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.

Alex Kushleyev and Daniel Mellinger founded KMel Robotics in late 2011 after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania. The duo have become renowned for their flying quads, attracting Lexus as a client to develop ground breaking visual displays like Amazing In Motion. It is without a doubt that the pair have become experts in the field of hardware design, high performance control and complete systems capable of autonomous operation.

Their website no longer displays the catalog of research projects they have achieved, but displays this message instead:

KMel Robotics is proud to announce its acquisition by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. on February 2, 2015.

We are extremely excited to become part of the Qualcomm team and look forward to bringing aerial robotics to the next level together.

Alex Kushleyev and Daniel Mellinger

Qualcomm already has a research lab dedicated to experimenting with their proprietary hardware and software. One of their projects, the Snapdragon Cargo, is a flying and rolling drone that has been equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. The cargo also comes with it’s own integrated flight controller.

The Snapdragon Cargo houses a multi-functional computing platform that involves both hardware as well as software platforms. The low-power Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC makes use of multi-core processing, wireless communications, sensor integration, spatial positioning and real time input-output for a variety of drone applications.

Qualcomm has it’s own venture arm called Qualcomm Ventures, and together with Techstars, launched a robotics accelerator. Announced in October 2014, the idea is to fund and mentor approximately 10 companies each year to develop and accelerate the next generation of robotics and intelligent machines. So far Qualcomm has committed $1 million towards the program. We had a quick scan through some of their earlier portfolio investments and noted that Skycatch has also received funding from the venture arm.

We’re really impressed with the KMel Robotics team, and so look forward to seeing what they can achieve with the full backing of a company like Qualcomm. They will certainly have access to a lot more resource, technology and new toys. Keep those eyes peeled for the next iteration of aerial robotics coming out of a Qualcomm lab soon.

photo: KMel Robotics

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 … 

Kmel Robotics, the Pittsburgh-based flying entertainment robot startup that became famous when they did a show using a swarm of lighted drones at the Cannes Film Festival, sold to chipmaker Qualcomm for an undisclosed amount. Qualcomm recently partnered with TechStars to set up a San Diego-based accelerator that plans to annually fund up to a dozen robotic startups.

TM-100 robot from Harvest Automation

A Sole Source Notice of DARPA contracting with KMel to provide a fleet of fast lightweight autonomous (FLA) mini drones may have forced KMel partners to seek funding and partners to scale up. We won’t know the real reason or amounts involved until Qualcomm provides that information in their quarterly SEC filing.

Harvest Automation, located just outside of Boston, is getting $2.9 million as part payment in an as-yet uncompleted funding round to start a new product branch: the OmniVeyor, a mobile device focused on e-commerce companies moving items around their warehouses. According to the Boston Business Journal, Harvest Automation has already raised $25 million for their agricultural robots and have sold over 100 of them to more than 30 farms around the U.S. with an active sales program underway to increase those numbers significantly.

photo: Oceaneering

Oceaneering International, the Houston-based marine engineering and services company serving the offshore oil and gas industry, is buying C & C Technologies for $280 million. In the image above, one can see all the drilling, rig and oil and gas operations going on in offshore deep waters. Lafayette, LA-based C & C provides ocean-bottom mapping and survey services using customized AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles). Oceaneering has a fleet of ROVs and AUVs and a design and manufacturing unit that makes ROVs and expects to maximize use of those ROVs in support of the mapping and survey services C & C provides. The acquisition is anticipated to be completed in early April. C & C’s sister company ASV (Autonomous Surface Vehicles) is not involved in the Oceaneering acquisition.

The Robotics Industries Association (RIA) reported that 2014 was the strongest year ever for North American robotics. Their detailed statistics will be sent to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), combined with other data, and compiled into the IFR’s annual report of industrial and service robotics.

27,685 robots valued at $1.6 billion were ordered from North American companies during 2014, an increase of 28% in units and 19% in dollars over 2013. Robot shipments also set new records, with 25,425 robots valued at $1.5 billion being shipped. Shipments grew 13% in units and 6% in dollars over the previous records set in 2013.

The automotive industry was the primary driver of growth in 2014, with robot orders increasing 45% year over year. Non-automotive industries also grew at 7% over 2013. Plastics and Rubber (25%), Semiconductor and Electronics (21%), and Metals (16%) were the prominent non-automotive industries.

According to Alex Shikany, Director of Market Analysis for RIA, the fastest growing applications for robot orders in North America in 2014 were Arc Welding (+58%), Spot Welding (+57%), Assembly (+16%), and Material Handling (+11%). RIA estimates that some 230,000 robots are now at use in United States factories, placing the US second only to Japan in robot use.

Han’s Laser Technology, a Chinese provider of laser processing equipment for marking, welding, cutting, drilling and solar, has, according to China Money Network, partnered with Guosen H&S Investment Company Limited, the private equity arm of state-owned financial service company Guosen Securities Company Limited, to establish a new $160 million fund to invest in the Chinese robot and artificial intelligence sector. Han’s Laser employs 6,200 people and plans to use the fund to improve its competitiveness in high-tech sectors such as laser systems integration, linear motors and visual identity.

Resort Savers RSSV, a Chinese companies that acquires market-ready petroleum industry technologies for installation and distribution in China, particularly technologies to clean oil storage units and recover usable oil, invested $2 million for a 20% share of Worx America, a designer of automated and robotic solutions that help improve efficiency and systems output for the energy industry. The Worx automated robotic system quickly cleans and recovers clean oil from container waste sludge, resulting in increased sales and decreased tank cleaning time giving RSSV the ability to offer proprietary solutions for onshore, offshore and subsea oil production, refining, cleaning and reclamation.

Cool!
KMel Robotics – the spinoff from the GRASP Labs of the U of Penn – and Kurtis Films, have a new video of a squadron of KMel’s super-quiet flying robots creating music in ways never seen before. KMel is also providing flying entertainment robots for concerts and shows of all types.

Future cool
SRI has released a video showing a swarm of ant-sized robots manufacturing an intricate glued carbon rod structure. Using magnetically actuated micro-robots, SRI foresees a near-term future in small components manufacturing.

Yes … but
American milk producers, faced with choices regarding improving their milking methods and labor practices, and deteriorarting equipment, are beginning to choose robotic milking platforms – as this video from the NY Times attests. The affordability metrics, described here by a writer for DairyLogix, are slightly different in the EU where smaller dairies have long been using these robotic milkers.

Long-term planning
For the last 7 years, Schunk – the robot gripper manufacturer – has hosted (at their factory in Hausen, Germany) the International ExpertDays Service Robotics conference and exhibition. This video gives you a flavor of the event and, for me at least, a desire to attend their 8th annual 2015 conference.

Scary
The dialogue about arming robots – whether on the ground, in the air, or armed with tazers or Hellfire missiles – has focused on the West. But this training video shows Russian soldiers working alongside an unmanned armed mobile robot. Psst: Campaign to Stop Killer Robots: you should watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj98jcEeOJM

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

• VIDEO UPDATE Quadrocopter failsafe algorithm: Recovery after propeller loss
• Chess, Jeopardy and now… Ping Pong? Kuka robot goes up against table tennis champion Timo Boll
• No drone experts were harmed in the making of this video … Or were they?
• Show us your AI – AAAI Video Competition

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A squadron of 30 LED-studded Ascending Technologies quadcopters hovered above Potters Fields Park near London’s Tower Bridge and, in conjunction with Earth Hour, formed a three-dimensional Star Trek logo in the night sky – a treat slash advertisement from Paramount, the producer of the new movie “Star Trek – Into Darkness” which will be released in May.

Similar in theatrics to the Kmel Robotics and Saatchi & Saatchi show last year at the Cannes Film Festival, the Ars Electronica Futurelab Paramount swarming quadcopter light shows in London and Linz, Austria took to the outdoors, away from overhead control sensors, and into the wild beyond to produce a wildly interesting and colorful flight show.

Videos of the Cannes show are here:
http://youtu.be/cseTX_rW3uM

Videos from London and Linz are here: