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Using force feedback in robotics
Mathieu Bélanger-Barrette and Robotiq Inc.
15 Jan 2016
For many years, industrial robots were not able to monitor their surroundings. With the introduction of different sensors for robots, they are now able to feel what they are handling and see what the...
Google’s detailed intervention rates reveal the real unsolved problem of robocars
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
15 Jan 2016
Hot on the heels of my CES Report is the release of the latest article from Chris Urmson on The View from the Front Seat of the Google Car. Chris heads engineering on the project (and until recently l...
Flying robots, with Dario Floreano (Part two)
Last month we caught up with Dario Floreano, the head of the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. Here we continue our discussion,...
Survey on your experience with robotics competitions
Mahmoud AbdelAziz
14 Jan 2016
From Grand Challenges such as the recent DRC, to STEM events such as FIRST, to startup pitches such as Robot Launch, competitions have been used to push the state of the art in the field, inspire the ...
Robocar news from CES 2016
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
13 Jan 2016
I’m back from CES 2016 with a raft of robocar news, some of which was reported before the show. Almost everybody in the robocar space had something to say — even if it was only to have something...
Two New Year’s resolutions for developers of automated vehicles
Bryant Walker Smith
12 Jan 2016
In the spirit of the New Year, and especially in the wake of California's draft rules for the (theoretical) operation of automated motor vehicles, I offer two resolutions for any serious developer of ...
3 supply chain trends to watch for in 2016
Meghan Hennessey and Clearpath Robotics
08 Jan 2016
The New Year is upon us and with that comes predictions of what 2016 has in store. Will Automated Guided Vehicle (AGVs) continue to drive materials on the factory floor? What is ‘Industry 4.0’ and...
IoT may be 2016’s hot new trend, but in industrial robotics it’s been around for a decade
Alex Owen-Hill and Robotiq Inc.
06 Jan 2016
As everyone starts to look for "the big technology trends of 2016", it seems that one technology is overshadowing all others - the Internet of Things. We take a look at why robotics is actually ahead ...
Intel acquires German drone startup Ascending Technologies
Frank Tobe
06 Jan 2016
Intel Corp. has acquired German drone and autopilot developer Ascending Technologies. Ascending's LED light painting technology was used to fly and draw the Intel logo while the moves were shot wit...
Robocar news roundup: Lyft and GM, Sidecar, the nature of competition, and CES
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
04 Jan 2016
Lyft announced a $500M investment from GM with $500M more, pushing them to a $5.4B valuation, which huge but also just a tenth of Uber's. This was combined with talk of a push to robocars: GM will p...
Why co-bots will be a huge driver of innovation and growth for robotics
Frank Tobe
04 Jan 2016
This article was first published on IEEE Spectrum Automaton and is republished here with permission. For the IEEE version, click here; for the unabridged version, continue reading.
Collaborative ro...
2015 robotics fundings, IPOs, acquisitions and failures
Frank Tobe
04 Jan 2016
From the 2015 archives of The Robot Report: 54 fundings of $1.267 billion, 31 acquisitions totalling over $1.97 billion, and one IPO -- all adding up to some surprisingly large figures. ...
Microsoft’s Cortana now doing daily morning weather report
Frank Tobe
02 Jan 2016
The use of Cortana, an AI personal assistant created by Microsoft initially for Windows phones, has been a big hit in Japan and China. The Mandarin language version, named Xiaoice, is being used ...
Telepresence, or tele-existence? 4 devices seeking to break down barriers to remote presence
Michael Savoie
29 Dec 2015
This telepresence series wouldn't be complete without covering the fringe territory of the unique and unusual. These robots push the boundaries of telepresence to push social engagement and cross i...
The future of robot off-line programming
Albert Nubiola
28 Dec 2015
If you drive a car, it makes little difference what brand it is: all cars are driven in essentially the same way. The same applies to computers. If you have a Windows PC, the user interfaces won’t b...
7 reasons why robotics companies should be using simulators
Ricardo Téllez
28 Dec 2015
During my long experience at Pal Robotics developing humanoid robots, I learned just how much a good simulator can help speed up the development and maintenance processes of robot building. To my su...
Flying robots, with Dario Floreano (Part 1)
As head of the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, Dario Floreano knows a thing or two about flying robots. In the first segmentÂ...
“Made in China” initiative is nurturing robotics according to plan
Frank Tobe
21 Dec 2015
The IFR (International Federation of Robotics) estimates that by 2018, one-third of all the industrial robots installed worldwide will be in China and said, "China is engaged on a historically unprec...
California’s new DMV regulations may kill the state’s robocar lead
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
18 Dec 2015
Be careful what you wish for. Google had previously requested that state regulations on robocars be clarified, to help ensure that their cars were legal. When California's DMV finally released its pr...
SVR Case Studies: Introduction to service robotics
Andra Keay and Silicon Valley Robotics
17 Dec 2015
Robotics is finally stepping out of science fiction and into service, if not in our homes, then at least in our hotels, hospitals, restaurants, warehouses, hardware stores and other retail outlets. Th...
From pencil and paper to hands-on making, a brief history of MIT’s legendary MechE 2.007
MIT News
16 Dec 2015
Alissa Mallinson | Department of Mechanical Engineering
It's hard to ignore the fact that a worldwide maker movement is well underway. Over the past 10 or so years, community Maker Faires have beco...
Telepresence toys
Michael Savoie
15 Dec 2015
A number of telepresence toys came onto the market between 2011 and 2013 and crashed a few years later. While most of the products in this category marketed themselves as toys first, and telepresenc...
2016 will be a pivotal year for social robots
Frank Tobe
14 Dec 2015
1,000 Pepper robots are selling each month from a big-dollar venture between SoftBank, Alibaba and Foxconn; Jibo just raised another $16 million as it prepares to deliver 7,500+ units in March and A...
Holiday gift ideas for RoboGeeks (2015)
Robohub Editors
10 Dec 2015
[tweetquote]Need some gift ideas for that special robot geek in your life?[/tweetquote] We polled the Robohub team for their favorite ideas, from stocking stuffers to once-in-a-lifetime gifts. There's...
Tabletop telepresence finding its niche
Michael Savoie
08 Dec 2015
Tabletop telepresence devices began to pop up on the market about two years ago. Though its a small slice of the telepresence market, it's differentiated enough from other categories to be mention...
Personal telepresence relatively affordable, but expect to pay extra for the tablet
Michael Savoie
03 Dec 2015
Personal telepresence robots have exploded onto the market thanks to the help of tablets, smartphones, and crowdfunding sites. Geared toward the economics of personal use, these robots typically cos...
Passion for utility drove Engelberger’s vision for robotics
Frank Tobe
03 Dec 2015
I'm saddened that Joseph Engelberger -- the robot pioneer who helped invent the first American industrial robot, and a man that had a significant impact on my interest in robotics -- passed away ea...
ELROB 2016: Europe’s toughest & longest-running field robotics event is turning 10
Frank E. Schneider
01 Dec 2015
Robotic competitions have sprung up like mushrooms. Beside the obvious ones like EURATHLON, RoboCross, DARPA and MBZIRC, there are hundreds of smaller contests all over the world. Some of them are ac...
On the ethics of research in robotics, with Raja Chatila
In this video lecture, IEEE Fellow Raja Chatila shares his views on [tweetquote]why roboticists are duty-bound to educate the wider public on the state of advanced robotics[/tweetquote], and also t...
No, a Google car was not ticketed for going too slow (and other robocar stories)
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
23 Nov 2015
Almost every newspaper in the world reported the story of how a motorcycle cop pulled over one of Google’s 3rd generation test cars, the 2-seaters, and many incorrectly reported that the car was gi...
More than 180,000 robotic vacuum cleaners sold on a single day
Frank Tobe
23 Nov 2015
On Singles Day 2015, a holiday for the Chinese singles and youth market, Ecovacs Robotics sold $47 million worth of robotic products. Ecovacs only has three robotic products: a line of vacuum cleaners...
The state of telepresence: Healthcare and telemedicine
Michael Savoie
20 Nov 2015
Telemedicine is a rapidly growing field and, with the aid of telepresence robots, is quickly gaining traction in hospitals and homes around the world....
Case study shows new roles for robots in today’s economy
Andra Keay and Silicon Valley Robotics
18 Nov 2015
Robots are starting to move out of the factory and into more common use as a service industry, where they work alongside people in places that range from the warehouse to the supermarket. Along the w...
Four classic movie robots that are no longer far fetched
Alex Owen-Hill and Robotiq Inc.
18 Nov 2015
Cinemagoers have long been fascinated by fictional robots, but they're not usually realistic -- until now. Thanks to technological advancements, some of the classic movie robots are now a realistic p...
Open Roboethics initiative delivers statement to United Nations CCW
Open Roboethics Initiative
17 Nov 2015
On Friday November 13th, AJung Moon from the Open Roboethics initiative delivered a statement at the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) Meeting of States Parties....
Join the debate on robots & society during #ERW2015
Sabine Hauert
13 Nov 2015
What are your questions about "Robots and Society"?
During the European Robotics Week 2015 (ERW2015), Europeans will explore how robots may impact the way we work, live, and learn through over 400...
