Robotics Industry Update: July 2023

  1. Rice Robotics, based in Hong Kong, received an important order from SoftBank for its delivery robots. The robots, with their cute, cartoonish blinking eyes, have been delivering products to SoftBank staff since January 2021. Rice Robotics raised $7 million in pre-Series A funding, allowing it to expand in Japan and establish a production plant in Hong Kong.
  2. Miko, an AI-powered personal robot for children, aims to enhance education and provide a personalized learning experience. The voice-activated robot engages in conversations with kids and offers various educational apps developed with the help of educators and child psychologists. Miko has received positive feedback from consumers and plans to expand its generative AI technology.
  3. Researchers at MIT have developed a framework to teach robots more efficiently. The framework utilizes counterfactual explanations and human feedback to generate new data for fine-tuning the robot’s performance. The goal is to enable robots to learn quickly in new environments and perform daily tasks for individuals with disabilities or the elderly.
  4. Figure, a robotics company working on a multipurpose humanoid, announced an additional $9 million investment from Intel Capital. The funding will support Figure’s goal of building a general-purpose humanoid for industrial warehouse applications. The partnership with Intel provides Figure access to resources and expertise to accelerate its growth.
  5. Swiss startup Verity, known for its drone solutions in warehouses, has raised $11million in Series-B funding to meet the growing demand for supply chain automation. The company’s deal with Ikea, which involved deploying drones in warehouses across Europe, has attracted attention within the industry.
  6. Pano AI, a company developing cameras to detect wildfires, secured a $17 million extension to its Series A funding. The technology enables early detection of wildfires, helping to mitigate their impact and reduce response time.
  7. Beijing-based warehouse robotics firm ForwardX secured an additional $30 million in funding, raising its Series C total to $61 million and its overall funding to $140 million since its launch in 2016. ForwardX has a diverse robot portfolio, offering systems for transportation, storage, picking, and docking, managed by proprietary fleet management software. With a deployment of over 3,000 robots across 150 sites on four continents, the company aims to expand its presence in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, capitalizing on opportunities in the warehouse and logistics sectors.
  8. Ati Motors, an industrial robotics company, secures US$10.85 million in Series A funding led by Silicon Valley’s True Ventures. The investment will boost the development and deployment of Ati Motors’ robotics technology for automating work in industrial environments and warehouses. The round saw significant participation from previous investors: Blume Ventures, Exfinity Ventures and MFV Partners from whom Ati Motors had raised US$3.5 million in Pre-series A funding in 2021. The company has also received seed funding from Village Global, an early-stage fund based in the Bay Area and backed by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, among others.
  9. Simbe, a robotics company focused on store monitoring and inventory management, raised $28 million in Series B funding. The funding will support the deployment of its Tally robots, which monitor inventory in retail stores, including all BJ Wholesale Club locations.
  10. Bedrock, an underwater robotics company, announced $25.5 million in funding for its autonomous underwater vehicles. The company aims to provide cost-effective solutions for underwater surveying, inspection, and monitoring. Bedrock plans to focus on selling the data collected by its autonomous explorers, rather than solely manufacturing the hardware.
  11. Rocsys, an autonomous charging systems provider for electric transportation, secured $36 million in Series A funding. The company combines soft robotics, AI-based computer vision, and data-driven services to transform existing chargers into autonomous systems. The investment will support further R&D and expansion in North America.
  12. Amazon’s potential acquisition of iRobot is now under review by the European Union, following approval from the U.K.’s antitrust regulators. The $1.7 billion deal will undergo extensive scrutiny to ensure compliance with competition regulations.
  13. Japanese robotics startup Telexistence (TX) has raised $170 million in a Series B funding round to accelerate global business expansion, particularly in North America. TX will collaborate with Foxconn to mass-produce its next-generation model, “GHOST”. The company aims to expand operations and develop highly versatile robots.
  14. Chinese company Fourier Intelligence has revealed plans to manufacture 100 of its GR-1 general-purpose humanoid robots by the end of 2023 to help patients with rehabilitation. The humanoid robots will be equipped with the ability to carry patients from their beds to wheelchairs, and also help pick up objects. The therapy machines help also help treat their clients, from improving wrist strength games to hand and finger grip training, all the way up to lower-body exoskeleton training.
  15. PickNik Robotics which specializes in unstructured robotics environments, has announced a strategic collaboration with SKA Custom Robots and Machines, an engineering firm known for its work in robotics after announcing a partnership with Motive Space Systems.
  16. Reliable Robotics, leader in safety-enhancing aircraft automation systems, today announced its certification plan was formally accepted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Reliable autonomous flight system enables continuous autopilot engagement through all phases of aircraft operation including taxi, takeoff and landing which marks unrivaled progress towards the certification of fully automated aircraft.
  17. Aurora Innovation, a self-driving tech company, raised $820 million from a public and private stock offering to fund its 2024 autonomous trucking launch. The CEO, Chris Urmson, considered options like layoffs and acquisitions to preserve cash. In April, they filed to raise $350 million.
  18. Meta AI and Hello Robot Inc collaborate to advance home robots through AI. This partnership equips Hello Robot’s mobile manipulator, Stretch, to handle in-home tasks using Meta’s open-source robotics stack, HomeRobot. Hello Robot’s CEO sees this as a step towards democratizing home robots for people of all ages and abilities. The HomeRobot framework empowers AI researchers to develop and benchmark in-home Open Vocabulary Mobile Manipulation (OVMM) algorithms. Meta aims to accelerate AI-powered home robots and organizes the NeurIPS 2023 HomeRobot: Open Vocabulary Mobile Manipulation (OVMM) Challenge alongside Hello Robot, Georgia Tech, and Carnegie Mellon University, with a Stretch mobile manipulator as the prize.
  19. Chipotle Mexican Grill has developed a robot that can cut, core and peel avocados used in its guacamole as the restaurant industry faces a sustained labor shortage. Today, it takes roughly 50 minutes to make a batch of Chipotle’s guacamole but the Autocado created with Vebu Labs could cut the prep time in half.
  20. Swiss-Mile, a Swiss cutting-edge startup, created a robot-transformer that can perform a variety of tasks on its own.
  21. Researchers have introduced RoboCat, a self-improving AI agent for robotics that operates different robotic arms, learns tasks from just 100 demonstrations, and improves through self-generated data. This breakthrough allows RoboCat to adapt and solve multiple tasks across real robots, accelerating robotics research and moving closer to creating general-purpose robots.
  22. The issue of better batteries for mobile robots is becoming a major concern with various approaches being tested to make them light weight and long lasting.
  23. The evolution of American national industrial policy regarding manufacturing is still in its early days. But it is clear that the Pentagon will play a key role in whatever framework ultimately emerges.
  24. Arizona researchers use a robot that can breathe, shiver, and sweat to study hyperthermia – when the body overheats due to global warming’s impact on people. Measuring core temperature during heatstroke is ethically challenging, but the robot helps researchers better understand its effects.
  25. Researchers at ETH Zurich created a trio of ANYmal robots to support rovers in harsh environments. They are equipped with legs that help them maneuver difficult terrain, reducing damage risk. The robots work together effectively, with each having specialized functions and backup capabilities. With LiDAR sensors and unique features like RGB cameras, MIRA, and MICRO, they gather crucial data for exploration. Human scientists and operators are involved in the process, making this collaborative approach promising for future space missions.
  26. Governments worldwide now view manufacturing factories as remedies for numerous challenges such as climate change, job loss, geopolitical tensions, and weak economic growth. America leads in spending, with President Joe Biden committing $1 trillion (5% of GDP) to reclaim the title of global manufacturing capital. The EU has adapted state-aid rules to facilitate similar initiatives. China’s “Made in China” and India’s “Make in India” strategies aim to bolster their manufacturing prowess.
  27. Joanne Pransky, a pioneer in the field of robotics and human-robot interaction, passed away last month. Known as the “world’s first real Robotic Psychiatrist,” Pransky dedicated her work to bridging the gap between humans and robots. Her impact on the industry and advocacy for understanding the societal implications of robotics will be remembered.