inspection in manufacturing, has announced raising $30 million in Series B funding to support customer demand. With the new capital, the company said it is poised to aggressively scale its solution worldwide with existing and new customers, to help manufacturers with automated inspection solutions to address labor constraints and to keep pace with quality goals. Unlike manual inspections, Elementary’s platform lets customers inspect 100% of their produced goods and can inspect parts and assemblies that were previously impossible to inspect, in a highly repeatable and scalable way.
- Dedrone Raises $30.5M For Counter-Drone Systems
Counter-drone systems maker Dedrone has announced closing a $30.5 million Series C financing round, led by Axon. The company said the funding comes on the heels of a strong year of growth, with more than 1,000 sensors sold, and a system that can now detect, identify, and locate more than 200 different drone types. Dedrone uses advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to analyze and fuse data from multiple sensors to detect, identify and track drones. The airspace security solution also gives users advanced data analytics and mitigation functionality, with the ability to quickly react to the largest variety of drones from more than 65 manufacturers, including homemade drones without decoding telemetry data.
- TDK Ventures Invests in Faction for Unmanned Delivery Vehicles
Faction Technology, which is developing driverless technologies for lightweight vehicles systems aimed for delivery tasks, has announced an investment from TDK Ventures, a subsidiary of TDK Corporation. Terms of the investment were not disclosed. Faction vehicles combine autonomy with remote human teleoperation, which allows driverless vehicle systems to be productized without waiting for 100% autonomous technology, the company said. The investment from TDK Ventures follows a $4.3 million seed round, led by Trucks Venture Capital and Fifty Years. This followed Faction’s participation in Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 startup batch.
- Construction Startup Pace Robotics Raises Seed Funding
Pace Robotics, a Bangalore, India-based construction robotics startup, has announced raising seed investment from Pidilite Industries Ltd., which has acquired an equity stake of 19.5% in the company. The company said it will use the funds for product development and core team expansion. Founded in 2020 by Ayushmoy Roy and Srinivas K Pai, the company has been working on a prototype for a wall finishing robot for internal plastering, painting and putty of buildings. The robot can help improve efficiency and bring down costs of the wall finishing process for construction companies. The company said it received interest in pilot projects from several real estate developers and contractors, and plan to deploy the robots for pilots in the coming months.
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Robot Deployments
BurgerFi Deploys Tableside Robot as Part of Technology Innovations
BurgerFi, a premium fast-casual restaurant chain, has announced it is testing and expanding five new technologies and creative strategies to stay ahead of evolving consumer preferences and to combat restaurant labor shortages. One of these tests is Patty the Robot, a food delivery robot that brings food to customers at the company’s Jupiter, Fla. location. The BurgerFi Indiantown Road location in Jupiter interacts with customers, serves meals directly to tables, and returns used trays to the kitchen. The company said Patty is programmed to know the restaurant layout and can interact with guests to ensure it gets the job done. The restaurant chain said the innovation supports employees, enhances efficiencies and lets restaurants provide quality guest service. Read More |
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Ottonomy Launches Delivery Robots at Cincinnati/Kentucky Airport
Ottonomy has announced that its Ottobots, a fleet of autonomous delivery robots for food and retail, are now available at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). Officially launched for the holiday travel season, passengers can order contactless delivery to their location in Concourse B of the airport, delivered by a robot. Customers can choose grab-and-go, beverage and travel items sold at select retail stores operated by Paradies Lagardere via a mobile app (orderatcvg.com). The company said customers receive status updates on their phone and a unique QR code, which can be scanned by the robot’s top camera to open the secure compartment to retrieve their items. Read More |
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Robotics News
DHL Partners With TuSimple on Autonomous Trucking Operations
TuSimple, which is developing autonomous driving technology for trucking, and logistics provider DHL Supply Chain have announced a global partnership to adopt, integrate and scale TuSimple’s autonomous trucking technology into DHL’s operations. The collaboration is part of DHL’s Accelerated Digitalization strategy, which focuses on addressing challenges facing the logistics industry. Earlier this month, DHL said it began daily freight haul operations using TuSimple’s San Antonio-to-Dallas Autonomous Freight Network (AFN). With the extension of the partnership, DHL is disclosing that it reserved 100 autonomous trucks being co-developed by TuSimple and Navistar in the U.S. Read More |
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Robot Deployments
Motional, Uber to Launch Self-Driving Deliveries in 2022
Motional, which develops driverless technology, and Uber Technologies have announced a partnership to launch autonomous deliveries for Uber customers. The service will start in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2022, and will use Motional’s electric vehicles to conduct deliveries of a curated set of meal kits from select restaurants on Uber Eats. The partnership will represent firsts for both companies: Motional’s expansion into the driverless delivery space, and Uber’s first on-road delivery partnership with an autonomous vehicle technology provider (Uber has done pilots with drone delivery and small robotic delivery providers). Read More |
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