Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.91
June 11, 2021
…it has partnered with FarEye to provide autonomous drone deliveries for retailers in the U.S. East Hanover, N.J.-based Drone Express is a division of TELEGRID Technologies Inc. and provides commercial drone delivery services. Chicago-based FarEye said it offers “intelligent delivery orchestration solutions.” “The time has come for drone deliveries to become the new reality,” stated Gaurav Srivastava, co-founder of FarEye. “Retailers are facing new pressures due to the delivery boom and consumer demand and are showing interest in innovative delivery solutions like autonomous drones.” “Customers are used to Amazon Prime-like experiences, where they can schedule and track their deliveries in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.50
June 04, 2021
…and proprietary software, and it has also worked on last-mile delivery systems. “Four years ago, Jim came out and watched a flight test,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation. “He asked incredibly thoughtful questions and then acted decisively on investing in Joby Aviation. That was just the beginning of an incredible partnership with Toyota Ventures and with Toyota Motor Corp. It led to further financing and a strategic manufacturing partnership.” Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Joby Aviation is developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Toyota Ventures expands scope Toyota Ventures said it will expand its scope to…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.95
June 03, 2021
…to tackle the challenges of development, testing, and commercialization. Last week, Kodiak Robotics Inc. announced that it has partnered with SK Inc. to bring the Kodiak Driver self-driving technology to Asia-Pacific markets. As part of the relationship, SK said it will work with Kodiak to find business opportunities for autonomous trucks and to provide fleet management services for customers in Asia. Seoul-based SK Inc. is an investment-oriented holding company of SK Group, which claims to be the third-largest congolmerate in South Korea, with more than 120 operating companies. It has developed strategies with global affiliates in logistics and services, energy…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.22
May 17, 2021
…of e-commerce, but it has also increased demand for delivery robots. Starship Technologies said last week that its robotic deliveries have quadrupled globally since the beginning of the pandemic. “This past year has been a game changer for autonomous delivery, moving adoption ahead by years,” stated Ahti Heinla, co-founder and CEO of Starship Technologies. “When we launched commercial delivery three years ago, we didn’t expect to be at the point we are today.” “We marked the significant milestone of 1 million deliveries in January 2021, and we’ve since surpassed 1.5 million deliveries,” he said. “These rapid developments have also helped…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.02
May 13, 2021
…enable operators who are sitting up to thousands of miles away to remotely operate unmanned tuggers, pallet jacks, and other equipment. The companies said their joint offering can improve worker safety, supply chain resilience, and enterprise agility. “Remote operation unlocks amazing operational efficiencies for our customers,” said Brian Markison, senior director of automated guided vehicle (AGV) sales at Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas (Marengo). “Our partnership with Phantom enables them to achieve unprecedented oversight and control over their material handling equipment, even with the vehicle operators located states or continents away.” Founded in 2017 by a team of real-time communication and robotics…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.96
May 09, 2021
Last week, local news outlets reported new Amazon.com Inc. distribution and fulfillment centers in Shreveport, La., and Savannah, Ga. The Seattle-based company has continued to open such facilities across the U.S. as e-commerce demand rises, and it said that each one will employ about 1,000 people. In addition, Amazon's centers will include robots from its Amazon Robotics unit in North Reading, Mass. Last year, Amazon had more than 185 fulfillment centers across the U.S., according to CNBC. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said that construction of the $200 million, 650,000-sq.-ft. Shreveport center, the first one in his state, will begin…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.69
May 03, 2021
…are collaborating on a pilot project to offer grocery delivery via autonomous drones in Centerville, Ohio. The partners plan to launch a second pilot at a Ralphs store in California this coming summer. “Kroger's new drone delivery pilot is part of the evolution of our rapidly growing and innovative e-commerce business – which includes pickup, delivery, and ship and reached more than $10 billion in sales in 2020,” stated Jody Kalmbach, group vice president of product experience at Kroger. “The pilot reinforces the importance of flexibility and immediacy to customers, powered by modern, cost-effective, and efficient last-mile solutions. We're excited…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.43
April 28, 2021
…create jobs and decrease carbon emissions by closing the last-mile delivery gap. The company raised $50 million last August, and its North American customers include department store Nordstrom and other retailers across apparel, food and beverage, and home goods. Edmonton, Alberta-based AltaML said it applies its AI expertise with partners' domain knowledge to develop systems that deliver data for predictive value and enhanced productivity. The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) is one of Canada’s three centers of AI excellence conducting machine learning (ML) research. The non-profit institute also provides educational offerings and business advice with the goal of building in-house…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.69
April 19, 2021
The Kroger Co. last week said it is launching its Customer Fulfillment Center in Monroe, Ohio, the first of its kind in the U.S. to combine “vertical integration, machine learning, and robotics with affordable, friendly, and fast delivery service for fresh food.” The company will be using technology from Ocado Group PLC under a partnership that began in 2018. Cincinnati-based Kroger was founded in 1883 and has close to 500,000 associates serving 60 million households annually. Hatflield, U.K.-based Ocado has been developing robots, artificial intelligence, and automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) for online grocers such as Ocado Retail Ltd.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.20
April 15, 2021
…lot of money, and who better to support driverless delivery than one of the largest retailers in the U.S.? Cruise LLC today said that several institutional investors and Walmart Inc. have joined its previously announced investment round, bringing the total capital raised to $2.75 billion at a valuation of more than $30 billion. “This investment is a marker for us – it shows our commitment to bringing the benefit of self-driving cars to our customers and business,” stated John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. “We’re excited to join Cruise’s already impressive partner and investor ecosystem with the likes…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.43
March 24, 2021
…the biggest users of industrial automation, experienced a slowdown last year because of U.S. trade disputes with China and supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, many e-commerce and logistics providers have described an acceleration of demand. Increases that were predicted for five years coincided first with staffing shortages and then the need for social distancing. “A lot has changed in the past year,” acknowledged Prather. “The pandemic may have brought attention to end users on how to do this. Do you want to be the last holdout for automation?” “Where is your industry in this journey?” he asked. “Manufacturing…
