Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.61
May 11, 2021
…also received support from major software vendors. Last month, Amazon Web Services Inc. announced support for ROS 2 Foxy Fitzroy, the latest long-term support release for ROS 2, as well as the Gazebo 11 simulation engine and the Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa) operating system. Seattle-based Amazon Web Services (AWS) said that “ROS 2 Foxy is the most secure and reliable ROS distribution to date for production robotics application development.” While AWS RoboMaker no longer supports ROS Kinetic, its support of ROS 2 Foxy Fitzroy for simulation and development does include Navigation2 (Nav2). Nav2 “is the second generation of the ROS…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 16.83
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 5.92
May 05, 2021
…robotics and AI companies. 6 River Systems Alert Innovation Amazon Robotics Autodyne LLC Cleo Robotics GreenSight iRobot Locus Robotics MORSE Corp NeXtera Robotics Optimus Ride Pison Technology Ras Labs Realtime Robotics ThayerMahan Toyota Research Institute Vecna Robotics Vicarious Surgical Massachusetts technology hub fosters innovation “Talent is the No. 1 reason tech companies locate in Massachusetts, and the inability to source enough skilled workers is the No. 1 constraint to growth in the white-hot robotics and AI space,” stated Tom Hopcroft, CEO of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC). “We're excited to partner with MassRobotics to help increase opportunities for talented…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.32
April 30, 2021
…2 on various platforms such as Microsoft Windows and Amazon AWS RoboMaker starting in the second half of 2021. It added that it anticipates more robot applications incorporating the cloud and artificial intelligence to be deployed. To familiarize users to ROS 2 and expose its new features to operators, Doosan said it will supply tutorial packages on creating robot functions via its partner supporting site, Doosan Robot LAB. Video tutorials on ROS application will also be available on the site. Doosan Robotics has been supporting ROS Kinetic and ROS Melodic since 2019, and additionally distributed the ROS Noetic package in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.55
April 27, 2021
…Motors had a $1.5 billion initial public offering, and Amazon.com bought Zoox for $1.2 billion. Lyft ride-hailing rival Uber Inc. sold its Advanced Technologies Group to Aurora Innovation Inc. for $4 billion in equity in December 2020. Recent partnership examples include AutoX and Honda China collaborating on testing in China, Aurora and Volvo partnering on autonomous trucks, and Siemens Digital Industries Software working with the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto. Race to autonomous driving is a marathon, not a sprint Toyota has said that it plans to offer next-generation mobility services rather than fully autonomous vehicles. Both Woven Planet and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.14
April 21, 2021
…Markets and Markets. Meituan's e-commerce rivals include Alibaba Group, Amazon.com, and JD.com. All of them are actively developing delivery robots and drones or are partnering with autonomous systems providers. Other companies working on delivery robots include Daxbot, Eliport, Postmates, Refraction AI, Tortoise, and Unity Drive Innovation. Kiwibot last week launched Version 4.0 of its eponymous robot and partnered with Segway. Chipotle invested in Nuro last month, and Domino's Pizza is testing deliveries with the Nuro R2 in Houston. In January, Starship Technologies raised $14 million and added more college campuses to the locations it serves. The company said it has…
Found in Robotics White Papers & Archives, with a score of 20.16
April 16, 2021
…have drastically increased over the last few years. With Amazon as the number-one online retailer offering free one-day shipping–and, most recently, two-hour shipping–consumers expect their packages to arrive immediately and free of charge. This shift in expectations has raised the bar for fulfillment: If companies can’t keep up with Amazon’s standards, for example, they risk losing market share to competitors that can. Prior to the pandemic, retail, e-commerce, and business-to-business (B2B) fulfillment operators were increasingly turning to collaborative mobile robots to gain operational flexibility to support growth and contain labor requirements. The pandemic accelerated the surge of automation needs.
Found in Robotics White Papers & Archives, with a score of 8.37
April 16, 2021
…to $4.88 trillion, more than double 2017 figures. The Amazon effect is at the heart of this e-commerce boom: consumers are empowered to demand what they want and when. These demands aren’t what they used to be, catching retailers and service providers ill-equipped to keep up. With shrinking store footprints and faster product turns, warehouse operators have been shifting to accommodate more SKUs and lower order quantities, while struggling to staff for growing demand and supporting service level goals. This new fulfillment landscape is forcing the hands of supply chain executives, leaving them no option but to automate or fold.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.71
April 15, 2021
…an initial public offering (IPO) of $1.5 billion, and Amazon.com acquired Zoox for $1.2 billion in 2020. In January 2021, Cruise and parent company General Motors announced that they will work with Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform as they develop and commercialize self-driving vehicles. Microsoft joined GM, Honda, and other investors in investing $2 billion in Cruise. Last month, Cruise acquired Voyage, which has been working on technology to provide autonomous mobility in senior citizen communities. Autonomous vehicle companies accounted for more than $3.3 billion in transactions in the first quarter of 2021. Last week, TuSimple Holdings announced an IPO…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.51
April 12, 2021
…general, there aren't enough people,” responded Huerta. “Even as Amazon fulfillment centers are growing, people are jumping ship for a 50-cent change in salary. In addition, people see the advancements in driverless cars and ask, 'Why aren't they in our warehouses?'” “We're one of the few applying an AMR philosophy to forklifts, tuggers, and palletization,” he said. “Our primary focus is on logistics, but we're also holding onto our development aspect for advanced robotics applications such as healthcare.” “Once we can do what we can in the warehouse, we want to go outside in the trucks, where we understand there…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.49
April 09, 2021
…After all, the cloud is a commodity. Companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and others make billions of dollars because they know how to package, deliver, and support that commodity at scale. So it will be with autonomous robots. Execution will drive AMR adoption If all the above factors have only heightened demand for AMRs in sectors like logistics, manufacturing, retail, consumer goods, and pharma, then we should expect a large number of robots to enter service in those sectors. However, I do not expect that robot uptake will be concomitant with demand until we have resolved the product/market…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.59
March 26, 2021
…ecosystem for people just getting started or for an Amazon or Procter & Gamble that is further along in their journey.” Standards and partnerships In addition to ease of use, standards for safety and interoperability are crucial to encouraging businesses to use robotics. “Safety is critical,” Burnstein said. “The Washington Post recently talked to me and Boston Dynamics, and it reported that one of the main barriers to robot butlers in the home is the technology for working in different environments is still not there yet.” “Standards are always going to be a critical issue,” said Burnstein. “We're working on…
