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This mash-up of our list of 159 robotic start-up companies onto Google’s global map graphically displays how widespread robotic inventions and inventors are dispersed around the world and particularly around major robotic research centers. For the purpose of this mash-up, we are defining a robotic start-up as a company established to develop a concept or product or robotic-related service for sale but doesn’t yet have it all together. They have established a business and are in motion toward their goals but haven’t made any sales or aren’t fully funded, haven’t finished developing the product, or all of the preceding.
Interestingly, there are very few industrial robot start-up companies; mostly the new companies are service robotic companies, a generic term for every form of robot except those used for industrial-grade manufacturing: surgical; healthcare; defense; space; security; personal service; shop assistance; unmanned aerial, underwater and ground vehicles; toys; vision enabled, etc.
Although only 159 start-up companies are plotted, The Robot Report’s database has over 1,800 robotics links separated into the following categories:
… Industrial robot manufacturers
… Service robots for governmental and corporate use
… Service robots for personal use
… Ancillary businesses serving the robotics industry
… Start-up companies
… Educational and research facilities
Later this year we will be producing another mash-up from our database. Red markers will show the industrial robot makers, blue markers will show where service robotics companies are located, and green will be for start-up companies. Stay tuned! This one should be particularly illuminating.