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Mazor Robotics is gaining momentum
Frank Tobe
03 Mar 2014
Mazor Robotics, producer of the Renaissance Guidance System for spine and neuro surgeries, reported favorable earnings for the 4th quarter and for the whole year of 2013.
4Q revenue was up 111% ove...
Valery Komissarova on when investing in robots is the right move
Valery Komissarova and Andra Keay
26 Feb 2014
As part of Robohub’s Big Deals series, startup expert Andra Keay asks Valery Komissarova, Grishin Robotics’ Director of Business Development, about what all the recent robotics acquisitions mean t...
Top ten things I learned at Willow Garage
Steve Cousins
25 Feb 2014
10. Focus Focus Focus. When I started at Willow Garage, we had two projects (an autonomous car and an autonomous boat) and were planning to grow to 60 people, and I thought we needed to “round out ...
The robots behind your Internet shopping addiction: How your wallet is driving retail automation
Erin Rapacki
25 Feb 2014
When you're shopping for the best online deals you're probably not thinking much about the massive distribution network required to bring that pair of shoes to your doorstep. Is your quest for the bes...
168,000 robots were sold in 2013; 5% more than in 2012
Frank Tobe
21 Feb 2014
Based on the results of the IFR Quarterly Statistics, the IFR estimates that in 2013 about 168,000 industrial robots were sold, 5% more than in 2012....
Robot Launch 2014: The first global startup competition for robotics is here!
Andra Keay
19 Feb 2014
Ready, set, launch! Is your prototype the next breakthrough in home robotics? Or are you developing a smart device, sensor, component or software that will help build the robots of the tomorrow? Roboh...
Individual investors: Take a cue from corporate capital … the time is right for robotics
Rob Wilson
19 Feb 2014
Megatrends are easiest to recognize in hindsight, which leads many investors to wonder how they missed out on something so big. How many times have you thought to yourself, “I knew that business o...
Hexagon acquires Aibotix
Frank Tobe
18 Feb 2014
Hexagon, a Swedish provider of R&D and design, measurement and visualization products, with 14,000 employees in over 40 countries, and which serves a broad range of industr...
Will companies like Google and Amazon usher in a new era for robotics?
Chad Partridge
18 Feb 2014
Amazon announced its plans to launch a new drone delivery service this past December.
Recent eye-popping acquisitions of robotics technology companies by giants like Google and Amazon might sugge...
iRobot is on a tear
Frank Tobe
17 Feb 2014
On February 5th iRobot reported their quarterly and annual report. 4Q revenue was up 25% from the previous year and full year 2013 revenue of $487 was up 12%....
Foxconn and Google cooperating to make robots
Frank Tobe
13 Feb 2014
In a Wall Street Journal story by Lorraine Luk, Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou met with Google Robotics Division Andy Rubin in Taipei recently and they discussed new robotic techno...
Big deals: What it means to have the giants investing in robotics
Hallie Siegel
12 Feb 2014
If the world outside the robotics community didn't know about Boston Dynamics, Kiva and Nest, they do now. Recent robotics acquisitions and investments by major-league players like Google, Apple a...
Automation, not domination: How robots will take over our world
The first question people tend to ask when they find out you are a roboticist is, “When are robots going to take over the world and become our masters?” The answer to this question is a big “Ne...
Four interesting robotic investments
Frank Tobe
09 Feb 2014
Microsoft is betting $5.57 million on IT-related projects at two Swiss universities; James Dyson is putting $8.21 million into a London college lab; Ekso Bionics went public with a $20 million IP...
Microsoft pays 5M CHF to ETHZ and EPFL for research on flying robots and new memory architectures
Robohub Editors
07 Feb 2014
ETH Zurich and EPFL are jointly entering into a new research partnership with Microsoft Research. Over five years, Microsoft Research will provide five million Swiss francs of funding to support IT re...
DoD Unmanned Air, Sea & Ground Budget 2014-2018
Frank Tobe
03 Feb 2014
Within the defense sector, demand for unmanned air, ground and sea systems continues unabated. Drivers include combat operations, reduced military budgets, a changing national security environment and...
Agricultural robot market anticipated to reach $16.3 billion by 2020
Frank Tobe
01 Feb 2014
In a new $7,800 report by Wintergreen Research, significant growth is anticipated over the remainder of this decade in every aspect of farming, milking, food production and animal control....
Competing sales reports for industrial robotics
Frank Tobe
29 Jan 2014
Research and Markets, an online market research store, is offering a new $3,000 report, Global and Chinese Automotive Industrial Robotics Industry Report 2013-2014, with figure...
In the news: Intuitive Surgical
Frank Tobe
27 Jan 2014
Mini-tender offer:
TRC Capital Corp, a private firm founded by a Canadian securities lawyer, has made a mini-tender offer to purchase 250,000 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock at a price slightly be...
Bloomberg Businessweek says: “Factory Jobs Are Gone. Get Over It.”
Frank Tobe
27 Jan 2014
Although politicians and economists may have been aggravated by the article, the figures are impressive and worthy of study.
Manufacturing makes up 12% of the U.S. economy with only 10% of the non-...
Startup Funding, with Jan Westerhues
Per Sjöborg
24 Jan 2014
Link to audio file (25:51)
In today’s episode Per Sjöborg speaks with Jan Westerhues, Investment Partner with Robert Bosch Venture Capital, about how they fund robotics companies. As a stepping st...
Beam+ remote presence robots becoming affordable
Frank Tobe
21 Jan 2014
Suitable Technologies just announced their new Beam+ remote presence robot and is offering the first 1,000 units at a price of $995 (thereafter it will be $1,995). First shipments are scheduled for Su...
Robot tourism coming soon to Korea: Masan Robot Land project finally breaks ground
Jong-Oh Park
20 Jan 2014
With permission finally given to occupy lands that include an existing road and stream, the Masan Robot Land Project that went adrift for almost two years was officially launched on December 7, 2013 w...
Ekso Bionics goes public for $20.6 million
Andra Keay
15 Jan 2014
Rehabilitative robotics company Ekso Bionics announced today that it has completed a public offering which will provide $20.6 million in a 'reverse merger'. Funds raised will go primarily to expanding...
Emotive communication with things – EmoShape Founder Patrick Levy Rosenthal
Daniel Faggella and TechEmergence
14 Jan 2014
Photo credit: Image Agency
Why do people who use Facebook spend so much of their online time there? Why do people want to share, to comment?
Patrick Levy Rosenthal asked himself these answers and wa...
Google acquires Nest for $3.2 billion
Frank Tobe
13 Jan 2014
In another surprise release to the press, Google announced the acquisition of Nest Labs, the inventor and manufacturer of the stylish learning thermostat device, for $3.2 billion.
According to Aaro...
Google getting more roboticists with Nest acquisition
Andra Keay
13 Jan 2014
Is Google getting a robot company? Or just another source of roboticists with the Nest acquisition that was announced today? Alongside Google’s recent acquisition of eight robotics companies, there ...
Are investments in robotics capital intensive?
Frank Tobe
13 Jan 2014
In a recent post in IEEE Spectrum Automaton, Robert Morris abstracted a paper he wrote with Richard Green, a finance professor at CMU. The thesis of his article is that robotic ventures are not capi...
Robots at home: Interview with Assistobot CEO Tjin Van Der Zant
TechEmergence and Daniel Faggella
05 Jan 2014
Tjin Van Der Zant helped found “Robocup at Home” in 2006, and since then the organization has spread to include a number of new locations everywhere from Brazil to Thailand. As a professor at the ...
Discovering social robotics with the Aisoy1
Mike Hamer
23 Dec 2013
Aisoy, a spanish robotics startup, is motivated by the goal of building intelligent, personal, "social" robots, which make our lives easier and funnier. Their robot, the Aisoy1, is their first step to...
KUKA buys 51% of Reis Robotics with option to buy remainder
Frank Tobe
20 Dec 2013
In a surprise move, KUKA, one of the global big four robot manufacturers, signed a letter of intent to acquire 51% of the shares of Reis Robotics, a 57-year old family-owned Germany-based robotics ...
Foxconn plans factory in PA and funds robotics research at CMU
Frank Tobe
16 Dec 2013
Foxconn’s parent company Hon Hai Precision will fund $10 million for robotics and advanced manufacturing research at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. No further details about the 2-year str...
KUKA opens Shanghai factory and announces orders
Frank Tobe
15 Dec 2013
... KUKA cut the ribbon at their new factory outside of Shanghai. The factory will begin employing 350 and produce the QUANTEC line of robots and controllers and will be able to produce 3,000 robots a...
Apple, Amazon and now Google: It’s a pretty exciting day for robotics!
Frank Tobe
14 Dec 2013
There is serious momentum in robotics these days, evidenced by recent news from Apple, Amazon and Google:
Apple announced that they were investing $10.5 billion in supply chain robots and automati...
Rethink Robotics downsizing: 23% laid off
Frank Tobe
13 Dec 2013
... The Boston Globe reported that Rethink Robotics, maker of the $22,000 Baxter 2-armed robot, has cut 21 jobs from their staff of approximately 90.
... CEO Scott Eckert said, “The layoffs are the...
Frank Tobe on “What were the top stories in robotics from 2013?”
Frank Tobe
11 Dec 2013
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:...
