Robot Launch – Robohub

Robot Launch 2017: Deadline Sept 3

Silicon Valley Robotics — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 10:02:16 +0000

The Robotics Hub, in collaboration with Silicon Valley Robotics, is looking to invest up to $500,000 in robotics, AI and sensor startups! Finalists also receive exposure on Robohub and space in the new Silicon Valley Robotics Cowork Space. Plus you get to pitch your startup to an audience of top VCs, investors and experts. Entries close Sept 3.

In previous Robot Launch competitions we’ve had hundreds of entries from more than 20 countries around the world. Our finalists have also reached the finals of major startup competitions like Tech Crunch Disrupt, and gone on to raise millions of dollars of funding making strong industry partnerships, such as working with Siemens Frontier Program.

Our semifinalists will also been featured on Robohub, which means they’ll reach an audience of approx 100,000 viewers. Everyone who enters gets incredibly valuable feedback from top robotics VCs, investors and experts.

CRITERIA: Your startup should be under 5 years old, with less than $2 million in funding. You should have a great new robotics technology and business model. Your startup is related to robotics, AI, simulation, sensors or autonomous vehicles. ENTER NOW.

Robot Launch is supported by Silicon Valley Robotics to help more robotics startups present their technology and business models to prominent investors. Silicon Valley Robotics is the not-for-profit industry group supporting innovation and commercialization in robotics technologies. The Robotics Hub is the first investor in advanced robotics and AI startups, helping to get from ‘zero to one’ with their network of robotics and market experts.

Please share this in your networks and let us know if you’d like to be a judge, mentor or can offer a prize for Robot Launch 2017. Just email Andra [andra @ robotlaunch.com].

Learn more about previous Robot Launch competitions here.

Three years on: An update from Leka, Robot Launch winner

Ladislas de Toldi — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 10:00:53 +0000

Nearly three years ago, Leka won the Grand Prize at the 2014 Robot Launch competition for their robotic toy set on changing the way children with developmental disorders learn, play and progress. Leka will be the first interactive tool for children with developmental disorders that is available for direct purchase to the public. Designed for use in the home and not limited to a therapist’s office, Leka enables streamlined communication between therapists, parents and children easier, more efficient and more accessible through its monitoring platform. Leka’s co-founder and CEO, Ladislas de Toldi, writes about Leka’s progress since the Robot Launch competition and where the company is headed in the next year.

Since winning the Robot Launch competition in 2014, Leka has made immense progress and is well on it’s way to getting in the hands of exceptional children around the globe.

2016 was a big year for us; Leka was accepted into the 2016 class of the Sprint Accelerator Program, powered by Techstars, in Kansas City, MO. The whole team picked up and moved from Paris, France to the United States for a couple of months to work together as a team and create the best version of Leka possible.

Techstars was for us the opportunity to really test the US Special Education Market. We came to the program with two goals in mind: to build a strong community around our project in Kansas City and the area, and to launch our crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.

The program gave us an amazing support system to connect with people in the Autism community in the area and to push ourselves to build the best crowdfunding campaign targeting special education.

We’re incredibly humbled to say we succeeded in both: Kansas City is going to be our home base in the US, thanks to all the partnerships we now have with public schools and organizations.

Near the end of our accelerator program in May 2016, we launched our Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for Leka’s development and manufacturing—and ended up raising more than 150 percent of our total fundraising goal. We had buyers from all over the world including the United States, France, Israel, Australia and Uganda! As of today, we have reached +$145k on Indiegogo with more than 300 units preordered.

In July, the entire Leka team moved back to Paris to finalize the hardware development of Leka and kick off the manufacturing process. Although the journey has been full of challenges, we are thrilled with the progress we have made on Leka and the impact it can make on the lives of children.

This past fall, we partnered with Bourgogne Service Electronics (BSE) for manufacturing. BSE is a French company and we’re working extremely close with them on Leka’s design. Two of our team members, Alex and Gareth, recently worked with BSE to finalize the design and create what we consider to be Leka’s heart—an electronic card. The card allows Leka’s lights, movements and LCD screen to come to life.

We were also able to integrate proximity sensors into Leka, so that it can know where children are touching it, and lead to better analytics and progress monitoring in the future.

We have had quite a few exciting opportunities in the past year at industry events as well! We attended the Techstars alumni conference FounderCon, in Cincinnati, OH, and CES Unveiled in Paris in the Fall. We then had the opportunity to present Leka in front of some amazing industry professionals at the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ.D Live in Laguna Beach, CA. But most exciting was CES in Las Vegas this past January, and the announcements we made at the show.

At CES, we were finally able to unveil our newest industrial-grade prototypes with the autonomous features we’ve been working toward for the past three years. With Leka’s new fully integrated sensors, children can play with the robotic toy on their own, making it much more humanlike and interactive. These new features allow Leka to better help children understand social cues and improve their interpersonal skills.

At CES we also introduced Leka’s full motor integration, vibration and color capabilities, and the digital screen. Leka’s true emotions can finally show!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srHdu7muocM

In the six months between our Indiegogo campaign, and CES Las Vegas, we were able to make immense improvements toward Leka, and pour our hearts into the product we believe will change lives for exception children and their families. We’re currently developing our next industrial prototype so we can make Leka even better, and we’re aiming to begin shipping in Fall 2017. We can’t wait to show you all the final product!

*All photos credit: Leka

About Leka
Leka is a robotic smart toy set on changing the way children with developmental disorders learn, play and progress. Available for direct purchase online through InDemand, Leka is an interactive tool designed to make communication between therapists, parents and children easier, more efficient and more accessible. Working with and adapting to each child’s own needs and abilities, Leka is able to provide vital feedback to parents and therapists on a child’s progress and growth.

Founded in France with more than two years in R&D, the company recently completed its tenure at the 2016 Sprint Accelerators Techstars program and is rapidly growing. Leka expects to begin shipping out units to Indiegogo backers in Fall 2017.

For more information, please visit http://leka.io.

If you liked this article, read more about Leka on Robohub here:

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CleverPet is a robot that humans (and dogs) love

Andra Keay — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 09:30:29 +0000

The largest markets for robots is for when there aren’t any people around. We often call those jobs the dirty, dull and dangerous ones. But then there are devices like CleverPet which play with your dog when you aren’t home. What’s not to love about playing with dogs? And yet there is a huge industry growing up around looking after your pet when you simply aren’t available to do it. CleverPet won the 2015 Robot Launch startup competition and took home 1st place at CES 2016.

In 2017, we are seeing many ‘robots’ advertise themselves as being able to play with your pets or even your children and parents when you aren’t home. What’s really involved in creating a good experience with a smart home robot? CleverPet is very tightly focused in how it delivers value.

Interview with Leo Trottier, Founder & CEO of CleverPet (edited for clarity)

What is CleverPet?

CleverPet Hub is like a game console for dogs. It teaches dogs to play games and keeps them from getting bored so that you can feel better about the time your dog needs to spend alone at home without you. It has three touchpads that light up in colors that your dogs can see, it has a speaker so your dog and hear your voice, and it’s got a microphone so you can hear your dog bark. In the morning, instead of putting your dog’s food in a bowl, you put it in the CleverPet Hub, and then our software gives your dog a single piece of his food when he does the right action for the game. There’s also a mobile app that will teach you how to use the Hub, and that allows you to see your dog’s progress.

I love your description of CleverPet as a game console for dogs. But as someone who’s not a dog owner, it looks rather complicated. How many dogs manage to get past Level 1 on this?

Most dogs are able to get to the final level.

The techniques that we’re using have been used for decades by trainers to teach agility and tricks to dogs. They’ve also been used in university contexts with a variety of other animals: monkeys, birds, cats, mice, flies. We know that, given the right curriculum, most dogs can be taught to touch touchpads in a sequence, though of course some dogs will take longer to learn it than others.

The limiting factor is not the cognitive capacity of the dogs, but their motivation to learn. The problem isn’t getting from Step 5 to Step 10; it’s getting from Step 0 to Step 1, and from Step 1 to Step 2. Those early steps are the most challenging, and it all depends on how curious, food- motivated, fearless, and open-minded the dog is.

This is a challenging UI (user interface) problem, because on the one hand this is a product for interacting with pets, and on the other hand, the product has to interact with the consumer — the person who’s buying it, setting it up, and monitoring it.

Can you describe a little bit about each of these two streams?

Both the person and the dog have to learn a sequence of actions, and at first, the progress is gated primarily by what the dog is able to do at any given point in time.

In the beginning, it’s easier for a human to understand what the goal of the sequence is, because we can use words to describe to a person what the dog should be doing. For example: “Right now we’re teaching the dog to use these touchpads.”

It’s trickier for the dog. People sometimes overestimate what their dog can actually understand, and so they might do things like grab their dog’s paw and put it onto the touchpad.

But we don’t want people to interfere with the learning that their dog is doing because if the dog develops a negative association with using the Hub, it will set the whole learning process back. On the other hand, if this is something that the dog discovers on his own, then he is likely to associate the Hub instead with a new thing that he can do in the world, and that is interesting and exciting to him.

Is there a significant population of pet owners who feel that their pets need something like CleverPet?

We know that there are people who feel bad about needing to leave their dog alone at home. I have hundreds of quotes from people saying things like, “My dog has separation anxiety and I can’t afford dog daycare. I feel horrible about it, and I wish I could give him something to do during the day.” That’s the ‘why buy?’— the thing that everyone can understand, and why most people make the initial purchase.

But what is much more interesting and powerful is the excitement of having a new way to interact with your dog. Most people have a very relatively small area of potential interaction with their dog because it only consists of the times when they can be together (which is intrinsically limited) and because there is no data associated with it. But by adding data, adding more time, and also adding insight through analytics, we can greatly expand the interaction surface in a way that I think people who love their dogs and are desperate to understand them better will find deeply exciting.

People love talking about their dogs and showing pictures of them. But now they’re not just going to be showing you pictures, they’re going to be showing you pictures and data and charts and explanations about when their dog leveled up, and why they do well on particular days and not other days, and what kind of progress their dog is making. We’re really excited about developing fodder for this kind of conversation — it will be the reason why we go from being a company that is selling a hundred thousand CleverPet Hubs to one that is selling tens of millions.

Are you able to extrapolate information about the mood of pets from this?

With this version of the Hub, we’ll be able to make indirect inferences about mood. For example, by looking at how active or inactive the dog is, especially as compared with previous days, we can recognize whether he’s feeling high energy or low energy, which might imply an underlying health issue.

Other pet devices are either tele-operated or pure auto-feed or auto-play. CleverPet stands out by having a smart interaction that adapts to the individual animal. Can you tell us more?

The key thing that we’ve got is this combination of input from the person, input from the dog, and all of that is through a flexible interface that is the source of a good chunk of the dog’s food for the day. All this is fed into a framework that allows for relatively sensitive analysis and adaptation.

What’s great about computerized interaction is you can be extremely precise: you can provide the feedback at exactly the right time and you can be extremely consistent. In other words, you only provide the feedback when the animal does the right thing, and that is something that humans are notoriously bad at.

Computerized interaction also provides great memory, so you can look at what the dog did last week, or yesterday, or ten minutes ago, and you can precisely change the way the feedback works based on all that information.

Finally, you can provide the interaction all the time — over the course of thousands of hours a year, rather than merely an hour a day. And this lets you become a fixture in the dog’s world.

These techniques are well developed in neuroscience and cognitive science, but the potential for computerized interaction with animals is not commonly understood. I did four or five years of cognitive science before I knew that this was available.

What led you from Cognitive Science to CleverPet? And why choose animal behavior rather than impacting human behavior?

If you asked someone what makes humans special, as compared to other animals, they’ll say: insight, creativity, reason. But anthropologists will say that what made the development of humanity possible over the last 20,000 years are technological developments — like agriculture, science and the development of writing — that allowed us the luxury to develop our insight, creativity and reason.

But if technology enabled humans to make these big advancements, what could technology make possible for animals? Especially animals as cognitively sophisticated as dogs appear to be?

Now, the counter-argument to that is you look at the performance of babies, at 1 and 2 years old, and compare them to the performances of dogs, and there are things that babies can do that dogs can’t and you can’t attribute the cognitive performance of babies to technological development. There’s a kind of recursive property of trained ability and connections that exist between mother and child, and it might just be that we don’t know what the inputs are to dogs in order to mold their behavior and elevate their performance.

There are dogs that seem to have some very sophisticated abilities, and so in the same way that there are humans that can do physics, although they’re in the minority, I believe there’s likely the same amount of heterogeneity in dogs and so that means there’s also potential for us to develop specialization, potentially, in dogs, that gives them additional ability, as much as there’s specialization in people. There are these huge generalizations that people tend to make, about human ability and dog ability, and I think those are all wrong- headed for the most part, because there’s massive amounts of individual difference.

When did you launch the first CleverPet prototypes into the wild, as it were, and what have you learned along the way?

We did a lot of internal work ourselves. Last summer we set ourselves a rigorous program of sending three CleverPet Hubs out every Friday, for about 12 weeks, and we learned a lot there. There’s still much more to learn: a lot of the value that will develop around this technology has yet to be invented, yet to be developed, yet to be written. But it can only really be developed once this product on the market, and sold. We now have a bunch of CleverPet Hubs coming in from China that we’re very excited about, and we’ll be distributing them so we can begin the next stage of learning. Note – Since this interview the first batch of CleverPets were distributed and the company is now taking orders for Christmas.

It’s very challenging to turn a research interest into a consumer product, and so, why this specific market and product?

To me the most powerful way of teaching people something is to demonstrate it to them. If I think it would be valuable for people to understand the process of learning and cognitive potential better, what better way to do that then to demonstrate it for them in their home with an animal that they love? That is to me the most powerful way of opening people up to that possibility and making them more curious about it. That’s why it needed to be a consumer product.

What are your hopes and plans for the future?

We want to CleverPet to become a household name. We want millions of dogs to be happier and lead more fulfilled lives, and for tens of millions of people to feel even closer to their dog, and have a much better understanding of what they’re capable of. And we want a general acceptance that there is a whole other world of cognitive behavior change that’s available and technology can help us get there.

CleverPet

CleverPet uses smart hardware to offer animals engagement anytime, automatically, whether their humans are home or not. Founded in 2013 by Leo Trottier (Clever Executive Officer), Dr. Philip Meier (Clever Product Officer) and Dan Knudsen, PhD (Clever Science Officer, Clever Technology Officer), CleverPet took root and continues to grow in San Diego, California. In 2015 CleverPet won the Robot Launch global startup competition run by Silicon Valley Robotics. CleverPet uses advanced cognitive and behavioral science techniques to develop elegant, durable technology solutions for the animals we love.

SILICON VALLEY ROBOTICS

Silicon Valley Robotics is the industry group for robotics and AI companies in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, and is a not- for-profit (501c6) that supports innovation and commercialization of robotics technologies. We host the Silicon Valley Robot Block Party, networking events, investor forums, a directory, and a jobs board, and we provide additional services and information for members, such as these reports.

We’ll be releasing additional essays from the reports every week or so. Or, read the full reports at: https://svrobo.org/reports

When being a woman in robotics gives you the edge

Andra Keay — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 10:00:46 +0000

Robotics isn’t gender neutral, it’s gender blind. And that means that there are a lot of hidden opportunities for savvy investors and entrepreneurs. One of the first robotics companies I followed was Restoration Robotics, a Silicon Valley based company that’s raised more than $111 M USD in 6 rounds. Restoration Robotics saw a niche for robotics in treating male baldness.

Pree Walia, CEO and founder of Preemadonna has her eyes set on a robotics/computer vision nail art solution. Preemadonna’s Nailbot was runner-up in 2015 Robot Launch startup competition and went on to become a finalist on TechCrunch Disrupt. Her startup was the only one targeting female consumers. Not only does less than 7% of venture funding go to female founders [Bloomberg], but female focused products are also much less likely to get funded, even though they may be addressing a huge market.

Let’s face it — the nail salon industry in the US alone has an annual turnover in excess of $8B according to Statista and that’s before including nail products and home treatments, estimated at another $8–9B, for a total market size of approx $16B.

To put that in context, the entire US apple industry has an annual revenue of half that at around $4 B, with an overall downstream economic impact of $16B, according to the US Apple Association. And the US is the second largest apple producer in the world.

We’ve all heard about the Maker Community and how 3D printers and digital tools can reshape the economy and why 21st century STEM education needs access to fab labs. But meanwhile, there’s been a quiet crafting revolution, which is sending ripples into many adjacent areas. Women have traded their sewing machines in for digital machines, stitchers, knitters, cutters, etchers, embroiderers, etc. Many industries, from the sign industry to textile companies are moving from professional to prosumer, even consumer and DIY. The beauty industry is following.

Preemadonna was accepted into L’Oréal and Founders Factory’s accelerator program. CEO, Pree, presented to senior executives (including L’Oréal’s CEO) at L’Oréal’s Headquarters in France late last year and became one of only five startups to win a spot in the elite program.

Seems like a few robotics startups are now realizing that there are untapped markets in female facing products. The only downside is that robot solutions may start to displace women’s jobs. For example, being a nail artist is a lucrative yet low skilled job. However, there are opportunities both for female entrepreneurs ie for opening up beauty robot service salons, and for female founders and inventors, who may be first to market with new robot products and services.

Who did Robohub reader’s vote for in Robot Launch 2016?

Andra Keay — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 18:00:15 +0000

We’re delighted to announce that UniExo is the winner of the “Robohub Reader’s Pick” in the Robot Launch 2016 global startup competition. Are Robohub readers on the same wavelength as our panel of VC, investors and expert judges? We’ll find out next week when we announce the overall winners of the Robot Launch 2016 competition!

The Robot Launch competition attracts early stage robotics and AI startups from all over the world to pitch their ideas in the hopes of winning investment or acceleration through mentorship and industry clusters. Robohub is an ideal venue for the competition as it reaches into robotics research labs around the world.

Robohub president Sabine Hauert said, “Congrats to Andra and Silicon Valley Robotics for organising such a wonderful competition! There are so many wonderful startups striving to make robots a reality in our everyday lives. Robot Launch this year featured a wealth of startups, ranging from robots for education and healthcare, to robots that fold our laundry, or help us on the shopfloor. I have immense admiration for these startups that need to create new markets, while mastering software, hardware, product design, and business. The least we can do at Robohub is provide them with the visibility they deserve, so they can reach the investors and users that will make their startups a success. I hope everyone will have a close look at all the contestants from this year’s competition and spread the word, there is so much potential here!”

UniExo from Ukraine wins The Robohub Reader’s Pick, after a strong campaign in their local media! Followed by: Internet of Robots, Halodi, Labs Cubed, Hibotics, Foldimate, sciRobot, Robotics Materials Inc, bridgeOS, The Virtual Robotics Toolkit and Franklin Robotics.

UniExo | UKR

UniExo is modular exoskeleton, which will change stationary medical equipment to mobility devices, and improves rehabilitation movements of people, without any additional help from doctors. Our product helps to save medical institutions for the purchase of medical devices. This positive effect on the quality and the period of rehabilitation clinics. Therefore people are using this device will not engage in a self-treatment. The device also allows you to keep statistics of rehabilitation that are is important for hospitals and the Ministry of Health.

Internet of Robots | Poland

The Internet of Robots is a system designed for easy assembly of robots. It’s internet, electronics, hardware and software combined. You can send data, manage environment data and see what your robot sees. Just pick the modules and start creating your Internet of Robots.

Halodi| NOR

Halodi´s vision is to provide a vast number of robots to the mass market. We believe the time is right for Eve, a robot that is affordable for ordinary people, with strength and reach of a human. Our concept is that of simplified, but capable, and high-quality mechanics paired with a cloud “brain” that enables very advanced data processing, cross learning and continuous upgrading of the functionality. The concept of the mechanics, with our own very strong Revo1 servo motors and differential joints, means that Eve can be produced for a fraction of the cost of ordinary robots without sacrificing quality or versatility.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X6oIK8aSsI

LabsCubed Inc. | CAN

Throughout history, we have seen how new and revolutionary materials drive innovation. Amazingly, some of our best engineers have designed solutions to major problems with energy, medicine, computers, and aerospace, but they’re missing the materials to make them a reality. At LabsCubed, we are creating a fully automated testing system to help material creators bring us all the materials of the future sooner. From 3D printing to space exploration, the materials of the future will change our lives. By revolutionizing materials testing, LabsCubed will make the future possible.

Hibotics | USA

The ERAD (Elevated Robotic Assistive Device) technology is centered about “mobile robotic devices that don’t take up floor space.” While floor-based mobile robots may have great potential for automating processes and assisting people (i.e. the disabled and infirm or home/industrial security), their need to navigate around objects (people, furniture, stairs, pets..) makes them expensive while still not alleviating the potential for a sense of obtrusiveness on the part of the users.

FoldiMate | USA

FoldiMate’s goal is to save marriages around the world! We have developed a patented robotic method to fold clothes. FoldiMate is easy to use and anyone in your family can use it. Laundry will be neatly folded with consistent, high-quality folds. Foldimate will also speed up your laundry time which means more time to do the things you really enjoy. Each item can be treated with perfume and fabric softener while it is being folded, plus it also has an optional de-wrinkling system. FoldiMate will soon become a must-have in every household around the world.

sciRobot | USA

sciRobot is dedicated to promoting independent living and active aging. Alzheimer’s is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide. Family caregivers are exposed to emotional, financial and physical difficulties for about 5 years till their loved ones are moved to a care center. Research shows that regular physical activity has significant improvements in affective state, functional skills and sleep quality of the people with Alzheimer’s. Improvement in all of these areas can help ease the stress caregivers often feel from intensive caregiving duties.sciRobot is creating the activity companion robot ACRO to help Alzheimer’s family caregivers motivate their loved ones to stay more active.

Robotic Materials Inc | USA

We provide a novel tactile sensor that can measure proximity, contact and force. Our sensor sits where the rubber hits the road in robotic grasping and manipulation and is extremely low-cost and orders of magnitude more useful than any competing technology. Proximity helps the robot to align its hand with an object and avoid obstacles. Contact sensing allows the gripper/hand to create a constraint with the object without disturbing it and force allows it to gently handle an object and better understand how the object is located in the hand. We are selling the sensor for a growing number of platforms including Rethink Robotics Baxter/Sayer, Kinova Jaco and many more to come. We are also providing full-stack software that make manipulation easy.

bridgeOS | Portugal

bridgeOS, by Bridge Robotics, is a cloud-based platform to run service robot applications. It allows users of service robots to easily manage and use robot applications with different robots and different skills. bridgeOS also provides developers not expert in robotics with a framework to help build robot agnostic applications.

https://youtu.be/Fu3a8xhPAqE

The Virtual Robotics Toolkit | CAN

The Virtual Robotics Toolkit, is a STEM (Science Technology Education and Math) education tool that teaches children and adults alike the fundamentals of engineering, coding and 3D design using a simulated environment. Robots now make up $95 million USD of the $8 billion education technology market. It is our belief that the best way to engage the next generation of STEM learners is through the use of simulation technology that makes possible the opportunity to learn 21st-century skills at a fraction of the price of physical hardware.

Franklin Robotics | USA

We are developing a weeding robot for home gardens. Solar powered, autonomous, and self-sufficient, Tertill maintains a weed-free vegetable or flower garden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8vpKbWNcv4

Robot Launch 2016 – Robohub Readers’ Pick round three

Andra Keay — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 08:00:06 +0000

For the next three weeks, Robohub readers can vote for their “Readers’ Pick” startup from the Robot Launch competition. Each week, we’ll be publishing 10 videos. Our ultimate Robohub Readers’ Favorites, along with lots of other prizes, will be announced at the end of November. Every week we’ll showcase different aspects of robotics startups and their business models: from agricultural to humanoid, from consumer to industrial and from hardware to robotics software. Make sure you vote for your favorite – below – by 18:00pm UTC, Wednesday 23 November, spread the word through social media using #robotlaunch2016.

Choitek Mark II Robotics Platform | USA

Our idea is to accelerate robotics research by providing a large mobile manipulator platform that is robust, easy-to-use, and accessible. The low cost will allow a large number of hobbyists, educators, and students to enter the robotics research ecosystem. For schools, researchers and hobbyists, the product’s main appeal will come from its large size, low-cost, ease-of-access and excellent documentation across a variety of channels.

FoldiMate | ISR

Halodi| NOR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X6oIK8aSsI

Kamigami Robots | USA

Kamigami robots are the world’s first commercially available biomimetic robot that doubles as an app-controlled STEM toy. Build, program, play, evolve is our motto and our mission is to get an affordable, accessible entry-level robotics kit to every kid in America. Kamigami are the robot sidekick you get to build yourself. About the size of a small shoe, they fold up from a flat sheet with no tools required. Once built, you can drive, play pre-loaded games or design and program your OWN games — all through the app. Educators already love us as an entry-level coding lesson. With a super low barrier to entry but high potential for creativity, we believe Kamigami can make anyone a maker, or programmer, or tinkerer!

MOTI: A Robot for Habits | USA

Imagine being able to exercise regularly, practice an instrument, or go to bed earlier without having to force yourself—this is the vision of MOTI: to empower people to live the lives they aspire to, one habit at a time. By combining specific insights from behavioral science, social robotics, and human-centered design, we have created a simple yet powerful closed-loop system based in emotional engagement rather than just quantification. The hardware design is based upon habit loop theory to give the right triggers and rewards to help people make positive, strategic changes in their lives.

Robomotive: NLD

We can turnkey integrate our in-house developed combination of Industrial Robots (all known brands like ABB, Fanuc, Yaskawa Motoman and Kuka) with 3D vision. This way we make robots flexible and adaptive for example for usage in 3D bin picking, order picking, kitting and robot assembly. We’ve based our innovation on our broad experience with conventional industrial robots and our first successfully integrated 3D vision applications in Dutch factories.

sciRobot | USA

Semio | USA

Semio is developing a standardized software platform to allow humans to interact with and use technology (ranging from smart devices to personal robots) through natural communication, such as speech and body language. Our software platform allows technology developers to create/integrate (through developer tools) and deploy (to an app store) speech/gesture-based applications to be executed by smart devices, and allows non-expert technology users to access (from the app store) and use (through natural communication) those applications. Our software enables a smart device to automatically recognize speech and body language from a human user, make decisions about how to respond (specified by the developer for the application), and act based on those decisions while also providing its own speech and body language to the user. This natural communication interface increases the usability of smart devices by non-expert users.

The Virtual Robotics Toolkit | CAN

UniExo | UKR

Robot Launch 2016 – Robohub Readers’ Pick round two

Andra Keay — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 16:30:34 +0000

For the next three weeks, Robohub readers can vote for their “Readers’ Pick” startup from the Robot Launch competition. Each week, we’ll be publishing 10 videos. Our ultimate Robohub Readers’ Favorites, along with lots of other prizes, will be announced at the end of November. Every week we’ll showcase different aspects of robotics startups and their business models: from agricultural to humanoid, from consumer to industrial and from hardware to robotics software. Make sure you vote for your favorite – below – by 18:00pm UTC, Wednesday 16 November, spread the word through social media using #robotlaunch2016 and come back next week for the next 10!

AirZaar | USA

AirZaar is a commercial drone operation management & data management platform that streamlines the relationship between Drone Operators and their Clients with a SaaS business model.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfrBJhzSy8U&feature=em-upload_owner

Cubit | USA

Cubit is a unique hardware/software platform designed by educators and engineers to address the specific challenges faced by K12 schools. We focus on opening access to 21st Century Learning technology by removing the barriers to entry while still delivering a fun, scalable and extensible platform.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x-qyGQFXbE

Franklin Robotics | USA

We are developing a weeding robot for home gardens. Solar powered, autonomous, and self-sufficient, Tertill maintains a weed-free vegetable or flower garden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8vpKbWNcv4

Hibotics | USA

LabsCubed Inc. | CAN

Modular Science Inc. | USA

Modular Science is building systems that help biologists collect, manage, and process large amounts of data. Robotic lab machines are expensive and cumbersome, so most day-to-day lab work is done manually, especially in academia and startups. A huge amount of biology remains to be explored and the best way to explore it is through experiments. Doing these experiments using robotics will make them more reproducible and allow them to cover a wider range of experimental conditions, ultimately leading to a better understanding of biology, which will have impacts in many aspects of our lives.

https://youtu.be/EfO6r5TGKSg

Ourobotics | IRL

We are producing 3D bioprinters that operate like a human, and can grab tools like a human operator would and easily create complex structures with multiple materials. Allowing Researchers to work towards creating synthetic organs to end organ shortages and tissue models to replace animal testing. Our systems are affordable and easy to use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G9REcgXHuE

Parihug | USA

Parihug seeks to sell electronically connected teddy bears that let loved ones hug each other from a distance. Two people can be on different sides of the world, each with their own bear. When one is hugged, a suite of soft, fabric-based sensors detects the hug and transmits a message to the other bear. The receiving bear then hugs its owner with a gentle vibration – haptic telepresence. The bears allow loved ones to connect with each other when they physically cannot be together and brings the human touch back into technological connection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkrej1m-NGE

STEMCA Inc. | USA

STEMCA offers a robotics platform for EDU and DIY. The main products of STEMCA School of Robotics and Innovation Centre are: STEMCA Inventor platform – STEM Education and DIY Amplified. The most advanced, affordable and approachable (easy to use) STEM education and DIY platform with focus on robotics and automation/IoT and SPARK – STEMCA Personal Assistant Robot Kit, an advanced and affordable personal assistant robot for everyone!

ViDi Systems SA | CHE

ViDi develops and commercializes the most advanced Artificial Intelligence software enabling computers, machines, robots and cars to understand real world images.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y34LFSZVH2A&yt:cc=on

Robot Launch 2016 – Robohub Readers’ Pick round one

Andra Keay — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 19:50:17 +0000

For the next three weeks, Robohub readers can vote for their “Readers’ Pick” startup from the Robot Launch competition. Each week, we’ll be publishing 10 videos. Our ultimate Robohub Readers’ Favorites, along with lots of other prizes, will be announced at the end of November. Every week we’ll showcase different aspects of robotics startups and their business models: from agricultural to humanoid, from consumer to industrial and from hardware to robotics software. Make sure you vote for your favorite – below – by 18:00pm UTC, Wednesday 9 November, spread the word through social media using #robotlaunch2016 and come back next week for the next 10!

Aatonomy | USA

We are building a platform where companies can access any kind of solution and know that it will work on their robot, drastically simplifying development, testing, and deployment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPX95djlnXk

bridgeOS | Portugal

https://youtu.be/Fu3a8xhPAqE

Emobie | USA

Emobie is a social robot companion for kids with emotional and learning challenges. Emobie helps kids to understand and express their emotions and keeps them company throughout their day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K8jx9x-nko

Internet of Robots | Poland

Mothership Aeronautics | USA

Autonomous solar-powered helium dirigible for long duration aerial data collection, inspection, surveillance and videography. Can do anything a multirotor drone can do, but for 20 times longer, such as, stay in position in wind, patrol, circle or fly at up 20 miles per hour along a set of waypoints.

Robolink | USA

There are 50 million students in K-12, 90% of them do not learn coding. This is juxtaposed against the 1.4 million computing jobs needed by 2020. Robolink strives to address that issue by making STEM education fun. We teach children and hobbyists programming by building and programming robots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKC37WS42pM

Robotic Materials Inc | USA

SD3D | USA

We are developing an end-to-end 3D printing automation platform that will power the next industrial revolution. We have turned the conventional 3D printer into a continuously-operating production line by fully automating the entire manufacturing process from design to doorstep. The disruptive nature of SD3D lies in its network qualities; it resembles a SaaS platform on the front end and is powered by an advanced IoT automation network on the backend.

Tactile Robots | Italy

We have introduced the sense of touch in mobile robots and makes them suitable for narrow and crowded environments. We have patented a tactile technology that consists of a soft pressure-sensitive skin together with a control algorithm. Our technology makes the robot completely safe because the robot stops as soon as it feels the presence of an unexpected object or person.

TransRobotics | USA

We have an advanced radar system, measuring just 1″ x 2″ and weighing about 7 grams. It brings reliable, robust, accurate and high-speed distance sensing to drone platforms.

Last call for startups – Robot Launch 2016

Andra Keay — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 17:51:38 +0000

The robotics industry is maturing. The quality of startups in particular has really changed over the last 2-3 years, and this is backed up by the increasing investment levels, with over $1 billion invested in robotics in 2015. The scope of market areas that we are now seeing robotics startups in is also changing. There are now social robots for health and education, robots doing service tasks in hospitality, retail, logistics, consumer robots tackling garden and maintenance tasks. There are also new industrial, manufacturing and inspection robots, plus new sensor, software and robotics infrastructure opportunities.

We’ve also seen a real change in how polished the robotics startups that we see are, including in the Robot Launch competition – just saying the bar is getting high for all you late entrants – entries close August 15! But the Robot Launch competition is about startups at the start of their journey and it’s fascinating to see how they continue to grow and mature after the competition. We featured some Robot Launch alumni in our last post. Here are some more Robot Launch alumni stories!

Robotics Technologies of Tennessee was a 2014 finalist, winning the Silicon Valley Robotics award which included showcasing their wall climbing welding and inspection robots at SOLID, the first O’Reilly hardware conference. RTT went on to win the SOLID showcase award.

“SOLID was a who’s who of the maker movement, robotics and connected devices,” said Steve Glovsky, EVP of Robotic Technologies of Tennessee, one of the three startups that got to showcase at the event. “We made amazing contacts, discussed possible collaborations and were serendipitously asked to participate in ‘once in a lifetime’ projects. We even made the 11 o’clock news! Robot Launch 2014 allowed us to connect with people imagining and solving similar challenges in ways we might have missed without participating in the contest and SOLID.”

Welding robot, by Robotics Technologies of Tennessee.

Since then RTT have received several grants and contracts, built smaller faster more adaptable robots and found a new market in the nuclear industry. One of RTT’s new robots was prominently featured in an Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI) Journal article titled, “EPRI Research Supports Longer Service Lives for Spent Fuel Dry Casks.” The article reports on the industries collective mindset shift from storing spent fuel for relatively short periods of time, to one of much longer periods and the role that new robotics technologies plays in enabling safe change.

Scanse.io will be shipping their first low cost LiDAR in December 2016, after a successful crowdfund campaign. Scanse raised more than their crowdfund goal of $230,000 with over 1000 backers. If you missed out, they are still accepting preorders for the LiDAR at $255 each.

Dual Returns
120 grams
40m Range
High ambient light tolerance
Immunity to malicious interference
500 Points per Second
360° Horizontal FOV
Low Power Consumption

Scanse founders Kent Williams and Tyson Messori actually entered Robot Launch 2014 with a robot ground vehicle – and then withdrew their entry because they weren’t happy with the prototype. They just couldn’t get good enough navigation. They needed a better more affordable sensor.

Kent and Tyson reentered Robot Launch 2015 as Scannable with their first version of their new affordable LiDAR unit. They made it to the finals and less than 1 year later, Scanse,io is launched!

Are you the next Robot Launch super startup? This weekend is the last chance for startups to enter the 2016 Robot Launch startup competition and maybe join the ranks of some very successful new robotics companies. Deadline for entries is August 15 at 18:00 PDT

Where are the previous Robot Launch winners now?

Andra Keay — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 19:00:50 +0000

Photo source: LEKA

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 going to 2016 Robot Launch global online startup competition.

Grand prize winner (2015): CleverPet

CleverPet is a smart dog feeder that lets you play, teach, and connect with your pet all day. More than just an automatic dog feeder, CleverPet teaches your dog games, dispenses rewards, and adapts the gameplay as your pet gets more skilled. Robot Launch judges said they picked Cleverpet because they were “a polished company that is poised to serve a big market that people take seriously,” noting that the CleverPet’s adaptability and focus on play distinguishes it from other robotic pet products, and that the team understands the needs of both pets and their owners. CleverPet received a prize combination of $5000 in cash and $5000 in Amazon Web Services, courtesy of c/o CSIRO, SMBC, iRobot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp2qqQ3RKTw

Since winning last year, CleverPet was unveiled to the public at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), January 2016. Co-founder Leo Trottier successfully pitched CleverPet to a delighted and enthusiastic crowd, winning first place in the startup pitch battle.

The CleverPet Hub will be sold through their website, although they are not accepting orders yet. But you can sign up to receive an email for when they start accepting orders. The price of the Hub will be $299 (USD).

1st Runner Up (2015): Preemadonna

Preemadonna designed a nail decorating robot aimed at girls and young women. Nailbot uses thermal inkjet technology, computer vision and a smartphone to allow you to paint custom designs on your fingernails.

Since being awarded 1st Runner Up, Nailbot has amassed a collaborative community of testers, hackers, designers, and nail art fans—early adopters and recruits via the Preemadonna Ambassadors program. Walia has also partnered with nonprofit partners like Maker Girl to help test, design for, and the get the word out. Nailbot is currently in beta, with a limited trial release heading out later this year, after that, they’ll head into mass production. There’s a waitlist to join. Currently, the waitlist has over 20,000 people, and will be doing a preorder campaign September 2016.

“Since Robot Launch, we’ve been humbled and excited by the response from the tech community and from girls and boys that want to be a part of Preemadonna and help bring the Nailbot to market. In fact, we have over 20,000 people on our waitlist and will launch a pre-order campaign in the early Fall! We encourage students to get involved with our Nailbot journey by submitting to one of our Ambassador challenges (design Nailbot art, win a DIY printer or share your story on our blog!). Robot Launch was a terrific launchpad for Preemadonna to introduce the Nailbot to the world.” Pree Walia, CEO of Preemadonna & inventor of the Nailbot.

They also recently won The Audience Award, selected by Embedded Vision Summit attendees, based on innovative vision-based products in the inaugural Vision Tank competition. Other awards include being a finalist at both TechCrunch Disrupt SF’s 2015 Startup Battlefield and Girls in Tech’s 2015 Lady Pitch Night, as well as, being published in the Robohub 25 Women in Robotics to Know.

Grand Prize winner (2014): LEKA

LEKA is a robotic toy that helps autistic children learn to regulate their own emotions through play. The robotic companion is designed specifically for children with special needs, to sparkle their motivation and help them learn, play & progress.

After a recent successful Indigogo campaign, Leka Inc. (formerly Moti) developed a product roadmap for full-scale development. They plan on ensuring that the first version of LEKA meets all safety and security standards for American and European markets:

July 2016 – Releasing the first manufactured prototype.
November 2016 – Release the second improved and optimized manufacturing prototype.
December 2016 – The last prototype will be released just before Christmas as we want to present LEKA to Santa’s workshop.
January 2017 – LEKA will need to go through the validation process. The production of the pre-series products will start in February.
April 2017 – Beginning manufacturing for the finished products.
May 2017 – LEKA will finally be wrapped and delivered to your door.

You can also register at leka.io to keep in the loop for when they officially launch.

Will you be our next Robot Launch winner? Register at 2016 Robot Launch global online startup competition. Pitch your robotics startup online to an audience of top VCs, investors and experts, with live finals in Silicon Valley.

Entries close August 15.

If you enjoyed this article, you may also want to read:

Robot Launch 2016 searching for the world’s best robotics and AI startups

Andra Keay — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 23:30:33 +0000

We need you! Silicon Valley Robotics and Robohub have just launched the 2016 Robot Launch global online startup competition. Pitch your robotics startup online to an audience of top VCs, investors and experts, with live finals in Silicon Valley. Entries close August 15.

Our semifinalists also get featured on Robohub, the global robotics news site. And everyone who enters gets incredibly valuable feedback from top robotics VCs, investors and experts.

Robot Launch is a Silicon Valley Robotics initiative to help more robotics startups present their technology and business models to prominent investors in the Robotics and AI space. Silicon Valley Robotics is the not-for-profit industry group supporting innovation and commercialization in robotics technologies.

Do you have help robotics startups? List yourself on our new robotics startup resource directory at Robot Launch. Anyone can register robotics related accelerators, industry groups, venture firms, meetups and makerspaces or prototype facilities. (moderated for quality)

Please share this in your networks and let us know if you can offer a prize for Robot Launch 2016. [andra @ robotlaunch.com]

Meet the winners of #RobotLaunch2015

Andra Keay — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 19:11:55 +0000

Leo Trottier of CleverPet accepts the RobotLaunch 2105 Grand Winner trophy from Rich Mahoney, Director of Robotics SRI International.

From smart forklifts and web-based simulation interfaces, to assistive walking devices, robotic companions — even one for your pet! — the range of mature robotics that made it to the 2015 Robot Launch international startup competition was astounding. Now in it’s second year, the competition attracted more than 75 startups from 19 countries covering the gamut of medical, educational, consumer, industrial and service robotics. The finalists pitched to a live panel of judges and robotics entrepreneurs in Palo Alto, CA. Find out who judges picked for the winning RobotLaunch 2015 startups!

The Grand Winner for Robot Launch 2015 was CleverPet, a smart dog feeder that lets you play, teach, and connect with your pet all day. More than just an automatic dog feeder, CleverPet teaches your dog games, dispenses rewards, and adapts the gameplay as your pet gets more skilled. Robot Launch judges said they picked Cleverpet because they were “a polished company that is poised to serve a big market that people take seriously,” noting that the CleverPet’s adaptability and focus on play distinguishes it from other robotic pet products, and that the team understands the needs of both pets and their owners.

“CleverPet is grateful for the opportunity to present for such a smart group of investors,” said CEO Leo Trottier. “We’re honored to be selected from among companies committed to incredible, game-changing innovation.” CleverPet receives a prize combination of $5000 in cash and $5000 in Amazon Web Services, courtesy of c/o CSIRO, SMBC, iRobot, and Runners Up (full list below) eached received $1000 in Amazon Web Services.

Rich Mahoney (Director of Robotics, SRI International) presents the 1st runner up award to Pree Wallia, CEO & Founder of Preemadonna, inventors of the NailBot.

The 1st Runner Up was Preemadonna, for their nail decorating robot aimed at girls and young women. Nailbot uses Hewlett Packard thermal technology, computer vision and a smartphone to allow you to paint custom designs on your fingernails. CEO Pree Wallia told judges she is excited by the opportunity to introduce girls to coding and hacking hardware through creative technology. The Nailbot is one to watch: Preemadonna has also progressed into the finals of the TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield.

Something for every investor

While the consumer focus of the first and second place winners shows investors’ strong interest in large and mature markets, the competition from service and industrial startups was fierce, indicating that robotics ecosystems and supply chains are growing at a healthy pace.

“There were winning startups in every category,” said competition organizer Andra Keay. “Every investor could find something to interest them, from cloud based simulations and new sensing technologies to eldercare, rehabilitative and social robotics.”

Packed house at WilmerHale for the Robot Launch 2015 judging – although 2/3rds of the participants were attending and pitching remotely via video and web conferencing.

Winners by Category

Grand Winner ($5000 cash & $5000 Amazon Web Services c/o CSIRO, SMBC, iRobot)

Cleverpet, for their smart dog feeder that lets you play, teach, and connect with your pet all day. Judges said they picked Cleverpet because they were “a polished company that is poised to serve a big market that people take seriously,” noting that the CleverPet’s adaptability and focus on play distinguishes it from other robotic pet products, and that the team understands the needs of both pets and their owners.

Runners Up ($1,000 Amazon Web Services x 5)

Preemadonna, for their Nailbot, which lets you print art on your nails using your phone. Judges cited their huge but hard-to-access market as key factor in their decision.
Zyrobotics, for their Zyro Robot Therapy System, a personalized robot coach that gamifies therapy for kids with disabilities. Judges cited Zyrobotics’ social impact as a key factor in their decision.
Luvozo, for SAM, a robot concierge that provides affordable support to senior living communities. Judges cite social impact and the fact that Luvozo is addressing a huge market that has many needs.
Mecademic, for their compact and accurate tabletop collaborative robot arm. Judges cited near-term applicability of their product as a winning factor.
Mobotech, for Mobot, a compact smart forklift. Judges cited viability of their emerging market as a key factor.

Best Industrial Startup (Siemens Frontier Program)

The Construct, for their web-based robot simulator. Siemens Announcement here.

(Honorable Mention: Mecademic, for their compact and accurate tabletop collaborative robot arm.)

Best Use of ROS (10 hours of Clearpath ROS Consulting)

Luvozo, for SAM, a robot concierge that provides affordable support to senior living communities.

“The company that does the best job of addressing a real-world need within the mobile robotics space is Luvozo PCB – Robotic Concierge. This is the team to which we would like our consulting services awarded.” – Julian Ware, Clearpath.

Best Social Robot (mentoring from Silicon Valley Robotics)

Blue Frog Robotics, for their open source BUDDY companion robot

Best Modular Robot (mentoring from Silicon Valley Robotics)

MUSE Robotics, for their complete package of plug and play actuators, motor control and sensory modules for building custom robots

Regional Awards

“Robot Launch 2015 demonstrated an impressive collection of disruptive business and technology ideas, not only in the Silicon Valley but throughout the world.” – Glenn Luinenburg, WilmerHale.

Best European Startup (mentoring from Robolution Capital)

ArtiMinds, for their semi-automatic control interface for complex industrial tasks.

Best Canadian Startup (legal services from La Barge Weinstein)

GaitTronics, for their rehabilitative robot walke, which speeds recovery by making mobility therapy safe and secure for patients and caregivers.

Best Australasian Startup (mentoring from QUT Bluebox)

Mobotech, for Mobot, their light and compact all-electric smart forklift for maneuvering in tight places and preventing workplace injuries.

Best US Startup (legal services from WilmerHale)

Zyrobotics, for their Zyro Robot Therapy System, a personalized robot coach that gamifies therapy for kids with disabilities.

Robohub Readers Pick ($500 for the 1st place winner c/o Robohub)

The Construct, for their web-based robot simulator. (2488 votes)
Erle Robotics, for their artificial brains for robots and drones that run on Linux and are based on ROS. (2299 votes)
Zyrobotics, for their Zyro Robot Therapy System, a personalized robot coach that gamifies therapy for kids with disabilities. (1875 votes)

The Olander Company Award (custom industrial products)

Cleverpet, for their smart dog feeder that lets you play, teach, and connect with your pet all day.

The krktl snickerdoodle Award (snickerdoodle boards)

Redtree Robotics, for their suite of interchangeable robot components

The Awards

A series of regional awards for best US, Canadian, Australian and European startups are geared toward developing local partnerships between tech clusters and mentors who can provide regional business, legal or investment support. For example, the law firms WilmerHale and LaBarge Weinstein will provide the regional US and Canadian winners (respectively) with free legal startup services; the regional Australian winner will get business mentoring from QUTBluebox ; and Robolution Capital will provide pitch coaching to the best European startup. Awards such as these help get more robotics startups onto the global stage while supporting entrepreneurship locally.

Siemens is offering the winning industrial robotics startups membership into their new Frontier Program, which includes access to Siemens’ PLM software suite and mentorship with industrial manufacturing partner companies. Robotics is a new area in the Frontier Program, which was initially only for 3D printing startups. The first robotics startup in the Frontier Program was Clearpath Robotics (Canada), who is also an award sponsor in the Robot Launch competition. Learn more.

Clearpath Robotics is sponsoring the Robot Launch ROS Award to the startup best using the Robot Operating System. The availability of the open source Robot Operating System ROS has played an important role in speeding up the growth of startups (including Clearpath Robotics), and more than 1/3rd of the Robot Launch startups use ROS in some way. Clearpath will be providing 10 hours of ROS consulting to the winner.

The Olander Company are providing custom fasteners and krtkl are providing ‘brains’ for robotics startups in the finals of Robot Launch, showcasing how even early-stage robotics companies can help each other get to market faster.

The Robohub Readers Pick award celebrates the crowd favorite through online voting. Now that crowdfunding can play a significant role in the pathway for many startups, success in attracting votes here sends a strong signal of support to CEOs and potential investors.

What do our startups, judges and sponsors think about Robot Launch 2015?

“CleverPet is grateful for the opportunity to present for such a smart group of investors, and we’re honored to be selected from among companies committed to incredible, game-changing innovation.” – Leo Trottier, CEO

“Zyrobotics is very excited to have made it to the finals of Robot Launch 2015. As this is our first public introduction of the Zyro Robot Therapy System, we feel incredibly privileged to have been selected for this amazing opportunity.” – Ayanna Howard, Ph.D., CTO/Founder Zyrobotics

“ArtiMinds is thrilled to present its ArtiMinds RPS to a world-wide robotics audience, so shortly after market introduction.” – Sven Schmidt-Rohr, Artiminds

“Fantastic global event and award to showcase Mobotech’s smart robotic supply chain solution. Just what every start-up dreams of” – Steve Haythorne, CEO

“We are really excited to see Erle Robotics among the 15 top Robohub startups worldwide, this is a proof of the real impact our brains and robots are making in robotics landscape” – Carlos Uraga, CEO & Co-founder

“Luvozo is thrilled to be selected as a finalist in the global Robot Launch pitch competition. Support for early-stage robotics ventures is important and we’ve appreciated all the feedback from judges and RoboHub readers.” – David Pietrocola, CEO & Founder

“Robot Launch 2015 gives us a chance to expand our network showing the great work we’re doing to make STEM engaging for students!” – Michael Predko, Jade Robot

“Robot Launch 2015 demonstrated an impressive collection of disruptive business and technology ideas, not only in the Silicon Valley but throughout the world.” – Glenn Luinenburg, a Partner at WilmerHale, a Silicon Valley law firm that works with robotics companies, and which awarded a legal startup package and mentoring to Zyrobotics.

Live tweets from #RobotLaunch2015 Finals

Hallie Siegel — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 16:06:23 +0000

The Robot Launch 2015 Finals are on! Follow the event live on twitter #RobotLaunch2015.

#RobotLaunch2015 Tweets

Robot Launch global robotics startup competition announces top 15 finalists

Andra Keay — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 23:22:51 +0000

Robot Launch is the first international startup competition designed specifically to help robotics entrepreneurs get off the ground. Now in it’s second year, Robot Launch has attracted a diverse range of applicants that show just how quickly the business of robotics is maturing. Narrowed down from almost 100 robotics startups from around the world, the following 15 finalists represent 16 countries and cover an amazing cross-section of consumer, service and industrial robotics … We are extremely impressed with the quality of the finalists! Check them out!

ArtiMinds is redefining how we program robots with their intuitive and semi-automatic interface for controlling complex industrial robot tasks , including sensor-adaptive motions. (Germany)

Blue Frog Robotics is the company behind the open-source BUDDY companion robot , whose crowdfunding campaign recently ended with over 6 times their original funding ask. (France)

https://youtu.be/51yGC3iytbY

CleverPet has built a smart dog feeder that lets you play, teach, and connect with your pet all day. (USA)

Erle Robotics creates artificial brains for robots and drones that run on Linux and are based on ROS. (Spain)

GaitTronics is helping patients recover more quickly and with their rehabilitative robot walker , which makes early mobility therapy safe and secure for both patients and caregivers. (Canada)

Mimetics is the company behind the Jade, a fully-developed educational robot designed to engage and excite the next generation of scientists and engineers. (Canada)

Luvozo is developing SAM, a robot-based concierge for senior living communities to supplement staff with non-medical tasks and activities. (USA)

https://youtu.be/7b3dVHYzeR4

Mecademic has built an exceptionally compact and accurate tabletop collaborative robot arm for education and research. (Canada)

https://youtu.be/aKMpMYWniA8

Mobotech is the company behind the Mobot, a light and compact all-electric smart forklift for maneuvering in tight places and preventing workplace injuries. (New Zealand)

https://youtu.be/KSPOKlBv9a4?list=UUCMzA9Kphlgs1jeqH_weRDA

MUSE Robotics enables developers to build custom robots with less time and money using their complete package of plug and play actuators, motor control and sensory modules . (formerly SkyRobotics of Greece; USA)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sXlsH6PaNg

Redtree Hydra lets developers easily connect sensors, actuators, components and other parts to the robot without all the hassle of complicated circuits, specialized hardware or device drivers. (Canada)

Scannable are reinventing LiDAR so that low cost ground and aerial vehicles can avoid obstacles and create precise maps . (USA)

https://youtu.be/y3HL0IcbfPk

The Construct lets developers run simulations in the cloud and share them with colleagues via web interface. (Spain/USA)

Zyro Robot Therapy System is building a personalized robot coach that addresses a variety of educational, social and therapeutic needs. (USA)

PLUS a stealth female-led startup (USA) that we will share with you after the finals!! TBA!!

***

“These are all high quality early stage robotics startups, and that’s about all they have in common!” says competition organizer Andra Keay (Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics). “They address all areas of robotics … This an incredibly positive signal for investors and the robotics industry as a whole.”

The finalists will pitch to an audience of investors and robotics entrepreneurs on September 18 at WilmerHale in Palo Alto, CA. The winners will receive around $100,000 in prizes and services tailored specifically for robotics companies, from sponsors that include CSIRO, Siemens, Amazon, WilmerHale, SMBC, iRobot and Robolution Capital.

Judges include Shahin Farshschi (Lux Capital), Rich Mahoney (SRI International), Peter Kambouris (CSIRO), Glenn Luinenburg (WilmerHale), Hanns Anders (iRobot) and Carolin Funk (Siemens).

Providing global reach to local tech clusters

The Robot Launch global startup competition is co-organized by Silicon Valley Robotics, a regional robotics cluster, and Robohub.org, a global robotics research and community news network. Both are not-for-profit organizations supporting innovation in robotics, and together they form a strong bridge between robotics innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Silicon Valley is ideally positioned to connect robotics startups to investors, and the global robotics research community is producing some exciting new business ideas. But while there is now more money flowing towards early stage startups, robotics and hardware entrepreneurs need to be incredibly focused in how they move from prototype to beta customer and business model,” says Keay.

“Robot Launch connects clusters of robotics innovation at the critical early seed stage, and showcases the best new robotics businesses from around the world.”

Meaningful prizes for robotics startups

Robot Launch prizes are geared toward providing real business acceleration for the winners, such as:

A series of regional awards for best US, Canadian, Australian and European startups are geared toward developing local partnerships between tech clusters and mentors who can provide regional business, legal or investment support. For example, the law firms WilmerHale and LaBarge Weinstein will provide the regional US and Canadian winners (respectively) with free legal startup services; the regional Australian winner will get business mentoring from QUTBluebox ; and Robolution Capital will provide pitch coaching to the best European startup. Awards such as these help get more robotics startups onto the global stage while supporting entrepreneurship locally.

Siemens is offering the winning industrial robotics startups membership into their new Frontier Program, which includes access to Siemens’ PLM software suite and mentorship with industrial manufacturing partner companies. Robotics is a new area in the Frontier Program, which was initially only for 3D printing startups. The first robotics startup in the Frontier Program was Clearpath Robotics (Canada), who is also an award sponsor in the Robot Launch competition. Learn more.

The Olander Company and KRTKL are also providing custom hardware for robotics startups in the finals of Robot Launch, showcasing how even early-stage robotics companies can help each other get to market faster.

The Robohub Readers Pick award celebrates the crowd favorite through online voting. Now that crowdfunding can play a significant role in the pathway for many startups, success in attracting votes here sends a strong signal of support to CEOs and potential investors.

Key Info

The finals will take place online and in person on September 18, 2015 at WilmerHale in Palo Alto, CA. Videos from the event will be available on Robohub, data and time TBA. See Twitter hashtag #RobotLaunch2015 for details.

***

About Silicon Valley Robotics

Silicon Valley Robotics (SVR) is the not-for-profit organization supporting innovation and commercialization of robotics technologies in Silicon Valley. SVR organizes investor and startup events, networking and a job board for robotics companies, and strategic reports on the robotics ecosystem.

http://svrobo.org

About Robohub

Robohub is a non-profit online communication network for the international robotics community. With over 70K unique visitors each month, Robohub features news and opinion from experts in all facets of robotics, including research, ethics, law, start-ups, business, arts and education.

http://robohub.org/

Follow Robot Launch on Twitter

#RobotLaunch2015 https://twitter.com/hashtag/RobotLaunch2015

@svrobo https://twitter.com/svrobo

@Robohub https://twitter.com/robohub

Siemens’ Frontier Partner program provides software tools to robotics startups

Andra Keay — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 22:41:11 +0000

Established in Berlin in 1847, and with a presence in Silicon Valley since the 1950s, Siemens invests more than $1B in the US each year for research and development. Now their Technology to Business team (TTB) has launched the Frontier Partner program, which aims to give startups in robotics and 3D printing a head start by providing them with software and resources to accelerate the development and manufacturing of their products. We spoke with Director of Strategy for Siemens PLM Software, Andy Swiecki, about why Siemens is focusing on robotics right now, and what startups can expect to get out of the Frontiers program.

[AK] Hi Andy, could you introduce yourself and tell us about Siemens Frontier Program?

[AS] Hi my name is Andy Swiecki, I’m with Siemens PLM Software. I’m part of our strategy division and I work with a lot of our third party software and technology partners. One of the programs I work with is the Frontier Program, which is set up to support startup companies working in technology areas that are of interest to Siemens.

Two of the initial technology areas are additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, and robotics. We rolled out the Frontier Program at the end of 2014. We have a fair number of 3D printing companies that are part of the program – startup companies that are looking at new innovative technologies – and we’ve recently expanded it to include robotics. We are looking forward to getting more companies that are in the startup stage to join the program and work with Siemens technologies as they develop their company and their technologies.

Siemens has been looking at startup innovation for more than 15 years with the TTB program. What is the driving motivation to look at robotics, and what sort of robotics are you looking at?

Siemens is a large global company. I’m with the Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Division; we develop software that supports companies that are developing products and developing manufacturing processes. Siemens Technology to Business, or TTB, is another organization within Siemens, and we’re collaborating together on the Frontier Program.

Siemens Technology To Business focuses on supporting startups and startup technology areas, innovation, and understanding how that innovation relates to Siemens.

Siemens has as long history in manufacturing technologies, in manufacturing automation technologies, and in lots of areas in the field of robotics. We’re looking forward to working with startups, and working with new innovations in robotics, to understand our own technology better, and to understand new technologies that are being developed.

Siemens is sponsoring the 2015 Robot Launch “Industrial Robotics Award”, offering the winners developer licenses for a broad range of Siemens’ product lifecycle management (PLM) software, access to its technology partner program, and other development resources valued at over $150K.

What advantages will startups gain working with Siemens in the Frontier Program?

Startups can really focus on rapid product development that’s enabled by developing on top of the Siemens PLM Software components and platform technologies. The access to the partner ecosystem and the extensive market reach to the installed base of Siemens PLM Software users help them to accelerate the go-to-market.

Through the collaboration with Siemens Technology To Business and Siemens PLM Software, they’ll be able to take advantage of some of the expertise in each of the organizations. Siemens PLM Software has a platform of software technologies that are being made available to the startups through the program, so one of the advantages is access to that technology.

They’ll also be members of the formal Siemens PLM Software Solution Partner Program, so they’ll get the benefit of that program along with the ability to collaborate with other members of that program – people developing technologies at different stages of their company lifecycles.

And they’ll be able to work with Siemens Technology To Business and the startup and innovation programs that Siemens TTB has.

So as well as gaining access to Siemens technology, you’re gaining access to a whole network of business expertise, mentorship and the partnerships that Siemens is developing?

Exactly. Through Siemens TTB there are a great deal of mentorship possibilities, and through the Siemens PLM Solution Program there are hundreds of software and technology partners that are part of the program and available for networking and consultation.

What are some of the companies that have joined Siemens Frontier Program to date?

The initial roll out of the program was in the area of additive manufacturing. Authentise is one example of the kind of company that has joined the program. They are innovating in the area of 3D printing. We’ve had some joint activities with them and have talked about the technologies they’re developing in a fair amount of detail.

Since we began rolling out into the field of robotics, we’ve had a number of interested companies, and one that we’ve already begun working with is Clearpath Robotics. They are looking at the Siemens PLM platform as one of the ways to expand their products.

How do robotics startups go about accessing the Siemens Frontier Program?

There’s an application on the Siemens Technology To Business website. If you go to www.ttb.siemens.com/frontier you can it, as well as a description of the program. You can also find a link to the Frontier Program on the Siemens PLM Partner area.

If you apply you’ll be contacted by people within Siemens so that we can better understand what you’re doing, and your application will be reviewed by a technology team. From there, if your interests align with Siemens’ interests, then we can start working together.

It’s great that Siemens is offering a prize in the Robot Launch competition. What do you think about the startups that have entered?

Of course! We’re looking forward to participating in the competition, and to offering a prize, which is a membership in the Frontier Program. Siemens TTB will be directly involved in looking at all the startups and we’re looking forward to being part of it!

Is there anything you’d like to say in conclusion?

We are excited to work in these new areas, and we are excited to work with the robotics community. We’re looking forward to seeing what new technologies innovative startups have and to sharing the technologies that Siemens PLM Software has.

https://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/about_us/newsroom/press/press_release.cfm?Component=238716&ComponentTemplate=822

#RobotLaunch2015 Finals announced, plus final round of Readers Pick

Andra Keay — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 16:58:47 +0000

The Robot Launch competition finals will be held on Friday Sept 18 when a selection of great startups will pitch live to an investor panel. Are Robohub readers on the same wavelength as our expert panelists? Let’s see! Here are the most popular startups so far out of the 30 semifinalists as judged by our readers. This week is your final vote for the “Readers’ Pick”. Will it be the same startup as the judges pick in our finals?

Make sure you vote for your favorite Robot Launch startup favorite by 11:59pm EDT, 8 Sep . Spread the word through social media using #robotlaunch2015, stay tuned for the finals on September 18, and don’t forget to vote below!

First, who were the round three favorites?

Now get voting for the final “Readers Pick”!

Blue Frog Robotics (Buddy) | france (@BlueFrogRobotic)

Bringing you affordable mobile robots like BUDDY that help people live easier, safer and with a little bit of fun.

https://youtu.be/hYKAQLESoV0

Erle Robotics | spain (@ErleRobotics)
At Erle Robotics we build the next generation of artificial robotic brains for robots and drones based in Linux.

GaitTronics | Canada (@GaitTronics)

GaitTronics has developed SoloWalk, a patient handling robot that helps frail patients get up and walk.

https://youtu.be/sX_CER_iQEU

Luvozo PBC | USA (@luvozo)

Luvozo is developing SAM, the world’s first robotic concierge for senior living communities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b3dVHYzeR4

QEYE | Egypt (@QEYECo)

QEYE is coming from Quality eye that develop automatic quality inspection systems based on machine vision technologies and smart industries solutions for textile industry saving time and money and make the quality process more accurate and informative.

Robotic Cooking Appliance (Sereneti) | usa (@SerenetiKitchen)

Sereneti Kitchen will make food healthier, tastier, and more affordable than ever before by producing robotic appliances for the home kitchen.

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

Robotic Running Coach | germany (@runfundotcom)

We have developed an automatically guided mobile robotic coach RUFUS for outdoor walking and running.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_aOCYX-kcM

The Construct | spain (@_theconstruct_)

The Construct is the Netflix of robotics simulators. A cloud based hub system that gives access to the best robotics simulators of the world through a single web account.

http://youtu.be/86gebZkSKNk

Underwater GPS | france

This project proposes a solution for accurate, low-cost underwater localization. Furthermore, this type of positioning system can contribute to increase the autonomy of underwater vehicles, allowing low cost deployments.

Zyro Robot Therapy System | usa (@Zyrobotics)

The Zyro Robot Therapy (ZyRopy) System is an assistive robot therapy platform specifically designed for children with motor disabilities.

CAST YOUR VOTE FOR “PEOPLE’S CHOICE”

VOTING CLOSES ON TUESDAY SEPT 8 AT 11:59 PM [EDT]

Coming of age: Clearpath’s Ryan Gariepy on growing a robotics startup

Hallie Siegel — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 19:19:28 +0000

Launched in 2009 by a group of Waterloo engineering students, Clearpath‘s unmistakeable bright yellow and black robots have become synonymous with unmanned vehicle research in university research labs around the world. Now, as the field of robotics matures, Clearpath is forging into industrial applications, too. We caught up with CTO Ryan Gariepy at the 2015 Field and Service Robotics conference (FSR), to talk about their roots in research, the role of ROS and open source in their business model, and the challenges and opportunities of launching a robotics startup in Canada.

[HS] You got your start in the business of robotics while you were still a student at Waterloo. What made you decide to launch a robotics company at that time? Did you have a specific project or technology you were developing that made you think, “Hey, this could actually be useful out there!” …? Or was it that you saw the potential in the field more generally?

[RG] We started Clearpath right out of university in 2009 as we finished our undergraduate degrees – I did my Masters at the same time as we were getting off the ground, which is generally regarded to be a bad idea in terms of stress levels. It’s hard to believe that we just celebrated our sixth anniversary this year.

Starting the company was less about the technology and more about the potential … we just looked at everything around us and said, “Why do we have to shovel snow? This can be automated. Why do we have to do any work that does not require human creativity?” There are a lot of dangerous jobs out there that most people don’t realize are performed on a daily basis by tens of thousands of people in order to keep society going, like mining, farming, construction, stocking warehouses. And yet we need fuel and food and buildings, and we want our same-day deliveries from the Internet. There is a demand for this kind of work to take place.

Around the time we were starting out, Google Maps was getting off the ground. The concept of having information available at your fingertips was also becoming compelling and valuable to people, and the best way to get information about the world on a constant basis is to involve robotics or automation in some form. At the same time, sensors and the cost of sensing were improving due to the rapid uptake in smart phones; we were seeing advances in laptops, smartphones, and electric and hybrid vehicles driving down costs and improving battery density.

People now accept that robotics, automation, and intelligent systems can actually solve some of their problems.

All of this was coming together and we felt that autonomous robotics was possible at a relatively high reliability and low cost, especially when compared with what had been done before.

What would you say have been the biggest changes that you’ve seen in the field of robotics since then?

I think one of the biggest changes is simply that people now accept that robotics, automation, and intelligent systems can actually solve some of their problems.

This recognition means that there are a lot of opportunities out there, both in terms of hardware and software. In some industries – ones that have been around for a long time – they already know how to build solid hardware that could be made robotic, but they need the right parts and the right software to automate it. Then there are other industries that need full solutions. There are a lot of pieces starting to come together now.

Your early customer base was made up of mainly universities and research labs. Do you find yourself getting pulled into a different direction now that you’re expanding more into industry?

The research market is definitely maturing and our product development cycle within that side of the business is very well understood. We’ve released two completely different platforms in the last eight months alone.

Now we are in a position where we can leverage the experience we gained from the R&D market to address challenges in industry. We are actively pushing the development of full robotic solutions (including software), and will soon be releasing a new platform along these lines.

How do you manage the problem of building in more than one direction at the same time?

One of our biggest challenges is that there is no one single clear challenge, especially at the scale we’re at right now. At this stage there are many things that need to be focused on: sales, operations, quality assurance, new features, understanding where the market’s going, product management, marketing … so the challenge is more about managing the priorities of any given department.

How do I provide guidance to the team so that they can spend their time on the right tasks? How do we remain dynamic as a startup? How do we remain flexible enough to change direction quickly if we need to, but still be stable enough to stick to our core values? These are the kinds of questions we are dealing with.

Speaking of core values, Clearpath took a chance from the beginning by focusing on open source and ROS. Does open source make for a good business model?

Why open source? No matter how large a company we become, there will always be more smart people who can build and program robots outside our company than within it.

One of the reasons we looked at open source was the philosophy that no matter how large a company we become, there will always be more smart people who can build and program robots outside our company than within it. So it’s only logical that we work with whatever the community ends up creating around open source robotics, both to reinforce the community, and to hire from it.

That said, from a business model perspective it is more complicated. There are many companies that succeed with open source, but there is still no clear-cut model for building an open source company – and that tends to make people nervous. And yet by now we’ve seen several companies build on open source, including Google and Facebook, and it’s the same thing as building a startup on a LAMP stack: yes, you use open source and you may push back some code to open source, but you still have value you’re bringing on your own.

Earlier on we sold only hardware, which is easier to protect. Now that we’re getting into software sales, open source creates additional considerations for us, but it still hasn’t been an issue. Building on open source makes us more effective, and it certainly helps us engage much more with the robotics community.

Now that you’ve done all the legwork of developing the product and proving the market, do you have any concerns that another company with more resources could just come along and say, “We know who their buyers are, and we know what their markets are, and we can imitate their products …”?

Clearpath is sponsoring the 2015 Robot Launch “Open Source Robotics” Award, offering 10 hours of ROS consulting services to the winner.

ROS is open source and we contribute a lot back to it. We test a lot, we support people, we contribute drivers, and we contribute utilities back. However, the work that we do on autonomy and in controls –planning, mapping localization, interfacing, vehicle management – is not open source. We may open source parts of it in the future as we advance our state of the art, but the ‘secret sauce’ is still closed, even though it’s built on ROS middleware.

Could it make life easier for our competitors in some cases? Yes, but by the same token nobody makes money on having a better robot-logging framework, for example, and everybody saves money by having a good free robot-logging framework. If a better logging framework is your only competitive advantage, it’s not really an advantage, is it? Personally, I’d rather not spend money on a logging framework, and spend more to compete on the actual value that we bring to our clients.

You mentioned snow shoveling as one of your inspirations, which is a stereotypically Canadian problem. Did the Canadian climate and landscape figure into your business plan from the beginning? Is that why you wound up in field and service robotics, as opposed to some other application area?

Of course our robots can survive the winter – we’re Canadian!

One of our competitive advantages is the terrible weather we have in Canada. We have harsh winters, we have a lot of forestry, a lot of primary resources to mine and harvest, and we have a lot of space that is sparsely populated, which makes it easier to do testing. We also happen to have a very well developed technology ecosystem here. When you put those things together, it’s natural to lean towards field robotics.

When we started there were very few platforms out there that could actually do field robotics, and so we set that as our first niche.

How is the Canadian business landscape for robotics?

Many of our first customers were Canadian universities, some of which are leading the way in robotics integration and research. Meanwhile, Industry Canada is looking at how robotics technology can be adapted to existing manufacturing clusters in Southwestern Ontario, like the auto sector, which took a hit when the North American auto industry had a downturn. Canada also has strengths such as communications and optics, which naturally extend into robotics. It also helps when we can do business with Canadian suppliers; we get our GPS’ from NovAtel, which is based in Calgary, for example.

That said, as a Canadian company you’re forced to go multinational almost instantly because there isn’t enough of a robotics market in Canada to stay Canadian for long. We recently announced that we’ll be expanding office space into Silicon Valley and a primary reason for that is because of the opportunity that is available in the US market. Regardless, the Waterloo Region will continue to be Clearpath’s ‘home base’ for the foreseeable future.

People now refer to Waterloo as ‘Silicon Valley North’. What’s changed in the incubation space where Clearpath grew up since you launched?

It used to be that investors would demand that you move to the area where their office was, which was typically Boston or New York City or Silicon Valley, but that’s not always the case anymore.

It used to be that investors and venture capitalists would demand that you move to the area where their office was, which was typically Boston or New York City or Silicon Valley, but that’s not always the case anymore. Investors are starting to recognize that there are also benefits to being in other locations, especially for startups. Waterloo has a very dynamic tech community. It’s also a quarter of the price to buy a house here than in some of those larger US cities, and the time it takes me to get to work is 10 minutes, which makes it pretty livable and affordable compared to Silicon Valley. We found that VCs are now willing to accept that good ideas and businesses can grow and thrive in other areas as long as these areas have the right attitude – and Waterloo certainly has that.

Take the displacement of BlackBerry employees for instance – quite a few very smart people who were working at Blackberry have moved on to bring their skills and experience to other industries. We’ve hired a number of them, and a number of them have gone off to launch their own startups.

On top that is the continual increase in the brand of the Waterloo Region, and specifically the University of Waterloo (UW), as the place to go for getting a great education and practical experience that can lead to entrepreneurship. YCombinator’s Paul Graham has noted that UW has a fantastic record for turning out very strong companies, specifically hardware companies.

The other change worth mentioning is that Clearpath isn’t alone. The first group of startups that came out of UW includes Pebble, Vidyard, and more recently Thalmic Labs. These are all people who have graduated from UW’s engineering program within a few years of each other.

Does that help, too? Having a cluster that’s grown up together?

It certainly does.

Take recruiting, for example. When you’re hiring someone it helps prospective employees to know that there are other options. Clearpath has hired quite a few people from outside the region and if you’re taking a risk and moving a few thousand kilometers to join us, it’s good to know that there are other companies around, whether it’s for future growth opportunities, shared interests, or participating in knowledge transfer. For prospective employees, knowing that you can get back on your feet if you need to, or that your partner can find a job in the region, is very useful.

There is also something to be said for being part of a startup community. We all know each other, and we try to mentor each other. Even if you’re not working in exactly the same market, you can look at other startups and see them succeeding – and this is evidence that you can do it too.

Robot Launch 2015 – Robohub Readers’ Pick round three

Andra Keay — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 14:10:47 +0000

For the past two weeks, Robohub readers have been voting for the “Readers’ Pick” startup from the Robot Launch competition. This week we publish the final 10 videos from our Top 30. During our live final in September (details TBD), we’ll announce the ultimate Robohub Readers Favorites. Each week we’ve been showcasing a different aspect of robotics startups and their business models, from consumer facing robots, to B2B service robotics, to component technologies suitable for use by the robotics industry. Make sure you vote for your favorite – below – by 11:59pm EDT, 1 September and spread the word through social media using #robotlaunch2015.

Who were the round two favorites?

Now get voting for round three!

Artiminds Programming Suite | germany (@artiminds)
The RPS RoboticsProgrammingSuite is a developer software for generating program code for the execution of complex industrial robot tasks very intuitively and in a semi-automatic manner.

https://youtu.be/WY3Zc65StSc

Erle Robotics | spain (@ErleRobotics)
At Erle Robotics we build the next generation of artificial robotic brains for robots and drones based in Linux.

M1 Software Suite | usa (@srtlabs)
The SRT M1 robotics platform provides a software platform to integrate numerous robotic systems through a single user interface. It will allow a client to supervise a team of robotic systems to perform tasks across service sector markets, including custodial, hospitality, food and beverage, and senior care.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3E_I194sa4

Mecademic | canada (@mecademic)
Mecademic designs and manufactures desktop high-accuracy robot arms for research, education, and industrial and laboratory automation.

http://youtu.be/aKMpMYWniA8

MIP Robotics | france
Our start up is developing affordable and easy-to-use industrial robots. We focus on SMEs that are not equiped today, because we are convinced that the market will democratized.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nshH5GNMrBU

Redtree Hydra | france (@redtreerobotics)
Redtree Hydra – the first computer platform that makes it easier, faster and more affordable to design, build, program and scale robots.

Scannable | usa
Our mission is simple, create well built and cost effective scanning LiDAR. Carefully designed for indoor/outdoor environments.

https://youtu.be/y3HL0IcbfPk

SkyRobotics | usa
We are working on a modular robot building system, used by engineers to very easily build a high performance and cost-effective robot.

The Construct | spain (@_theconstruct_)
The Construct is the Netflix of robotics simulators. A cloud based hub system that gives access to the best robotics simulators of the world through a single web account.

http://youtu.be/86gebZkSKNk

Underwater GPS | france
This project proposes a solution for accurate, low-cost underwater localization. Furthermore, this type of positioning system can contribute to increase the autonomy of underwater vehicles, allowing low cost deployments.

CAST YOUR VOTE FOR “PEOPLE’S CHOICE”

VOTING CLOSES ON TUESDAY SEP 1 AT 11:59 PM [PDT]

If you like this post, you may also enjoy:

Coming of age: Clearpath’s Ryan Gariepy on growing a robotics startup

Robot Launch 2015 – Robohub Readers’ Pick round two

Andra Keay — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 14:21:57 +0000

This month, Robohub readers can vote for the “Readers’ Pick” startup from the Robot Launch competition. Each week, we’re publishing 10 videos from our Top 30. Our ultimate Robohub Readers’ Favorites, along with lots of other prizes, will be announced in a September live final. Every week we’ll showcase different aspects of robotics startups and their business models, from consumer facing robots to B2B service robotics and component technologies. This week we kick off round two. Make sure you vote for your favorite – below – by 11:59pm EDT, 25 August, spread the word through social media using #robotlaunch2015 and come back next week for the next 10!

Who were the round one favorites?

Now get voting for round two!

GaitTronics | Canada (@GaitTronics)

GaitTronics has developed SoloWalk, a patient handling robot that helps frail patients get up and walk.

https://youtu.be/sX_CER_iQEU

IFM Technologies | USA

IFM Technologies developed the world’s first quadrotor that offers reliable indoor localization “out-of-the-box”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBvh3vHJZT8

Luvozo PBC | USA (@luvozo)

Luvozo is developing SAM, the world’s first robotic concierge for senior living communities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b3dVHYzeR4

Mobile Manipulation for Lab Automation | USA (@correlllab)

With the cost of DNA sequencing plummeting faster than Moore’s law, automation needs in biology labs are drastically changing.

Mobile Robots & Last Mile Logistics | New Zealand

Everyday thousands of additional trucks are rolled to move bread around the country because each truck cannot be loaded to capacity.

http://youtu.be/5_JSMvd5MPQ

Pole Painting Robot | Iran

Light poles normally suffer from corrosion due to humidity and sun lights. Furthermore, their paints become dirty which creates an undesirable look in the cities.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5bdeje9UwWIMVZ1cUpnWjBBVU0/edit

QEYA | Egypt (@QEYECo)

Reconfigurable Hospitality Robot | USA

NXT Robotics designs and creates cost-effective hardware and software reconfigurable autonomous service robots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPjNVN5Wgfs

ROVENSO | switzerland (@rovenso_ch)

The mission of ROVENSO is to design, manufacture and market agile Remote Operated Vehicles that preserve human life from hazardous operations in nuclear decommissioning and emergency response.

https://youtu.be/Zk900-_JJuM

Zyro Robot Therapy System | usa (@Zyrobotics)

The Zyro Robot Therapy (ZyRopy) System is an assistive robot therapy platform specifically designed for children with motor disabilities.

CAST YOUR VOTE FOR “PEOPLE’S CHOICE”

VOTING CLOSES ON TUESDAY AUGUST 25 AT 11:59 PM [EDT]

Robot Launch 2015 – Robohub Readers’ Pick round one

Andra Keay — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 14:27:35 +0000

For the next three weeks, Robohub readers can vote for their “Readers’ Pick” startup from the Robot Launch competition. Each week, we’ll be publishing 10 videos from our Top 30. Our ultimate Robohub Readers’ Favorites, along with lots of other prizes, will be announced in a September live final. Every week we’ll showcase different aspects of robotics startups and their business models: from consumer facing robots to B2B service robotics and component technologies. Make sure you vote for your favorite – below – by 11:59pm PDT, 18 August, spread the word through social media using #robotlaunch2015 and come back next week for the next 10!

Blue Frog Robotics (Buddy) | france (@BlueFrogRobotic)

Bringing you affordable mobile robots like BUDDY that help people live easier, safer and with a little bit of fun.

https://youtu.be/hYKAQLESoV0

Boxing Robot | usa

Overthrow Robotics has built a full size boxing robot intended for people to physically box and train with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5DwAghwMq4

CleverPet | usa (@getcleverpet)

CleverPet is an interactive system that enables you to engage your dog’s mind with interactive puzzles, even when you’re not there.

Ga.ia | france (@StillHumanRobot )

Gå.ia is an innovative project mixing robotics, biology and social relationships between humans, technology and plants.

Jade Robot | canada (@MimeticsCanada)

Mimetics’ founders have been providing robotics STEM education since 2001, designing the Jade Robot, based on what we have learned.

Nailbot | usa (@preemadonna)

Preemadonna meets our community – with a focus on girls and women – with technology that is relevant to their lifestyle.

http://video214.com/play/wpQF1roQJB0M8L7OsIqRSQ/s/dark

PieceMaker Technologies | usa (@PieceMakerTech)

PieceMaker provides automated systems for creating custom and personalized products on-demand in retail locations.

Robot Avatar | uk

To provide a remote robot through which a person may experience in an immersive way that which the robot experiences.

Robotic Cooking Appliance (Sereneti) | usa (@SerenetiKitchen)

Sereneti Kitchen will make food healthier, tastier, and more affordable than ever before by producing robotic appliances for the home kitchen.

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

Robotic Running Coach | germany (@runfundotcom)

We have developed an automatically guided mobile robotic coach RUFUS for outdoor walking and running.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_aOCYX-kcM

CAST YOUR VOTE FOR “PEOPLE’S CHOICE”

VOTING CLOSES ON WEDNESDAY AUGUST 18 AT 11:59 PM [PDT]

Siemens funds new Industrial Robotics Award in Robot Launch startup competition

Andra Keay — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 20:08:08 +0000

Siemens has joined the Robot Launch as a sponsor, offering an impressive “Industrial Robotics Award” consisting of access to the Siemens Frontier Partner program, which provides mentorship and industry leading commercial software. It’s hard to put a dollar value on such a big award because the startup will receive access to a wide range of products and services, but this easily brings the total value of prizes offered to over $100,000, including $5,000 cash or travel prize for Grand Winner. There are still two days to enter Robot Launch – Don’t miss the July 12 deadline!

The Frontier Partner program grants leading robotics-focused startups developer licenses for a broad range of Siemens’ product lifecycle management (PLM) software, access to its technology partner program, and other development resources. Siemens is looking for partners with new approaches in robotics simulation, motion planning, robot interoperability, deployment and optimization in the field of industrial robotics, and especially startups that are developing on ROS.

It’s an incredible opportunity to win access to industry-proven software tools that are relevant to robotics developers! Learn more about the software package here: www.ttb.siemens.com/frontier

And don’t forget the other great Robot Launch prizes, including:

$5000 cash or travel for the Grand Winner
Free startup legal services for US and Canadian winners from WilmerHale and LaBarge Weinstein
10 hours of ROS consulting from Clearpath Robotics
Custom hardware from The Olander Company
Development platform from KRTKL
Investor meetings and mentorship from a range of our judges, including investors and experts from: CSIRO, Amazon, QUT BlueBox, Robolution Capital, OATV, NREC, SRI International, iRobot Ventures, Siemens, SMBC, Clearpath Robotics and Silicon Valley Robotics.

To be eligible your startup must be <5 years old with <$2 million in funding to date. Applications consist of a 60 second video and a short questionnaire.

Enter here by June 12: http://robot2015.istart.org.

One year later: Update from Leka, Robot Launch 2014 Grand Winner

Ladislas de Toldi — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 16:12:28 +0000

Almost one year ago, Leka won the Grand Prize at the 2014 Robot Launch competition for Moti, a robotic toy that helps autistic children learn to regulate their own emotions through play. Leka cofounder and CEO Ladislas de Toldi writes about where Leka is now.

At Leka, our mission is to help exceptional children live exceptional lives. Our first product, Moti, a small spherical autonomous a smart toy to help take care of children with special needs.

Being a robot, Moti is both predictable and stable in its interactions, which is very important for the child’s sense of safety and serenity. Moti caters to the specific needs of the kids and focuses on sensory and motor stimulations such as music, colors, mouvements and vibrations. Moti will really help parents, carers and doctors, take care of the children in a smarter and more connected way.

Almost exactly a year ago we won the Grand Prize of the Robot Launch Competition.

ENTRIES OPEN UNTIL JULY 12 FOR ROBOT LAUNCH 2015!

I remember this day pretty well as it felt unreal. We were all sitting in my living room in Paris, waiting to pitch the project to the impressive jury. The connection, the sound and the video were not so good, and it felt like time was over before we even began pitching.

Then we had to wait for the others to pitch and for the jury to deliberate. We were joking, hoping to win at least the European Startup Prize so we could get an appointment with Robolution Capital. But the jury came back, and we did not win the European Startup Prize.

Maybe the Crowdfunding Prize? Nope… I said to my team mate “it was fun, but I think it’s over…”.

The jury left once again to vote for the Grand Prize and came back. We were about to hang up but then it was announced: “The Grand Winner is Leka!”

What?! — We could not believe it! We had just won an international robotics startup competition!

It might sound a little goofy but that was exactly what we needed at the time. The fact that robotics experts said we were worth winning an international robotics competition was a real moral and business boost for us!

The prize helped us win a €60k grant in July 2014 to work on the prototypes and run more tests, which began in October 2014 and lasted until January 2015 in several special education schools near Paris.

For four months, more than 70 children, ranging in age from 4-17 years, played with Moti. Some had autism spectrum disorders, some had Down Syndrome, and others had multiple disabilities. But regardless of their disabilities, they all loved playing with Moti!

We used Moti in several situations, sometimes as a reinforcer and motivator to tell the kids how great they did, sometimes to help them reduce anxiety with soothing sensory stimulations such as colors, vibrations and sounds. We taught kids how to play “hide and go seek the robot” and after three weeks they were able to play autonomously without us intervening at all. It looks simple but this game has some complicated concepts for exceptional children. By using Moti, they were able to learn concepts like temporality, turn-taking and complex social interactions. And we are really proud! All those tests were run with a cognitive neuroscience researcher.

In January 2015 we moved to Agoranov, a well-known tech incubator in Paris. The team then started to get bigger. First to join was Ilona, a brilliant mechanical engineer who is working on control and trajectory algorithms for Moti. She also helps me develop the different applications and behaviours.

Two months ago Charlélie and Julien were brought in to work on business development and on the crowdfunding campaign we will launch soon! They’re sharp, they’re proactive and we love working with them.

Last but not least is Ethel, a wonderful electronic engineer who is helping us moving from our Arduino platform to something more robust.

Moti has also evolved a lot during the past few months. We’ve worked with a great design firm to get this real cute little companion for the kids and they love it!

We also won several other competitions such as l’Echappée Volée, which allows us to pitch our project at TEDxParis in November, and the Silica IoT Competition with a €80k in services from their partners in electronics, product design and manufacturing.

If it all seems – and is – great, we also have our ups and downs. Starting your own company is a constant challenge, with a lot of stress, disappointments, great joys and incredible encounters. There is not a single day during which we have not doubted. And when life feels overwhelming, we spend time with the kids. Then we know why we are here and it gives us strength to continue and pursue our mission!

#RobotLaunch has great prizes for startups, but you can’t win if you don’t enter

Andra Keay — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 15:20:31 +0000

Robot Launch 2015 is bringing together a great pool of prizes and services for robot startups. All startups in the semis or finals are eligible for awards as we search for offers such as “Crowd Pleaser” or “Best European Startup”. And for the first time, we’ll be offering a grand prize of $5,000 to the winner, in cash or travel. Deadline to enter: July 12! Register now!

According to feedback from startups in last year’s Robot Launch competition, startup services such as legal services, and interviews and business coaching with VC firms are even more valuable than money. We are pleased that this competition will be bringing together some amazing judges with experience in commercializing a wide range of robotics.

Once again, WilmerHale will be providing free startup services to US companies, now joined by LaBarge Weinstein offering legal services to Canadian startups. Robolution Capital will provide business model coaching to a European startup, as will QUT bluebox in Australia.

We’re also able to provide some hardware/software for select startups, including a ROS consulting package from Clearpath Robotics, custom fasteners from Olander and robot development boards from KRTKL. KRTKL’s snickerdoodle is a small and affordable board for powering the next generation of connected robots. With an ARM processor, FPGA, and wireless, snickerdoodle brings new high-end capabilities to open platforms like Linux, ROS, and ArduPilot. If you’re building a robot, you need snickerdoodle. KRTKL will be launching snickerdoodle on Kickstarter soon but Robot Launch semifinalists will be first in line.

Sponsors this year include: Amazon, CSIRO, Clearpath Robotics, SMBC, Robolution Capital, The Olander Company, KRTKL, iRobot, LaBarge Weinstein, WilmerHale, QUT bluebox, Silicon Valley Robotics and Robohub.

We hope to add new prizes throughout the competition, which will take place online over 3 rounds of judging from June to August. The deadline for entry is July 12th.

The competition registration site is here: http://robot2015.istart.org

#RobotLaunch global startup competition 2015 – Deadline extended to July 12

Andra Keay — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:33:54 +0000

CALL FOR STARTUPS OPENS JUNE 1st 2015 (6am PST) – Silicon Valley Robotics and Robohub are looking for robotics startups with innovative technologies and strong business models, so show us your prototype, and sell us on your vision! We are also looking for startups with software, sensors, and components for robotics that can be demonstrated on existing robot platforms.

Startups will be assessed by a team of experienced venture investors and robotics entrepreneurs, providing valuable feedback to everyone.

There is a prize pool of >$100,000 with grand prize of >$5,000 plus courtesy of our sponsors: Amazon, CSIRO, Siemens, Clearpath Robotics, SMBC, Robolution Capital, The Olander Company, Krtkl, iRobot, LaBarge Weinstein, WilmerHale, QUTbluebox, Silicon Valley Robotics and Robohub – See more at: http://robot2015.istart.org. Startups that reach the second round will be showcased on Robohub for our Readers Pick award.

To be eligible your startup must be <5 years old with <$2 million in funding to date. Applications consist of a 60 second video and a short questionnaire. The competition site is: http://robot2015.istart.org

We are still looking for more judges, sponsors and prizes: 2015 SVR Robot Launch Startup Competition Sponsor Menu

Some highlights from last year

In February 2014, Robohub and Silicon Valley Robotics launched the first global startup competition for robotics. More than 75 startups from 19 countries entered the competition, with robotics innovations ranging from duct and floor cleaning robots, to educational robots, welding robots and even toy robot fish. Several rounds of judging culminated in a pitch session by the six finalists in front of a panel of live judges on May 20.

Moti, by Leka. Ultimate Champion of the Robot Launch 2014 startup competition.

The grand winner for Robot Launch was Leka, a developer of intuitive and intelligent toys for children with autism. Their product, Moti, is a robotic ball that is sensitive to its environment, moves on its own and changes colours to emote feelings; autistic children learn to regulate their own emotions by playing with Moti. Robot Launch judges said they picked Leka as the Robot Launch Grand Winner because they were ready for market and could have an immediate impact on autistic children if their product were widely available.

“As Ultimate Champion, we won mentoring from experts,” said Leka CEO and Co-founder Ladislas de Toldi, who is hoping the prize will help bring Moti to market soon. “Thanks to the tests we have been running with children parents and caregivers [of autistic children], we have shown the relevance and usefulness of our robot. But we hadn’t crash tested our product. RobotLaunch [was] the perfect opportunity for us to challenge our robot and get feedback from real experts. The judges’ feedback really helped us to formalize our project.”

Duct Inspection Robot, by Robosoft Systems. Finalist in the Robot Launch 2014 startup competition, and winner of the Lean Startup Award.

The competition’s global reach gave startups from around the world a unique opportunity to network on level footing with investors and experts located in faraway technology hubs.

“[Robot Launch] was a platform to showcase our robots in Silicon valley – something nearly impossible for a startup based in India,” said Fahad Azad of Robosoft Systems, a startup that makes duct cleaning robots. Robosoft was a finalist in the competition, and took home one of the three Lean Startup Awards, alongside Odd I/O of Portland Oregon, and Tandemech Engineering of San Francisco. The Best European Startup Award went to DoBots, from the Netherlands, and the Grand Prize winner Leka is based in France.

Wigl, by Odd I/O. Finalist in the Robot Launch 2014 startup competition, and winner of the Lean Startup Award and the Indiegogo Crowdpleaser Award.

“The global competition elevated my own robot’s exposure and allowed me to learn more about what others are doing around the world,” said Odd I/O‘s Vivek Mano, who won the Indiegogo Crowdpleaser Award in addition to the Lean Startup Award. “It’s great to know that there are so many others out there with an earnest passion for robotic electronics to make the world a better place.”

Wall-climbing robot, by Tandemech Engineering. Finalist in the Robot Launch 2014 startup competition, and winner of the Lean Startup Award, the Wilmerhale Award and the SOLID Showcase Award.

“Robot Launch 2014 is opening up a very important outlet to help identify and showcase some groundbreaking business and technology ideas, not only in the Silicon Valley but throughout the world,” said Glenn Luinenburg, a Partner at WilmerHale, a Silicon Valley law firm that works with robotics companies, and which awarded a legal startup package worth more than $25,000 USD to Tandemech Engineering, maker of wall-climbing robots.

Autopilot add-on, by DoBots. Finalist in the Robot Launch 2014 startup competition, and winner of the Best European Startup Award.

“Our goal with Robot Launch is to grow the robotics ecosystem, and the awards we’re offering are exactly what a robot startup needs to accelerate their growth,” says Andra Keay who, as Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, spearheaded the competition.

Robot Launch prizes included money, mentoring, meetings and free legal and startup services from Robohub, Silicon Valley Robotics, Indiegogo, WilmerHale, Grishin Robotics, Bosch Ventures, Lemnos Labs, Robolution Capital, and Luxr. And since exposure is so crucial for any startup that is trying to get noticed, three of the Robot Launch competitors were selected to showcase at O’Reilly’s SOLID conference last week.

Welding robot, by Robotics Technologies of Tennessee. Finalist in the Robot Launch 2014 startup competition, and winner of the SOLID Showcase Award and the Silicon Valley Robotics Award.

“It’s now easier, cheaper and faster to develop robots, which in turn means that more robots will see the light of the day,” says Cyril Ebersweiler, founder of HAXLR8R and one of the Robot Launch 2014 judges. “Putting the spotlight on those who are spear-heading the robolution is essential for supporting and encouraging entrepreneurs to go robotics. I was looking for entrepreneurs who will use robots to make a better tomorrow. Needless to say we have a beautiful winner.”

Follow Robot Launch on Twitter and stay tuned for next year’s event: @robotlaunch