Robohub.org
business
ep.
181
podcast
bStem, with Todd Hylton
Audrow Nash
01 May 2015
[clear]
In this episode, Audrow Nash interviews Todd Hylton, Senior Vice President at Brain Corporation, about neuromorphic computers. They discuss the robotics development board bStem, which appro...
Chinese shopping for global robotics ventures
Frank Tobe
30 Apr 2015
April has seen Chinese VCs acquiring robotic ventures, buying out competitors, seeking funding to scale up production, and shoring up industry gaps....
Commercial drone market projected to grow 109% CAGR
Frank Tobe
27 Apr 2015
Markets and Markets, a Dallas, TX research firm, in an 189-page $4,650 report, is projecting that the global commercial drones market will grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 109.3% and ...
Sino-Russian robotics boosted as Skolkovo signs $200M deal with Chinese investment fund
Hallie Siegel
22 Apr 2015
Russia's Skolkovo Foundation and the Chinese Cybernaut Investment Group signed an agreement yesterday in Beijing to create a joint Russian-Chinese business incubator, a robotics accelerator program, ...
Parrot grows both consumer and commercial drone business
Frank Tobe
10 Apr 2015
Previously known for consumer products for smartphones, tablets and cars, Paris-based Parrot recently branched into both the consumer and commercial drone businesses....
Domino’s April Fools Day spoof not so far-fetched
Frank Tobe
08 Apr 2015
"Domino's rolls out driverless delivery vehicles" blared the headline on the Dominos UK website on April Fools Day. They even provided a short video clip of the phony vehicle delivering pizz...
March money flow recap
Frank Tobe
06 Apr 2015
The first three months of 2015 are doing quite well for robotics-related companies. March fundings and acquisitions to CyPhy Works, Hansen Medical, Clearpath Robotics, DroneDeploy, JR Automation and L...
Hansen Medical gets $35M; Clearpath Robotics $11.2M
Frank Tobe
21 Mar 2015
Two robotics-related companies just got funding. Hansen Medical sold 53,846 shares to get $35M; and Clearpath Robotics got $11.2M for an unusual reason....
A bionic model is born
Open Bionics
17 Mar 2015
The personalisation of healthcare devices has been a growing trend in the maker-sphere. From gold-plated hearing aids, neon walking sticks, and sparkling blade prosthetics to 3D printed arm casts, peo...
FAA exemption permits drones for oil and gas inspections
Frank Tobe
17 Mar 2015
Sky-Futures, a UK-based company offering drone inspection services to the global oil and gas industry, through their Houston office, was awarded an FAA exemption allowing their drones to fly in US air...
Takeoff in robotics will power the next productivity surge in manufacturing
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
05 Mar 2015
BCG research predicts that by 2025, adoption of advanced robots will boost productivity by up to 30 percent in many industries, and lower total labor costs by 18 percent or more in countries such as S...
EG Robotics: Building a robotics ecosystem in Egypt
Mahmoud AbdelAziz
03 Mar 2015
Expanding into emerging markets brings with it a specific set of challenges for designing products and services. Not only do cultural differences play a role in what, how, and why customers behave the...
3D Robotics gets $50M series C funding
Frank Tobe
28 Feb 2015
The $50 million Series C funding, mainly from Qualcomm, provides the basis for a tacit partnership between Qualcomm and 3D Robotics with a goal of leveraging the pace of innovation in the smartphone i...
Foxconn begins selling noodle-making robot
Frank Tobe
28 Feb 2015
Early in 2014 Foxconn invested $25 million in Fu Jiang Robot Technology, a Shenzhen robot maker which had a dough-slicing device that was beginning to sell....
UPDATE Pepper delayed until summer; Aldebaran execs Maisonnier and Baillie leave
Frank Tobe
23 Feb 2015
UPDATED 2/23/15 Softbank announced a delay in sales of their Pepper robot from February until sometime during the summer. Aldebaran announced that CEO and Founder Bruno Maisonnier and Jean-Christop...
Bruno Maisonnier moves on from Aldebaran
Andra Keay
23 Feb 2015
Farewell and thank you to Bruno Maisonnier, the founder and CEO of Aldebaran Robotics, which is now 95% owned by Softbank. Softbank had previously acquired a majority stake in the ground breaking Fr...
Empowering startups’ global reach
Catherine Simon
18 Feb 2015
Innorobo’s call for start-ups has just closed and 25 semi-finalists from around the world will now be reviewed by a jury of experts to select the five winners. The winners will pitch to investors...
Seegrid reorganization plan okayed by judge
Frank Tobe
13 Feb 2015
A bankruptcy judge cleared the way for Seegrid to exit from Chapter 11 by okaying the reorganization plan and rejecting challenges lodged by the ex-CEO....
Fetch Robotics gets $3 million
Frank Tobe
10 Feb 2015
Ex-Willow Garage and Unbounded Robotics veterans get $3 million to bring mobile manipulator and mobile platform to market....
2015 sees mobile manipulators coming to market
Andra Keay
09 Feb 2015
[tweetquote]Fetch Robotics has just announced $3 million funding from Shasta Ventures and O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures[/tweetquote], which will be used to bring their new mobile manipulator robots to...
Qualcomm acquires KMel Robotics
Ben Fisher
09 Feb 2015
In Qualcomm's quest to shape the future of robotics, the US-based semi-conductor juggernaut acquired KMel Robotics last week for an undisclosed sum....
Recent robotics transactions
Frank Tobe
09 Feb 2015
New Chinese robotics investment fund; the RIA says 2014 North American robotics set new sales record; marine robotics company gets acquired. These stories and many more … ...
Robotics research reports project upward growth
Frank Tobe
09 Feb 2015
A flurry of robotic research analyses and reports are being sold by a variety of vendors. Most show steady growth rates — and a few project spectacular growth....
KMel Robotics acquired by Qualcomm Technologies | Philadelphia Business Journal
Hallie Siegel
04 Feb 2015
KMel Robotics has been acquired by Qualcomm Technologies, a global tech company based in San Diego. KMel's founders, two University of Pennsylvania graduates, announced the news on their company's we...
January fundings are off to a great start!
Frank Tobe
02 Feb 2015
Rethink Robotics, Xenix, Rapyuta, Perceptron, Skydio, Sarcos and JIBO have all announced substantial fundings for a wide range of robotic ventures. Plus there are some new funders joining the fray....
Raffaello D’Andrea on the future of robotics
Massimo Russo and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
28 Jan 2015
Raffaello D’Andrea’s robots can do amazing things: play soccer and ping-pong, perform complex choreographed acrobatics in the air, build towers brick by brick, and move pallets around warehouses. ...
What’s next for the commercial drone industry?
Ben Fisher
27 Jan 2015
With the commercial use of drones to increase in the coming years, we wanted to take a look at where we are today and take a quick look at what is just around the corner....
Clamor for Bay Area and Silicon Valley talent
Frank Tobe
26 Jan 2015
Silicon Valley and the whole San Francisco Bay area have such an abundant talent pool that global companies and startups alike are setting up research labs and offices there to secure engineering and ...
2014 fundings, IPOs, acquisitions, and failures (Updated)
Frank Tobe
20 Jan 2015
From the 2014 archives of The Robot Report: 30 fundings, acquisitions, IPOs and failures with some staggering figures. UPDATED Jan 20, 2015 to include additions from Travis Deyle's Hizook blog, and o...
Why drones are good for business
Ben Fisher
20 Jan 2015
Drones have made a huge splash over the last couple of years and grabbed a lot of headlines. This has mostly been due to strong consumer products coming onto the market from hardware manufactures s...
Who will buy your bot? End user opportunities
Adriana Hamacher
16 Jan 2015
Unless robotics is just a hobby, commercial and funding opportunities should be at the forefront of every developer's mind and at the root of these are the end users and their needs. But who are the e...
Canada’s regulations for foreign commercial UAV operators
Diana Marina Cooper
12 Jan 2015
Canada’s relatively favorable framework for commercial UAV operations is attracting interest among foreign operators who are frustrated with restrictions in their home jurisdictions. The following p...
Rethink Robotics gets $26.6 million Christmas gift
Frank Tobe
08 Jan 2015
UPDATED Jan 8: In an unannounced funding discovered by Boston Globe reporter Scott Kirsner, [tweetquote]Rethink Robotics sold equity and received $26.6 million a few days before Christmas[/tweetquote]...
40% annual growth forecast for Chinese robotics
Frank Tobe
07 Jan 2015
Song Xiaogang, president of CRIA, China’s Robotics Industry Association, said that the number of robots sold in China in 2014 would reach 50,000; up from 36,860 in 2013....
How robotics is changing the face of Business Process Outsourcing
Andrew Burgess
07 Jan 2015
In my world (I am an outsourcing advisor) the robots I deal with do not have arms and legs, or wheels, but are set to have just a big an impact on my industry as any of the physical robots have had on...
The important role of robotic gaming in STEM’s evolving landscape
Silas Adekunle
19 Dec 2014
The importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) in the future of the UK and US business and industry cannot be overstated. But before we can expect today’s generation to have a ...
