Hyderabad-based Grene Robotics is planning to raise $15 million in a Series A funding. It has initiated discussions with several capital funds, large business houses and crowd-funding firms.

The company would be using the funding for R&D, customer acquisitions and foray into foreign shores.

Ideally we would like to raise about $15 million, but depending on investor interests it could be more. We can even go up to $30 million. We are looking at raising funds, mostly growth capital, by April, Grene Robotics Founder and CEO Kiran Raju told BusinessLine.

The funds will be largely utilised for customer acquisition to raise the order book up to $55 million, he added, but declined to name the funds before deals are signed.

Grene Robotics had so far invested $6 million raised from family and friends and others, including serial entrepreneur and investor Jay Krishnan.

The company is also planning immediate forays into countries such as Singapore, the US, Africa and the UK, for which also a part of the funding would be used.

The companys flagship product GreneOS is a unified Operating System that would be a replacement to enterprise systems in Fortune 1000 companies and Government offices across the world. GreneOS will be able to manage connected robots to maximum efficiency autonomously.

Kiran Raju, who had worked on building autonomous systems for Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) while doing his Masters at Carnegie Mellon University, was the co-founder of energy efficiency company Valence Energy.

Valence Energy was later acquired by US-based Serious Materials, which is now called Serious Energy. His second venture, SA Habitat, which was into housing and real estate, got merged with a partner company in 2010.

Read more here:

Grene Robotics to raise $15 million in Series A funding by April - BusinessLine

Robots at Berkshire Greys innovation lab in Bedford have been busy picking up cans of green beans and packets of corn bread mix, placing the items into cardboard boxes as they shuffle down an artificial intelligence-directed assembly line.

This year, the robotics company is using its technology as part of a partnership with two food assistance nonprofits to provide Thanksgiving meals to more than 4,000 families as the pandemic heightens the need for assistance. Already, Berkshire Grey robots have packed tens of thousands of pounds of donated food into boxes.

The system manages the inventory and knows how many of each [item] has to go in each outbound box, said Tom Wagner, chief executive of Berkshire Grey, in an interview. On one pass it might do green beans, on another pass it might do kidney beans, maybe the stuffing...at any given moment it is completing orders and starting new ones.

Berkshire Greys robotics system is typically used by retailers and grocery chains to automate their fulfillment processes.

Working with the Greater Boston Food Bank and City Harvest in New York, the company hopes to lessen the workload for volunteers at food banks, who often assemble donation boxes during the holiday season. Berkshire Grey is calling the initiative Picking With Purpose.

Its a couple people operating a system versus many people manually sorting the goods, Wagner said, adding that the robots work at a comparable speed to humans. The more important thing is that it removes the labor need for the food bank.

Catherine DAmato, chief executive of the Greater Boston Food Bank, said the partnership comes as food insecurity in Massachusetts has increased at a higher rate than in any other state during the health crisis. In a press release, she said the partnership with Berkshire Grey is a promising innovation and will fill a critical need this holiday season, and beyond.

Berkshire Grey first considered using its technology to assemble donation boxes several years ago, but as a smaller business, we just wouldnt have been able to support this, Wagner said. Now, with $265 million in new funding it raised earlier this year, he said he hopes to make the philanthropic effort a regular occurrence, expanding to more cities as it attracts more partners.

In addition to its Bedford headquarters, the company also has a facility in Lexington.

Anissa Gardizy can be reached at anissa.gardizy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @anissagardizy8.

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The robots are preparing Thanksgiving meal boxes - BetaBoston

A study published on COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Logistics Robots Market, includes exploratory survey, qualitative commentary on changing market dynamics with market sizing and estimates for 18+ Global Countries, business segments and applications. The identification of hot and emerging players is completed by profiling 50+ Industry players; some of the profiled players are Fanuc India Private Limited, ABB Robotics, Asic Robotics AG, Clearpath Inc (OTTO Motors), KION Group, Denso Wave, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., Toshiba Corporation, IAM Robotics, Kuka AG, Amazon Robotics, DAIFUKU Co, Ltd & Yaskawa America, Inc.

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Latest analysis highlights high growth emerging players and leaders by market share that are currently attracting exceptional attention. It also encourages executives and managers to evaluate deeply complementary research metric. The assessments also offer insight into the share and size of varioussegments in the COVID-19 Outbreak- Logistics Robots market. The scope of the study includes market break-up or segmentation as follows:

Type:, Robotic arms, Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), Unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) & Others

Application / End Users:Warehouse, Outdoor, Factory & Others

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Extracts from Table of Content.

Chapter 4 COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Logistics Robots Market Landscape (2015-2026)4.1 Market Overview4.2 Classification/Types4.3 Application/End Users

Chapter 5 COVID-19 Outbreak- Logistics Robots Market Dynamics5.1 Introduction5.2 Drivers5.3 Restraints5.4 Opportunities5.5 Threats

Chapter 6 COVID-19 Outbreak- Logistics Robots Market Sizing & Estimates by Revenue, Sales Volume (2015-2026)6.1. North America6.1.1. United States6.1.2. Canada6.1.3. Mexico6.1.4. North America by Type [, Robotic arms, Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), Unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) & Others]6.1.5 North America by Application [Warehouse, Outdoor, Factory & Others]

6.2. South America6.2.1. Brazil6.2.2. Argentina6.2.3. Rest of South America6.2.4. South America by Type [, Robotic arms, Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), Unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) & Others]6.2.5 South America by Application [Warehouse, Outdoor, Factory & Others]

6.3. Asia Pacific6.3.1. China6.3.2. Japan6.3.3. India6.3.4. South Korea6.3.5. Taiwan6.3.6. Australia6.3.7. Rest of Asia-Pacific6.3.8 Asia Pacific by Type [, Robotic arms, Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), Unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) & Others]6.3.9. Asia Pacific by Application [Warehouse, Outdoor, Factory & Others]

6.4. Europe6.4.1. Germany6.4.2. France6.4.3. Italy6.4.4. United Kingdom6.4.5. BeNeLux6.4.6. Rest of Europe6.4.7 Europe by Type [, Robotic arms, Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), Unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) & Others]6.4.8. Europe by Application [Warehouse, Outdoor, Factory & Others]

6.5. MEA6.5.1. Middle East6.5.2. Africa

continued

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Logistics Robots Market to Witness Massive Growth by 2026 - The Daily Philadelphian

Dublin, Nov. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Personal Robots Market Research Report: By Offering, Type - Global Industry Analysis and Growth Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

At the present time, the world has become largely dependent on technology, and novel devices are being developed continuously for making the loves of human easier. It is due to this that the demand for personal robots is projected to increase in the coming years. The robotics market has been witnessing significant growth, particularly in the service and private sectors, since the past few years. This can be majorly attributed to the technological advancements.

Owing to these factors, the global personal robots market is projected to grow considerably in the years to come. A major reason leading to the high demand for these robots is their declining prices. Reduced prices of these devices are encouraging more and more people to buy them. The industry has been witnessing 2-9% yearly decline in price. This will further increase the affordability of these robots in emerging economies. Manufacturers are further trying to produce cheaper models for penetrating low-income countries.

These days, manufacturers have further started working on developing personal robots equipped with AI. The technology has enabled personal robots to sense, navigate, and calculate their response on the input received accordingly. The robots learn to perform their tasks from human beings from these responses, via machine learning. Manufacturers are further investing in new technologies for dealing with the rising competition in the domain, which is expected to result in the growth of the market.

The personal robots market is projected to generate a revenue of $51.5 billion in 2030, increasing from $21.5 billion in 2019, progressing at a 7.8% CAGR during the forecast period (2020-2030). On the basis of type, the market is categorized into security robots, personal transportation robots, companion robots, cleaning robots, handicap assistance robots, educational robots, and entertainment & toy robots, out of which, the cleaning robots category held the largest share of the market during the historical period (2014-2019).

These robots are used commonly in households, since they assist in daily chores and make the lives of their owners easier. The acceptance for these robots is further increasing rapidly in emerging countries, owing to their decreasing prices. The companion robots category is predicted to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period, as they are widely becoming the missing companion in the solitary lives of people. It has been observed that one in every five citizens remains a bachelor in their lives, which is why, the demand for companion robots is predicted to increase in the coming years.

Geographically, the European region held the major share of the personal robots market during the historical period, as per a report by the publisher. The region has already been holding a prominent position in the overall robotics industry, which is why, the demand for personal robots is also high in the region. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period.

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1. Research Background1.1 Research Objectives1.2 Market Definition1.3 Research Scope1.3.1 Market Segmentation by Offering1.3.2 Market Segmentation by Type1.3.3 Market Segmentation by Geography1.3.4 Analysis Period1.3.5 Market Data Reporting Unit1.3.5.1 Volume1.3.5.2 Value1.4 Key Stakeholders

Chapter 2. Research Methodology2.1 Secondary Research2.1.1 Paid2.1.2 Unpaid2.2 Primary Research2.2.1 Breakdown of Primary Research Respondents2.2.1.1 By region2.2.1.2 By industry participant2.2.1.3 By company type2.3 Market Size Estimation2.4 Data Triangulation2.5 Currency Conversion Rates2.6 Assumptions for the Study

Chapter 3. Executive Summary3.1 Voice of Industry Experts/KOLs

Chapter 4. Introduction4.1 Definition of Market Segments4.1.1 By Offering4.1.1.1 Hardware4.1.1.2 Software4.1.2 By Type4.1.2.1 Cleaning robots4.1.2.2 Entertainment & toy robots4.1.2.3 Educational robots4.1.2.4 Handicap assistance robots4.1.2.5 Companion robots4.1.2.6 Personal transportation robots4.1.2.7 Security robots4.1.2.8 Others4.2 Value Chain Analysis4.3 Market Dynamics4.3.1 Trends4.3.1.1 Open software platform for personal robotics4.3.1.2 Emergence of personal robots with AI4.3.1.3 Entry of new companies in personal robots market4.3.2 Drivers4.3.2.1 Declining price of personal robots4.3.2.2 Aging population in developed countries4.3.2.3 Increasing demand for mobile robots4.3.2.4 Impact analysis of drivers on market forecast4.3.3 Restraints4.3.3.1 Technical complexity coupled with security concerns in personal robots4.3.3.2 Lack of skilled professionals4.3.3.3 Impact analysis of restraints on market forecast4.3.4 Opportunities4.3.4.1 Growing demand for low-cost cleaning robots in developing countries4.3.4.2 Growing demand for "care-bot" and other robots from Japan4.4 Impact of COVID-19 on Personal Robots Market4.4.1 Current scenario4.4.2 COVID-19 scenario4.4.3 Future scenario4.5 Porter's Five Forces Analysis4.5.1 Bargaining Power of Buyers4.5.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers4.5.3 Intensity of Rivalry4.5.4 Threat of New Entrants4.5.5 Threat of Substitutes

Chapter 5. Global Market Size and Forecast5.1 By Offering5.2 By Type5.3 By Region

Chapter 6. North America Market Size and Forecast6.1 By Offering6.2 By Type6.3 By Country

Chapter 7. Europe Market Size and Forecast7.1 By Offering7.2 By Type7.3 By Country

Chapter 8. APAC Market Size and Forecast8.1 By Offering8.2 By Type8.3 By Country

Chapter 9. LATAM Market Size and Forecast9.1 By Offering9.2 By Type9.3 By Country

Chapter 10. MEA Market Size and Forecast10.1 By Offering10.2 By Type10.3 By Country

Chapter 11. Major Markets for Personal Robots11.1 U.S. Personal Robots Market11.1.1 By Type11.2 Germany Personal Robots Market11.2.1 By Type11.3 China Personal Robots Market11.3.1 By Type

Chapter 12. Competitive Landscape12.1 List of Players and Their Offerings12.2 Ranking of Key Players12.2.1 Global Personal Robots Market Key Players Analysis12.3 Strategic Developments of Market Players12.3.1 Mergers & Acquisitions12.3.2 Product Launches12.3.3 Partnerships12.3.4 Geographic Expansion

Chapter 13. Company Profiles13.1 F&P Robotics AG13.1.1 Business Overview13.1.2 Product and Service Offerings13.2 Segway Inc.13.2.1 Business Overview13.2.2 Product and Service Offerings13.3 Neato Robotics Inc.13.3.1 Business Overview13.3.2 Product and Service Offerings13.4 ZMP Inc.13.4.1 Business Overview13.4.2 Product and Service Offerings13.5 iRobot Corporation13.5.1 Business Overview13.5.2 Product and Service Offerings13.5.3 Key Financial Summary13.6 Ecovacs Robotics Inc.13.6.1 Business Overview13.6.2 Product and Service Offerings13.7 Sony Corporation13.7.1 Business Overview13.7.2 Product and Service Offerings13.7.3 Key Financial Summary13.8 Honda Motor Co. Ltd.13.8.1 Business Overview13.8.2 Product and Service Offerings13.8.3 Key Financial Summary13.9 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.13.9.1 Business Overview13.9.2 Product and Service Offerings13.9.3 Key Financial Summary13.10 temi USA Inc.13.10.1 Business Overview13.10.2 Product and Service Offerings

Chapter 14. Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fzb5th

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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The Worldwide Personal Robots Industry is Expected to Grow at a CAGR of 7.8% Between 2020 and 2030 - GlobeNewswire

Imagine the headache of physically retrieving a paper file from a large records room stuffed full of files. Now expand the problem by imagining a 250,000 square foot facility full of 360,000 filing bins stuffed with paper records.

Not interesting enough? Well, these aren't just any files, but sensitive law enforcement records that could be crucial in stopping crimes and vindicating innocent people.

That's the scenario facing administrators of a Winchester, Virginia, retrieval warehouse for FBI files built to consolidate records previously contained within more than 250 FBI field offices around the world. The FBI is famous for its record keeping and has collected billions of pages over its more than a century in existence. The job of building the facility to house about 2 billion of those pages falls to the government's General Services Administration, and it quickly became evident that manual retrieval for all the files in the new facility simply wasn't an option.

Enter the robots -- 140 of them, to be exact. After vetting various solutions, the GSA chose an automated record filing and retrieval system from robotics technology companyAutoStore, which not only streamlines retrieval via radio-controlled robots but also optimizes space by allowing files to be stored in a way that eliminates aisle space. Within the facility, the robots maneuver on an overhead steel grid system to identify, access, and retrieve requested items from any of the 360,000 bins.

"It is a privilege and honor to know our innovative warehouse automation technology serves U.S. government agencies," says Karl Johan Lier, CEO of AutoStore. "With the agility, efficiency and accuracy of AutoStore robots operating within our elegantly sophisticated high-density grid, the FBI will be able to carry out their mission with greater effectiveness and maintain its leadership in vital information management."

Security is obviously a key element of any installation using sensitive information. That includes ensuring the third-party supplier has no access to sensitive information, and the GSA and National Archives and Records Administration vetted several candidates before deciding on a supplier. The AutoStore software tracks record and bin numbers, allowing the robots to work securely without the system supplier having any access to the records themselves. AutoStore is headquartered outside the U.S., with its main offices in Norway.

According to AutoStore, the filing density of the system will help the government save money on rent and free up valuable space. The Virginia complex opened earlier this year and will be fully operational by 2022.

See more here:

FBI hires 140 robots to retrieve sensitive information - ZDNet

As barriers between human activities and robotic capabilities diminish moving beyond the fenced activities of last-generation industrial robots new collaboration and workflow models are bringing humans and robots together in industry.

Case Study from | Wind River

THE CHALLENGE

Emerging instances of AI-enabled cobots, autonomous vehicles, and non-piloted drone operations are part of an expanding array of innovative use cases in industrial robotics. Industrial robotics integrated with AI are predicted to spur market growth by a projected CAGR of more than 15% in coming years, reaching USD 66.48 billion by 2027, according to Fortune Business Insights. As barriers between human activities and robotic capabilities diminish moving beyond the fenced activities of last-generation industrial robots new collaboration and workflow models are bringing humans and robots together in industry. Despite advances, however, expanding the range of use cases for robotics in Industrial IoT (IIoT) environments requires negotiating long-standing technical roadblocks. This includes the challenge of integrating diverse components across heterogeneous networks, employing machine learning to build and operate intelligent systems that adapt to workflows, and implementing responsive, low-latency communication services to interact with robotics systems in real time.

THE APPROACH

Artificial intelligence is critical to new robotics approaches. And rather than augmenting existing machine operations by bolting on AI-driven components, AI-first puts the intelligence at the forefront of the design process to perform at the core of a task. The focus is on building solutions that meld hardware and software to effectively use machine learning and AI-guided functions, performing operations with greater speed, reliability, security, and safety. As with digital transformation, the AI-first approach requires a rethinking of traditional design transforming architectures to satisfy the solution requirements over the full lifecycle, rather than just reorganizing and tinkering with existing solutions. The Wind Riverportfolio, with its multiple solutions and purpose-built embedded components, provides a flexible and agile foundation for meeting this need. Wind River solutions are elements of an extensive roadmap leading to the benefits and enhanced business value promised by todays industrial robotics.

A global leader in delivering software for intelligent connected systems, Wind River offers a comprehensive, end-to-end portfolio of solutions ideally suited to address the emerging needs of IoT, from the secure and managed intelligent devices at the edge, to the gateway, into the critical network infrastructure, and up into the cloud. Wind River technology is found in nearly 2 billion devices and is backed by world-class professional services and award-winning customer support.

Other Articles

How can industrial equipment companies keep pace with the push to economizeand modernize, to be more data-centric, and to provide safety and security in theface of constant innovation?

How can industrial robots gain new abilities that can increase their operational value while remaining safe and secure in a factory collaborating with humans?

With the accelerating growth of the Internet of Things (IoT), it is increasingly important to identify and implement safety-related systems for smart grids, connected vehicles, robotics, industrial control systems, smart factories, and more.

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Robotmaster delivers unmatched, full-function off-line programming capability for robots - easy programming of precise robot motion control and quick generation of path trajectories of any size, with minimal programmer intervention. Our strong background in CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) software has enabled us to bring a revolutionary approach to programming industrial robots.

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Next-Generation Industrial Robotic Capabilities Advanced by Artificial Intelligence - Robotics Tomorrow

With automation poised to transform agriculture around the world in the future, researchers fromMonash University in Melbourne, Australia have published what they say is the first-ever analysis of the ethical and policy issues raised by the use of robots in agriculture.

Agriculture employs around 2.5 per cent of the Australia's workforce and is a valuable export, however, according to Professor of Philosophy Robert Sparrow and Philosophy Research Fellow Mark Howard, little attention has been paid to the ethical and policy challenges that will arise as agriculture is increasingly automated.

Together they investigated the prospects for, and likely impacts and ethical and policy implications of, the use of robotics in agriculture in their paper Robots in agriculture: prospects, impacts, ethics, and policy, recently published in the journal, Precision Agriculture.

While there hasnt yet been widespread adoption of robots in farming due to a lack of technological breakthroughs, its anticipated there will be a gradual emergence of technologies for precision farming as well as the use of automation in food processing and packaging, explained Sparrow.

Already we are seeing the development and, increasingly, the adoption of GPS-enabled autonomous tractors and harvesters, robotic milking stations and dairies, robotic fruit and vegetable pickers, drones for rounding up livestock and crop-dusting and automation in slaughterhouses, food handling, processing and packaging all exist, among others.

The authors said with global and local food security facing profound challenges including climate change, soil depletion, loss of biodiversity, water scarcity and population growth, robots could help farmers confront these challenges by improving yield and productivity, while reducing levels of fertiliser and pesticide use, as well as water wastage.

However, they stated the widespread adoption of robots in farming could have negative consequences, including mismanagement of chemicals, soil compaction due to heavy robots and potential food wastage if consumers come to expect standardised or perfect produce.

This could also lead to further standardisation of breeding and creation via genetic modification of crops and livestock better suited to robotic harvest.

There is also a fear that smaller or struggling farms could miss out on the technology and be unable to keep up, leading to a centralisation of ownership in agriculture.

Theres a risk that robots could impact negatively on biodiversity and on the environmental sustainability of agriculture more generally, said Howard. Strong policy that encourages the development of robots that contribute to small-scale, local, and biodiverse agriculture and do not just promote existing unsustainable agricultural practices is a must."

On a positive note, the physically intense labour associated with agriculture work and its seasonal nature could see robots developed for tasks such as weeding, fruit and vegetable picking, food handling and packaging tasks, which could increase productivity and the amount of produce sent to market.

Labour costs could also be reduced, but this would of course mean a reduction in employment opportunities, particularly for those in rural areas where employment opportunities are scarcer.

Researchers said the industry also needed to consider the potential risk that malicious actors might try to hack, or launch cyber-attacks against, the automation on the farms of other nations.

The urgent need to move towards more sustainable agricultural practices while, at the same time, meeting an increased demand for agricultural produce globally, means that there is a strong ethical imperative to explore how robots might be used to advance these goals, noted Sparrow.

The scale of the current global environmental crisis, and the challenge it poses to food security, suggests that every option to try to improve the sustainability of agriculture should be considered.

Authors said a holistic approach to the uptake of robot technology in agriculture was required, firstly to address public concerns and the social and political impacts that may arise, as well as comprehensive consideration of the ethical and policy ramifications of their use.

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Ethical issues regarding robots raised in research - Fruitnet

Can we get more out of collaborative robots? That's the question that drove a new universal AI operating system two years in the making designed to make existing robots smarter and self-learning.

Collaborative robots have been, in many ways, the poster child of the most recent wave of automation. Where industrial robots have long been hulking Goliaths necessitating cages and kept far from human workers, the new breed of automation is flexible, easy to program, and, crucially, collaborative. Robots are venturing out of cages in a variety of task agnostic platforms, often robotic arms with several degrees of freedom that are small enough to sit on a tabletop.

But as technology, and particularly AI and machine learning, advance, these platforms risk falling by the wayside. That's where an updated OS might come into play. A company calledQobotix has been working on just such an operating system designed to transform collaborative robots (cobots) into what the company calls "intelligent coworkers."

"During our many years involved in industrial manufacturing, we experienced robots that were meant to be collaborative and quickly concluded they were not like that at all - they couldn't see or hear, and they were very inflexible," says Avi Reichental, one of the founders.

Just as my kids have been ushered into a new era of self-guided learning during the pandemic, Qobotix's enables robots to learn independently through interactions with humans or other robots. This significantly reduces both the time and the complexity of programming. While gesture-based programming has caught on, programming complexity is still a major hurdle to adoption in automation.

The system relies on proprietary AI, machine vision, and kinematics, essentially the controls and sensing payload you'd expect on a cutting edge robot, to create a hardware agnostic plug and play OS, potentially breathing new life into aging tech.

"Our aim is to take robotics out of the late 1990s with the Qobotix operating system," explains Qobotix Co-founder and CEO Egor Korneev. "In the early 2000s, hardware companies dominated the mobile phone and device markets and the mobile applications ecosystem was weak with no common OS options. The advent of iOS and Android led to an explosion in mobile software applications based on open OS platforms. We are now in a similar place with cobots with Qobotix offering a universal operating system for industrial robots driven by AI as a platform for automation applications."

The timing for such a platform seems ideal. While the automation industry seems to have suffered during the pandemic, at least according to early numbers out of North America, the longterm outlook for automation is excellent as end users rethink their reliance on overseas supply chains and reevaluate their operations in a world where a pandemic can stop production cold. Automation is looked upon as a valuable bulwark against the risks laid bare in 2020, and the ability to squeeze more out of existing technology should help Qobotix heading into a post-pandemic world.

Link:

Smart robot: New OS a brain boost for collaborative robots - ZDNet

Manifold Robotics today announced an agreement with the New York Power Authority (NYPA), the nations largest state public power organization, to develop unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) capable of operating safely near power lines. With partial funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), under this project, new sensing technologies and algorithms will be developed and commercialized to enable UASs, more commonly known as drones, to detect, avoid, or autonomously track along transmission lines using the electromagnetic fields (EMF) that they emit. The EMF naturally produced by all energized transmission lines will enable UASs to safely traverse electric utility right-of-ways with improved locational awareness of power lines.

Utilities around the world have begun using UASs for such power line inspections as a replacement for helicopter-based methods. Helicopters can be noisy, expensive and potentially risky. However, operating in environments with transmission lines presents significant operational challenges as high electromagnetic fields tend to destabilize conventional UAS navigation systems. In addition, the low visibility of power lines impacts situational awareness of UAS operators thus greatly increasing the chances of collisions with lines and associated structures.

Manifold Robotics is developing a sensor-based detection method for identifying energized power lines in the vicinity of an unmanned aircraft. Based on technology originally developed by the U.S. Army that spun off from a Department of Defense-sponsored proof-of-concept project at New York University, the technology enables UASs to sense EMF from transmission lines at a distance. Through Manifold Robotics, the team is now working to continue developing and finetuning the technology for UAS-based commercial applications

The Power Authority and other utilities around the country can significantly benefit from being able to fully integrate unmanned aircraft systems into inspections of power lines and transmission towers, said Alan Ettlinger, NYPAs director of Research, Technology Development & Innovation. This technology will enable drone aircraft to track along and avoid hitting power lines, even when used beyond the visual line of sight. This will result in increased cost savings and improved reliability over conventional radar or laser-based systems.

NYPAs role in the project includes participation in various aspects of design, build and testing of the EMF sensing technology.

Were very excited to be collaborating with the team at the New York Power Authority on this important technology development. With this new power line sensing technology, we expect that the full potential of UASs will finally be realized for power line inspection and measurement, said Jeff Laut, CEO at Manifold Robotics.

With this new technology, Manifold intends to create a UAS-based system that removes major safety and cost issues for the utility industrys power line inspection effort. In addition, Manifold Robotics anticipates the technology to enable beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations allowing power line inspection to be conducted autonomously.

NYSERDA is proud to invest in this novel solution to make aerial drones a safe, reliable, and ubiquitous tool for performing power line inspections for a 21st century electric grid. Congratulations to Manifold Robotics and NYPA on this collaborative opportunity to develop and demonstrate the value that innovative technology can bring to New Yorks electric system operators, said Doreen M. Harris, Acting President and CEO, NYSERDA.

Funding for this project is provided by NYPA and NYSERDA through its Electric Power Transmission and Distribution High Performing Grid Program, which makes investments in research and development that accelerate the realization of an advanced, digitally enhanced and dynamically managed electric grid. While the pandemic response delayed the initial start of the commercialization program, the Manifold Robotics team has now launched its product development effort, which is expected to last about 24 months.

Our intent is that the cost and reliability improvements of our technology will be a timely benefit for energy utilities, Laut projected.

About Manifold Robotics

Founded in 2016, Manifold Robotics Inc. was a spinoff from New York University Tandon School of Engineering with Jeffrey Laut as President and CEO. At that time, Manifold focused on robotics, human-machine interaction, and environmental science seeking to commercialize a small-scale autonomous robotic vehicle designed to collect data on water quality. The team was awarded a grant from PowerBridgeNY as well as an NSF SBIR Phase I award. The power line detection technology was first launched as a startup project funded by the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), a Department of Defense innovation program office, to facilitate the transfer and transition of defense dual-use technology. The postdoctoral project, led by Jeffrey Laut and under the direction of Prof. Maurizio Porfiri, was incubated in the Dynamical Systems Lab at New York Universitys Tandon School of Engineering, where the objective was to validate the technology and create a viable commercialization strategy.

About NYPA

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is the largest state public power organization in the nation, operating 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. More than 80 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower. NYPA uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. For more information visit http://www.nypa.gov .

About NYSERDA

Clean energy can power New York while protecting the environment. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, known as NYSERDA, promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources. These efforts are key to developing a less polluting and more reliable and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers. Collectively, NYSERDAs efforts aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate economic growth, and reduce customer energy bills.

For more infomation visit http://www.manifoldrobotics.com

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Manifold Robotics Announces New Collaboration with NYPA - UASweekly.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa, Sept. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --iotaMotion Inc., an early-stage medical technology startup spun out of the University of Iowa's Otolaryngology Department, announced today that the company has been awarded a $1.65M grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Company is applying this grant towards the continued development of real time tissue trauma sensing capabilities in the iotaSOFT robotic surgical system, which is intended to assist surgeons with cochlear implantation surgery.

In recognition of the Company's continued success, iotaMotionhas additionally received the inaugural Iowa Biosciences Med-tech Award. The first award of its kind, iotaMotion received $20,000 in recognition for significant progress and investor support over the past year. These funds will be used to support the Company's continued regulatory and pre-commercialization efforts.

"This grant award is incredibly exciting as the Company makes significant progress developing truly novel robotic-assisted technologies," said iotaMotion Medical Director and Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology at University of Iowa Marlan Hansen, MD, FACS. "We expect the iotaSOFT system to deliver a marked clinical impact on how we perform cochlear implantation surgery upon commercialization."

The iotaSOFT system is a robotic-assisted insertion device, which will allow surgeons to advance cochlear implant electrodes with control and precision. iotaMotion anticipates that controlled insertion will allow for less surgical variability in outcomes and results. Given the growing development of hearing preservation implant solutions, assistive technologies like iotaSOFT become critical in achieving surgical goals while navigating the patient's retained residual hearing capacity.

"These NIH funds will be used to advance technology development to support real-time feedback and monitoring during cochlear implant electrode insertion," said co-founder and President of iotaMotion, Chris Kaufmann. "We appreciate the support of the NIH as well as the local investor community as we make meaningful progress towards commercialization of our first suite of solutions."

IOTAMOTION, INC.

A privately-held Iowa based company, iotaMotion is developing robotic technologies with the goal of focused, individualized, hearing loss treatment. The company's solutions aim to standardize cochlear implant insertion, and to provide unprecedented control in the surgical and post-surgical care settings with the goal of expanding access to cochlear interventions for both surgeons and patients. For more information, visit http://www.iotamotion.com or contact Christopher Kaufmann at pr@iotamotion.com.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iotamotion-awarded-1-65m-nih-grant-to-further-development-of-its-robotics-assisted-surgical-technology-for-cochlear-implantation-301126451.html

SOURCE iotaMotion, Inc.

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iotaMotion Awarded $1.65M NIH Grant To Further Development Of Its Robotics-assisted Surgical Technology For Cochlear Implantation - BioSpace

COVID-19 Impact on Global Smart Home Robotics Market Research Report 2020-2026

Market Overview

Our professional market growth survey report for the global Smart Home Robotics market assesses the global Smart Home Robotics market and the conditions that it will be subject to, through the years 2020-2026. It begins with a simple definition of the major product/service offering made by the global Smart Home Robotics market. It proceeds to evaluate the current market worth of the global Smart Home Robotics market. Next, it predicts a valuation which, the global Smart Home Robotics market will reach, according to our research. An approximate CAGR number for this growth is also guessed at.

The major vendors covered: SoftBank, iRobot, Hanson Robotics, Intuition Robotics, Blue Frog Robotics, Amazon, Asus, Worx, Maytronics, Five Elements Robotics, Aido Robot, iLife, RoboMow, etc.

Get sample copy of this report: https://www.reportsandmarkets.com/sample-request/impact-of-covid-19-outbreak-on-smart-home-robotics-global-market-research-report-2020?utm_source=thedailychronicle&utm_medium=6

Drivers & Constraints

The report pays utmost attention to the Smart Home Robotics market dynamics and the role they play in the growth of the market. It categorizes these factors into market drivers which positively contribute to the market growth and also discusses factors which could possibly hinder the market growth in the future. The report includes discusses on previously witnesses market drivers and constraints and the impact they had on the market in order to provide the user with a larger and more informative perspective on the growth of the overall market.

Market Segmentation and Regional Overview

The market segmentation section divides the global Smart Home Robotics market into product type, product application, distribution channel and region. The product type segment studies the different product variants made available by the global Smart Home Robotics market. The product application segment reviews the different end-users of the global Smart Home Robotics market. The distribution channel segment looks at the global Smart Home Robotics market in terms of the various channels of distribution and sales available for it. Lastly, the regional segment studies the popularity of the global Smart Home Robotics market in different parts of the world.

The regional segment primarily assesses the market penetration of the global Smart Home Robotics market in North and South America, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe.Among all of these areas, the area with the dominant market share of the global Smart Home Robotics market is recognised. The reasons for this areas market dominance are listed. If research informs us that a certain area is slated to gropw faster than other regional markets of the global Smart Home Robotics market, we state all information pertaining to the area and its spike in popularity of Smart Home Robotics.

Latest industry related news

We conclude our market survey report on the global Smart Home Robotics market by outlining all important news pertaining to the global Smart Home Robotics market space, which may influence the global Smart Home Robotics market. So, if there have been any recent tech innovations which may have resulted in new product innocations in the global Smart Home Robotics market, we enlist it. If there have been important company mergers/acquistions, we inform the readers of this too.

Research objectives:

To study and analyze the global Smart Home Robotics consumption (value & volume) by key regions/countries, type and application, history data from 2016 to 2020, and forecast to 2026.

To understand the structure of Smart Home Robotics market by identifying its various sub segments.

Focuses on the key global Smart Home Robotics manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the sales volume, value, market share, market competition landscape, SWOT analysis and development plans in next few years.

To analyze the Smart Home Robotics Industry with respect to individual growth trends, future prospects, and their contribution to the total market.

To share detailed information about the key factors influencing the growth of the market (growth potential, opportunities, drivers, industry-specific challenges and risks).

To project the consumption of Smart Home Robotics submarkets, with respect to key regions (along with their respective key countries).

To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market.

To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyse their growth

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Major Points from Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Smart Home Robotics Market Overview

Chapter 2 Global Smart Home Robotics Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application

Chapter 3 United States Smart Home Robotics (Volume, Value and Sales Price)

Chapter 4 China Smart Home Robotics (Volume, Value and Sales Price)

Chapter 5- Europe Smart Home Robotics (Volume, Value and Sales Price)

Chapter 6 Japan Smart Home Robotics (Volume, Value and Sales Price)

Chapter 7 Southeast Asia Smart Home Robotics (Volume, Value and Sales Price)

Chapter 8 India Smart Home Robotics (Volume, Value and Sales Price)

Chapter 9 Global Smart Home Robotics Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data

Chapter 10 Smart Home Robotics Maufacturing Cost Analysis

Chapter 11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers

Chapter 12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders

Chapter 13 Market Effect Factors Analysis

Chapter 14 Global Smart Home Robotics Market Forecast (2020-2026)

Chapter 15 Research Findings and Conclusion

Chapter 16 Appendix

List of Tables and Figures

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Post Covid-19 Impact on Smart Home Robotics Market Outlook and Company Analysis Global Forecast to 2026 | Top key players SoftBank, iRobot, Hanson...

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The robotics market in Middle East is expected to grow by USD 166.18 million as per Technavio. This marks a significant market slow down compared to the 2019 growth estimates due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020. However, healthy growth is expected to continue throughout the forecast period, and the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of about 2%.

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Read the 120-page report with TOC on "Robotics Market in Middle East Analysis Report by Application (Services and Industrial) and the Segment Forecasts, 2020-2024".

https://www.technavio.com/report/robotics-market-industry-analysis

The market is driven by the growing demand for robotic automation process. In addition, the increasing adoption of robotics in diverse fields of application is anticipated to boost the growth of the robotics market.

Business across sectors such as industrial, banking, hospitality, and healthcare are increasingly adopting automation to improve the efficiency and safety of their operations and increase revenues. For instance, firms in the BFSI sector in the Middle East have adopted robotic process automation to automate various processes such as loan application processing, KYC compliance, credit card limit checks, refinancing, and others. This is helping them to eliminate manual, repetitive, and time-consuming activities and improve the efficiency of operations. The increased adoption of robotic automation process in various sectors is fueling the growth of the robotics market in the Middle East.

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Major Five Robotics Companies:

ABB Ltd.

ABB Ltd. operates its business through segments such as Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, Robotics & Discrete Automation, and Corporate and Other. The company offers a line of products such as IRB 1100, IRB 120, IRB 1200, IRB 5350, and YuMi - IRB 14000 | Collaborative Robot among others.

DENSO Corp.

DENSO Corp. operates its business through segments such as Thermal Systems, Powertrain Systems, Electrification Systems, Mobility Systems, Electronic Systems, and Non-Automotive Businesses (Factory Automation and Agriculture). The company designs and manufactures industrial robot arms and small assembly robots, from four-axis SCARA robots to five and six axis articulated robots that are majorly used in manufacturing facilities.

KUKA AG

KUKA AG operates its business through segments such as Systems, Robotics, Swisslog, Swisslog Healthcare, and China. The company offers a range of products such as KR IONTEC, KR QUANTEC, KR 3 AGILUS, and LBR iiwa among others.

LG Electronics Inc.

LG Electronics Inc. operates its business through segments such as Home Appliance & Air Solution, Home Entertainment, Mobile Communications, Vehicle Components, Business-to-Business, LG Innotek, and Other segments. The company offers industrial robots that are used in a wide range of applications such as assembling, material handling, and painting among others.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. operates its business through segments such as Energy and Electric Systems, Industrial Automation Systems, Information and Communication Systems, Home Appliances, and Other. The company offers a line of products such as vertical type robot, horizontal type robot, collaborative robot, environment-resistant specifications type robot, and micro working robot among others.

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Robotics Market Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019-2024)

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Related Reports on Industrials Include:

Global Robotics Market Global robotics market by application (industrial and services) and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, MEA, and South America).

Global Robotics as a Service Market Global robotics as a service market by application (intralogistics, medical applications, surveillance and security, field robotics, and others) and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America).

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavios report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavios comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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COVID-19 Impact & Recovery Analysis: Robotics Market in Middle East 2020-2024 | Evolving Opportunities with ABB Ltd. and DENSO Corp. | Technavio -...

GREENVILLE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation announced today that it is partnering with the Texas Workforce Commissions Texas Youth Robotics Initiative to expand access of competitive robotics to traditionally underrepresented high school students for the 2020/2021 academic year.

The REC Foundation has been awarded a nearly $750,000 grant to bring competitive robotics to rural and Title 1 schools around the state which will impact up to 4,800 high school students who wouldnt otherwise have access to evidence-based STEM programming.

The grant will assist rural and Title 1 schools in the development of 150 new robotics teams, comprised of students who have not participated in competitive robotics previously, and to sustain 50 existing teams. Additionally, this grant will focus on inclusion for deaf and hard of hearing students across Texas. The REC Foundation is partnering with the Texas School for the Deaf to expand robotics by creating 25 new teams and holding a signature competition event for the deaf community, next spring in Austin.

Were thrilled to receive a grant from the Texas Workforce Commission to increase participation in competitive robotics in our home state of Texas, said Dan Mantz, CEO of the REC Foundation. This investment will offer the opportunity for thousands of students to access science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills. It will also help prepare the next generation of innovators to have a rewarding career which will ultimately help enhance Texass workforce.

Through the creative process of designing, building, and programming robots for competition, students gain a wealth of technical knowledge and develop communication and teamwork skills that will serve them well throughout their lives. To learn more about the REC Foundation and how your high school can apply for this grant, visit https://www.roboticseducation.org/grant/twc-grant/.

About the Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation

The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundations mission is to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, affordable, and sustainable robotics engineering programs.

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The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation Receives a Nearly $750K Grant from Texas Workforce Commission to Expand Robotics Throughout...

Discover the best cleaning practices for airports to help improve sanitation and decrease the risk of disease transfer. Credit: Gerald Friedrich / Pixabay

The global Covid-19 pandemic has prioritised cleaning efficacy in airports and other high-traffic locations, but what is the new standard for cleanliness, and how can airport operations and facilities executives rise to meet one of the greatest challenges of their careers?

Join us for this webinar to learn about the latest airport cleaning best practices that decrease the risk of disease transfer and improve safety while maintaining the airport image that travellers expect. Learn how airports are increasingly utilising robotic floor scrubbers to enhance cleaning efficacy and expand workforce capacity.

Dave Frank, a nationally recognised expert in commercial cleaning process improvement, will be joined by experts from Brain Corp and Tennant Co, who have partnered together to deploy thousands of robotic scrubbers worldwide. To top off the discussion, Don Toole, of FlagShip Facility Services, will discuss his companys investment in autonomous cleaners, and the results they are seeing at several US airports.

The webinar takes place on 21 September at 10am PST / 1pm EST. To register for free, click here.

Dave Frank, president of the American Institute for Cleaning Science (AICS)

Dave Frank is the president of the American Institute for Cleaning Sciences (AICS), an independent third-party accreditation organisation that establishes standards to improve the professional performance of the cleaning industry.

With more than 41 years of experience, Frank is the leading authority in the commercial cleaning industry, serving facility service providers, distributors, buying groups, associations and manufacturers.

He is an active member and frequent speaker for ISSA, APPA, EPA and the US Green Building Council.

Don Toole, senior vice-president sales and marketing, FlagShip

Don Toole is an accomplished, innovative business development executive with an outstanding track record, which includes dramatic market share growth, reduced operations cost, optimised marketing initiatives, streamlined workflows, process improvement and fully engaged employees on high-performing teams.

Chris Wright, commercial cleaning expert and VP of sales, Brain Corp

Chris Wright has spent the majority of his career in the cleaning industry, gaining more than 30 years of experience. His positions include everything from front line custodian on a floor crew, to VP of sales for the robotic cleaning machine company, Brain Corp.

Wright has an extensive background in sales, training, lean systems, root cause analysis, time engineering, and creating processes and programs for janitorial operations. He holds numerous certifications and has subject matter expertise in equipment, robotics and cleaning.

Prior to Brain Corp, he spent 14 years in a variety of sales positions with Krcher North America, and before that, with Hillyard Inc. chemical company.

For more information about the webinar, click here.

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Solving Airport Cleaning Challenges with Best Practices and Robotics - Airport Technology

A robot named Pepper is hard at work reminding mall-goers in Paris to wear a mask, in a pedestrian effort to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to a recent YouTube video from SoftBank Robotics Europe.

RELATED: TOKYO TRAINS SEE VIRUS-KILLING DISINFECTION ROBOTS TESTED

The child-sized robot is stationed in a mall in Paris, and gently reminds passersby to don their masks to reduce the chance of spreading the COVID-19 illness, reportsthe CBC. As of writing, COVID-19 cases in France have seen an upsurge in the last month, with a current tally of 27.6 million people infected, according to The New York Times.

"It's a reminder, a little reminder. You know, we are human, and sometimes I happen to remove my mask when I get off the bus because I forget the rules, and I put it on as I enter the office because the robot reminds me to," said Jonathan Boiria of SoftBank Robotics of Pepper the robot, according to the CBC report. "It's important. We all make mistakes. We all forget."

Upon encountering a human with a mask, the robot thanks them for bringing one. To navigate his local environment, Pepper makes a visual scan of the area. Users may create and set local points of interest, to maximize the robot's interaction with consumer foot-traffic.

Mall-goers can access a menu on a torso-attached flatscreen device that resembles an iPad. Pepper can even carry out guide duties, "walking" humans to the nearest restroom facilities or a specific business in the area which means it could serve as a waypoint for children who have become accidentally separated from parents, and alert mall authorities. However, this is not yet confirmed.

The robot even has manners: he automatically avoids human contact unless queried, and will even help consumers decide what kind of products like shoes they want to buy.

With a given range of 426 ft (130 m), the robot automatically uses a charging Pod when his battery runs low.Perhaps the most noteworthy feature is Pepper's ability to speak multiple languages. In a recent video from SoftBank Robotics Europe, we hear it speak Spanish, French, and English of course, additional languages may be available.

While Pepper isn't the first robot deployed to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 illness, it's definitely one of the useful ones. In February the early days of the pandemic a robot in Times Square called the Promobot tried and failed to lighten the public mood as it descended into the depths of coronavirus blues.

In sum it was a laggy iPad housed in a robot shell, its LED-lit face staring blankly up at passersby like a drugged puppy hoping to come by and impress the very ex-best-friend that left it there.

A later entrant into the robot-versus-coronavirus story from Boston Dynamics was more successful. In April, Spot the robot dog was equipped with an iPad and a two-way radio to help healthcare workers carry out video conferences with socially-distant patients. This allowed medics to analyze patients without risking exposure to the virus.

Earlier this month, a team of researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital published a study on a pre-print website suggesting Spot the robot dog be adapted to take patients' vitals and transmit the results to the doctor at another location.

"In robotics, one of our goals is to use automation and robotic technology to remove people from dangerous jobs," said Henwei Huang, an MIT postdoc, according to an MIT blog post. "We thought it should be possible for us to use a robot to remove the health care worker from risk of directly exposing themselves to the patient."

The most advanced robot technology from Boston Dynamics, SoftBank Robotics Europe, and elsewhere continue to place robots into service in varying bids to help the collective fight to curb the spread of COVID-19 illness. While it may at times be an uncanny experience to see robots where humans or no one used to be, it's also a testament to the versatility of robotics. Little to nothing, it seems not even a global pandemic can slow their advance.

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Robots Fighting COVID-19 - What Can They Do to Help Us? | IE - Interesting Engineering

The debate about man vs robots is an evergreen and common thing now. While robots are viewed as an enabler of a dystopian future brought by digital disruption, the main question that has baffled minds is how smart are they. When it comes to human intelligence, there isnt any other living being or mechanical or AI mind that can draw parallel with us. Yet, robots powered by AI have been able to perform trivial, monotonous tasks with accuracy far better than us. It is important to note that this does not imply robots have acquired cognitive intelligence nor common sense which are intrinsic to humans, despite de facto of the recent marvels of robotics.

The main problem is that most of the algorithms that are written for robots are based on machine learning coding. These codes are collected from a particular type of data, and models are trained based on individual test conditions. Hence, when put in a situation that is not in their code nor algorithm, robots can fail terribly or draw a conclusion that can be catastrophic. This has highlighted in Stanley Kubricks landmark film2001: A Space Odyssey. The movie features a supercomputer, HAL-9000, who is informed by its creators of the purpose of the mission: to reach Jupiter and search for signs of extra-terrestrial intelligence. When HAL makes an error, it refuses to admit this and alleges that it was caused due to human error. Therefore, astronauts decide to shut HAL down, but unfortunately, the AI discovers their plot by lip-reading. Conclusively, HAL arrives at a new conclusion that wasnt part of its original programming, deciding to save itself by systematically killing off the people onboard.

Another illustration which experts often mention it that, while we can teach a robot on how to open a door by training it and feeding data on 500 different types of door, the robots will still fail when asked to open the 501st door. Also, this example is the best way to explain why robots dont share the typical thought process and intelligence of humans. Humans dont need to be trained they observe and learn, or they experiment thanks to curiosity. Further, every time someone knocks the door, we dont tend to open it, there is always an unfriendly neighbor we dislike. Again we dont need to be reminded to lock the door either, but robots need a clear set of instruction. Let us consider other aspects of our life, robots and AI are trained on a particular set of data; hence they will function effectively when the input is something they have been trained or programmed for, beyond it the observation is different. For instance, if one uses the expression Hit the road while driving a car, she means to say to herself or the driver to begin the journey emphatically. If a robot does not know the phrasal meaning of the same expression, it may believe that the person is asking to hit the road. This misunderstanding can lead to accidents. While researchers are working hard, devising algorithms, running codes, we are yet to see a robot that understands the way humans converse, all with accents, dialects, colloquy and jargons.

Michio Kaku, a futurist and theoretical physicist, once said that Our robots today, have the collective intelligence and wisdom of a cockroach. While robots of today can make salads on our command, or robots like Deep Blue or AlphaGo Zerocan defeat humans in chess, it does not necessarily qualify as common sense nor smartness. And let us not forget that Deep Blue and AlphaGo Zero were following instructions given by a team of smart human scientists.These robots were designed by people who were smart enough to solve a seemingly impossible task. So to sum up, while robots are becoming smarter that, they are now able to fold laundry, impersonate as a person looking for dating online, they still lag when it comes to cognitive intelligence and common sense. It is a long wait till we find a robot we see in sci-fi movies, i.e. C3P0, R2D2 or WALL-E.

Read more here:

Robots with Common Sense and Cognitive Intelligence: Are We There Yet? - Analytics Insight

10 September 2020

The UK government today announced GBP65 million (USD84 million) of investment in future technologies, including GBP15 million to enable universities, research organisations and businesses to build robots to inspect, maintain and repair nuclear power stations, satellites and wind turbines. The robotics will also be used to address new problems resulting from the pandemic, including ones that can operated remotely and make contact-free deliveries or move hospital beds.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said the funding will be available through the governments Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which has been extended to help develop solutions to some of the biggest global challenges, including climate change and tackling diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's.

Nearly GBP44 million is to develop the next generation of high-performance batteries for electric vehicles and wind turbines, which could also be used for new technologies such as electric airplanes. The funding will also be used to complete a UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, in Coventry. AnotherGBP6.5 million will be allocated to the Advanced Therapy Treatment Centrenetwork to accelerate patient access to cell and gene based therapies.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: "We want to build back better by putting the UK at the forefront of new technologies to create high-skilled jobs, increase productivity and grow the economy as we recover from coronavirus. This new funding will strengthen the UKs global status in a range of areas, including battery technologies for electric vehicles and robotics, helping us develop innovative solutions to some of our biggest global challenges and creating jobs in rewarding careers right across the country."

Established in 2017, the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund is providing GBP2.6 billion of government investment with the aim of funding world-leading research and highly innovative businesses to address the biggest industrial and societal challenges.

BEIS said that today's announcement is part of the governments commitment through its R&D Roadmap"to put the UK at the forefront of transformational technologies" and is part of the government's wider commitment to increaseR&Dinvestment to 2.4% ofGDPby 2027.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

See more here:

UK pledges GBP65 million for robots, batteries and advanced therapies : Nuclear Policies - World Nuclear News

Future technologies that could transform peoples lives such as high-performance batteries for electric vehicles, advanced medical treatments and robotics will receive a 65 million government cash boost today (Thursday 10 September).

The funding will be available through the governments Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which has been extended today to help develop solutions to some of the biggest global challenges, including climate change and tackling diseases such as cancer and Alzheimers.

Of the investment announced today:

nearly 44 million to develop the next generation of high-performance batteries for electric vehicles and wind turbines, which could also be used for new technologies such as electric aeroplanes. The funding will also be used to complete a first-of-its-kind UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, in Coventry, West Midlands, creating 100 high-skilled jobs. Organisations across the automotive, rail and aerospace sectors will have access a unique battery production facility combining manufacturing, experimentation and innovation

15 million to enable universities, research organisations and businesses to build robots to inspect, maintain and repair nuclear power stations, satellites and wind turbines. The robotics will also be used to address new problems resulting from the pandemic, including ones that can operated remotely and make contact-free deliveries or move hospital beds.

6.5 million will be allocated to the Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre network to accelerate patient access to advanced therapies through the development of specialised infrastructure for the delivery of these products in the NHS. These cell and gene based therapies are aimed at the treatment of life-limiting and inherited diseases such as cancer, Duchenne muscular dystrophy or cystic fibrosis.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said:

We want to build back better by putting the UK at the forefront of new technologies to create high-skilled jobs, increase productivity and grow the economy as we recover from coronavirus.

This new funding will strengthen the UKs global status in a range of areas, including battery technologies for electric vehicles and robotics, helping us develop innovative solutions to some of our biggest global challenges and creating jobs in rewarding careers right across the country.

Challenge Director for The Faraday Battery Challenge Tony Harper said:

In order for batteries to play their full environmental and economic role in achieving Net Zero we need to deploy at scale and build supply chains for todays technology, shift from strong potential to commercial dominance in a new generation of batteries and continue to build world-class scientific capability to sustain us into the future. The announcement today confirms our commitment and determination to build on the hard-won progress the UK has made in the last 3 years on all these fronts and to accelerate progress post COVID-19.

CEO of the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Matthew Durdy said:

The ATTC network is a fantastic example of effective government intervention and the international community recognises this as part of the UKs leadership in the field. Bringing together companies, the NHS and regulatory bodies to make the use of cell and gene therapies easier, more cost effective, and more widespread both boosts the industry and brings these life changing medicines to patients who need them.

The fact that 12% of global clinical trials in cell and gene therapy take place in the UK and half of those involve ATTCs is a testament to the success of this highly respected programme.

Andrew Tyrer, Challenge Director for Robotics for a Safer World said:

I am delighted that the government has provided an extra 15 million funding to help academics and businesses bridge the gap to: complete on-going deliverables set against the Robots for a Safer World Challenge, and also; utilise knowledge gained to the benefit of new sectors, ahead of this Autumns spending review.

Established in 2017, the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund is delivering 2.6 billion of government investment with the aim of funding world-leading research and highly innovative businesses to address the biggest industrial and societal challenges.

Todays announcement furthers the governments commitment through its R&D Roadmap to put the UK at the forefront of transformational technologies and is part of the governments wider commitment to increase R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

More:

Government investment to help build robots for nuclear plants and batteries for electric aeroplanes - GOV.UK

In a year thats been problematic for many businesses, Newfoundland-based Kraken Robotics stands apart, scoring major successes throughout.

The latest was announced Tuesday, a contract counted in millions with the Danish Ministry of Defence, Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) to supply mine-hunting sonar equipment to the Royal Danish Navy.

The deal with the Danish Navy was first announced by the company in July.

At that time, Kraken said the total contract was valued between $35-million and $40-million, over a two-year equipment acquisition phase.

The contract will see Kraken deliver the KATFISH towed synthetic aperture sonar, the Tentacle winch and Autonomous Launch and Recovery System (ALARS), and provide ongoing service for the technology.

Kraken had actually been chosen as the successful bidder for the Danish navy contract in 2019, through a competitive bid process.

However, one of the losing bidders launched a complaint about the bid process. And a slowdown in government activity because of COVID caused some delays in finalizing the contract.

The contract also means the company will be establishing a presence in Denmark.

In a press release, company president and CEO Karl Kenny said Kraken will be establishing a new Danish Centre of Excellence in Mine Counter Measures, as part of its commitment to Denmark in this contract.

This new operation will not only conduct research and development to further improve the capabilities of Krakens world-class MCM solutions but will also be able to offer local technical support for Danish customers, said Kenny. Krakens new Danish operation will also engage with local Danish companies, universities and technical institutes, ensuring a long term benefit to Danish technical development.

Thats not the limit of Krakens ventures into Europe.

The company also announced Tuesday that on Sept. 1 it had signed a contract to supply minehunting systems to the Polish Navy.

This contract will see Kraken deliver its KATFISH towed Synthetic Aperture Sonar, Tentacle Winch and Autonomous Launch and Recovery System (ALARS) in the second half of 2021.

Krakens equipment will be integrated onboard the Polish Navys new KORMORAN II Mine CounterMeasure (MCMV) vessels in Gdansk, Poland.

The Newfoundland company could not offer details about the value of the contract.

Due to confidentiality reasons, Kraken cannot disclose specifics about the contract, other than to say that it is significant and that we expect it to be a strong enabler within other NATO nations.

Kenny did say that if the Polish Navy is successful in exporting its KORMORAN II MCMVs to other countries, it could lead to additional KATFISH and ALARS sales opportunities for Kraken.

Captain Piotr Sikora, Chief, Naval Warfare Systems Branch, Armament Division, Polish Navy Inspectorate, did sayin a news release that Krakens KATFISH, when put to tests at sea, proved able in shallow water and very shallow water zones.

The unique capabilities of this system will provide us with much greater efficiency and will allow us to build strength for the 21st century. We are convinced that with such an advanced Synthetic Aperture Sonar onboard, our new MCM Vessels under the Polish and NATO flag will make a huge contribution to build both national and international security at sea as we face the naval mine challenges of the 21st century.

Kraken Robotics is a publicly-traded company, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX-V: PNG, OTCQB: KRKNF)

They have offices in Mount Pearl and Halifax, and currently employ about 115 people.

Twitter: @BarbDeanSimmons

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Kraken Robotics of Newfoundland inks deals with Danish and Polish navies - Cape Breton Post

Projects that will build robots to inspect, maintain and repair nuclear power stations, satellites and wind turbines have been awarded 15 million of new funding.

These robotics will also be used to help address new problems resulting from the pandemic, such as machines that need to be controlled remotely and those to carry out contact-free deliveries.

The funding comes as part of a new 65 million government investment to support future technologies and help the UK build back by transitioning to low carbon economy.

Some 44 million will also be allocated to benefit the development of high-performance batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines and electric jets.

The funding will also be used to complete a first-of-its-kind UK Battery Industrialisation Centre in Coventry.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: This new funding will strengthen the UKs global status in a range of areas, including battery technologies for EVs and robotics, helping us develop innovative solutions to some of our biggest global challenges and creating jobs in rewarding careers right across the country.

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Robots that inspect, maintain and repair nuclear plants bag government funding - Energy Live News - Energy Made Easy