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Making Pepper walk: Understanding Softbank’s purchase of Boston Dynamics
It is unclear if Masayoshi Son, Chairman of Softbank, was one of the 17 million YouTube viewers of Boston Dynamic’s Big Dog before acquiring the company for an undisclosed amount this past Thursday....
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Uber regrouping after Levandowski firing
Uber, the global ride-sharing transportation company, has named two replacements to recover from the recent firing of Anthony Levandowski who headed their Advanced Technologies Group, their OTTO...
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ARM Institute West Coast meeting review
Robotics manufacturing in the US will be getting federal support to match business or startup investments via the new Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Institute. Perhaps more importantly, the ARM...
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Robotics industry growing faster than expected
Two reputable research resources are reporting that the robotics industry is growing more rapidly than expected. BCG (Boston Consulting Group) is conservatively projecting that the market will reach...
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July 2017 fundings, acquisitions, IPOs and failures
July, 2017 was a big month for robotics-related company funding. Four raised $588 million and 19 others raised $370.6 million for a monthly total of $958.6 million. Acquisitions also continued to be...
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Industrial robots in China up, up and away!
China has rapidly become a global leader in robotics and automation. 2016 annual sales of industrial robots reached the highest level ever for any single country: 87,000 units (up 27% from 2015) and...
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Global robot growth causing shortages in critical components
Two reputable research resources are reporting that the robotics industry is growing more rapidly than expected. BCG (Boston Consulting Group) is conservatively projecting that the market will reach...
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October 2017 fundings, acquisitions and IPOs
Twenty-eight different startups were funded in October cumulatively raising $862 million, up from $507 million in September. Three of the top four fundings were for startups involved in the...
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Teradyne acquires MiR for $272M, continues robotics spree
In a surprise but smart move, Teradyne (NYSE:TER), the American test solutions provider that acquired Universal Robots in 2015 and Energid Technologies earlier in 2018, acquired Danish MiR (Mobile...
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The robot industry is hiring. Do you have the skills?
A new white paper by the Robotics Industries Association (RIA) says that as many as 2 million US manufacturing jobs will go unfilled in the next ten years due to a lack of skilled workers. According...
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March 2017 fundings, acquisitions, IPOs and failures
March 2017 had 29 robotics-related startups get funding totaling over $222 million - another solid month for 2017 and $658 million year-to-date. Acquisitions also continued to be substantial with...
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CBS News outlines jobs and robotics debate; IFR fills in gaps
FANUC_R2000iB at work. Source: Wikipedia Commons CBS News, and reporter David Pogue, displayed some new technologies threatening jobs, while the International Federation of Robotics suggested that...
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Smart grasping demonstrated at Automate and ProMat trade shows
A complex interplay of various sensor systems ensures that the SCHUNK Co-act Gripper JL1 permanently records the data of its surrounding. Source: Schunk Tactile sensing and force feedback are – and...
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Podcasts are the new blogs
Most of us are familiar with the podcasts about robotics from the Robots Podcast group. For different perspectives, from the funder’s point of view, here’s a list of podcasts from the VC’s that fund...
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April 2017 fundings, acquisitions, IPOs and failures
April 2017 had 16 robotics-related fundings totaling over $337 million - a fourth solid month for 2017 - $995 million year-to-date. Acquisitions also continued to be substantial with ABB's $2 billion...
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As DJI dominates camera and commercial drone sales, drone funding falls
According to AgFunder's 2016 AgTech Investing Report (supported by The Robot Report's own research), 2016 drone funding fell 64% from 2015 levels. Also, the type of companies getting funded were...
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iRobot, KUKA and other robotic stocks exceed earnings expectations
iRobot (IRBT on the NASDAQ stock exchange) jumped from $70 to $80 per share on news that iRobot's quarterly earnings were so good that the company raised their forecast for 2017 to new highs. KUKA...
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24 research reports that dissect the robotics industry
After reading the press releases for this batch of 24 research reports, although they vary widely in their forecasts, they almost all agree that most segments of the robotics industry are expected to...
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An AI Primer for mechatronics
Ex Machina. Source: Youtube/Universal Pictures This week I attended an “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Roundtable” of leading scientists, entrepreneurs and venture investors. As the discussion focused...
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To err is algorithm: Algorithm fallibility and economic organisation
Algorithmic fails Dig below the surface of some of today’s biggest tech controversies and you are likely to find an algorithm misfiring:[1] YouTube advertising controversy: The algorithm placed...
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