Last week's MODEX 2022 trade show featured numerous demonstrations of materials handling technology, a return to face-to-face events with more than 37,000 attendees, and a growing number of robotics exhibitors. While global supply chain challenges, labor shortages, and pandemic-accelerated e-commerce have all increased adoption of supply chain automation, what can suppliers, integrators, and, most importantly, operators expect? What should end users demand? Robotics 24/7 has already shared numerous announcements around MODEX and initial robotics trends and observations. Here are more from some exhibitors, speakers, and attendees from the Atlanta event. We spoke with the following industry experts: Gerard Andrews, senior…
Design
After a few years of mostly virtual or smaller events because of COVID-19, both exhibitors and attendees were relieved to reunite in person for MODEX 2022 in Atlanta last week. Robotics also had a strong presence at the biennial materials handling trade show, growing from about 10% five or six years ago to nearly 60% this year, according to several industry observers. From autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and self-driving lift trucks to robot arms and automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), there were systems aplenty for supply chain applications. The average booth size was also larger, with relatively few 10x10-ft.…
Construction automation company Built Robotics announced the close of a $64 million Series C led by Tiger Global, bringing its total funding to $112 million. Built Robotics' motto is to “build the robots that build the world.” Its ExoSystem product is retrofitted onto excavators to make them autonomous. The company said the system is deployed across the $1 trillion earthmoving industry, building critical infrastructure in energy, telecom, and more. Fast and easy to install The San Francisco-based company said the system can be installed and calibrated on an excavator in less than a day. Contractors can rent Exosystems as standalone…
WeatherFlow-Tempest this week announced a collaboration with MarkSetBot to integrate data from their fleet of robotic sailing buoys into the company's SailFlow App. WeatherFlow-Tempest, Inc. is a technology company claiming to be reshaping the private sector weather industry. It said its mission is to help mitigate and control the enormous cost of weather on business and daily life. Formed in 2019, the Santa, Cruz, Calif-based company said it has experienced growth with an array of technology and services designed to scale globally. Expanding weather network The partnership with MarkSetBot will further build out their fast-growing weather network and enhance the…
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Self-driving technology software company Aurora Innovation has announced a collaboration with transportation logistics company Werner Enterprises. Starting this week, Aurora Driver-powered trucks are hauling loads between Fort Worth and El Paso on behalf of Werner. This lane represents the middle leg of one of the busiest commercial thoroughfares for Werner and the U.S. trucking industry: Atlanta to Los Angeles, the companies said. From Fort Worth to El Paso Introducing an autonomous route between Fort Worth and El Paso allows Werner to move freight seamlessly and reliably on a subset of one of its most voluminous lanes. The collaboration with Werner…
Tennant Co. today said it has introduced lithium-ion technology to its portfolio of cleaning machines, including its T380AMR, T7AMR, and T16AMR. The company said the advanced battery technology and the mobile robots it has engineered with Brain Corp., will benefit customers around the world. “Throughout its 150-year history, Tennant Co. has been dedicated to advancing the cleaning industry by relentlessly pursuing new technologies, and we are excited to continue this legacy with the addition of advanced lithium-ion battery technology to our autonomous machines,” stated Barb Balinski, senior vice president of innovation and technology at Tennant. “With longer run times and…
Seoul Robotics, a 3D perception artificial intelligence solutions company, today announced it has joined NVIDIA’s Metropolis partner program. The program is designed to nurture and bring to market a new generation of applications and advancements for AI vision, according to Seoul Robotics. Seoul Robotics already uses NVIDA’s technology The Seoul, South Korea-based company relies on the NVIDIA Jetson edge AI platform to enable edge computing for SENSR’s deep learning algorithms. “Our perception system is built from the ground up to utilize NVIDIA GPU technologies,” said Jerone Floor, vice president of product at Seoul Robotics. “As we expose more customers to…
Marine systems continue to advance for scientific and defense applications. Kraken Robotics Inc. said this week that it has successfully completed a robotics-as-a-service with the Royal Canadian Navy for testing its ultra-high-resolution survey equipment. The $500,000 contract was funded under the government of Canada’s Innovative Solutions Canada Testing Stream (ISC TS) program. The Royal Canadian Navy's Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic (RCN FDU-A) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was the testing department for this service offering. St. John's, Newfoundland-based Kraken offers software-centric sensors, subsea batteries and thrusters, and underwater robotic systems. In July 2021, the company acquired PanGeo Subsea, a service…
Security robot maker Knightscope, Inc. this week announced that it has entered into a $100 million common stock purchase agreement with B. Riley Principal Capital. The committed equity facility provides Knightscope with the right, without obligation, to sell and issue up to $100 million of its Class A Common Stock over a period of 24 months to B. Riley at Knightscope’s discretion, subject to certain limitations and conditions. Further details will be contained in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by Knightscope with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “One of the reasons to publicly list Knightscope was…