AMP Robotics Corp., a recycling robotics manufacturer, has extended its partnership with Evergreen, a producer of recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or rPET. Evergreen, which has grown through acquisitions to four locations across North America from its original facility in Clyde, Ohio, now has 15 of AMP’s robotic sorting systems guided by artificial intelligence installed or planned across three facilities. In addition to six robots in Clyde, Evergreen has added six in Riverside, Calif., and will soon add three in Albany, N.Y. AMP’s robots speed up sorting AMP Robotics was founded in 2015 and is based in Louisville, Colo. The company claimed…
Four years after its founding, healthcare wearable technology company Cionic Inc. today announced that its Neural Sleeve wearable has been cleared as a Class II medical device by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Neural Sleeve is placed around the user’s leg and is used to help people with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injuries walk. A smart sleeve The San Francisco-based company said the device can “analyze, predict, and augment” a person’s movement using advanced algorithms and sensors. It also uses electrical stimulation to “sequence proper muscle firing for natural movement.” Jeremiah…
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Ossia Inc. today announced that its Cota wireless power system has obtained authorization from the U.S. Federal Communications Commision for delivering power to a wide range of devices without the previous 1-meter distance limitation. “This is a tremendous milestone for Ossia,” stated Doug Stovall, CEO of Ossia. “Cota wireless power devices are now authorized without distance limits in countries around the world, and the technology can be integrated into products for use in 45+ countries—and counting—and in all 50 states.” Bellevue, Wash.-based Ossia said it Cota system is patented smart antenna technology that can safely and remotely delivery energy to…
A new survey by Peerless Research Group reported that interest in automation is increasing among warehouse and distribution center operators. The “Annual Warehouse and Distribution Center Equipment Survey” found that usage and budgets for materials handling systems, including mobile robots, have increased. Peerless Research, which is owned by Peerless Media LLC along with Robotics 24/7, asked readers about their spending plans for warehouse automation, materials handling equipment, and related software. The findings suggested that operators are interested in more than a crude swap of human labor for robots. Respondents also said that they expect to spend more on labor and…
Pony.ai Inc., which has been developing autonomous driving technology, today announced that it has completed the first close of its Series D financing round but did not specify how much money it received. The Fremont, Calif.-based company said the latest funding round brings its total valuation to $8.5 billion. It was previously valued at $5.3 billion in November 2020. The Series D round provides a significiant increase from Pony's valuation after its Series C and C+ rounds in 2020, it said. Funds to enable hiring, mass production Founded in 2016, Pony.ai has designed and tested autonomous mobility technologies and services…
With the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games under way, it's a good time to review the state of robotics for helping people with disabilities. For instance, one device weighs just 3 lb., costs about $400, and can be made in a garage with widely available parts. The result is an engineered device that can greatly improve navigation for blind people to walk. That's precisely what researchers and student assistants came up with at the Stanford Intelligent Systems Laboratory. They developed an easy-to-fabricate smart cane for the blind. Researchers published their findings in October's Science Robotics. The assistive device is equipped…
Online food ordering giant Grubhub is calling it quits on its mobile robot delivery service partnership with Russian Internet company Yandex N.V., according to a recent report from Reuters. “We will be ending our partnership with Yandex,” Grubhub stated to Reuters on Friday. “We’re working with our campus partners on alternate service options as we shift away from Yandex over time.” A short-lived partnership Yandex came to an agreement with Grubhub in July 2021 to have its autonomous mobile robots deployed at college campuses nationwide. Grubhub is owned by Dutch multinational company Just Eat Takeaways. The company said it has…
A new report by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University describes how cognitive science and psychology could help humans collaborate with robots more effectively. The researchers examined 35 research papers that focused on humans teaching robots new behaviors. In their analysis, the researchers kept in mind two theories—“the analogical transfer theory” and “the variation of theory of learning.” The “analogical transfer theory” suggests that humans learn by analogy. When humans interact with a new domain or concept, they implicitly look for something familiar they can use to understand the new entity. The “variation theory of learning,”…
About 95% of warehouses in North America and Europe are not yet automated, according to GXO Logistics Inc. The Greenwich, Conn.-based company recently announced its fourth-quarter earnings for 2021. It said its revenue increased from $2 billion in last year's third quarter to $2.3 billion in Q4, thanks in part to its increasing use of automation. GXO, which claimed to be “the world's largest pure-play contract logistics provider,” cited the growth of automation, e-commerce, and outsourcing as “tailwinds” that it expects to continue into 2022. The company reported full-year revenue of $7.9 billion, up 28% over the year prior, as…
As a senior associate engineer at the Autonomous Robotics Research Centre in Abu Dhabi, Fatima Al Nuaimi is hoping to use her skills to help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. She’s working with her team to make advancements in accessibility technology and has insights into how robots can help flight climate change. In advance of International Women’s Day on March 8, Al Nuaimi spoke with Robotics 24/7 about her research, how robotics can help improve sustainability, getting students interested in the technology, and the role the United Arab Emirates' government has played in encouraging women to pursue…
This week, the commonwealth of Massachusetts awarded $3,057,320 to Harvard University and Boston University to support the development of next-generation robotics and wearable technologies. The new grant will help researchers working to improve the lives of people with neuro-motor impairments and to help individuals achieve ambitious fitness goals, according to the Baker-Polito administration. The project will also help drive innovation in a new category of rehabilitation, diagnostic, and assistive devices that are more lightweight, affordable, and connected, said the Innovation Institute at the MassTech Collaborative. “Massachusetts is a global leader in both technology and healthcare because of our support for…