Frank Tobe on “What were the top stories in robotics from 2013?”

by Frank Tobe

11 December 2013

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As Editor and Publisher of the Robot Report, I follow robotics news closely, especially in business and finance. Here are my top picks for 2013:

Google sets up Robot Division; acquires 7 startups to jump-start operations
ROBO ETF tracking Robo-stox index created to let investors invest in the robotics industry
WSJ, NYT, CBS 60-Minutes, NBC all focus on robotics – including two covers stories in Time Magazine and two 60-Minutes segments (here and here)
China’s 5-year plan targets robotics as a growth industry and sets up specific areas for industrial robot manufacturing, service robot development and marketing and support centers
Mako Surgical sells to Sryker for $1.65 billion; Apple buys PrimeSense for $350 million; MakerBot sells to Stratasys for $403 million; $35 million to 3D Robotics to mainstream aerial robotics and Airware gets $10.7 million to build generic autopilot for UASs; Liquid Robotics gets $45 million to expand marketing and double their fleet of wave gliders
Rethink Robotics and Universal Robots off to good start in SME marketplace – co-robots really are a big thing. SMEs aren’t only marketplace: VW and BMW are both using new co-bots to augment worker capabilities in auto plants.
Smithsonian Channel Bionic Man documentary and museum exhibitions fascinate audiences with 50% bionic man
Crowdfunding sites will soon let investors buy stock; just waiting for regs from SEC.
IFR reports for industrial robot industry shows good growth prospects for rest of decade; reports for service robotics industry shows promising growth particularly in medical and logistical systems making up for the decline in defense spending

Lower-key but still notable:

First use of robotic anesthesiologist gives rise to a whole new marketplace
Beams used for telepresence at trade show
FoxBot line of robots by Foxconn slowly entering Foxconn factories
Russia focusing on robotics startups and innovation in general
New Kinect completely redone; windfall for robotics
X-47B unmanned jet takes off and lands from aircraft carrier
List of hardware accelerators growing as are incubators and angel investors
ROS-Industrial list of partners growing exponentially
Updated Roadmap for US Robotics released
Intuitive Surgical regularly pummeled in news for a variety of reasons

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