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The 400lb CHIMP in the room: CMU’s Tartan Rescue Team prepares for the DRC
Shima Rayej
17 Dec 2013
Carnegie Mellon University’s Tartan Rescue Team has completed assembly of its 400 pound 5-foot-2 inch tall simian-like robot that will compete in the first annual DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) in H...
Robot Holiday Video 2013: Autonomous Systems Lab, ETH Zurich
Robohub Editors
17 Dec 2013
The Autonomous Systems Lab at ETH Zurich proudly presents this year’s Robotics Christmas Video:
Movement at night and a stolen tree, who the heck let the robots free? They gather and cheer, ...
Foxconn plans factory in PA and funds robotics research at CMU
Frank Tobe
16 Dec 2013
Foxconn’s parent company Hon Hai Precision will fund $10 million for robotics and advanced manufacturing research at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. No further details about the 2-year str...
Fully autonomous flapping-wing micro air vehicle weighs about as much as 4 sheets of A4 paper
Guido de Croon
16 Dec 2013
The DelFly Explorer, a flapping wing MAV equipped with a 4-gram stereo vision system that can fly completely by itself in unknown, cluttered environments. © Delft University of Technology.
The DelFl...
KUKA opens Shanghai factory and announces orders
Frank Tobe
15 Dec 2013
... KUKA cut the ribbon at their new factory outside of Shanghai. The factory will begin employing 350 and produce the QUANTEC line of robots and controllers and will be able to produce 3,000 robots a...
Rethink Robotics downsizing: 23% laid off
Frank Tobe
13 Dec 2013
... The Boston Globe reported that Rethink Robotics, maker of the $22,000 Baxter 2-armed robot, has cut 21 jobs from their staff of approximately 90.
... CEO Scott Eckert said, “The layoffs are the...
Startup Series #5: Rodney Brooks, Steve Cousins & Pioneers Festival
Andra Keay
10 Dec 2013
Robolution panel at the Pioneers Festival in Vienna.
It’s not every day you get to ask pioneering robot startup founders about their journey. The Robolution panel at the Pioneers Festival in Vien...
Amazon isn’t the only delivery service testing flying robots
Frank Tobe
10 Dec 2013
... Amazon isn’t the only delivery service testing flying robots. DHL and microdrones are testing drones that could be used to deliver urgently needed goods to hard-to-reach places, eg, medicines to...
iRobot, 3D Systems and Makerbot recognized at Economist’s 2013 Innovation Awards
Hallie Siegel
09 Dec 2013
Earlier this week, the Economist held its Innovation Awards in London. In the "No Boundaries" category — created for technology-based products or services that don't fit neatly into the usual catego...
Factory-in-a-Day: EU FP7 invests €7.9M to make robotics affordable for SMEs
Hallie Siegel
07 Dec 2013
Factory-in-a-Day is an EU initiative to develop a robotic system that is inexpensive, leasable, and can be set up and working in 24 hours. The goal is to make advanced robotic systems, which currently...
CubeSats: Launching education into space
Hallie Siegel
06 Dec 2013
Three Cubesats were deployed November 19, 2013 from a Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (SSOD) attached to the Kibo laboratory’s robotic arm. Image Credit: NASA.
Four more student-built CubeSat rese...
Donate, spread the joy, and help Robohub grow
Hallie Siegel
06 Dec 2013
You may have noticed the yellow donations banner at the top of our homepage and in our newsletter … Why are we asking for $$? It's true that Robohub exists primarily thanks to the contributions of d...
Google makes big robotics investment
Frank Tobe
06 Dec 2013
... In a revealing NY Times interview with Google’s Andy Rubin, some heretofor unknown things came to light. Google is now in the robotics business. They’ve made seven acquisitions in the last six...
Rehabilitation support robot “R-cloud” makes muscle movement visible
DigInfo TV
05 Dec 2013
Associate Professor Toshiaki Tsuji's Laboratory at Saitama University has developed R-cloud, a rehabilitation support robot that enables users to view how their own muscles move during rehabilitation ...
Google buys up robotics companies from DRC
Andra Keay
04 Dec 2013
If you've recently wondered where all the roboticists were going, the answer is to an unassuming complex in Palo Alto. Google has backed Android developer Andy Rubin to acquire at least 7 major roboti...
Beginner’s guide to the humanoid robot challenge (DRC)
Andra Keay
03 Dec 2013
The first real world trial in the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) will be held on December 20-21 2013 at Homestead Freeway in Florida. Yes, it's open to the public. Anyone can come along and watch huma...
Amazon announces plans for drone delivery service, says safety will be key priority
Hallie Siegel
02 Dec 2013
Amazon announced yesterday that it is developing a drone delivery service called Prime Air that will aim to get packages into customer's hands within 30 minutes. They are planning to launch as soon a...
Apple buys Israel’s PrimeSense for $350 million
Frank Tobe
29 Nov 2013
Famous from being the synchronized depth perception system inside the Microsoft Kinnect, PrimeSense, a venture-funded company based in Tel Aviv, was just acquired by Apple for $350 million.
Bloomb...
Global Machine Vision market to grow at 9.4% CAGR
Frank Tobe
26 Nov 2013
New report by Research and Markets, Global Machine Vision Market 2012-2016, a $2,500 report, forcasts global machine vision market to grow at a CAGR of 9.4% to 2016....
Mazor Robotics on a roll
Frank Tobe
25 Nov 2013
Mazor Robotics’ stock (NASDAQ:MZOR and TASE:MZOR) has steadily rolled up 260% year-to-date....
Medical/surgical simulation and training
Frank Tobe
24 Nov 2013
As the need for training on new-tech devices increases, virtual and physical simulation systems are in demand at medical schools and hospitals worldwide. One novel new robotic invention is Patrick, th...
In case you missed the Uncanny Valley session at IROS
Hallie Siegel
20 Nov 2013
Many of us from the Robohub team were at the landmark Uncanny Valley session at IROS this year - it turned out to be one of those wish-I'd-been-there events for anyone unlucky enough to have missed it...
Three new quadrotor videos demonstrate agile control and the power of machine learning
Hallie Siegel
18 Nov 2013
Quadrocopters assembling tensile structures in the ETH Flying Machine Arena. Photo credit: Professorship for Architecture and Digital Fabrication and the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control, ETH...
3D scanners coming down in price
Frank Tobe
17 Nov 2013
... 3D Systems new Sense 3D scanner, at $399 including software, is a serious competitor for Makerbot’s $1,400 Digitizer scanner.
... The new Sense scanner is hand held and you have to slowly wave ...
Is this the right time for robotic startups?
Torsten Andre
14 Nov 2013
Last month the Pioneers Festival took place in the Imperial Palace, Vienna, Austria. According to its website, the festival is Europe's premium event for entrepreneurship and future technologies. Star...
New ETF (NASDAQ:ROBO) focuses on robotics industry
Frank Tobe
13 Nov 2013
... UPDATE 11/12/13: NASDAQ’s 10-story tall sign was all about Robo-stox LLC, ROBO the ETF, and a Universal Robot with a Schunk hand ringing the NASDAQ closing bell. Quite a spectacle. The arm/hand ...
New TV show: Have co-robots gone too far?
Frank Tobe
08 Nov 2013
... In a new TV series on the Fox Channel, set in 2048 and entitled “Almost Human,” every cop is paired with a highly evolved human-like android partner.
... The show stars Karl Urban and Michael...
Two Boston notables get more money
Frank Tobe
07 Nov 2013
... Cyphy Works, the UAV developer with the tether solution, raises $7 million from VCs and angel investors.
... Funds will be used to expand Cyphy Works efforts in surveying and situational awarene...
Cubelets are growing up as Moss
Andra Keay
07 Nov 2013
Three years after their successful Cubelets, Modular Robotics launched a new kickstarter today for Moss. It’s like Cubelets just got clever and maybe a little bit more fashionable too. Moss is a dyn...
iREX Maker/User Summit
Frank Tobe
07 Nov 2013
... In a packed 1,000-seat hall at iREX 2013 in Tokyo, six prominent robot executives from ABB, Fanuc, Yaskawa, KUKA, Kawasaki and Nachi faced off against two really big users.
... Dr. Chia Day, VP...
IROS2013 is not just funny robot videos
Andra Keay
04 Nov 2013
If the latest funny videos of robots falling over is all you hear about IROS2013, it's understandable. This is the 26th year of IROS, the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Sy...
Live Coverage of IROS Workshop on Science Communication
Sabine Hauert
04 Nov 2013
Don't miss our live coverage on "Understanding Robotics and Public Opinion: Best Practices in Public Science Communication and Online Dissemination" at the IROS conference in Tokyo. LIVE NOW No...
Robotics Expo in Moscow
Frank Tobe
04 Nov 2013
... A 27-photo review of Robotics Expo 2013, held last month in Moscow, shows promise for start-ups throughout Russia.
... The show was themed around home automation, hospitality/guide/remote presenc...
Insect-inspired flying robot handles collisions, goes where other robots can’t
Adrien Briod
30 Oct 2013
Gimball is a flying robot that survives collisions. It weighs just 370g for 34cm in diameter. Photo credit: A. Herzog, EPFL.
Generally, flying robots are programmed to avoid obstacles, which is far ...
Play-i want to bring a robot to every child
Andra Keay
29 Oct 2013
After receiving a $1million seed fund round from investors like Google Ventures, many of us have been waiting for Play-i to come out of stealth and show us their stuff. Play-i are a Silicon Valley bas...
RoboBusiness: Day Two
Robert Morris
26 Oct 2013
On a rare overcast day in San Jose, RoboBusiness got down to business with keynotes and the general exhibition in full swing. The morning held keynote speakers, breakouts in the afternoon, and then ...
