Robohub.org
business
Forget the octocopter, let’s talk about Kiva
Shawn Milne and Michael Carroll
10 Dec 2013
Given all the chatter on drones and automation, we thought it would be a good time to dive deeper into the Kiva opportunity and potential impact on leverage/margins. For the sake of our analysis, we t...
Amazon isn’t the only delivery service testing flying robots
Frank Tobe
10 Dec 2013
... Amazon isn’t the only delivery service testing flying robots. DHL and microdrones are testing drones that could be used to deliver urgently needed goods to hard-to-reach places, eg, medicines to...
Google makes big robotics investment
Frank Tobe
06 Dec 2013
... In a revealing NY Times interview with Google’s Andy Rubin, some heretofor unknown things came to light. Google is now in the robotics business. They’ve made seven acquisitions in the last six...
Jeff Bezos reaches for tip of UAS iceberg
Frank Tobe
05 Dec 2013
On Sunday, Charlie Rose from CBS News 60 Minutes, interviewed Jeff Bezos about what is next for Amazon, the world's largest online retailer with more than 225 million customers.
Volume can reach 30...
Google buys up robotics companies from DRC
Andra Keay
04 Dec 2013
If you've recently wondered where all the roboticists were going, the answer is to an unassuming complex in Palo Alto. Google has backed Android developer Andy Rubin to acquire at least 7 major roboti...
Amazon announces plans for drone delivery service, says safety will be key priority
Hallie Siegel
02 Dec 2013
Amazon announced yesterday that it is developing a drone delivery service called Prime Air that will aim to get packages into customer's hands within 30 minutes. They are planning to launch as soon a...
Apple buys Israel’s PrimeSense for $350 million
Frank Tobe
29 Nov 2013
Famous from being the synchronized depth perception system inside the Microsoft Kinnect, PrimeSense, a venture-funded company based in Tel Aviv, was just acquired by Apple for $350 million.
Bloomb...
Global Machine Vision market to grow at 9.4% CAGR
Frank Tobe
26 Nov 2013
New report by Research and Markets, Global Machine Vision Market 2012-2016, a $2,500 report, forcasts global machine vision market to grow at a CAGR of 9.4% to 2016....
Mazor Robotics on a roll
Frank Tobe
25 Nov 2013
Mazor Robotics’ stock (NASDAQ:MZOR and TASE:MZOR) has steadily rolled up 260% year-to-date....
How I helped create Robo-Stox, a new stock index for the robotics community
Frank Tobe
18 Nov 2013
Photo: Nasdaq
On Tuesday, a sleek robotic arm rang the closing bell of the Nasdaq stock exchange. It was the first time a robot performed the task.
The event celebrated the launch of Robo-Stox, a...
Is this the right time for robotic startups?
Torsten Andre
14 Nov 2013
Last month the Pioneers Festival took place in the Imperial Palace, Vienna, Austria. According to its website, the festival is Europe's premium event for entrepreneurship and future technologies. Star...
New ETF (NASDAQ:ROBO) focuses on robotics industry
Frank Tobe
13 Nov 2013
... UPDATE 11/12/13: NASDAQ’s 10-story tall sign was all about Robo-stox LLC, ROBO the ETF, and a Universal Robot with a Schunk hand ringing the NASDAQ closing bell. Quite a spectacle. The arm/hand ...
UAV innovation is in the Cloud; 3 precision Ag innovations to watch for in 2014
Ernest Earon
12 Nov 2013
Did you know that the world’s population is set to increase from seven billion people to more than nine billion in the next 40 years? In order to meet this growing demand, agricultural producers wil...
From precision farming to autonomous farming: How commodity technologies enable revolutionary impact
Jeremy H. Brown
11 Nov 2013
The popular conception of farming as low-tech is woefully out of date. Modern farmers are high-tech operators: They use GIS software to plan their fields, GPS to guide field operations, and auto-steer...
Blue River Technology, with Jorge Heraud
Sabine Hauert
03 Nov 2013
Link to audio file (31:48)
In this episode Sabine Hauert speaks with Jorge Heraud, CEO of California-based startup Blue River Technology which brings together computer vision and robotics to auto...
Matching technology to value creation: Drones in agriculture
Robert Morris
24 Oct 2013
‘Drones in agriculture’ has been a topic hot lately, but is it a real business?
As a former Army UAV platoon leader and a current founder of an aerial data collection start-up, I believe so, bu...
Robo-Stox: A dream come true
Frank Tobe
23 Oct 2013
Throughout my 35-year career in the computer business, I always read and thought about what disruptive technology was ahead. When I had an IBM mainframe, I was looking at the DEC mini-computers and ev...
Soon Internet crowdfunding sites will let investors buy stock
Frank Tobe
23 Oct 2013
... Last year Congress passed Title III of the JOBS Act to allow smaller companies to get an exemption from the strict and costly rules controlling the sale of securities to individuals.
... The SEC ...
Start-up profile: Knightscope
Frank Tobe
19 Oct 2013
What happens when you mix big data analytics, a policeman, homeland security, some funding from an insurance company and robotics?
You get Knightscope, a Santa Clara, California start-up developin...
Pioneers kickstarts the start-up scene with a hands-on celebration of innovation
Hallie Siegel
17 Oct 2013
Andreas Tschas (far left) and Juergen Furian (far right) present a cheque to the 2012 Startup Challenge winner Poikos (centre). Photo credit: Heisenberg Media.
When founders Andreas Tschas and Juerge...
Is open source a good business model for robotics?
RBI Editors
09 Oct 2013
Open source vs. proprietary software is an age old question. Since the advent of robotics, we also have the question of open source hardware.
In academia, where robotics researchers look to open so...
Robert Morris on “Is open source a good business model for robotics?”
Robert Morris
09 Oct 2013
The premise of this question is that robotics companies are manufacturers and that there is choice between an open source and closed source business model. Robotics companies are best thought of as ...
Brian Gerkey on “Is open source a good business model for robotics?”
Brian Gerkey
09 Oct 2013
The IT economy has powerfully demonstrated what happens when companies can leverage open source infrastructure when they build new products and services. A company like Google would never have come ...
Frank Tobe on “Is open source a good business model for robotics?”
Frank Tobe
09 Oct 2013
To be able to choose between proprietary software packages is to be able to choose your master. Freedom means not having a master. Freedom means not using proprietary software.
- Richard Stallman, o...
ABB, Nike and a Silicon Valley VC invest $3 million in Grabit
Frank Tobe
08 Oct 2013
... Grabit, a 2012 SRI International spin-off, secures $3 million in Series A funding from ABB Technology Ventures, Nike and Formation 8, a tech VC in Silicon Valley....
Robot startup resources: Pitching
Andra Keay
07 Oct 2013
You have a robot prototype or an idea. At some stage you want funding. Here are the two most useful resources for robot startups. Even if you are bootstrapping, using crowdfunding or friendly angels, ...
Co-robots really ARE a BIG thing
Frank Tobe
05 Oct 2013
UPDATED: October 6, 2013
Small and medium shops and factories (SMEs) are an untapped marketplace for robotics but direly in need of automation to remain competitive in this global economy. Two ne...
Ship hull cleaning & inspection – ideal for robots
Frank Tobe
30 Sep 2013
... Harvest Automation launched their business after reviewing the top 10 areas where low-cost and often hard-to-find labor was most needed. They chose the ag business.
... Boating and shipping are...
3D Robotics gets $30 million to mainstream aerial robotics
Frank Tobe
27 Sep 2013
... 3D Robotics, the open source unmanned aerial vehicle company headed by Chris Anderson, just got a $30 million infusion of venture funding to enable the company to “mainstream aerial robotics and...
A glimpse at our robotic future: 235 start-ups reviewed
Frank Tobe
27 Sep 2013
Robotic start-up companies range from the whimsical to the amazing, from futuristic to topical, and from hubs of robotic activity in Silicon Valley, Boston, New York City (a new hub) and Switzerland t...
MAKO Surgical sells to Stryker for $1.65 billion
Frank Tobe
25 Sep 2013
... Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) to acquire MAKO Surgical Corp (NASDAQ:MAKO) for $1.65 billion - an action which brought MAKO’s stock from $16 to $29 in one fell swoop.
... Stryker is a medical t...
IFR Reports show bright future for robotics industry
Frank Tobe
18 Sep 2013
... Two new Intl. Federation of Robotics (IFR) world robotics statistical reports covering 2012 with projections to 2016 were released today by the IFR and can be purchased separately or combined at p...
Medical robotic systems market to reach $13.6 billion by 2018
Frank Tobe
13 Sep 2013
... The global medical robotic systems market was worth $5.48 billion in 2011 and is expected to reach $13.6 billion in 2018, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 12.6% from 2012. Surgical ro...
Adept Technologies: Ready to be acquired?
Frank Tobe
11 Sep 2013
Adept Technologies (NASDAQ:ADEP) has been in the financial news for months. First because of poor financial showings; then because of a management shakeup; and recently because the "turnaround plan" ...
Adept’s restructuring is paying off: earnings better and stock higher
Frank Tobe
09 Sep 2013
... It was just last February that Rob Cain replaced John Dulchinos as CEO of Adept Technology. Cain had worked with Adept for a few months as advisor and representative of Hale Capital Partners and c...
FounderDating hardware edition
Andra Keay
28 Aug 2013
First crowdfunding, now startup services – hardware is eating the software world. FounderDating launched a hardware vertical on Wednesday, after seeing increasing demand from hardware entrepreneurs ...
