In Episode 93 of The Robot Report Podcast, Steve Crowe, Mike Oitzman and Dan Kara review the upcoming RoboBusiness Conference & Expo and the Field Robotics Engineering Forum, highlighting the robotics luminaries speaking at the event.

The Field Robotics Engineering Forum seeks session submissions that focus on the design and development of robotics systems that operate in outdoor, unstructured and dynamic environments, such as construction worksites, open mines, and farm fields, as well as busy urban centers.

The robotics and automation sector’s premier business development event seeks session submissions that highlight commercial opportunities for robotics solution providers, and speak to robotics and business innovation in all its forms.

By employing a combination of mobile robots and cloud-based software, Gecko Robotics automates difficult and demanding industrial inspection tasks.

Inspection and service work in underground tunnels is the poster child for work that is “dirty, dull and dangerous”. It is also time consuming and costly. MAB Robotics is meeting the challenge with a compact, ruggedized, quadrupedal robot.

QLayers’ 10Q robot is an innovative solution that transforms the traditional method of coating large-scale industrial surfaces into a fully controlled, efficient, and safe process.

It is advanced software, working in conjunction with hardware systems, that has driven the commercial drone sector to new heights. Similarly, software is the key capabilities enabler for other types of robotics systems going forward, including mobile robots.

In this RoboBusiness Direct session, attendees will learn about construction robotics solutions available today, what is on the horizon, and the critical need for new construction automation technologies.

RBR essential announcements for the interval ranging from April 9 – 16, 2021 include notices from Cruise, Ocado Group, Oxbotica, Canvas, Multiply Labs, Pickle Robot, Gaussian Robot, and Memic Innovative Surgery.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has found great success in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries, and robotics solutions are making AEC inroads. The two technologies can be synergistic, and when used together can deliver additional value to AECs.

In this Robot Report podcast, Motiv Space Systems’ Tom McCarthy discusses the development of the robotic arm on the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover and Cold Operable Lunar Deployable Arm. Solutions from Oxbotica and Boston Dynamics also reviewed.

Boston Dynamics’ VP Michael Patrick Perry discusses plans for the Spot quadruped and Hyundai’s acquisition of the company. Also, DARPA’s Timothy Chung reviews the DARPA SubT Challenge.

The construction sector is huge, but famously stubborn in its adoption of new technology. That is changing as advances in construction automation continue apace… including the development of construction robotics solutions. Challenges remain, but they are being addressed.

Sustainability initiatives, workforce uncertainty and productivity requirements are key demands drivers for Monarch’s electric, autonomous, tractor solution, a harbinger of the emerging era of data driven, digital farming.

Thanks to engineering partnerships with maxon and Solvay, Flybotix goes to market with a highly capable drone-based industrial inspection solution that addresses a real business need. For maxon and Solvay, their Flybotix work deepens their sector and technological expertise, extends their IP portfolio, and enhances their reputation in the commercial drone space. But is there more?

Industrial Robot’s Joanne Pransky interviews Tessa Lau, CEO at Dusty Robotics about Dusty’s autonomous mobile robots that print layout plans onto the floors of job sites using information from building information models (BIM) as a guide.

With machine learning, algorithms are automatically generated from large datasets, speeding the development and reducing the difficulty of creating complex systems, including robotics systems. While data at scale is what makes accurate machine learning ‘go’, the data used to train ML models must also be very accurate and of high quality.

For robotics systems, “supervised autonomy”, readily available for implementation today, can be used as a bridging solution between teleoperation and full autonomy.

Boston Dynamics’ VP of Business Development and Universal Robots’ CEO Jürgen von Hollen are featured in this episode of The Robot Report Podcast.

Drone providers AeroVironment and Draganfly are widening distribution of the Quantix Mapper system, just in time for planting season in the Northern Hemisphere.

Multi-year partnership will provide training for 400,000+ union members on use of autonomous earth-moving equipment.

Field robots, industrial automation, self-driving vehicles, and healthcare systems received funding in February 2020.

Project looks at autonomous roadwork excavation system to protect workers, residents during gas pipe upgrades and maintenance.

The Robot Report, sibling site to Robotics Business Review, tracked $1.9 billion in robotics transactions in December 2019, including funding for aerospace, logistics, and healthcare applications.

Sensor startup looks to aid self-driving and driver-assist vehicles with better mapping and localization features.