Robohub.org
c-Business-Finance
Filling in the puzzle pieces of Willow Garage and Savioke
People say the darndest things! And some of those statements add to the puzzle that is Willow Garage....
14 April 2014, by
Frank Tobe
ROV operations expenditures to grow to $1.5 billion by 2017
Douglas-Westwood, an energy research group, says (in their $5,000 World ROV Operations Market Forecast 2013-2017 report), that ROV operations expenditures will grow 80% over the next 5 years....
24 March 2014, by
Frank Tobe
Robotics in reach: Your smartphone could be a robot brain
António Câmara is a man with a vision.
Despite the widespread adoption of computers and digital technology over the last few decades, how we interact with that technology, and use technology to i...
18 March 2014, by
Daniel Faggella and TechEmergence
Nicola Tomatis on “What does it take to get from imagination to market?”
RBI Update
The short answer is: a lot of patience and perseverance!
More seriously, this is one of the most frustrating aspects of entrepreneurship. High-tech entrepreneurs are supposed to be inno...
14 March 2014, by
Nicola Tomatis
Schunk to Google: Welcome to the robotics game
The continuing interest of Google in robotics over the last years and its newest activities in this regard confirms what all players active in robotics will confirm: service robotics is on the thresho...
12 March 2014, by
Henrik A. Schunk
Robert Morris on “What does it take to get from imagination to market?”
This is a really important question, and one that our community should focus on more. That said, the answer is not truly profound or particularly obscure. It takes three things: doing something people...
12 March 2014, by
Robert Morris
Andra Keay on “What does it take to get from imagination to market?”
The rise of online crowdfunding platforms over the last decade has created a whole new pathway for some robot startups. In the process, crowdfunding campaigns have helped to catapult hardware and robo...
12 March 2014, by
Andra Keay
Mark Stephen Meadows on “What does it take to get from imagination to market?”
There are two parts to this process: the invisible and visible.
Rodin once said that sculpture is an art dedicated to holes. What he meant is that great work is invisible: if you are building a tec...
12 March 2014, by
Mark Stephen Meadows
What does it take to get from imagination to market?
It's the top-of-mind question for every would-be entrepreneur, and with the Robot Launch 2014 competition deadline coming up on March 30, it's an especially fitting question to pose to our panelists t...
12 March 2014, by
RBI Editors
Facebook plans to offer Internet service using aerial robots
In a story on TechCrunch, it was revealed that Facebook is in talks to acquire or partner with Titan Aerospace. Titan makes solar-powered aerial robots that can fly for up to five years without needin...
05 March 2014, by
Frank Tobe
With 11,000 pre-orders, Play-i gets $8 million Series A
It was just a few months ago that Play-i raised over $1.4 million on Kickstarter. With a heavy advertising buy during the holiday season they now have 11,000 pre-orders for their Bo and Yana...
05 March 2014, by
Frank Tobe
Brand strength, cultural influence of consumer-facing giants like Google, Apple and Amazon help legitimize robotics for businesses and investors
What is one to make of this focus series … Big Deals: What It Means to Have the Giants Investing in Robotics … with the giants being Google, Amazon and Apple (as given in the preamble)? The ass...
04 March 2014, by
Dan Kara
Mazor Robotics is gaining momentum
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...
03 March 2014, by
Frank Tobe
Valery Komissarova on when investing in robots is the right move
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...
26 February 2014, by
Valery Komissarova and Andra Keay
Top ten things I learned at Willow Garage
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 ...
25 February 2014, by
Steve Cousins
The robots behind your Internet shopping addiction: How your wallet is driving retail automation
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...
25 February 2014, by
Erin Rapacki
168,000 robots were sold in 2013; 5% more than in 2012
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....
21 February 2014, by
Frank Tobe
Robot Launch 2014: The first global startup competition for robotics is here!
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...
19 February 2014, by
Andra Keay
Individual investors: Take a cue from corporate capital … the time is right for robotics
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...
19 February 2014, by
Rob Wilson
Hexagon acquires Aibotix
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...
18 February 2014, by
Frank Tobe
Will companies like Google and Amazon usher in a new era for robotics?
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...
18 February 2014, by
Chad Partridge
iRobot is on a tear
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%....
17 February 2014, by
Frank Tobe
Foxconn and Google cooperating to make robots
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...
13 February 2014, by
Frank Tobe
Four interesting robotic investments
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...
09 February 2014, by
Frank Tobe
Microsoft pays 5M CHF to ETHZ and EPFL for research on flying robots and new memory architectures
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...
07 February 2014, by
Robohub Editors
Competing sales reports for industrial robotics
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...
29 January 2014, by
Frank Tobe
In the news: Intuitive Surgical
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...
27 January 2014, by
Frank Tobe
Bloomberg Businessweek says: “Factory Jobs Are Gone. Get Over It.”
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-...
27 January 2014, by
Frank Tobe
Startup Funding, with Jan Westerhues
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...
24 January 2014, by
Per Sjöborg
Beam+ remote presence robots becoming affordable
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...
21 January 2014, by
Frank Tobe
