Credit: BMW Werk Leipzig, via Wikimedia
Robotics has arrived. That may seem obvious to you, a reader of Robotics Business Review, but it’s still news to many industry observers and end-user organizations. When we started compiling our list of leading companies seven years ago, robotics was still viewed as something only for heavy manufacturing or hobbyists. The 2018 RBR50 list reflects a maturation of suppliers, technologies, and applications.
Now, businesses in just about every vertical market are looking at robots, artificial intelligence, or unmanned systems. Cheaper sensors, easier programming, and faster returns on investment have led to explosive growth.
With so many options, where can investors, integrators, and chief robotics officers (executives adopting or expanding automation in their organizations) get started? The 2018 RBR50 is here to help with the most innovative, influential, and commercially successful robotics suppliers.
Picking and celebrating the 2018 RBR50
We’ve reviewed numerous nominations, talked with automation experts, and chosen the 2018 RBR50 companies. To help the judges and our readers, we’ve sorted this year’s list into five hot categories: AI, robotics components, manufacturing, supply chain, and autonomous vehicles.
This year, collaborative robots or cobots, pick-and-place systems, mobile platforms, and self-driving cars are the biggest areas of interest.
In this free download, you can learn more about how we picked the 2018 RBR50, why certain companies made this year’s list, and how many are returning favorites. Our company database includes updated pages for each RBR50 winner.
Several past members of the RBR50 have reported investor or customer deals after appearing on our list, and our download looks at some recent investments. In addition, we spotlight a few companies to watch that might not have fit into our top categories.
We’ll be following the 2018 RBR50 throughout the coming year in our articles, downloads, webcasts, and events such as this week’s Robotics & AI Summit @ LiveWorx in Boston, and RoboBusiness in September in Santa Clara, Calif.
RBR Insiders can get subscriber-only articles, reports, and access to our company and transactions databases.
If your organization is among the 2018 RBR50, congratulations! We hope you’ll share your good news with the entire industry as it continues to grow.
If you’re looking for a supplier, business partner, or customer, this list should be helpful. If you’re still hoping to make the list, watch RBR’s ongoing coverage, as we follow the global robotics ecosystem!