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Qualifying ‘Essential’ News
Each week the editors of Robotics Business Review (RBR) select those announcements judged to be the most important and impactful to the readers of RBR. Below are the selections for the interval ranging from March 19th – 26th, 2021.
Referenced Companies
Companies referenced include include notices from Skycatch, ForwardX, ABI Research, Körber, Libiao Robotics, AVALON SteriTech, SoftBank Robotics, Hesai Technology, Kodiak Robotics, and Pison Technology.
Drone Analytics Company Skycatch Announces US $25M Series C Round
March 25, 2021
Skycatch, a provider of technology and services for the autonomous capture, processing, and analysis of 3D drone data announced a US $25M Series C funding round led by ADB Ventures and Wavemaker.According to company officials, the new funds will be used to expand the company’s sales and marketing team. The company provides centimeter-accurate 3D scanning services, primarily for construction sites and mining operations, using commercially available drones, 3D mapping software, as well as a base station with an edge processor, known as the Edge 1.
Körber Partners with Libiao Robotics to Extend AMR Offerings
March 25, 2021
Libiao Robotics (China) a supplier of tabletop sortation autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and other sorting solutions, and the supply chain group from Körber (Germany), have entered a partnership to extend Körber’s Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) portfolio with the addition Libiao Robotics’ autonomous mobile sorting robots. Together the companies will deliver robotics technologies and other supply chain automation solutions to Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
AMR Provider ForwardX Closes US $38M Series B Funding Round
March 25, 2021
ForwardX Robotics (China), a provider of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) for warehousing and manufacturing operations, announced US $38 million Series B funding. The round was led by CDH Investments, Eastern Bell Capital, and Dohold Capital. Other investors include Angel Around and ZGC Group. According to ForwardX, this round completes Series B funding which totals US $63M. The company has raised a total of approximately US $74 million. The company indicated that it will use the Series B investments for product development and expand its footprint in China and the United States. In addition, the company will invest in new international markets, such as Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
AVALON SteriTech and SoftBank Robotics Launch Autonomous Mobile Robot for Cleaning and Disinfection
March 25, 2021
AVALON SteriTech (China), a provider of cleaning, disinfection and sterilization solutions for public spaces, and SoftBank Robotics (Japan) announced the development and launch of Whiz Gambit, a new autonomous mobile robot solution for cleaning and disinfection applications. Company representatives noted that Whiz Gambit would be targeted to the leisure and entertainment industries. For the “2-in-1 “ solution, Softbank contributed the mobile robot and vacuuming platform, while AVALON Seritech supplied the disinfection technology.
ABI Research Names Teradyne, Fetch, and BlueBotics as Autonomous Material Handling Market Leaders
March 24, 2021
Technology market advisory firm ABI Research has named Teradyne, Fetch Robotics, and BlueBotics as autonomous material handling ‘Market Leaders’ in the recently published Industrial Robotics for Material Handling Competitive Ranking report. ABI Research based their opinion on detailed profile on ten of the most promising autonomous handling robotics vendors: Teradyne, Fetch, Bluebotics, Seegrid, Gideon Brothers, Agilox, Baylo, IAM Robotics, Vecna Robotics, and Forward X. The ranking criteria included both referenced the innovation of these companies, and their ability to channel this into mass deployments and build partnerships. The companies that performed best included:
- Market Leaders – Teradyne, Fetch, BlueBotics
- Top Implementers – Teradyne, Fetch, BlueBotics
- Top Innovators – IAM Robotics, AGILOX, Seegrid, Gideon Brothers, Vecna Robotics, Fetch Robotics
According to ABI, the autonomous material handling revenues are expected to grow from US $7.4 billion in 2020 to US $85 billion in 2030. In addition, in 2020 the AMR market for material handling was US $800 million in global revenue, and by 2030 that figure is expected to reach US $49 billion.
Hesai Technology to Integrate Hesai LiDARs Into Kodiak Autonomous Trucks
March 24, 2021
Hesai Technology (China), a supplier of advanced LiDAR solutions, and Kodiak Robotics, a developer of self-driving trucks designed to operate on highway routes, have announced a partnership to integrate Hesai’s 360-degree scanning LiDARs onto Kodiak’s mirror pods on their trucks. According to Hesai and Kodiak officials, Hesai’s LiDARs will enhance the side- and rear-view capability and redundancy of Kodiak Vision, Kodiak’s perception system that fuses sensor input from LiDAR, cameras, and radar.
Gestural Control Developer Pison Technology Closes US $7 Million Series A Round
March 23, 2021
Pison Technology (USA), a developer of wearable, touchless control solutions for physical and physical devices, closed a US $7 million Series A round led by Lavrock Ventures. Other funding participants included Bose Venture Capital, In-Q-Tel, and Decisive Point. Pison representatives have indicated that the investment will be used to takes products to market beginning in late 2021.
Related Content
- RBR Essential Robotics Announcements – March 5 – 12, 2021
- Essential Robotics Announcements – January 8th – 14th, 2021
- Essential Robotics Announcements – January 1st – 7th, 2021
- Essential Robotics Announcements – December 25th – 31st, 2020
- Essential Robotics Announcements – December 18 – 24th, 2020
- Essential Robotics Announcements – December 11-17th, 2020
