Global Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

The Ingenuity helicopter achieved much in its nearly three years on Mars. | Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech The Ingenuity helicopter, the first ever aircraft to fly on another planet, ended its nearly three-year journey on Mars, said NASA yesterday. The helicopter, originally intended as a technology demonstration, has surpassed all of NASA’s expectations and completed dozens more flights than originally planned.  While the Ingenuity remains upright and in communication with ground controllers, it will not be able to fly again. NASA received images of its Jan. 18 flight this week showing that one or more of its rotor blades had sustained damage during landing, making the helicopter no longer capable of flight.  “The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to end,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a release . “That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best – make the impossib...

The Robot Report Podcast · Update on AgTech automation at CNHI The Robot Report Podcast · 2023 year in review: GenAI, humanoids dominate robotics industry   In Episode 138 of The Robot Report Podcast, co-hosts Mike Oitzman and Eugene Demaitre catch up with Marc Kermisch, global chief digital and information officer at CNH Industrial, or CNHI. Kermisch takes us through the latest developments at CNHI in agriculture autonomy and digitization, explaining how robots and data can help farmers and growers improve yields and efficiency. We also recap the latest robotics news and walk through an update from robotics and automation companies that attended this month’s 2024 CES show. News of the week Locus Robotics layoffs The mobile robot maker last week confirmed that it had a “small, targeted RIF,” or reduction in force. North American robot orders dropped last year, according to the Association for Advancing Automation ( A3 ). Warehouse construction also declined by 2...

The versatile double-shaft stepper motor enables two functionalities in one compact device. Source: igus GmbH Robot applications depend on the precision of their primary components. igus GmbH last week said it has developed a new double-shaft stepper motor for its drylin linear technology. The Cologne, Germany-based company said the double-shaft design allows for precise control over linear motion, enabling a range of automation, transfer-station, and format-adjustment applications. “This design offers greater flexibility in the connection and drive of mechanical components,” explained Rene Erdmann, head of the drylin E business unit at igus, in a release . “We can now drive two mechanical loads, such as two parallel linear axes, with just one motor.” igus, whose U.S. headquarters are in Rumford, R.I., said its new stepper motor  provides an easy introduction to automation for developers, machine builders, and integrators. igus supports precise, versatile robot applications ...

Jacobi Studio is a web app designed to ease robot project setup. | Credit: Jacobi Robotics Jacobi Robotics Inc. today came out of stealth with the launch of a new software product using artificial intelligence to improve the programming time and performance of robot applications. The Berkeley, Calif.-based startup also announced a partnership with Formic Technologies Inc.  Jacobi Robotics said it is building on breakthroughs from research labs at UC Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon University to provide tools to enable engineers to deploy robust solutions faster than existing tools. Conventional robotic systems take weeks or months to deploy, it said in a release . Co-founder Yahav Avigal described Jacobi’s mission to The Robot Report : “Originally, the motivation was to make things faster and more efficient. But when we went to the industry, we saw how system integrators were working. We saw that it takes a very long time for startups to go from an idea to a deployed fleet of rob...

This image was created using Microsoft’s Bing AI Image Creator. There has been $90 billion invested in robotics companies in the last five years, according to F-Prime Capital’s 2023 State of Robotics Report . With more than 1,250 companies currently within the industry, it can be hard to sift through them all to pinpoint the most exciting startups. However, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates just shared five startups he thinks are making robots a reality. Gates noted that he has been more interested in companies that are working to solve dexterity and mobility issues with robots. With recent advances in generative AI, robots are further behind on those kinds of issues than they are on their ability to think, Gates says.  1. Agility Robotics It’s no surprise Agility Robotics was first on Gates’ list. The Corvallis, Ore.-based company’s Digit humanoid is being tested by GXO Logistics and Amazon . This sets it ahead of its humanoid competition, a field that has seen a lot of...

This lawsuit puts Waymo’s final permit in San Francisco in jeopardy. | Source: Waymo Robotaxis have had a bumpy ride in San Francisco since companies first began giving public rides in February 2022. Now, the city of San Francisco has filed a lawsuit against the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the organization responsible for regulating autonomous vehicles in the state, to drastically reduce the number of robotaxis on the city’s roads, according to The Washington Post . The lawsuit centers around the CPUC’s decision in August 2023 to grant both GM’s Cruise and Alphabet’s Waymo their final permits in the state. These permits allowed the companies to charge for rides, expand the hours of operation and service area, and add as many robotaxis to their fleets as they wanted. The lawsuit is asking the CPUC to reconsider its decision and whether it was compliant with the law, according to The Washington Post . San Francisco city attorney David Chiu filed an administr...

  Bluewhite creates autonomy packages that convert a standard tractor, like this John Deere 5125ML, into a fully autonomous solution. | Credit: The Robot Report Bluewhite this week announced that it secured $39 million in Series C financing. The Tel Aviv, Israel.-based company said it already works with more than 20 of the leading permanent crop growers in the U.S. It plans to use the funding to further scale its autonomous tractor and other agricultural systems and to expand into new markets worldwide. “Having already proven the commercial success of our solution with growers, this new round of funding will enable us to continue providing sustainable autonomous innovation to more markets and work with different types of partners across the ecosystem to impact every level of the food supply chain,” said Ben Alfi , co-founder and CEO of Bluewhite, in a release . “This next phase of our growth will help provide unprecedented transparency throughout the food supply chain and en...

Microbot Medical’s LIBERTY system is a single-use endovascular robotic surgical system. | Source: Microbot Medical Microbot Medical Inc., the developer of the LIBERTY Endovascular Robotic Surgical System, is building on the momentum from the positive results of its good laboratory practices, or GLP, pre-clinical study. The company is adding a clinical research associate to support its pending investigational device exemption, or IDE, submission to commence its first-in-human clinical trial.  The clinical research associate (CRA) will join the Braintree Mass.-based company ‘s established clinical team in the U.S. The team is led by Dr. Juan Diaz-Cartelle, chief medical officer of Microbot Medical.  “Following the successful completion of our pivotal GLP pre-clinical trial, and as we are in the final stage of submitting our IDE, having an in-house CRA is a key piece for establishing the right infrastructure for clinical trial execution” said Diaz-Cartelle in a release . L...

An affiliate of private investment firm Angeles Equity Partners has acquired Acieta , a Midwest industrial robotics manufacturer and integrator, from Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.). Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. This marks Angeles’ fourth acquisition in the robotics integration sector; it previously acquired RōBEX, Mid-State Engineering, and +Vantage. Angeles said the acquisition of Acieta expands the business’ equipment tending, welding, and palletizing capabilities across a broader set of end markets including agriculture, foundry and die, welding and fabrication, and construction and building products. Waukesha, Wisc.-based Acieta is a full-service automation solutions provider with systems, controls, and software engineering capabilities developed since its inception in 1983. Acieta said it has installed more than 5,500 robots since it was founded. It is a FANUC Authorized System Integrator employing FANUC Robotics Certified Service Engineers and FANUC Robotics M...

Intuitive Surgical said today that it has submitted for FDA 510(k) clearance of its next-generation da Vinci 5 multiport surgical robot. The da Vinci 5 will join Intuitive’s existing da Vinci robotic surgical system portfolio alongside the multiport X and Xi systems and the single-port SP. There is also Ion , Intuitive’s robotic-assisted platform for minimally invasive biopsy in the lung. “We are submitted and in the back-and-forth with the FDA. It is our hope for a 2024 launch, but they are ultimately the arbiters of when we get clearance,” CEO Gary Guthart said during an evening earnings call with analysts. ISGR shares were up more than 6% to $395 apiece on the news. News of Intuitive moving forward with a next-generation da Vinci system has been much anticipated. Intuitive officials had previously stayed quiet on the timing, especially after the company’s stock took a temporary hit a year ago when Guthart mentioned there would not be a new multiport system launch in 2023. Gut...

According to data from New York State, Intuition Robotics’ ElliQ has resulted in a 95% reduction in loneliness amongst users. | Source: Intuition Robotics Intuition Robotics Ltd. has unveiled the latest edition of its AI companion for older adults, ElliQ 3. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said that the social robot has been proven to benefit seniors’ health, social connectedness, and independence. The latest version of ElliQ is integrated with generative AI to bring the technology into seniors’ everyday lives, said Intuition Robotics. The company added that its $25 million in funding from August 2023 enabled its software and hardware updates. Intuition Robotics said ElliQ’s new capabilities will help expand the availability and accessibility of the robot. They are intended to help the robot further enhance the independence and wellness of older adults and decrease feelings of loneliness.  “It’s astounding to see that the first people to live with and build long-term rel...

ToF sensors provide 3D information of the world around a mobile robot, providing important data to the robots perception algorithms. | Credit: E-con Systems In the ever-evolving world of robotics, the seamless integration of technologies promises to revolutionize how humans interact with machines. An example of transformative innovation, the emergence of time-of-flight or ToF sensors is crucial in enabling mobile robots to better perceive the world around them. ToF sensors have a similar application to lidar technology in that both use multiple sensors for creating depth maps. However, the key distinction lies in these cameras ‘ ability to provide depth images that can be processed faster, and they can be built into systems for various applications. This maximizes the utility of ToF technology in robotics. It has the potential to benefit industries reliant on precise navigation and interaction. Why mobile robots need 3D vision Historically, RGB cameras were the primary sensor...