PITTSBURGH – Labor shortages continue to be a problem for some of the global economy's most vital industries. It's no secret that's partly why so many companies in warehousing, manufacturing, and logistics are turning to artificial intelligence and robotics. But despite the potential efficiency benefits, cost-savings, and worker retention gains, many companies aren't using robots at all. Take the warehouse market, for example. A 2021 report from Research and Markets found that more than 80% of all warehouses have no automation. Last week during the Cascadia Connect event in Pittsburgh, a group of robotics executives, investors, and systems integrators tackled…
PITTSBURGH—A venture capitalist has plenty to consider when investing in a robotics or artificial intelligence startup. Is the company developing a product or service that has a strong product-market fit? Does its leadership team understand the industry it is serving? How does this company's technology stand out among the competition? The past year has undoubtedly been challenging for technology companies seeking funding, and hundreds have either shut down or reduced their headcount in response to the tough financial market. Yesterday, e-commerce company Shopify announced the sale of mobile robot maker 6 River Systems to Ocado Group. Shopify also said it…
Patrick Helfrich of Helfrich Brothers Boiler Works Inc. is seeing much higher numbers of orders from customers these days. Part of that demand is being driven by reshoring efforts. Customers have experienced firsthand the instability from relying too heavily on the global supply chain and are making efforts to bring production closer to home. Helfrich Brothers Boiler Works primarily designs and manufactures equipment for waste-to-energy facilities. It also develops systems that semiconductor companies use to make computer chips. Helfrich Brothers is based in Lawrence, Mass., and its staff works out of a 95,000-sq.-ft. steel fabrication and machine shop. “As manufacturing…
With National Robotics Week soon coming to a close, we at Robotics 24/7 wanted to get some additional academic perspective. We spoke with Brendan Englot, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology, to discuss his research in submarine robotics and his role as an educator. “I just think robotics is a great way to get a hands-on introduction to all the different career paths that are the result of STEM education,” he told us. In addition to teaching robotics courses and running his own robotics lab, Englot was recently named the new director of the…
Security robot developer Knightscope has signed a pilot contract with the New York City Police Department, and starting this summer, one Knightscope K5 robot will be used to help police patrol Manhattan. “Technology is here, and we cannot be afraid of it,” said New York City Major Eric Adams at a press conference in Times Square on Tuesday, where he outlined the city's recent investment in robotics to help increase public safety. In addition to working with Knightscope, the city also announced that it had purchased two Spot legged robots from Boston Dynamics, which the city are calling “Digidogs,” and…
Scythe Robotics has released CANfetti, its first open-source project designed to make integrating new components into autonomous lawn mower easier. CANfetti is an implementation of CANOpen, a communication protocol based on the Controller Area Network, or CAN bus. Scythe Robotics uses an automotive-grade CAN bus as the “backbone” of its autonomous mower, the M.52. The company said it developed CANfentti because it found other open-source CAN frameworks “too constraining.” “Given the complex communication needs across the range of specialized components in Scythe M.52, we knew we’d have to leverage a higher-level CAN protocol,” said Matt Quick, lead firmware engineer at…
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…
