Robohub.org
 

RoboBusiness startup Pitchfire winners


by
16 October 2014



share this:

 

At RoboBusiness this week in Boston, Pitchfire – a Shark Tank-like pitch and question session – presented 14 start-up companies who pitched their wares to 5 judges. Two honorable mentions and one winner were chosen at the event.

SoftRobotics Inc, a Boston-based start-up (not to be confused with SoftRobotics, a Los Angeles area software and systems developer), presented their new soft gripper, a rubbery octopus-like 4-armed gripper that folded over whatever it was picking up. Although limited by the weight of the object being picked up, the pneumatic and hydraulic gripper seemed to adapt quickly to various sizes and shapes, and was able to softly grip and then lift its object. It won Honorable Mention.

Zen Robotics, a Helsinki-based start-up that provides a complete conveyor and robotic waste sortation system also received Honorable Mention. Zen Robotics also won a spot in the 2014 Global Cleantech 100, which recognizes the 100 promising and innovative companies most likely to make a significant market impact over the next five to ten years across 17 sectors, including Energy Efficiency, Biofuels & Biochemicals, Smart Grid, Transportation, Water & Wastewater and Recycling.

The 1st Place Winner was NLink, a Norwegian start-up focused on the construction industry and integrating a robotic drilling and measuring system for ceiling work. It relieves workers from overhead work involved with measuring and drilling ceilings. Ceilings are the most ergonomically difficult place to drill holes in concrete, yet one in which every office building with a drop-ceiling requires thousands of wholes drilled. Hence this solution of a mobile platform with a robot arm with a drill end effector. The system is driven by laser marking software from the CAD construction plans. It’s primary goal is to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders. This is a textbook success story waiting to happen: it provides a robotic solution to a serious and costly industry problem. We need more solution/start-up companies like this one.

The other start-ups included therapy robots for stroke victims and autistic kids, an unmanned marine surface vessel, a new type of actuator for exoskeleton use and as a gripper, a new type of mobile pick and place system, an aerial collision avoidance system of software and sensors, a data capture system from drones and a new robotic vacuum cleaner.

Pitchfire was emceed by Silicon Valley Robotics Director Andra Keay.

 



tags: , ,


Frank Tobe is the owner and publisher of The Robot Report, and is also a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.
Frank Tobe is the owner and publisher of The Robot Report, and is also a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.





Related posts :



Using generative AI to diversify virtual training grounds for robots

  24 Oct 2025
New tool from MIT CSAIL creates realistic virtual kitchens and living rooms where simulated robots can interact with models of real-world objects, scaling up training data for robot foundation models.

Robot Talk Episode 130 – Robots learning from humans, with Chad Jenkins

  24 Oct 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Chad Jenkins from University of Michigan about how robots can learn from people and assist us in our daily lives.

Robot Talk at the Smart City Robotics Competition

  22 Oct 2025
In a special bonus episode of the podcast, Claire chatted to competitors, exhibitors, and attendees at the Smart City Robotics Competition in Milton Keynes.

Robot Talk Episode 129 – Automating museum experiments, with Yuen Ting Chan

  17 Oct 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Yuen Ting Chan from Natural History Museum about using robots to automate molecular biology experiments.

What’s coming up at #IROS2025?

  15 Oct 2025
Find out what the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems has in store.

From sea to space, this robot is on a roll

  13 Oct 2025
Graduate students in the aptly named "RAD Lab" are working to improve RoboBall, the robot in an airbag.

Robot Talk Episode 128 – Making microrobots move, with Ali K. Hoshiar

  10 Oct 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Ali K. Hoshiar from University of Essex about how microrobots move and work together.

Interview with Zahra Ghorrati: developing frameworks for human activity recognition using wearable sensors

and   08 Oct 2025
Zahra tells us more about her research on wearable technology.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence