THE ROBOT REPORT_RBR50_DESIGN WORLD_APRIL 2023

Rotary Actuators with Integrated Servo Drive

The IDT Series is a family of compact actuators with an integrated servo drive with CANopen® communication. They deliver high torque with exceptional accuracy and repeatability, and feature Harmonic Drive® precision strain wave gears combined with a brushless servomotor. Some models are available with a brake and two magnetic absolute encoders with the second providing output position sensing. This revolutionary product line eliminates the need for an external drive and greatly simplifies cabling, yet delivers high-positional accuracy and torsional stiffness with a compact form factor.

• Actuator with Integrated Servo Drive utilizing CANopen®

• 24 or 48 VDC nominal supply voltage

• A single cable with only 4 conductors is needed: CANH, CANL, +VDC, 0VDC

• Zero Backlash Harmonic Drive® Gearing

• Panel Mount Connectors or Pigtail Cables Available with Radial and Axial Options

• Control Modes include: Torque, Velocity, and Position Control, CSP, CSV, CST

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Welcome

to the 2023 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards

What do a humanoid, an autonomous tire-changing system and an asteroid redirection spacecraft all have in common? Well, if you guessed “robotics,” you would be correct. But the similarities do not end there, and they are more pointed and correlated. All the aforementioned examples are also winners of the 2023 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards (RBR50).

For more than a decade, Robotics Business Review has produced the RBR50 to recognize and celebrate forward-thinking companies from across the globe and the original, impactful solutions they have created. Widely recognized throughout the world as a leading indicator of robotics innovation leadership, the RBR50 is also a critical indicator of robotics sector growth.

For the robotics sector, the role, importance, and impact of innovation has never been greater. Moreover, it is the confluence of multiple, diverse innovation determinants - technological, business, and market – that act to accelerate robotics sector growth overall.

The RBR50 reflects that diversity of innovation and celebrates robotics innovation in all its forms, including:

• Business and Management Innovation – Business and management initiatives or practices that enhance a company’s commercial standing, foster robotics sector growth or improve society.

• Technology, Products and Services Innovation – New commercial solutions that have the potential to positively impact markets or the whole robotics sector.

• Application and Market Innovation – Industry-specific, newly developed applications that deliver value, provide entry to new markets or improve performance over existing approaches (i.e. improve productivity, increase quality, reduce cost, etc.).

The editors in WTWH Media’s Robotics Group - Steve Crowe, Mike Oitzman and Brianna Wessling - enjoyed the challenge of evaluating and selecting the 2023 RBR50 award winners and learned much during the process. We hope you share that enthusiasm and that the 2023 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards also increase your understanding of the global robotics sector. In that small way, the RBR50 will have done its part to drive the robotics sector forward. RR

Steve Crowe | Executive Editor, Robotics, WTWH Media

SPONSORS

Inside the 2023 RBR50

A closer look at notable winners of the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards.

Steve Crowe

Executive Editor

The Robot Report

Each year, the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards program receives more nominations than can fit into the annual list. This year, the final selection reflects more rigorous judging criteria, current technological and business trends in robotics, and the world.

Since companies of different sizes build robots for widely differing applications, it is difficult to compare them directly. Add to that regional clusters, universities and research institutions, and new business models. It becomes clear the best way to analyze robotics leadership is to see what categories and industries they fit into.

Notable Winners

An emphasis on innovation led to 30 RBR50 winners being recognized for introducing new products, services and technologies. This included both hardware and software for autonomous systems. Eleven companies were honored for application and market innovations, while 9 were honored for their business and management prowess.

You might think giving three awards to spacerelated initiatives might be too much. But 2022 wasn’t a typical year for space robotics. NASA’s Perseverance Rover completed its first multiplesol, or Martian day, drive. The drive was split over three sols and helped the rover get closer to its final sampling location on its crater floor campaign. For this three-sol drive, scientists created and evaluated three times the number of drive path segments and associated terrain evaluations as it does for a normal drive. This was complicated even more by the fact that the team won’t know exactly where the rover would end its previous drive.

In July 2022, NASA put the James Webb Space Telescope into service. It operates as the largest optical telescope in space, using nearinfrared and spectral analysis sensors. The first science images exceeded expectations and pushed beyond the bar set previously by the Hubble telescope. Every image to come out of JWST delivers remarkable science, and its ability to see through dust clouds is providing never before seen images of the center of galaxies.

Finally, NASA also succeeded in its first planetary defense test mission. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft, developed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins

James Webb Space Telescope

| Credit: NASA

Innovate today for a new tomorrow

University Applied Physics Laboratory, made an impact with an asteroid called Dimorphos on September 26, 2022. The DART spacecraft smashed into the asteroid at 3.7 miles per second, around 85 feet from the center of the rock. The collision knocked the asteroid off its course. While Dimorphos wasn’t on a collision course with Earth, NASA wanted to test its ability to deflect an asteroid with a kinetic impactor before an Earththreatening asteroid is discovered.

Agility Robotics and RoboTire had two of the more unique systems. Agility Robotics started testing its Digit humanoid with logistics customers in 2022, initially targeting applications such as moving totes and packages. Humanoid robots have existed for a number of years, but none have been designed and sold to industrial customers to perform useful tasks.

RoboTire’s automated tire-changing system uses robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning to change four tires in under 25 minutes. A typical system involves smaller robotic arms that focus on the bolts of the tires and larger robotic arms that lift the tire off the car and put a new tire back on. The robot, which has been installed at numerous locations around the U.S., aligns the tire with the rim of a car to ensure proper fit and balance.

Stepping up for social good

There were four winners of social good awards, including the Coalition Against Weaponization of General Purpose Robots, MassRobotics, Meijer and Tatum Robotics. Meijer deployed robots to clean up beaches and waterways as part of the ongoing Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup Program.

In October 2022, six leading companies formed the Coalition Against the Weaponization of General Purpose Robots. Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Boston Dynamics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics and Unitree wrote an open letter pledging not to support the weaponization of their robots or software. Understanding their commitment alone is not enough to fully address the risk of weaponized robots, the coalition called on others in the industry and

Rotary Actuators with Integrated Servo Drive

The IDT Series is a family of compact actuators with an integrated servo drive with CANopen® communication. They deliver high torque with exceptional accuracy and repeatability, and feature Harmonic Drive® precision strain wave gears combined with a brushless servomotor. Some models are available with a brake and two magnetic absolute encoders with the second providing output position sensing. This revolutionary product line eliminates the need for an external drive and greatly simplifies cabling, yet delivers high-positional accuracy and torsional stiffness with a compact form factor.

• Actuator with Integrated Servo Drive utilizing CANopen®

• 24 or 48 VDC nominal supply voltage

• A single cable with only 4 conductors is needed: CANH, CANL, +VDC, 0VDC

• Zero Backlash Harmonic Drive® Gearing

• Panel Mount Connectors or Pigtail Cables Available with Radial and Axial Options

• Control Modes include: Torque, Velocity, and Position Control, CSP, CSV, CST

RBR50 Introduction

policymakers to also promote the safe use of these robots and to prohibit their misuse.

MassRobotics, a nonprofit robotics innovation hub, accelerator and incubator based in Boston, ran the second iteration of its Jumpstart Fellowship Program in 2022. In the Massachusetts technology sector, only 5% of workers are Black, 7% are Latinx and only 33% are women, according to the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council. With the Jumpstart Fellowship Program, MassRobotics is challenging the belief that there is a shortage of tech talent in Massachusetts. Rather, MassRobotics asserts that providing technical training, mentoring and access to professional networks will cultivate the talent and perspective that is currently lacking in the sector.

Tatum Robotics created a 3D-printed robotic hand that aims to help deaf-blind people communicate.

Tatum’s robotic hand works by placing a deaf-blind person’s hand over the robotic hand, which then spells words with American Sign Language using its fingers. The process works similarly to tactile fingerspelling, where a deafblind person feels the movements of another person’s hand to communicate. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissions estimates there are between 70,000-100,000 deafblind people living in the U.S. today. Tatum’s robotic hand is a revolutionary technology for this community that can give deaf-blind people the ability to communicate with the people around them independently of an interpreter.

Startups to Watch

Spacee and Cionic are two robotics startups to keep an eye on. There have been other failed attempts at shelfscanning robots, but Spacee’s Deming

o ers a simplified approach. Unlike other free-roaming mobile robots that can count inventory, the Deming ROVR is a mobile camera constrained to an enclosed track that runs the length of an aisle. While two ROVRs are required for 100% coverage of each aisle of a store, they’re faster to deploy and manage than mobile robot-based inventory management solutions.

And Cionic is developing bionic clothing to assist people with mobility issues. Cionic’s Neural Sleeve is a wearable device that analyzes, predicts and augments a person’s movements. The leg sleeve works by predicting intended movements using measurements of electrical signals from the brain and a dense array of sensors that measure how individual muscles fire during movements. Algorithms analyze this data in real time to decide optimal muscle activation patterns. RR

control

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VIBRATION ISOLATING COMPONENTS

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RBR50 CHART

ABB

ABB introduces its smallest robot arm ever

Agility Robotics Agility’s Digit humanoid targets logistics tasks

Alert Innovation Alert Innovation acquired by Walmart to boost fulfillment

Amazon Amazon looks to automate ‘Holy Grail’ with Sparrow robot arm

AMD AMD Kria KR260 platform eases robotics development

American Robotics American Robotics expands drone services to oil and gas industries

Australian Droid + Robot Robot explores dangerous caves to assess vulnerable bat colonies

Boston Dynamics Boston Dynamics Stretch finds early success unloading trailers

Brain Corp

Brain Corp adds dual-purpose to floor-scrubbing robots

Cionic Cionic bionic sleeve assists people with mobility issues

Clearpath Robotics Clearpath OutdoorNav software eases mobile robotics development

Coalition Against Weaponization of General Purpose Robots

Coalition takes stand against weaponized robots

Deepmind Deepmind open-sources MujoCo physics engine

Foxglove

Foxglove standardizes robotics data recording with MCAP

GelSight MIT spinoff creates affordable, mini tactile sensor

HEBI Robotics

Inbolt

HEBI applies modularity expertise to mobile robots

Inbolt simplifies use of vision servoing with a unique application

Intrinsic Intrinsic acquires Open Source Robotics Corp

Inuitive Inuitive’s vision technologies improve robot autonomy

James Webb Space Telescope James Webb Space Telescope revolutionizes astronomy

Johns Hopkins University

Locus Robotics

Machina Labs

NASA succeeds in 1st planetary defense test mission

Locus Robotics surpasses 1 billion picks with AMRs

Machina Labs uses robots to manufacture titanium sheet metal parts

Main Street Autonomy Main Street Autonomy simplifies sensor calibration

MassRobotics

MassRobotics aims to diversify robotics talent pool

Meijer Meijer uses robots to clean up Great Lakes

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Application & Market Logistics

Business & Management Leadership

Application & Market Logistics

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Application & Market Energy

Application & Market Environmental

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Business & Management Social Good

Business & Management Business Models

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Business & Management Market Engagement

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Application & Market Aerospace

Application & Market Aerospace

Business & Management Market Engagement

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Business & Management

Business & Management

Social Good

Social Good

Providing reliable safety components

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RBR50 CHART

Company

NASA JPL

Innovation

Perseverance Rover completes first multi-sol drive on Mars

Nauticus Robotics Nauticus dives into future of underwater robotics

NVIDIA NVIDIA improves ROS 2 pipeline processing with hardware acceleration

OnRobot OnRobot D:PLOY lowers barriers to robotics adoption

Open-Source Leg Project Open-source leg project democratizes prosthetic development

Ottonomy Yeti delivery robot autonomously dispenses packages

Photoneo MotionCam-3D Color camera captures dynamic scenes

PickNik Robotics MoveIt Studio offers low-code robotics development environment

Rapid Robotics Rapid Robotics brings flexibility to robotic workcells

Innovation Type

Innovation Subclass

Application & Market Aerospace

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Research

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

RoboTire RoboTire transforms tire-changing process Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Skyline Robotics Skyline Robotics disrupting $40B window cleaning industry

Spacee Spacee Deming offers simplified approach to shelf-scanning robots

SparkAI SparkAI helps John Deere resolve agriculture autonomy challenges

Stratom Stratom makes vehicle refueling safer, more efficient

Tatum Robotics

Telexistence

Tatum creates revolutionary communication tool for deaf-blind people

Telexistence deploys restocking robots at Japanese convenience stores

Teradyne Teradyne merges AMR subsidiaries AutoGuide & MIR

Tuskrobots Tuskrobots develops novel AMR/AGV to automate pallet movement

UC Berkeley DayDreamer algorithm enables robot learning without simulation

Universal Robots UR20 is the company’s fastest, strongest cobot ever

Viam Robotics Viam combines open-source robotics system with integrated cloud services

Waymo Waymo continues robotaxi expansion

WHILL WHILL autonomously transports passengers at 1st North American airport

WiBotic WiBotic brings benefits of wireless charging technology to ASRS

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Application & Market Agriculture

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Business & Management Social Good

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Business & Management Leadership

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Research

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Technology, Product & Services Technology & Product Introduction

Application & Market Transportation

Application & Market Transportation

Application & Market Energy

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TECHNOLOGY, PRODUCT & SERVICES — Technology & Product Introduction

ABB introduces its smallest robot arm ever

Organization Name: ABB

Country: Switzerland

Website: new.abb.com

Year Founded: 1988

Number of Employees: 144,000+

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

ABB launched in October 2022 the IRB 1010, its smallest industrial robot arm ever. With a footprint of 135 mm (5.2 inches) by 250 mm (9.8 inches), the IRB 1010 is 30% smaller than ABB’s now second-smallest robot, the IRB 120. The IRB 1010 has a reach of 370 mm (14.5 inches), repeatability of 0.01 mm and can handle payloads up to 1.5 kg (3.3 lb).

Analysis:

The market for wearable smart devices is accelerating rapidly, with projections estimating double-digit growth between 2022 and 2028. To meet this growth, companies are looking for compact robotic solutions that are suited to narrow production spaces in electronics manufacturing lines and that can accurately handle the small components used in wearable devices.

As one of the finer robots in its class for 1.5kg payloads, ABB’s IRB 1010 meets these demands, enabling companies to maximize output and productivity of small electronics, including smartwatches, earphones, sensors and health trackers, while maintaining high levels of product quality. The introduction of the IRB 1010 also further diversifies ABB’s already leading portfolio of robotic arms.

RR – Steve Crowe

Agility Robotics Digit humanoid targets logistics tasks

Organization Name: Agility Robotics

Country: USA

Website: agilityrobotics.com

Year Founded: 2015

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Class: Application & Market

Innovation Subclass: Logistics

Description:

In 2022, Agility Robotics started testing its Digit humanoid with logistics customers. This version of Digit is is 5 ft. 1 inches tall, weighs 99 lb. and can run for 3 hours doing light work. Agility is targeting applications such as moving totes and packages, with trailer unloading a possibility further in the future.

Analysis:

Digit incorporates decades of research, development, and scientific breakthroughs in mobility and manipulation from Agility’s team. This allows the robot to navigate obstacles, dynamically balance and walk around its environment while carrying light payloads.

Humanoid robots have existed for a number of years now, but none have been designed and sold to industrial customers to perform useful tasks. Any humanoid that’s

been commercially sold has targeted research labs.

Digit is the first humanoid to be sold commercially with the goal of performing tasks for customers. To help engineer these capabilities and scale the company, Agility raised a $150 million Series B funding round in April 2022. The round was led by DCVC and Playground Global, but it also included participation from the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund. RR – Steve Crowe

Alert Innovation acquired by Walmart to boost fulfillment

Organization Name: Alert Innovation

Country: USA

Website: alertinnovation.com

Year Founded: 2016

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Class: Business & Management

Innovation Subclass: Leadership

Description:

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, acquired Alert Innovation for an undisclosed price in late 2022. Alert Innovation develops automated storage and retrieval systems for e-grocery fulfillment. Alert Innovation and Walmart began working together in 2016 to build custom technology for Walmart’s micro-fulfillment centers (MFC). Walmart piloted its first MFC in Salem, N.H. in late 2019 using custom technology from Alert Innovation. Alert Innovation continues to operate under the Alert Innovation brand based in the Boston area.

Analysis:

Some have said Walmart is a place where innovation goes to die. That couldn’t be further from the truth with its acquisition of Alert Innovation. According to Alert’s CTO and co-founder Bill Fosnight, “ultimately we met with Walmart, and Walmart provided us with the ability to start up as a company in 2016.”

Walmart has been there from the beginning for Alert Innovation, and for good reason. With Alert’s technology, Walmart said it will be better positioned to leverage its more than 4,700 U.S. stores, situated within

10 miles of 90% of the population. Bringing Alert’s technology in-house will enable Walmart to reach its customers quicker by deploying MFCs with greater speed. This is part of Walmart’s broader goal to introduce the next generation of fulfillment centers and continue to transform its world-class supply chain. It’s also a win for robotics startups, which haven’t always had a happy ending when working with Walmart. RR – Steve Crowe

Amazon looks to automate ‘Holy Grail’ with Sparrow

Organization Name: Amazon Robotics

Country: USA

Website: amazon.jobs/en/teams/amazon-robotics

Year Founded: 2003

Number of Employees: 501-1000

Innovation Class: Application & Market

Innovation Subclass: Logistics

Description:

Sparrow is a bin-picking robot that picks individual products in an Amazon warehouse before they get packaged. According to Amazon, Sparrow can handle 65% of the more than 100 million items in Amazon’s product catalog. Sparrow can pick a variety of items, like DVDs, socks and stuffed animals, but struggles with items that have loose or complex packaging. It uses an offthe-shelf Fanuc robot arm and custom so ware and suction-based gripping.

Analysis:

Amazon built an e-commerce giant in part by automating the movement of goods around its warehouses. One task that has remained the ‘Holy Grail’ is using a robot arm to pick individual items to be shipped. On a small scale, Sparrow has started to change for Amazon.

Many third-party companies built binpicking robots that they have tried to sell to Amazon. But Amazon didn’t bite, perhaps because those systems couldn’t reliably

handle enough of Amazon’s inventory. If Sparrow can, it will be another gamechanger for Amazon, ala Kiva’s automated guided vehicles and Amazon’s new Proteus autonomous mobile robot. Sparrow could be a boon for Amazon’s stalling logistics operations during a period of cost-cutting and help legitimize bin-picking systems in the larger supply chain industry.

RR – Steve Crowe

AMD Kria KR260 platform eases robotics development

Organization Name: AMD

Country: USA

Website: amd.com

Year Founded: 1969

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

The Kria KR260 Robotics Starter Kit is a scalable, out-of-the-box development platform. It features support for the Ubuntu embedded operating system and ROS 2. It comes with an integrated set of robot libraries and utilities that enable the development of hardwareaccelerated applications for robotics, machine vision, and industrial communication and control. The Kria KR260 Robotics Starter Kits build on the success of the AMD Kria SOMs and KV260 Vision AI Starter Kit for AI and embedded developers.

Analysis:

The KR260 Robotics Starter Kit integrates high-performance industrial interfaces and features native ROS 2 support. It enables roboticists and industrial developers without FPGA expertise to develop hardwareaccelerated applications for robotics, machine vision, and industrial communication & control.

The pre-built interfaces and accelerated applications make the KR260 a solid platform to accelerate robotics innovation and take those ideas to volume production deployment.

Additionally, the AMD Xilinx app store enables developers to evaluate hardwareaccelerated robotics applications without requiring FPGA experience by downloading and running them on the KR260. These applications can be used in production or in combination with the pre-built interfaces on the KR260, offering an elevated starting point for development and differentiation.

RR – Steve Crowe

American Robotics expands drone services to oil and gas industries

Organization Name: American Robotics

Country: USA

Website: american-robotics.com

Year Founded: 2016

Number of Employees: 51-100

Innovation Class: Application & Market

Innovation Subclass: Energy

Description:

American Robotics recently added new capabilities to its Scout System drone to allow oil and gas customers to automate visual inspection of facilities and assets and detect crude oil loss. These new features include high-resolution RGB and thermal camera payloads as well as AI anomaly detection capabilities. These features enable oil and gas customers to perform frequent inspections of things like pumpjacks, heater treaters, tanks, flare stacks, pumps and electrical infrastructure.

Analysis:

American Robotics can provide a level of automated service that no other drone company can because of the landmark approvals it received from the Federal Aviation Administration. In 2021, the company was the first to receive FAA approval to operate autonomous drones without humans on site for research and development, crew training, and market surveys. Last year, this approval was

expanded to allow the company to operate its drones commercially without limitation.

Oil and gas plants can be dangerous and expensive facilities to maintain, and new regulations will mean they require even more frequent inspections. Between American Robotics’ deployment flexibility and its new features, the company is ready to make monumental changes in the way oil and gas plants are inspected. RR – Brianna Wessling

GLOBAL SOLUTIONS, LOCAL RELATIONSHIPS

Explora robot explores dangerous caves to assess vulnerable bat colonies

Organization Name: Australian Droid + Robot

Country: Australia

Website: australiandroid.com.au

Year Founded: 2019

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Application & Markets

Innovation Subclass: Environmental

Description:

Australian Droid + Robot sent its Explora robot into old workings and caves in Australia’s Pilbara region that are too dangerous for humans to explore. The company’s client, the Rio Tinto Pilbara Environmental team, needed to ensure no critical biological species in the area would be in danger because of their operations in caving systems prone to collapse. The Explora has onboard sensors and payload capabilities that enable data capture despite challenging terrain and low visibility.

Analysis:

Australia is home to millions of species of flora and fauna, many of which are native to the country. One of these species is the Ghost bat, a vulnerable species only found in northern Australia. These were a particular concern for the Rio Tinto Pilbara Environmental team, as they live in caves only in specific regions of Australia and could easily go unnoticed until too late.

Sending humans into these caves to check for the bats, however, isn’t an option, as many of these cave systems are prone to collapse and too dangerous for humans. The Explora robot captured critical data that enabled the research team to make better decisions about how to protect the bat colonies in the future. RR –

Brianna Wessling

Boston Dynamics’ Stretch finds early success unloading trailers

Organization Name: Boston Dynamics

Country: USA

Website: www.bostondynamics.com

Year Founded: 1992

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Class: Technology, Product Services

Innovation Subclass: Product Introduction

Description:

Boston Dynamics launched Stretch in March 2022. The omnidirectional mobile robot can unload floor-loaded trailers, working with a range of package types and sizes up to 50 lb. Stretch is equipped with a custom vacuum gripper and an advanced vision system that detects boxes and the container surroundings, enabling Stretch to autonomously recover packages that shi or fall during unloading. Stretch does not require pre-programming of SKUs or information about box sizes, making all unloading decisions in real time.

Analysis:

Fulfillment has been the top market for robotics the past few years. But truck unloading, one of the most important parts of the supply chain, has remained one of the least automated. Stretch is among a small group of robots currently hitting the market to ease challenges related to labor shortages, rising costs and worker injuries, as well as bringing more predictability and efficiency, to this inbound logistics process

Boston Dynamics has seen strong interest from early adopters like DHL, Performance Team - A Maersk Company, and NFI, all of which signed multi-million dollar orders for Stretch in its first year on the market. Trailer unloading is the first task Stretch is going after, with other case-handling applications to follow. With the early success and Boston Dynamics’ world-class robotics engineering prowess, Stretch is poised to become a vital part of the fulfillment process for years to come. RR – Steve

Crowe

Brain Corp adds dual-purpose to floor-scrubbing robots

Organization Name: Brain Corp

Country: USA

Website: braincorp.com

Year Founded: 2009

Number of Employees: 110-500

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Brain Corp’s autonomous floor scrubbers can be used to clean a wide variety of hard floor surfaces within retail stores, grocery stores, airports, malls, warehouses, educational institutions and more. Now, these robotic scrubbers can do more than just clean floors.

With Brain Corp’s Inventory Scan, the company’s floor scrubbing robots can autonomously scan and report key details about in-store inventory. The new accessory identifies the location of products, pricing compliance, stock levels and stock-outs as well as planogram compliance.

Analysis:

Grocery stores and supermarkets have some of the lowest profit margins of any industry, with most margins sitting between one and three percent. This means that many of these businesses don’t have a lot of spare capital to invest in expensive robots, and especially single-purpose robots.

Brain Corp’s dual-purpose floor cleaning and inventory scanning robots provide more value for the company’s customers without needing to double the number of robots

deployed. Additionally, Inventory Scan can be more accurate and faster than manual inventory reporting methods, meaning these robots are doing more work at a higher quality and faster than human workers could. All around, Brain Corp’s dual-purpose capabilities show just how helpful robotics can be in the retail industry.

RR – Brianna Wessling

THE AI VISION SYSTEM FOR EVERYONE

How to accelerate, control and optimize processes

Intelligent cameras can recognize varying shapes, locate randomly distributed objects and detect anomalies. In short, they excel when rule-based image processing reaches its limits. The AI Vision system IDS NXT provides users with all required tools and workflows. It‘s so easy!

Cionic bionic clothing assists people with mobility issues

Organization Name: Cionic

Country: USA

Website: cionic.com

Year Founded: 2018

Number of Employees: 1-10

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Product Introduction

Description:

Cionic’s Neural Sleeve is a wearable device that analyzes, predicts and augments a person’s movements. The leg sleeve works by predicting intended movements using measurements of electrical signals from the brain and a dense array of sensors that measure how individual muscles fire during movements. Algorithms analyze this data in real time to decide optimal muscle activation patterns. The sleeve then delivers Functional Electrical Stimulation to sequence proper muscle firing for natural movement.

Analysis:

There are over 35 million people with mobility challenges in just the United States, and by 2050, 20% of the population is projected to have a movement disability. The Cionic Neural Sleeve can help reduce pain and increase mobility in its users.

Multi-site trials with the Cionic Neural Sleeve found that 94% of participants showed improved mobility while wearing the sleeve. Additionally, another study that aimed to test the sleeve’s effectiveness over

time found that the number of participants who experienced moderate to severe pain reduced by 60%. The study also found that the number of participants experiencing moderate to severe anxiety or depression also dropped by 75%. Cionic’s Neural Sleeve could be a life-changing product for millions of people living with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and other mobility impairments. RR – Brianna Wessling

Clearpath OutdoorNav software eases mobile

robotics development

Organization Name: Clearpath Robotics

Country: Canada

Website: clearpath.ai

Year Founded: 2009

Number of Employees: 101-250

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Clearpath Robotics launched an autonomous navigation so ware platform called OutdoorNav in October 2022. The technology provides GPS-based navigation for outdoor mobile platforms, including those om Clearpath and third-party companies.

OutdoorNav so ware provides point-to-point, GPS-based autonomous navigation through proprietary fusion of vehicle sensor data. When paired with compatible hardware, the so ware also provides built-in obstacle detection and avoidance, as well as continuous path planning, allowing off-road vehicles to navigate autonomously between waypoints.

Analysis:

Robotics product development can often be a difficult experience. Building a robust navigation system is expensive and risky, and it may prevent you from bringing your product to market in a timely fashion.

Clearpath Robotics designed OutdoorNav to streamline the development of autonomous robots. You no longer need a full team of robotics navigation experts and months of prototyping to get your autonomous system into the field. OutdoorNav comes with a well-documented

API that allows developers to expand their capabilities by integrating custom ROSbased applications and graphical user interfaces or by connecting third-party fleet management tools.

Highly configurable and customizable, OutdoorNav could be ideal for prototyping and developing the next generation of smart autonomous industrial machines that aim to increase productivity, improve efficiency and address forecasted labor shortages.

RR – Steve Crowe

Coalition takes stand against weaponized robots

Organization Name: Coalition Against Weaponization of General Purpose Robots

Country: USA

Website: N/A

Year Founded: 2022

Number of Employees: N/A

Innovation Class: Business & Management

Innovation Subclass: Social Good

Description:

In October 2022, six leading companies formed the Coalition Against the Weaponization of General Purpose Robots. Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Boston Dynamics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics and Unitree wrote an open letter pledging not to support the weaponization of their robots or software. Understanding their commitment alone is not enough to fully address the risk of weaponized robots, the coalition called on others in the industry and policymakers to also promote the safe use of these robots and to prohibit their misuse.

Analysis:

Robots are incredible tools that can keep people safe, enrich lives and help companies overcome operational challenges. Unfortunately, there recently has been a number of viral videos showing individuals weaponizing commercial robots. New generations of robots, especially those from the aforementioned companies, are more accessible, easier to operate, more autonomous and capable of navigating into locations previously inaccessible to automated or remotely-controlled technologies.

Weaponizing commercial robots will harm public trust in the technologies, which offer tremendous benefits to both businesses and society. While certainly not a panacea for potential all misuse, the Coalition Against the Weaponization of General Purpose Robots should be praised for taking a stand and encouraging all stakeholders to work together to ensure the safe and proper use of generalpurpose robots. RR – Steve Crowe

DeepMind open-sources MuJoCo physics engine

Organization Name: DeepMind

Country: United Kingdom

Website: deepmind.com

Year Founded: 2010

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Class: Business and Management

Innovation Subclass: Business Models

Description:

MuJoCo, which stands for Multi-Joint Dynamics with Contact, is a physics engine and simulator that aims to facilitate R&D in robotics, biomechanics, graphics and animation, and other areas where fast and accurate simulation is needed. MuJoCo can be used to implement model-based computations such as control synthesis, state estimation, system identification, mechanism design, data analysis through inverse dynamics, and parallel sampling for machine learning applications.

Analysis:

DeepMind, an AI research lab and a subsidiary of Alphabet, in October 2021 acquired the MuJoCo physics engine for robotics research and development. It released the open-source version of MuJoCo on GitHub in May 2022.

Before the acquisition, MuJoCo had been the physics simulator of choice for DeepMind’s robotics team. Many simulators used by robotics engineers were initially designed for gaming and cinema and take shortcuts that prioritize stability over accuracy.

MuJoCo’s rich-yet-efficient contact model has made it a leading choice by robotics researchers. DeepMind’s decision to acquire and open-source the technology now makes it freely available to everyone. This will enable more robotics engineers to use an accurate, realistic physics engine and ease some of the challenges of developing complex robotics systems.

RR – Steve Crowe

Foxglove standardizes robotics data recording

Organization Name: Foxglove

Country: USA

Website: foxglove.dev/

Year Founded: 2021

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

MCAP is a standardized container file format for storing heterogeneous robotics data. It can record multiple streams of structured and unstructured data – in a variety of serialization formats like ROS 1 ROS 2, Protobuf, JSON Schema and FlatBuffers – in a single file. In addition to the file format spec, Foxglove provides libraries in C++, Python, Go, Swift, and TypeScript to help robotics developers start reading data from and writing data to MCAP files.

Analysis:

By standardizing robotics data recording and making it more failure-proof, MCAP is tackling a major problem with wide-reaching implications. Roboticists can not only record their data files more performantly, but they can also more easily collaborate on this data by integrating with systems and tools that support this new standard. Because MCAP is serialization-agnostic and thus flexible enough to evolve with a team’s data decisions, more companies across robotics

are adopting this format to take advantage of its benefits.

Prior to releasing MCAP, countless robotics companies spent valuable inhouse resources to develop custom file formats, only to create more future work and complicate third-party integrations. Foxglove identified a clear need for a general-purpose, open-source data container format –specifically optimized for robotics use cases.

RR – Steve Crowe

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MIT spinoff GelSight creates affordable, mini tactile sensor

Organization Name: GelSight

Country: USA

Website: gelsight.com

Year Founded: 2011

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Product Introduction

Description:

The GelSight Mini is a tactile sensor that gives robots a sense of touch. The sensor measures just 32 mm wide and 28 mm thick. GelSight Mini gives researchers optimized 2D and 3D images of material surfaces. It does this by relying on data captured by GelSight’s elastomeric tactile sensing platform, which leverages the ROS, PyTouch and Python. The GelSight Mini is detected like a webcam, so there is no need to install software to get started.

Analysis:

GelSight Mini can be used in a range of things, from industrial-style two-finger grippers to bionic hand research and development. The sensor’s compact design, and GelSight’s provided 3D CAD files of adapters for integration, make it easy to install into an existing system.

The company spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where the company’s founders developed technologies in the fields of 3D imaging, perceptual modeling and signal processing.

ROS compatibility, frame grabbers and Python scripts are all provided by the company, allowing users to get started right away with unique AI and computer vision tasks.

GelSight Mini is an affordable and compact tactile sensor with a plug-andplay set-up. It could help reduce the barrier of entry into robotics and touchbased scanning for corporate research and development, academics, and hobbyists.

RR – Brianna Wessling

HEBI applies modularity expertise to mobile robots

Organization Name: HEBI Robotics

Country: USA

Website: hebirobotics.com

Year Founded: 2014

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

HEBI Robotics in 2022 introduced mobile robots for industrial inspection and maintenance. These robots are built around HEBI’s R-Series actuators that are designed for wet and dirty outdoor environments. As with the rest of HEBI’s platform, each robot can be quickly modified and customized to add additional capabilities, third-party sensors or tools, and a wide range of manipulators. This builds on the success of the previously-developed HEBI Arm API for quickly implementing and deploying custom robotic manipulators.

Analysis:

HEBI’s new line was initiated when a customer requested a robot to perform a task. HEBI realized the task required a different type of robot than what the customer was requesting. This led to the development of the original “Tready” robot.

From that point on, customer requests and applications dictated this mobile platform should support various types of mobility and should be available in different sizes, form factors, and with a variety of manipulation and sensing capabilities.

To bring the benefits of robotics to the variety of tasks outside the factory, it is helpful to use highly versatile tools. HEBI’s Lego-like building blocks could be key to enabling this level of flexibility. And the company has laid the groundwork for a modular mobile robot platform that can be modified in the field by the end user to tackle whatever is needed that day. RR – Steve

Crowe

Inbolt simplifies use of vision servoing with a unique application

Organization Name: Inbolt

Country: France

Website: inbolt.

Year Founded: 2019

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Inbolt released GuideNow, a self-contained 3D vision servoing and real-time vision guidance solution for robots. The technology integrates easily with any robot using a single Intel Realsense camera. Inbolt’s AI-based 3D vision software, Inbrain, can rapidly evaluate huge volumes of 3D data to recognize a workpiece’s position and orientation and adjust the robot’s trajectory. The technology can also match a real-world item to its CAD model and move relative to the workpiece location.

Analysis:

Inbolt launched GuideNow, a self-contained 3D vision servoing and real-time vision guidance solution. The system uses a single Intel Realsense (or any 3D camera), LiDAR or structured light, and is designed to easily integrate with any industrial robot.

Computer vision has come a long way in recent years, and its applications in fields such as manufacturing and automation have

been instrumental in boosting efficiency and productivity. It has become an invaluable tool for many industries, and its capacity to improve processes in these industries is virtually limitless. The benefits of computer vision’s use in industry are indisputable and continue to grow, evolve, and improve along with the technology. RR – Mike

Oitzman

Intrinsic acquires Open Source

Robotics Corp

Organization Name: Intrinsic

Country: USA

Website: intrinsic.ai

Year Founded: 2021

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Class: Business and Management

Innovation Subclass: Market Engagement

Description:

Intrinsic, a software company that spun out of the X moonshot division of Alphabet in mid-2021 to simplify the use of industrial robots, acquired the Open Source Robotics Corporation (OSRC) in December 2022. OSRC is the for-profit arm of the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF), which is the developer of the Robot Operating System (ROS).

The OSRF remains an independent nonprofit, meaning there should be no disruption in the day-to-day activities with its core commitment to ROS, Gazebo and Open-RMF.

Analysis:

The robotics industry has grown tremendously in size and complexity. And its need for reliable, open-source software has never been greater. It has become increasingly challenging for OSRF, as a small organization, to meet the needs of a growing user community.

Intrinsic should be a good fit for OSRC, where the team will have a greater ability to improve ROS, Gazebo, and Open-RMF so

that they can be used in even more domains, with ever-higher demands for software quality, testing and support. With resources from Intrinsic and Alphabet’s track record of support for open-source software projects, this was a smart move by OSRC that could allow the group to execute on its ambitious roadmap and should benefit robotics developers around the world. RR – Steve

Crowe

Inuitive’s vision technologies improve robot autonomy

Organization Name: Inuitive Technologies

Country: Israel

Website: inuitive-tech.com

Year Founded: 2012

Number of Employees: 51-100

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Inuitive’s NU4100 multi-core vision processor enables high-quality depth sensing, SLAM on-chip, computer vision and deep learning capabilities all in an affordable form factor and minimized power consumption. It features a depth processing engine that enables throughput of 120Mp/s and supports multiple simultaneous streams of both stereo and structured light. The NU4100 offers computing power that exceeds 8 Terra OPS (Operations per second) and can analyze its environment using 3, 6, or even more cameras.

Analysis:

Robots are increasingly reliant on vision processors. Their ability to perceive and understand the environment is fundamental to achieving a higher level of autonomy. The NU4100 IC can simplify this part of the development process with its integrated vision capabilities that are combined in a single, complete-mission computer chip.

Inuitive’s sensor fusion, computer vision and deep learning technologies improve the performance of robots by empowering them

with depth sensing and object recognition abilities. The result is a robot with advanced site mapping and navigation capabilities, along with heightened collision avoidance with a wide field of view and 3D Imaging for improved robot productivity.

RR – Steve Crowe

James Webb Space Telescope revolutionizes astronomy

Organization Name: NASA/JPL

Country: USA

Website: webb.nasa.gov/

Year Founded: 1936

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Class: Application & Market

Innovation Subclass: Aerospace

Description:

In July 2022, NASA put the James Webb Space Telescope into service. It operates as the largest optical telescope in space, using near-infrared and spectral analysis sensors.

The first science images exceeded expectations and pushed beyond the bar set previously by the Hubble telescope. Every image to come out of JWST delivers remarkable science, and its ability to see through dust clouds provides never-before-seen photos of the center of galaxies.

Analysis:

The NASA James Webb Space Telescope entered into service in July 2022, stationed at a solar orbit 1 million miles above the earth. The telescope unfolding was the most challenging engineering feat ever undertaken by NASA. JWST is the largest optical telescope in space and is equipped with near-infrared and spectral analysis sensors.

The first set of science images to be acquired exceeded all expectations and

included the highest-resolution images of deep-space objects that have ever been seen. Subsequent observations include some of the oldest galaxies and stars ever observed. One of the most stunning observations captured the environmental composition of an exoplanet and confirmed the presence of water in its atmosphere. Physicists will process data collected by JWST for decades to come. RR – Mike

Oitzman

APPLICATION & MARKET

— Aerospace

NASA succeeds in 1st planetary defense test mission

Organization Name: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Country: USA

Website: dart.jhuapl.edu

Year Founded: 1942

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Class: Application & Market

Innovation Subclass: Aerospace

Description:

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecra , developed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, made impact with an asteroid called Dimorphos on September 26, 2022. The DART spacecra smashed into the asteroid at 3.7 miles per second, around 85 feet om the center of the rock. The collision knocked the asteroid off its course.

Analysis:

The goal behind DART was to perform an onorbit demonstration of asteroid deflection. While Dimorphos wasn’t on a collision course with Earth, NASA wanted to test its ability to deflect an asteroid with a kinetic impactor before an Earth-threatening asteroid is discovered.

Dimorphos had a diameter of 492 feet. Before DART’s impact, it took Dimorphos about 11 hours and 55 minutes to orbit a

larger asteroid, this period was shortened by 33 minutes after the impact.

DART navigated itself to the asteroid more than 6.8 million miles from Earth to crash into Dimorphos using algorithms called SMART Nav (Small-body Maneuvering Autonomous Real Time Navigation). SMART Nav allowed the impactor to identify Dimorphos and direct itself toward the asteroid. RR – Brianna Wessling

Locus Robotics surpasses 1B picks with AMRs

Organization Name: Locus Robotics

Country: USA

Website: locusrobotics.com

Year Founded: 2014

Number of Employees: 51-200

Innovation Class: Business & Markets

Innovation Subclass: Market Engagement

Description:

In September 2022, autonomous mobile robot (AMR) developer Locus Robotics surpassed 1 billion picks for its warehouse fulfillment customers. The milestone pick was made at a home improvement retailer warehouse in Florida, where a LocusBot picked a cordless rotary tool kit. Locus completed its billionth pick just 59 days a er hitting its 900 millionth pick. To put this into perspective, it took Locus 1,542 days to pick its first 100 million picks.

Analysis:

Retailers and fulfillment warehouse operators are increasingly turning to AMRs to meet growing demand and mitigate labor shortages. Cost-e cient robots are a musthave as e-commerce volumes continue to increase.

LocusBots are deployed at more than 200 sites worldwide, with some sites using as many as 500 LocusBots. The billionth

pick and Locus’ increasing pick rate are a testament to the company’s robotics innovation and vision. It also further solidifies Locus’ world-class reputation as a leading AMR provider that continues to create critical business value for its customers around the world, every day. RR – Brianna

Wessling

Machina Labs uses robots to manufacture titanium sheet metal parts

Organization Name: Machina Labs

Country: USA

Website: machinalabs.ai

Year Founded: 1993

Number of Employees: 500

Innovation Class: Application & Market

Innovation Subclass: Manufacturing

Description:

Machina Labs uses robots the way a blacksmith uses a hammer. Its robotic forming technology, called Roboforming, can rapidly manufacture large, curved titanium parts. The system uses two industrial Fanuc robotic arms, one on each side of a metal forming table, to shape sheet metal to precise measurements. In 2022, Machina Labs introduced the capability to produce titanium alloy sheet metal parts for use in aircraft, rockets, and satellites. The result is an accurate, flexible and cost-effective manufacturing process.

Analysis:

Using material- and geometry-agnostic technology, the Machina Labs platform outperforms traditional sheet metal methods that rely on custom, costly tooling. The company’s dieless robotic sheet forming process can reduce the time to produce a part, eliminating the cost of designing and manufacturing molds and dies. It also enables a more flexible process, allowing for room temperature forming of titanium.

What this means is that innovative new hardware can be scaled up on much shorter timelines and within lower budgets, making previously impossible product programs feasible. Roboforming also enables optimized designs that were not previously manufacturable. This allows manufacturers and end customers to realize higher performance, lighter weight, and more efficient products, opening up new markets and economies for U.S. domestic manufacturing. RR – Mike Oitzman

TECHNOLOGY,

Main Street Autonomy simplifies sensor calibration

Organization Name: Main Street Autonomy

Country: USA

Website: mainstreetautonomy.com

Year Founded: 2019

Number of Employees: 1-10

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Main Street Autonomy’s Calibration Anywhere so ware can calibrate sensor intrinsics, extrinsics and time offsets, as well as provide a motion compensation mechanism, for slowsampling sensors. The so ware doesn’t require a structured environment to calibrate sensors.

To calibrate sensors with the so ware, users only need around thirty seconds of data om various sensors on a mobile robot exhibiting some movement. Main Street Autonomy supports almost any combination of sensors, including cameras, lidars, radars, IMU, wheel encoders, and GPS/GNSS.

Analysis:

Whether it be an autonomous vehicle or an autonomous mobile robot, robots need sensors to know how to navigate the world. Calibrating those sensors is a necessary part of deployment that can sometimes be timely and difficult, requiring checkerboards, fiducials, and targets in specific locations manned by technicians or engineers.

Instead, Calibration Anywhere allows users to calibrate sensors in just minutes, allowing customers to calibrate more

frequently service robots in the field without an expensive return-to-HQ trip, and eliminate engineers or technicians from the calibration process, allowing anyone to calibrate robot sensors. The software’s time offset calibration also eliminates the need for expensive time synchronization hardware.

Overall, Main Street Autonomy’s Calibration Anywhere allows for faster, cheaper, and easier sensor calibration.

RR – Brianna Wessling

FAULHABER BX4

Getagrip on precision

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MassRobotics aims to diversify robotics talent pool

Organization Name: MassRobotics

Country: USA

Website: massrobotics.org

Year Founded: 2015

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Business & Management

Innovation Subclass: Social Good

Description:

MassRobotics, a nonprofit robotics innovation hub, accelerator and incubator based in Boston, ran the second iteration of its Jumpstart Fellowship Program in 2022. The program provided opportunities for diverse Massachusetts high school girls to learn about careers in robotics and network with industry professionals.

The curriculum included technical skills such as design and simulation, programming, hands-on building, prototyping and testing. The program included mentorship to help develop a more inclusive technical workforce by preparing diverse talent in high school to pursue careers in STEM and robotics.

Analysis:

In the Massachusetts technology sector, only 5% of workers are Black, 7% are Latinx and only 33% are women, according to the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council. With the Jumpstart Fellowship Program, MassRobotics is challenging the belief that there is a shortage of tech talent in Massachusetts. Rather, MassRobotics asserts that providing technical training, mentoring and access to professional networks will cultivate the talent and perspective that is currently lacking in the sector.

MassRobotics believes that by setting women of color up for success in the technology field, they will more likely pursue these disciplines for their professional careers. MassRobotics has a lot of important initiatives, but building a program to diversify the robotics talent pool in Massachusetts and beyond might be its most important.

RR - Steve Crowe

Meijer uses robots to clean up Great Lakes

Organization Name: Meijer

Country: USA

Website: meijer.com

Year Founded: 1934

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Class: Business & Management

Innovation Subclass: Social Good

Description:

In August 2022, Meijer deployed the BeBot and Pixie Drone to clean up beaches and waterways as part of the ongoing Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup Program.

BeBot is a remote-controlled beach-cleaning robot that rakes through sand to collect plastic litter and other waste. Pixie Drone is a remote-controlled water drone that navigates busy marinas and waterways to collect plastic litter. The drone also collects water data, like temperature, pH, salinity, turbidity and dissolved oxygen.

Analysis:

The Great Lakes provide drinking water for about 40 million people. More than 22 million pounds of plastic pollution end up in the Lakes every year, according to the Rochester Institute of Technology. If this plastic isn’t removed, it eventually breaks down into smaller pieces called microplastics.

Removing plastics from the Lakes, however, is tedious and needs to be done nearly around the clock, making it difficult to

keep up with the pollution using manpower alone. Deploying autonomous robots that can work around the clock is a great solution.

Not only do these robots remove plastics from beaches and waterways, they’re also able to give us greater insights into how effective cleanup projects are by providing more data on the water the robots are cleaning. RR – Brianna Wessling

Perseverance Rover completes first multi-sol drive on Mars

Organization Name: NASA/JPL

Country: USA

Website: jpl.nasa.gov

Year Founded: 1936

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Class: Applications & Markets

Innovation Subclass: Aerospace

Description:

In February 2022, NASA’s Perseverance Rover completed its first multiple-sol, or Martian day, drive. The drive was split over three sols and helped the rover get closer to its final sampling location on its crater floor campaign.

Perseverance uses Autonav to navigate on Mars. It creates 3D maps of the terrain and plans routes without any direction om a controller on Earth. Autonav is good at picking out obstacles like rocks, but struggles with identi ing sand, which the rover could get stuck in.

Analysis:

NASA’s Perseverance Rover has been on Mars for two-plus years. In that time, it achieved many milestones, including coring its first rock sample and making oxygen on the red planet.

For this three-sol drive, scientists needed to create and evaluate three times the number of drive path segments and associated terrain evaluations as it does for a normal drive. This was complicated even more by the fact that the team won’t know exactly where the rover would end its previous drive.

To complete this drive without getting stuck, NASA had to greatly expand the rover’s “keep-out zones,” particularly for the third day when there would be the most amount of uncertainty in the rover’s location. This successful drive is yet another testament to NASA and its ability to develop autonomous navigation capabilities for Perseverance.

RR – Brianna Wessling

Nauticus dives into future of underwater robotics

Organization Name: Nauticus Robotics

Country: USA

Website: nauticusrobotics.com

Year Founded: 2014

Number of Employees: 51-100

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Nauticus’ fleet of underwater robots is made up of pairs of the company’s Hydronaut and Aquanaut robots. Hydronaut is a surface-level vessel that can be controlled remotely or autonomously. It can transport goods and equipment and even deploy other robots.

Aquanaut, on the other hand, can manage aquaculture projects, repair oil pipelines and scan seabeds, all while running solely on electric power. Aquanaut can carry out missions without issue as Hydronaut can charge the Aquanaut and support communication efforts.

Analysis:

Right now, less than 10% of the ocean has been explored or mapped, which is why many researchers see this area as being ripe for opportunity. Marine environments are also very difficult for humans to access, for exploration or upkeep of existing off-shore assets, creating the perfect environment to use robots.

Nauticus’ technology means offshore industries can safely manage their assets without putting a single human life in

danger. What would traditionally require a full crew of offshore staff can now be done by an untethered, remotely operated, and more precise robot. The company has already put its robots to use by collaborating on projects with the US Military and private partners like Shell. RR – Brianna Wessling

NVIDIA improves ROS 2 pipeline processing with hardware acceleration

Organization Name: NVIDIA

Country: USA

Website: nvidia.com

Year Founded: 1993

Number of Employees: 25,000+

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

NVIDIA and Open Robotics developed new features for ROS 2 Humble in July 2022 that enabled NVIDIA Jetson to operate a hardware-accelerated pipeline more e ciently. NVIDIA achieved a 7x speed boost om ROS 2 Foxy to Humble using Jetson AGX Orin.

Isaac ROS also published NVIDIA’s NITROS processing pipelines, which incorporate type adaption and negotiation features om ROS 2 Humble. Isaac ROS helps ROS 2 developers integrate AI and CV technology into their robotic applications.

Analysis:

The Robot Operating System (ROS) has been instrumental in advancing the robotics sector. But users experience limitations in the ROS framework due to its inefficiency in mapping to modern heterogeneous architectures like the NVIDIA Jetson and SOCs from many other vendors. NVIDIA Isaac ROS addressed this by adding type adaption and type negotiation to ROS 2 Humble, providing a standard and ROScompatible way to build hardware-accelerated applications.

NVIDIA Isaac ROS also delivered a comprehensive set of artificial intelligence and computer vision packages to the ROS developer community that offer high performance and are easy to leverage. When used with NVIDIA’s Jetson edge AI platform and GPU-based systems, ROS 2 developers enjoy reduced development time and improved performance. RR – Mike

Oitzman

OnRobot D:PLOY lowers barriers to robotics adoption

Organization Name: OnRobot

Country: Denmark

Website: onrobot.com

Year Founded: 2018

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Class: Technology, Product Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

OnRobot in late 2022 unveiled its D:PLOY so ware that helps non-robotics experts, and others, build, run, monitor and re-deploy robots. D:PLOY can automatically discover and configure the components in a robotic cell, while also integrating external I/O om sensors and machines. It can automatically generate a robot’s motions based on the obstacles and cell boundaries defined in the workspace. D:PLOY initially targets four applications - palletizing, pick and place, machine tending and packaging - and offers real-time monitoring and performance insights.

Analysis:

Although many small and medium-sized companies have embraced automation, high barriers to adoption remain. Deploying robots on the manufacturing floor is often still too complex. All of this drives up costs and the minimum number of parts produced, making automation an unviable option for many.

Ease-of-use has been a topic for years now in robotics, and D:PLOY is among a number of software solutions hitting the market making a difference. D:PLOY breaks

down some of these barriers for its initial target applications to help customers ease labor shortages and improve productivity.

D:PLOY continues the diversification of OnRobot’s product line and, therefore, increases revenue opportunities. It could also help integrators improve margins and increase customer satisfaction by completing projects more cost-effectively and in less time and robot manufacturers expand revenue opportunities through increased adoption. RR - Steve Crowe

Open-Source Leg Project democratizes prosthetic development

Organization Name: Open-Source Leg Project

Country: USA

Website: opensourceleg.com

Year Founded: 2019

Number of Employees: 1-10

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Led by the University of Michigan, the Open-Source Leg Project delivered on some of its first systems in 2022. The Open-Source Leg (OSL) is a platform made primarily for the development of control algorithms for robotic knee and ankle systems. Its design has been available since 2019, but this is the first time an assembled leg is being offered for labs seeking an off-the-shelf robotic prosthesis. Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Tech, HumoTech, Imperial College of London and many others are participating in this effort.

Analysis:

There are hundreds of thousands of leg amputees in the U.S. that struggle with mobility limitations. Robotic experts have spent years trying to create prosthetic leg hardware and control systems that can seamlessly augment human motion, but these projects are timely, expensive, and lack universal hardware that could speed development.

The OSL gives researchers the ability to bypass the process of designing and building

a prosthetic leg to use for testing control strategies. It also allows researchers to more easily compare the effectiveness of different control strategies by standardizing the hardware they’re being tested on. The OSL offers a simple, low-cost design and high performance, making it ideal for conducting high-impact research.

RR – Brianna Wessling

Yeti delivery robot autonomously dispenses packages

Organization Name: Ottonomy IO

Country: USA

Website: ottonomy.io

Year Founded: 2020

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

In 2022, Ottonomy developed its latest delivery robot, Yeti, which features an automatic package dispenser. Once the robot reaches its destination, the last-mile-delivery bot can drop its contents onto a doorstep or transfer them into a compatible locker for safekeeping until the human arrives to pick them up. Yeti follows the late 2022 addition of Ottobot 2.0, which offers custom options such as the ability to swap out modular bins for different deliveries.

Analysis:

Ottonomy’s Yeti delivery robot can autonomously drop off packages without the need for a human to be on-site to receive the package. It uses a simple tilting mechanism and rollers to dispense the packages. There are plenty of last-mile delivery robots commercially available, but one that is fully independent of humans is novel at this point. It could open up new applications, such as returns, for the system.

Ottonomy has several concurrent programs in cities across the world, including Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Oslo and Madrid. It’s also working to expand to additional markets in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. As demand and use cases for autonomous delivery continue to grow, Ottonomy is wellpositioned to provide its robots as a service and capitalize on its unique technology.

RR – Mike Oitzman

Photoneo MotionCam-3D Color camera

captures dynamic scenes

Organization Name: Photoneo

Country: Slovakia

Website: photoneo.com

Year Founded: 2013

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

MotionCam-3D Color is a camera that combines 3D data, motion and color to create colorful 3D point clouds in real time. Powered by patented parallel structured light technology, it projects one sweep of laser onto the scene and produces structured light patterns on the sensor side. The technology enables the capture of objects moving up to 144 km/h (89 m/h), providing a point cloud resolution of 0.9 Mpx and an accuracy of 300-1,250 µm, depending on the model.

Analysis:

We are seeing a huge boom in vision-guided robotics as more and more industries are turning to automation via advanced 3D sensors. The color feature was a missing puzzle piece in Photoneo’s technology portfolio.

These three core properties of the MotionCam-3D Color - high-quality 3D data, a continuous stream of 3D point clouds and the ability to capture color data - on their

own are not unique in the world of 3D vision. But if you combine them into one device, as Photoneo has done, that could be beneficial to streamlining the robotics development process. The properties of MotionCam3D Color could open up completely new automation possibilities for any type of project that requires the creation of 3D models. RR – Steve

Crowe

MoveIt Studio offers low-code robotics development environment

Organization Name: PickNik Robotics

Country: USA

Website: picknik.ai

Year Founded: 2015

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

PickNik Robotics’ MoveIt Studio Developer Platform allows robotics engineers and robot field operators to build advanced applications that include robotic manipulator arms. The studio comes with a user- iendly interface that has a set of pre-built tools to make it easier to build and debug behavior trees, inspect trajectories, diagnose failures, and provide robot recovery.

With the platform’s visual behavior trees, users can drag and drop the behaviors they want their robot to perform and click run, or code their own.

Analysis:

The MoveIt Studio Developer Platform can streamline the creation of robotics and robotics services. The platform allows users who aren’t robotics experts to code their robotic arms with its low-code platform, while also allowing users to remotely develop and test robot hardware.

The studio can be used in a variety of applications, including in space, defense, factory automation, supply chain,

agriculture, healthcare, clean energy, offshore energy, undersea exploration and more, making it easier for these industries to start automating their processes with little coding experience. This makes the overall deployment process faster and less expensive for end-users. RR – Brianna

Wessling

TECHNOLOGY,

Rapid Robotics brings flexibility to robotic workcells

Organization Name: Rapid Robotics

Country: USA

Website: rapidrobotics.com

Year Founded: 2019

Number of Employees: 51-100

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Smart Setup is a so ware system that allows robotic arms to be pre-trained on multiple manufacturing tasks and moved between them. With Smart Setup, anyone can use a touchscreen interface to stop one task, wheel the robotic workcell to another machine and start a new task. The robot uses a 3D vision system to register its position relative to the machine it is tending to work without needing to be precisely placed or fixed to the floor.

Analysis:

Smart Setup eliminates one of the limitations of robotic arms - they must be programmed for a single task and are often fixed in place to avoid errors due to the pedestal shifting. Historically, this limitation has made robotics impractical for many high-mix, low-volume facilities, because using them for a line that runs only a few hours a day, or an operation that will only run for a few months makes no sense.

Smart Setup makes robotic automation accessible for manufacturers with no programming or robotics expertise in-house. It also makes it practical for facilities that have multiple part-time tasks to automate or whose operations change frequently. This could bring needed flexibility to robotic arms, paving the way for them to be used in more industries in the future. RR – Brianna

Wessling

RoboTire transforms tire-changing process

Organization Name: RoboTire

Country: USA

Website: robotire.com

Year Founded: 2018

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Technology, Product Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

RoboTire’s automated tire-changing system uses robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning to change four tires in under 25 minutes. A typical system involves smaller robotic arms that focus on the bolts of the tires and larger robotic arms that li the tire off the car and put a new tire back on.

The robot, which has been installed at numerous locations around the U.S., aligns the tire with the rim of a car to ensure proper fit and balance.

Analysis:

RoboTire is a unique and innovative solution for the tire-changing process. It delivers value to its customers by improving the e ciency and accuracy of the process, as well as reducing the risk of injury to technicians. The system is also flexible. RoboTire can work with various tire sizes and types, making it capable of changing tires on a variety of vehicles.

And, perhaps most importantly, RoboTire is helping accelerate the introduction and growth of robots in more consumer-facing

industries, such as automotive service. To date, most robots have been confined to warehouses and research labs.

The RoboTire tire-changing system is a truly innovative technology that has the potential to shake up the tire-changing industry. RR – Brianna Wessling

Skyline Robotics disrupting $40B window cleaning industry

Organization Name: Skyline Robotics

Country: USA

Website: skylinerobotics.com

Year Founded: 2017

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Skyline Robotics in March 2022 debuted Ozmo, a robot designed to automate skyscraper window cleaning. Ozmo combines artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, robotic control and an array of sensors to create a system that offers a safer alternative to human window washers. Ozmo uses LiDAR to scan building surfaces to memorize every curve and edge of the area, while force sensors provide it with a sense of touch and sight.

Analysis:

In the last 100 years, buildings have scaled dramatically in height and window surface area. Yet the method of cleaning these buildings has remained unchanged. Humans clean these windows while suspended on a platform in the air.

Ozmo addresses several needs and concerns, including worker safety, labor shortages and building health. According to Skyline, 74% of window cleaners in the USA

are over the age of 40, but only 10% are between the ages of 20 and 30.

Skyline claims Ozmo is three times faster than traditional window cleaning and reduces onsite labor costs by up to 75%. But, most importantly, it removes humans from the cleaning platform, leaving them to safely supervise the robot from the rooftop. Skyline Robotics is disrupting the $40 billion window cleaning industry. RR – Mike Oitzman

Spacee Deming a simplified approach to shelf-scanning robots

Organization Name: Spacee

Country: USA

Website: spacee.com

Year Founded: 2013

Number of Employees: 200

Innovation Class: Technology, Product Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Spacee’s Deming ROVR is a small mobile robot that moves across shelves to capture inventory data. The ROVR images items on the opposite side of the aisle and can count queued items using a 3D depth perception algorithm om images taken om multiple locations. The robots also offer live video feed capabilities, allowing retail store managers to see shelves and get real-time inventory snapshots remotely.

Analysis:

The Deming ROVR is an affordable and simplified retail inventory counting solution. Unlike other free-roaming mobile robots that can count inventory, the Deming ROVR is a mobile camera constrained to an enclosed track that runs the length of an aisle. While two ROVRs are required for 100% coverage of each aisle of a store, they’re faster to deploy and manage than mobile robot-based inventory management solutions.

The ROVR can provide real-time feedback as it can continually scan the aisle without disturbing shoppers. While it can take several days for staff to capture inventory manually and hours for a mobile robot, Deming can provide an accurate inventory account of an entire facility in under a minute, Spacee claims. Deming installation requires just one tool and about 30 minutes per aisle.

RR – Mike Oitzman

SparkAI helps John Deere resolve agriculture autonomy challenges

Organization Name: SparkAI

Country: USA

Website: spark.ai

Year Founded: 2020

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Application & Market

Innovation Subclass: Agriculture

Description:

SparkAI is a developer of human-in-the-loop technology to help robots resolve edge cases in real time. In moments of low confidence, a robot calls SparkAI’s service and passes imagery and other metadata via REST API. SparkAI can resolve di cult-to-discern details about the scene to support a real-time decision by combining two key components in real-time: cognitive input om multiple human mission specialists trained for the use case and results om its so warebased decision systems. The entire process takes seconds.

Analysis:

John Deere, which acquired SparkAI in March 2023, was a customer prior to the deal. It used SparkAI’s human-in-theloop technology on its production-ready autonomous tractor that uses various sensors to autonomously navigate a farm.

One of the main challenges of agricultural autonomy is edge cases. To be viable, autonomous tractors need to perform consistently well even in harsh conditions like dust, rain, snow, and bright sun. These factors can make it difficult for even the best

machine learning models to consistently make the right decisions.

Without a way to resolve edge cases, robots that could be used in safety-critical functions are forced to stay in R&D mode. With an accurate, confident edge case resolution platform behind their autonomous tractor, John Deere has been able to deploy their product to real farms and get to work addressing some of the biggest problems in agriculture. RR – Steve Crowe

ULC Technologies partners with innovative companies to build bespoke robotic and autonomous solutions that are designed to deliver results. Our engineers have developed and commercialized robots that work in complex environments such as pipeline networks and construction sites to enhance safety and reduce costs.

PRODUCT & SERVICES — Technology & Product Introduction

Stratom makes vehicle refueling safer, more efficient

Organization Name: Stratom

Country: USA

Website: stratom.com

Year Founded: 2001

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Stratom released RAPID, a portable autonomous refueling system designed to operate in extreme environments, such as a battlefield, to refuel aircraft or trucks. RAPID uses an autonomous robotic arm, vision guidance and a changeable refueling nozzle system that can handle liquid fuel, high-pressure gases or electric recharging. The unit is completely self-contained and includes its own power generation. RAPID is designed for mobility and quick deployment and supports future uncrewed vehicle refueling applications.

Analysis:

With various applications, including transportation fleets, remote mine sites, oil & gas platforms and military bases, RAPID could reduce the number of workers needed on-site while creating a better job environment for operators. The system’s high level of autonomy also makes it helpful in reducing human exposure to hazardous environments.

Autonomous vehicles and fleets will become increasingly common across all

industries, forcing businesses to adapt by adopting innovations like RAPID to potentially reduce the risk of injury from hazardous environments and improve company turnaround times by minimizing the crew required to complete a refueling operation. This kind of flexibility will make it easy for organizations to respond to changes in demand in real time. RR – Mike

Oitzman

TECHNOLOGY,

Tatum Robotics creates revolutionary communication tool for DeafBlind people

Organization Name: Tatum Robotics

Country: USA

Website: tatumrobotics.com

Year Founded: 2021

Number of Employees: 1-10

Innovation Class: Business and Management

Innovation Subclass: Social Good

Description:

Tatum Robotics has created a 3D-printed robotic hand that aims to help DeafBlind people communicate, soon to be followed by a complete robotic arm for complex signing. A DeafBlind person uses Tatum’s robotic system by placing their hand over the robotic hand, which currently fingerspells using the American Sign Language (ASL) manual alphabet. Receiving the robot’s handshapes is meant to imitate the way DeafBlind people receive signs from other people using tactile ASL.

Analysis:

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissions (NARUC) estimates there are between 70,000-100,000 people living in the U.S. today who are completely and concurrently Deaf and blind. Although most assistive communication tools for the DeafBlind rely on braille, most DeafBlind people do not know braille due to acquiring deafblindness later in life or lack of learning resources and experience. This means

much of the population relies on human interpreters, which can cost upwards of $75 an hour, can take months to access, and require a team of two interpreters who switch off every 15 minutes.

Tatum’s robotic hand is a revolutionary technology for this community that can give DeafBlind people the ability to communicate with the people around them independently of an interpreter. RR –

Brianna Wessling

Telexistence deploys restocking robots at Japanese convenience stores

Organization Name: Telexistence

Country: Japan

Website: tx-inc.com

Year Founded: 2017

Number of Employees: 51-200

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Telexistence developed an autonomous inventory restocking robot. The robot is deployed within convenience store refrigerators and detects drink inventory. The system comprises a SCARA robot mounted on a linear axis, a mechanical robot gripper and multiple cameras to scan each shelf. It uses machine learning to identify drinks that are running low and plan a path to restock them. In late 2022, Telexistence announced a deal for the robot to be installed in 300 FamilyMart convenience stores in Japan.

Analysis:

There are 56,000 convenience stores in Japan — the third-highest density worldwide. Around 16,000 of them are run by FamilyMart. Telexistence aims to save time for these stores by offloading repetitive tasks, like refilling shelves of beverages, to its novel robotics system. This allows retail staff to tackle more complex tasks like interacting with customers.

This RaaS-based system claims to help convenience store operators optimize and improve customer experience, especially during shifts when the workforce is tough to hire and manage.

If the initial deployments in Japan go well, Telexistence plans to expand to the U.S., which has more than 150,000 convenience stores and is also plagued with a labor shortage in the retail industry.

RR – Mike Oitzman

Teradyne merges AMR subsidiaries

AutoGuide & MIR

Organization Name: Teradyne

Country: USA

Website: teradyne.com

Year Founded: 1960

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Class: Business & Management

Innovation Subclass: Leadership

Description:

In September 2022, Teradyne merged its two autonomous mobile robot (AMR) subsidiaries AutoGuide Mobile Robots and Mobile Industrial Robots (MIR). Before the merger, MiR offered a range of AMRs capable of carrying payloads and pallets up to 3,000 lb. By combining with AutoGuide, the portfolio will expand to include heavy-duty AMR tuggers and forkli s that will operate on the MiRFleet so ware. The newly integrated company is known as MIR.

Analysis:

Teradyne acquired AutoGuide Mobile Robots in 2019 for $58 million in cash. But after some bumps in the road, Teradyne decided in 2021 the best way to differentiate its AMR business from the competition was to provide a broad product line under a single software control.

Teradyne reworked the sensor suite in the AutoGuide robots to optimize their performance with MiR’s software and to enhance the MiR software to handle the higher speeds of the heavy payload vehicles from AutoGuide.

Merging AutoGuide and MIR not only improved the performance of the heavy-duty AMRs, but it also enhances the customer experience. Putting all of the AMRs under one software control and roof makes it easier to engage with customers and simplifies the marketing, sales and support processes. MIR is widely recognized as a world-class AMR provider and this merger makes its product portfolio even stronger. RR – Steve

Crowe

Tuskrobots develops novel AMR/AGV to automate pallet movement

Organization Name: Tuskrobots

Country: China

Website: tuskrobots.com

Year Founded: 2019

Number of Employees: 51-100

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Tusk Robotics designed a low-profile AMR/AGV pallet mover that fits completely underneath a pallet. The robot has a smaller profile than any other pallet-moving robot on the market. It can lift 1200 kg (3,215 lb) of payload in aisles a minimum of 1.7 m wide (5.5 ft). The robot uses SLAM or QR code navigation, making it an ideal solution for a unit load ASRS pallet storage array.

Analysis:

Tusk Robots developed a unique AMR/AGV pallet mover with a low profile that enables the robot to move completely underneath a pallet, lift the pallet, and then transport the pallet to a new destination. With a vehicle outline slightly larger than its payload, it can operate in high-density storage areas not accessible by normal fork trucks.

Demand for logistics help is soaring, but forklift operators and other skilled workers

are in short supply. Robotic vehicles are one way that manufacturers and logistics companies can address labor shortages while running their operations more safely and efficiently. There are a number of autonomous forklifts on the market, but Tuskrobots offers perhaps the most unique approach. RR – Mike

Oitzman

UC Berkeley DayDreamer algorithm enables robot learning without simulation

Organization Name: University of California, Berkeley

Country: USA

Website: berkeley.edu

Year Founded: 1868

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Research

Description:

UC Berkeley’s DayDreamer is a reinforcement-learning (RL) algorithm that, for example, taught a quadruped to walk in just one hour without interacting with a simulator. DayDreamer uses neural networks to interact with the environment, and then uses the information it gathers to learn a world model. This world model allows machine learning to predict the results of a series of actions. This predicted behavior is used with RL to train a controller for the robot.

Analysis:

The DayDreamer algorithm was successfully used to train a Unitree Robotics A1 Quadruped to roll off its back and walk in just an hour, a Universal Robot UR5 manipulator and a UFACTORY xArm 6 to complete a pick-and-place task in around 10 hours, and a Sphero Ollie mobile robot a navigation task in two hours.

Berkeley’s algorithm works fast and is well equipped to handle the complexity

and dynamics of the real world than a simulated environment. DayDreamer’s world model also requires less development time and cost than a simulated model. Overall, the DayDreamer algorithm could lead to big improvements in the amount of time and funding it takes to train robots to do complex tasks. RR – Brianna

Wessling

Universal Robots unveils its fastest, strongest cobot ever

Organization Name: Universal Robots

Country: Denmark

Website: universal-robots.com

Year Founded: 2005

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Class: Technology, Product Services

Innovation Subclass: Product Introduction

Description:

Universal Robots unveiled in 2022 its UR20 collaborative robot (cobot) arm. The UR20 can li payloads up to 20 kg (44 lb) with a 1750 mm reach and six degrees of eedom. The UR20 can li the heaviest payloads of all UR cobots. The UR20 was rebuilt om the ground up, featuring a new joint design that increases all joint torques by about 25% and joint speeds by up to 65%.

Analysis:

Universal Robots is the world’s leading cobot developer. It has been for a number of years. In 2022, for example, the Teradyne subsidiary generated $326 million in revenue, a 5% increase from 2021. Teradyne expects its industrial automation group to see continued growth in 2023, in large part because of new products like the UR20.

With the increased payload and long reach, the UR20 opens up new cobot applications for the company, especially palletizing, which must have been top-ofmind when UR’s engineers were developing

the UR20. And although Universal Robots’ market share has slightly declined, the UR20 further diversifies the company’s cobot lineup and helps it keep pace with competitors that already introduced heavyduty cobot arms.

On top of all this, the UR20 will ship with the company’s top-notch global support, hands-on training and service offerings. It is also compatible with the UR+ ecosystem, which is an app store for UR’s cobot arms and a clear differentiator from the competition.

RR – Steve Crowe

Viam combines open-source robotics system with integrated cloud services

Organization Name: Viam

Country: USA

Website: viam.com

Year Founded: 2020

Number of Employees: 51-100

Innovation Class: Technology, Product & Services

Innovation Subclass: Technology & Product Introduction

Description:

Viam provides an open-source robot architecture that turns complex functionality into simple APIs, with an integrated cloud service to orchestrate production deployments. Users can configure in less time and operate it from anywhere using any common software language. It also lets users synchronize data from each robot to the cloud, combine and analyze data in the cloud, and then deploy changes to every robot.

Analysis:

Viam’s vision is to make it easier to get started with robots and support the entire robotics lifecycle on a single platform, including configuring and prototyping, coding, maintaining and growing robotics fleets, and leveraging cloud technologies to do more with robotics data.

Founder & CEO Eliot Horowitz was a founder and CTO at Mongo DB prior to founding Viam in 2020. Mongo DB is an open-source database solution for developing web-based applications.

Horowitz wants to modernize robotics operating software in a similar fashion. There is widespread agreement that robotics and automation will become mainstream, having a significant impact on every industry and aspect of daily life. However, the path to get there has been complicated by technological barriers on the software side. Viam is hoping its technology can help developers overcome some of these challenges. RR – Steve Crowe

Say hello to the

H-SERIES:

The safest cobot on the marketplace, delivered in 4 weeks or less.

Six-axis articulation

Force torque sensors on each axis

PLe CAT 4 Safety Rating

1700mm Reach 25kg Payload

APPLICATIONS & MARKETS

— Transportation

Waymo continues robotaxi expansion

Organization Name: Waymo

Country: USA

Website: waymo.com

Year Founded: 2009 (formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project)

Number of Employees: 1500+

Innovation Class: Applications & Markets

Innovation Subclass: Transportation

Description:

In the last year, Waymo started giving fully driverless robotaxi rides in two cities, San Francisco and Phoenix and even started giving rides om Downtown Phoenix to the Phoenix airport. Its service area in both of these cities grew throughout 2022, more than doubling its footprint in Phoenix and covering most of San Francisco. It also announced Los Angeles as its next city.

Analysis:

While Waymo isn’t the first or only autonomous vehicle company to deploy in Phoenix and San Francisco, the performance of its autonomous driving system sets it apart from its competition, which is mainly Cruise at this time. Waymo holds its robotaxis to a high bar. The company doesn’t just want to create an autonomous vehicle that can drive as well as a human, but one that can drive much better.

Waymo’s service isn’t perfect and still experiences disengagements, but seemingly far fewer than the competition. Robotics Business Review took 2 Waymo robotaxis around San Francisco for nearly 30 minutes, and the experience was flawless. Driverless robotaxis are slowly but surely expanding in the United States, in large part due to Waymo.

RR – Brianna Wessling

APPLICATION & MARKETS

— Transportation

WHILL brings autonomous mobility to 1st North American airport

Organization Name: Whill

Country: USA

Website: whill.inc

Year Founded: 2012

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Class: Application & Markets

Innovation Subclass: Transportation

Description:

In late 2022, WHILL announced the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport as the first permanent installation in North America for its autonomous mobility service. Travelers with mobility limitations can book a WHILL mobility chair that will autonomously bring them from check-in to their gate. Using sensing technologies and automatic brakes, WHILL’s power chairs detect and avoid obstacles in airports. And soon passengers will be able to make additional stops at predetermined locations like restrooms, shops and restaurants.

Analysis:

Passengers with reduced mobility are one of the fastest-growing demographics in the airline industry. This can make it difficult for airports to meet the additional demands that come with accommodating their needs. By transporting passengers to their gates, the WHILL autonomous power chair relieves demands on the airline of providing manual wheelchair push services, while helping passengers maintain more independence.

The autonomous chair service has been tested in several U.S. airports, including Atlanta, San Jose and Grand Rapids, and others around the world. WHILL’s autonomous mobility chair has been tested through several trials at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport since 2019. The application of transporting people around an airport with an autonomous robot is a novel concept with plenty of room for future growth. RR – Steve Crowe

WiBotic brings benefits of wireless charging technology to ASRS

Organization Name: WiBotic

Country: USA

Website: wibotic.com

Year Founded: 2015

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Application & Market

Innovation Subclass: Energy

Description:

In 2022, WiBotic made its wireless charging and controls communication available for Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS). Because of their slow charging speed, batteries might not be practical for storing power in an ASRS, and the usual solution, super-capacitors, requires direct contact with electrical plates to charge.

Instead, WiBotic uses a wireless power system that can also allow data to be sent between the charging station and shuttle over the wireless power system’s existing control radios.

Analysis:

A single ASRS requires hundreds of shuttles to efficiently run, and all of these need power and communication multiple times per hour. In just a month, the number of power deliver “events” that occur in an ASRS can easily run into the millions.

Typical systems that use electrical plates for charging are vulnerable to failed contact points, which can greatly show down the entire system, or even require the entire ASRS

to shut down so that the broken plate can be replaced. These shutdowns can easily be a determining factor in a project’s overall ROI. With wireless charging, WiBotic’s customers don’t need to worry about what will happen if one electrical plate breaks down, creating a more reliable customer experience overall. RR –

Brianna Wessling

Doosan Robotics

Doosan Robotics Leading the Charge in Palletizing Innovation

Known for their dexterity and safety, Doosan Robotics H-SERIES cobots are the most powerful in the marketplace, providing unrivaled and precise performance in palletizing. Featuring a maximum reach of 1700mm and 25kg payload, Doosan’s H-SERIES not only has a higher payload and longer reach than competitors, but it can also safely perform highly complex tasks using precise force and compliance control based on the 6-axis force torque sensors. With the highest collision sensitivity in the industry our cobots can also be trusted to share space with personnel, all while enhancing production output and maximizing labor. Doosan Robotics also delivers in a fraction of the time of industry competitors, with an average delivery time of four weeks.

ElectroCraft’s MPW Wheel Drives

Mobile

Robot Solutions

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are key elements in optimizing the e ciency and profitability of an automated warehouse. Minimizing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the AGV or AMR is a must, and this depends heavily on the design of its drivetrain. If the OEM uses well-designed, proven components, the mobile platform will provide many years of service, handling cumbersome, heavy loads e ciently with minimal downtime for maintenance.

Doosan Robotics

Robotics

Robotics

3D CAD Configurator for Actuators & Accessories

Introducing the new online 3D CAD configurator for actuators and accessories. Using the 3D product configuration tool, you can create Festo-specific CAD product combinations to make your search for suitable accessories faster, easier and more reliable. Select the actuator from a selection of either cylinder, drive with guides, or semi rotary drives, then simply point and click on the accessory hot spots to identify and select each accessory. The configurator ensures compatibility between actuator and accessory and eliminates any possible error in type code.

Try this engineering tool and discover more online tools to make your everyday work easier.

Apex C1500-L Autonomous Forklift

Through the leading multi-sensor fusion technology and computer vision, Apex C1500-L precisely and intelligently handles pallets in various warehousing, logistics, and manufacturing scenarios.

Features & Benefits

• 3,306 lb Payload Capacity

• 9 ft 11 in Lifting Height

• AMR/Forklift Collaboration

• Compatible with Conveyor Docking

• 360° Obstacle Detection & Avoidance

• 2.3 in Pallet Placement Precision

• Pallet Stacking at Various Heights

• GMA & Euro Pallet Compatibility

• Receiving, Putaway, Restocking, Crosszone Handling, & Outbound Workflows

Visit www.forwardx.com/apex-amr/ to learn more.

ForwardX Robotics

www.forwardx.com

Email: oversea@forwardx.com

Interested in increasing picking e ciency and warehouse productivity?

Geek+’s cutting-edge goods-to-person picking system is the ultimate robotic solution for your warehouse or distribution center. Geek+’s awardwinning picking solution helps companies maximize order fulfillment capacity by augmenting throughput by 2x and improving picking e ciency by 3x. Our picking solution has equipped over 700 global customers – including Nike, Walmart, DHL, and Decathlon – with mobile robotics technology that maximizes warehouse productivity, picking accuracy, and speed of delivery. Visit our website to learn more about how we can help you overcome your supply chain challenges.

SHA Rotary Actuator with Integrated Servo Drive

The SHA-IDT Series is a family of compact actuators that deliver high torque with exceptional accuracy and repeatability. These hollow shaft servo actuators feature Harmonic Drive® precision strain wave gears combined with a brushless servomotor, a brake, two magnetic absolute encoders and an integrated servo drive with CANopen® communication. This revolutionary product eliminates the need for an external drive and greatly simplifies cabling yet delivers high-positional accuracy and torsional sti ness in a compact housing.

Robotics

IDS Imaging Development Systems Inc.

Anomalies? Detected!

The all-in-one system IDS NXT can now reliably detect unpredictable deviations. It is possible to use only “GOOD” training images. In addition, only a small amount of training data is required compared to other AI methods. This simplifies the development of an AI vision application and helps with evaluating the potential of AI-based image processing for new projects.

The AI vision system consists of intelligent industrial cameras plus software environment, which covers the entire process from creating to running AI vision applications. In addition to its user-friendly workflows and holistic design, expert tools enable open-platform programming, making IDS NXT cameras highly customisable and suitable for a wide range of applications.

Easily design a maintenance-free gantry robot system to your exact specifications for up to 40% less cost

Gantry robots have become a critical component for manufacturing and warehouse automation. igus® provides turnkey and custom gantry systems that are built with self-lubricating plastic liners which are engineered to slide instead of roll, allowing for smoother and quieter operation vs. traditional recirculating ball bearings.

Every gantry robot system that igus® o ers provides a lightweight, corrosion-resistant solution that is ideal for pick and place, sorting, labeling, measuring, inspection, and repetitive material handling applications.

Due to their modular nature, igus® gantry robots are easily customizable for any workspace, and free onsite consultation is available to ensure the perfect solution at the lowest possible cost.

maxon

Compact motors for Collaborative robots

maxon flat motors are especially suitable for installation in confined spaces. The brushless motors are designed as internal and external rotors and can reach speeds of up to 20,000 RPM. Available with hall sensors, sensorless or with integrated electronics. These motors can also be combined with gearheads and encoders.

• External, multi-pole rotor for high torques

• Open design for excellent heat dissipation at higher speeds

maxon is your single source for motion solutions. When you choose maxon, you can expect outstanding service, creative options and quality without question. Want to get your ideas moving? Contact maxon today.

Learn more about the maxon solutions and visit www.maxongroup.us

Easily Introduce Custom-built Robots to Existing Systems

The MRC01 robot controller supports easy programming and control of in-house designed custom built robots with 3 simple steps: “Initial Setup”, “Operating Programming” and “Operational Checking”.

Use the AZ Series family of products to support your inhouse design for improved performance and ease of use.

• Easily introduce custom-built robots to existing systems

• Direct control via EtherNet/IP™

• Easy setup even for beginners (no ladder logic)

• Experience the “MRC Studio” programming software (trial version) before purchase

• Use with AZ Series drivers: built-in controller type (AC/DC) or mini driver RS-485 communication type (24/48 VDC)

Robotics

Meet POSITAL’s New Generation of Incremental Encoders

A new generation of IXARC encoders is now available, with new sensor technology and upgraded processors for better performance and reduced energy consumption. These devices are programmable, making them easily adaptable to special user requirements. Resolution (pulses per turn) and communications interface characteristics can be customized to meet your application’s exact requirements. With a wide range of mounting and connectivity options available, these can be easily used as replacements for encoders from most major manufacturers.

More NeXtGen products are on the way, including upgraded absolute encoders and kit encoders.

Stay tuned!

Ruland Manufacturing

Zero-Backlash Couplings for Robotic Systems

Ruland Manufacturing o ers a variety of zero-backlash servo couplings designed for use in high precision applications like automation and robotics. Ruland o ers beam, bellows, disc, oldham, jaw, and newly-released Controlflex couplings in thousands of o -the-shelf combinations and sizes to help designers optimize their systems.

Robotic vision systems, material handling robots, and automated guided vehicles have infamously strict requirements that require engineers to balance torque, weight, dampening, and more, all while retaining extremely precise power transmission. Ruland servo couplings excel in demanding applications and can be selected based on a wide variety of performance characteristics.

Visit Ruland.com for access to everything you need to make a coupling design decision including: full technical product data, 3D CAD models, installation videos, and eCommerce to make prototyping easy.

Maximize Robot ROI with E cient

Re-Deployment

Robots are flexible and adaptable. Quickly re-tasking robots for job variety can be challenging.

Some common solutions: Changing workpieces – Quick-change gripper fingers and gripper changeouts are easily automated for workpiece variety or changing workpiece characteristics during manufacturing.

Flexible machine table fixtures – Robots are widely identified for their ability to handle workpieces. They also excel at automatically replacing fixtures and other peripheral tooling.

Automating multiple tasks – Use the robot to accomplish a secondary task. Instead of remaining idle during machining, the robot can automatically deburr workpieces.

Adjustable custom tooling – Use dove tails and adjustable mountings in EOATs to expand tools for changing conditions or reach requirements.

Many standard solutions are available - make the most of your investment with automation expert support today!

THK Micro Cross-Roller Ring Series RAU

The THK micro-size Cross-Roller Ring RAU features a 10mm inner diameter and a 21mm outer diameter. It is more compact, lightweight and rigid than a double row angular contact ball bearing type. RAU rollers travel on V-shaped raceways ground into the inner and outer rings. Alternating rollers are arrayed orthogonally so that one bearing can support loads and moments in any direction. Spacer retainers enable smooth movement and high rotation accuracy.

https://www.thkstore.com/products/rotation/cross-roller-rings/rau.html

SCHUNK: 211 Kitty Hawk Drive, Morrisville, NC 27560 919-572-2705 info@us.schunk.com

Robotics

ULC Technologies

Leading Robotics and Technology Development for more than 20 years

ULC Technologies partners with innovative companies to build bespoke robotic and autonomous solutions that are designed to deliver results. Our engineers have developed and commercialized robots that work in complex environments such as pipeline networks and construction sites to enhance safety and reduce costs.

Contact our team to discuss your robotics and technology development needs.

design guide on Bluetooth & Connectivity

The demand for high data throughput, low power, and longer battery life is driving much of the breakthroughs and evolutions in connectivity technology.

In this Design Guide, we present the need-to-know basics, as well as the technology fine points aimed at helping you and your designs keep pace and stay competitive in the fast-changing world of connectivity.