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46 research reports analyze the robotics industry and autonomous vehicles
As autonomous cars begin to hit world markets in pilot tests and other ways, and before the International Federation of Robotics clarifies whether those vehicles are robots or not, two research firms ...
29 September 2016, by
Frank Tobe
Integrators are dead, long live the integrator
For many years integrators have engineered, built and installed automation machinery for their manufacturer clients. As manufacturing has begun to move from mass production to mass customization,...
15 September 2016, by
Frank Tobe
Tune in: Economist holding Facebook Live Q&A about AI and the future of work
How will artificial intelligence change the world of work? The Economist is holding a Facebook Live Q&A with their Deputy Editor on Tuesday, September 13, 4pm London time. You can watch, listen, ...
13 September 2016, by
Robohub Editors
August fundings and acquisitions
August was another big month for funding robotic startups. 18 deals. Almost $430 million (bringing the year-to-date total well over $1 billion)! Plus, another $1 billion paid in August for four acqui...
05 September 2016, by
Frank Tobe
Two LiDAR makers each get big funding
In anticipation of the need for LiDAR devices in cars with assisted steering and other self-driving technologies, both Velodyne and Quanergy received funding. Quanergy raised $90 million and Velodyne...
26 August 2016, by
Frank Tobe
As Ford sets a date, Jibo retracts theirs
Bringing a complex new product to market is an intensive process fraught with problems. Getting hardware ready for manufacturing is often the easy part; it's the software and regulatory compliance tha...
19 August 2016, by
Frank Tobe
Midea’s masterplan to become China’s robot powerhouse
Chinese consumer manufacturer Midea, after having spent over $4 billion to acquire 94% of German robot maker Kuka, is planning to spend an additional $1.5 billion to turn itself into China's preemin...
18 August 2016, by
Frank Tobe
IDC awards 5 warehouse robotics innovators
International Data Corporation (IDC) has awarded five pioneering players in the warehouse robotics market with the 2016 IDC Innovators Award. Companies selected met the following criteria: revenue of...
17 August 2016, by
Frank Tobe
Robohub roundtable: Why do robotics crowdfunding projects fail?
In this Robohub roundtable edition, we are joined by Sabine Hauert, Kassie Perlongo, John Payne, Audrow Nash, Yannis Erripis, with commentary by Andra Keay and Travis Deyle, to discuss the viabilit...
16 August 2016, by
Kassie Perlongo
What coachmen from the 1920s can tell us about robots and jobs
To many workers, the words “digital technologies” may evoke one simple, dismaying image: a human-like robot sitting at their desk, doing the work that they used to do! This anxiety is not differen...
16 August 2016, by
Vincenzo Spiezia
What happens when a robot company sells off a division?
Spin-offs are disrupting, but often necessary. Here are two recent examples: iRobot sold off its Defense & Security Business Unit to a private equity firm, and Harvest Automation sold the IP an...
11 August 2016, by
Frank Tobe
July fundings, acquisitions and failures
Despite all the high-profile billion-dollar acquisitions, eg: ARM by SoftBank, KUKA by Midea and Uber China by Didi Chuxing, M&A are down 19% this year, according to both Forbes and CB Insights. B...
03 August 2016, by
Frank Tobe
Where are the previous Robot Launch winners now?
Catch up with past winners: CleverPet (2015), Preemadonna/Nailbot (2015 runner-up), and Leka (2014).
Will you be our next Robot Launch winner? There's 25 days left to register! You can register by...
21 July 2016, by
Andra Keay and Silicon Valley Robotics
Midea now owns 85.69% of KUKA’s shares
Since the announcement of the month-long tender offer by Midea to buy 49% of the shares of German robot maker KUKA AG - and private negotiations - Midea now has 85.69% of the shares....
21 July 2016, by
Frank Tobe
Coming very soon: robotic toys, robot-made hamburgers, mobile robot deliveries
Re-joining the ranks, Sony announced a return to robotics. Momentum is opening a robot hamburger shop. And Starship is beginning to deliver food to three cities in Europe....
12 July 2016, by
Frank Tobe
62 market research reports study robotics industry
The number of research reports studying the robotics industry is growing exponentially. To date in 2016 there have been 109 on subjects ranging from overly broad to very drilled-down views of the in...
11 July 2016, by
Frank Tobe
Robolliance focuses on autonomous robotics for security and survelliance
Robolliance is a new forum for technology partners and industry experts. Sponsored by Sharp Electronics Corporation, the program is a place for partners and experts in "robotics, surveillance and sec...
08 July 2016, by
Kassie Perlongo
Starship delivery robots getting ready to deliver in London, Germany, Bern
At Starship, we announced our first pilot projects for robotic delivery which will begin operating this summer. We’ll be working with a London food delivery startup Pronto as well as German parcel c...
07 July 2016, by
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
Logistic companies Swisslog, Dematic, Egemin and Intelligrated all acquired
First, the KION Group acquires Dematic for $2.5 billion. A week later, Honeywell acquires Intelligrated for $1.5 billion. KION acquires Retrotech and earlier still Egemin, while Kuka acquires Swisslog...
05 July 2016, by
Frank Tobe
What’s happening in robotics? Five trends to watch
Industrial robots used to be dumb, somewhat inflexible, and mostly blind - but also fast, precise and very efficient. As the cost of components, sensors and vision systems has been dro...
29 June 2016, by
Frank Tobe
New partnership looks to strengthen European robot industry
A new EU-funded, robot technology transfer partnership is looking to help manufacturing and robotics companies with robot consultancy, networking, and funding....
22 June 2016, by
Samuel Brøgger
Industrial robot sales for 2015 set new record, despite troubles in China
Worldwide sales of industrial robots set a new record: 248,000 units sold in 2015, 12% more than 2014. 66,700 units sold in China of which 20,400 were made in China.
Asia is still the strongest gr...
22 June 2016, by
Frank Tobe
Going the last mile with robots
This article was first published on the IEC e‑tech website.
From robots delivering small packages in cities, to driverless trucks transporting bulk loads over long distances, advances in robotic ...
14 June 2016, by
Peter Feuilherade
Chinese investors keep buying international robotics companies
The latest acquisition is Gimatic, an Italian pneumatic and electric grippers, sensors and positioners maker, by Agic Capital. The Financial Times reported the sale price to be between $112 and $16...
13 June 2016, by
Frank Tobe
Big data, the cloud — FANUC and Kuka?
FANUC, the world’s largest maker of industrial robots, plans to start connecting 400,000 of their installed systems by the end of this year. The goal is to collect data about their operations and...
07 June 2016, by
Frank Tobe
What is a CRO and will your business soon need one?
The times are changing! What seemed like science fiction a few years ago is now on the front page of the news. Augmented reality, wearables, virtual assistants, robots, and other smart devices are beg...
02 June 2016, by
Jeffrey Walker
May fundings, acquisitions and IPOs
UPDATE: June 1, 2016: Forbes wrote today that Toyota is in discussions with Google not only for Boston Dynamics but also for Schaft, the Japanese startup that won the DARPA Robotics Challenge — a...
01 June 2016, by
Frank Tobe
How is Pepper, SoftBank’s emotional robot, doing?
Pepper is a child-height human-shaped robot described as having been designed to be a genuine companion that perceives and acts upon a range of human emotions.
SoftBank, the Japanese telecom gia...
30 May 2016, by
Frank Tobe
Why businesses must get ready for the era of robotic things
We’ve entered a period of epic technological transformation that is impacting society in ways that are leaving even veteran tech observers speechless. In some ways, it might seem like 1998 all over ...
27 May 2016, by
Jeffrey Walker
EU’s Horizon 2020 has funded $179 million in robotics PPPs
Over the past two years, research in 5G and robotics PPP projects have received the highest funding awards within Horizon 2020, the EU’s research and innovation program....
25 May 2016, by
Frank Tobe
