Editors’ Picks



Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 56.95
…it is entering into a long-term strategic partnership with Covariant to build a foundation for future growth. The Otto Group said it will use Covariant's artificial intelligence-powered robots to automate a wide range of manual fulfillment activities that require hand-eye coordination and object manipulation. “Logistics faces the challenge of being as cost-efficient as possible,” said Kay Schiebur, member of the executive board for services at the Otto Group, in a press release. “The use of a generalist AI allows us to rethink processes that were not possible before and provides an answer to the massive shortage of workers.” “In times…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.21
…the goods-to-person picking space and perhaps RightHand Robotics and Covariant in the piece-picking space, which has been slow to get traction. Exotec appeared to be moving ahead with deals with companies like Gap Inc. We’re also beginning to see robots targeting tasks beyond robot-to-goods picking, such as trailer unloading and parcel induction. Those are great. But there are also signs that 2023 may be the long-awaited shakeout in the robotics industry, like the long-awaited recession in the economy. The most visible and public example is SoftBank’s announcement that it will take Berkshire Grey private, paying $1.40 a share for the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 47.01
Covariant announced yesterday that it has raised $75 million in a recent Series C round. The Berkeley, Calif.-based robotic-picking company told Robotics 24/7 that the funding will be used to help it continue to deploy its systems to materials handling customers. “This is a very tough capital market to raise money, so our ability to raise a substantial amount of venture funding speaks to the traction, both in terms of technology and the commercial market, that we have created,” CEO Peter Chen said in an interview. Covariant deploys robotic picking systems that take advantage of the Covariant Brain, its proprietary…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 48.58
Radial Inc. has installed 12 Covariant Robotic Putwalls at its fulfillment center in Louisville, Ky. to sort health and beauty items. Each of the twelve robotic u-shaped putwalls average about one hundred thousand picks per month with a throughput of 425 pieces per hour (PPH) – a performance higher than their manual alternative, Covariant claimed. While working side-by-side with Radial’s staff, the autonomous robots can successfully pick 100% of the stock-keeping units (SKUs) at the Louisville fulfillment center, according to the Berkeley, Calif.-based company. The robots run on the company’s universal AI platform Covariant Brain, which has been pre-trained on…
Found in Robotics Companies & Businesses, with a score of 69.57
…and repetitive tasks. They have not only transformed manufacturing, but they've also reached a fraction of their potential, noted Covariant. Incapable of thinking on their own, most robots can only do pre-programmed tasks in tightly-controlled environments. They can't understand, learn, or adapt, said the company, legally known as Emboided Intelligence Inc. Building on experience at Berkeley and OpenAI, the company's vision is the Covariant Brain: universal AI that allows robots to see, reason, and act on the world around them. It is bringing the Covariant Brain to commercial viability, starting with the industries that make, move, and store things in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 25.37
…chain and logistics. Anu Saha Head of product marketing Covariant Leading the product marketing efforts at Covariant, Anu Saha helps retailers and their logistics partners better understand how AI robotics can increase efficiency and reduce labor challenges in their intralogistics operations. He helps them discover how robots powered by the Covariant Brain can automate previously manual piece-picking operations in warehouses and fulfillment centers. Previously, Saha was involved in controls, automation, and robotics at National Instruments, where he helped with the adoption of graphical programming for academic research and STEM initiatives such as FIRST. He also helped establish product management and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 22.31
…up to 2.2 m/s (4.9 mph). ABB to demo Covariant Brain In addition, ABB said it plans to demonstrate the integration of its IRB 1300 robot arm with Covariant's artificial intelligence. “The growing demand for e-commerce fulfillment services and the complex, labor-intensive nature of the process offers unique potential for intelligent automation,” the company said. “While robots are ideally suited to repetitive tasks, until now, they lacked the intelligence to identify and handle tens of thousands of constantly changing products in a typical dynamic warehouse operation.” The Covariant Brain is designed to enable robots to perceive their environments and adapt…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.46
…A3's AMR and Logistics Conference last month in Memphis. Covariant aids AI-based robots AI-based piece picking is still an advanced application for robots, making it difficult end-user organizations to compare them with established categories of materials handling automation, said Ted Stinson, chief operating officer at manipulation AI provider Covariant. After all, how does one determine if an AI-driven arm and gripper can actually handle the rapidly changing SKU mixes seen in modern e-commerce? Flashy presentations from a dozen or more vendors can’t really answer that question, Stinson said. “It’s a crowded and confusing marketplace, where trying to understand the capabilities…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 50.59
…autonomous handling. Embodied Intelligence Inc., which does business as Covariant, yesterday said it has raised $80 million in Series C funding. The Berkeley, Calif.-based company said it will use the money to continue its robotics and AI research and development, as well as grow its team globally. “Autonomous order picking has long been seen as the holy grail for warehouse automation in the robotics world,” stated Pieter Abbeel, president, chief scientist, and co-founder of Covariant. “It's a very hard problem, but thanks to our team's fundamental advances in research and engineering, we've achieved production-grade autonomy for a range of industries…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.52
…the 2020 Modex event, KNAPP announced a partnership with Covariant, an AI robotics technology vendor, to enhance KNAPP’s piece picking robot solution. The solution already is in use at several customer sites, including at Obeta, a German electrical supply wholesaler. Reader says that by employing AI, piece picking robots don’t have to be trained on each item, and can improve over time on how to grasp items. “Our solution is using an AI engine with deep learning to identify SKUs and adjust for how to best grip an item,” says Reader. “And, it’s learning so that the piece picking is…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 22.87
…its latest products, and showed how a partnership with Covariant is helping it create AI-enabled robots for the fulfillment environment. Knapp’s executives gave the audience an update on the OSR Shuttle Evo, of which the company has sold more than 15,000 units since introducing it two years ago. Launched last year, the Pick-It-Easy Evo offers a modular option that can be adapted to any facility. Knapp’s PIE Robot is cloud integrated and features self-learning capabilities that build and enhance its SKU database. “These features have not been available in the market until today,” said Kevin Reader, director of business development…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 38.00
…supplier of industrial robots, and Silicon Valley AI start-up, Covariant, today announced a partnership to bring AI-enabled robotics solutions to market, starting with a fully autonomous warehouse order fulfillment solution. The partnership brings together the two companies with a shared vision for robotics enabled by AI, where intelligent robots work alongside humans in dynamic environments, collectively learning and improving with every task completed. Given the accelerated global growth experienced in the e-commerce sector, ABB identified a significant opportunity for AI-enabled robotics solutions across a broad range of applications including logistics, warehousing, and parcels and mail sorting. Global revenues in e-commerce…