The autonomous vehicle and robotics sectors often employ LiDAR as the primary system navigation sensor. But cameras and vision-based perception will increasingly serve as the technological underpinning for mobile robots going forward.
Simulated Systems Training Key for Building Military AV Trust
Research continues into the use of autonomous vehicles for military operations. The benefits are clear, but for systems to reach their full potential military personal must trust the systems under their control. Simulated systems training can assist in that effort.
Smart Radar Critical for Improving Autonomous Vehicle Perception
Improving radar resolution has traditionally been based on a hardware advancements which significantly increase the cost, size, and power consumption of the sensors. But radar solutions empowered by (constantly improving) machine learning software, can deliver high resolution and long-range sensing in compact, low power, economical packages.
Korean Transportation-as-a-Service Start-Up 42dot Lands $88M Series A
Korean AV and TaaS start-up 42dot will utilize Series A funding to further develop autonomous-driving technologies and mobility platform for land and air transport services.
Autonomous Delivery Startup Nuro Lands $600 Million Series D Round, Partners with Google
$600 million round to support the development and deployment of Nuro’s autonomous delivery service in the US, and to scale production of Nuro’s 3rd generation, low-speed, electric self-driving vehicles at the company’s Nevada manufacturing facility.
Tactile Mobility Announces $27 Million Series C Investment
Tactile data and virtual sensing company raises additional funding round to expand into new market segments and accelerate growth.
Developing Ruggedized, Autonomous Vehicles for Outdoor Operations – An Interview With Geoff Howe, SVP of Howe & Howe
Industrial Robot’s Joanne Pransky interviews is Geoff Howe, Senior Vice President of Howe & Howe, a subsidiary of Textron Systems, to learn about the company’s history developing ruggedized, outdoor vehicles, including unmanned systems, for military and civilian applications.
The Levandowski Pardon and the Pursuit of Autonomous Vehicle Technology
Anthony Levandowski, who pleaded guilty to one count of trade secret theft and was pardoned by Donald Trump, simultaneously built and undermined the autonomous vehicle sector. The long term impact is unclear.
Essential Robotics Announcements – December 18 – 24th, 2020
RBR essential announcements for the interval ranging from December 18, 2020 to December 24, 2020 include notices from Nuro, Ike Robotics, Ouster, Colonnade Acquisition Corporation, Unikie, Promotives, Dive Technologies, DJI, ADLINK Technology, EASA, Velodyne Lidar, Motional, PAL Robotics, and PERSEO.
The Biden Presidency and the Future of Autonomous Driving
Expected Biden administration infrastructure initiatives, combined with favorable autonomous vehicle (AV) regulatory and testing environments in the U.S. are expected to spur AV deployments.
October 2020 Robotics Transactions Dip, but Vehicles and Drones Still Get Funding
Although robotics investments, mergers, and acquisitions may have dropped a bit in October 2020, autonomous vehicles, drones, and healthcare applications continued to receive funding.
Start-up Profile – Autonodyne – Reducing the Cost & Complexity of Commercial, Civil & Defense UAS Ops
Autonodyne provides a HW and SW ‘platform’ for commercial, civil and defense unmanned aerial systems (UASs) including a control station, on-board mission computer, and advanced autonomy behaviors. Recent partnership deals are a capabilities signifier.
Autonomous Vehicles – Avoiding Obstacles and Responsibility
Before deploying autonomous driving systems (ADS), we must know how, when, and whether they will work. There is no excuse for allowing the attention of drivers to stray during automated operation – if a system is really semi- and not fully autonomous.
September 2020 Robotics Transactions Include Healthcare Growth, Autonomous Vehicle Slowdown
The total number of robotics transactions held steady year over year, but the autonomous vehicle and manufacturing automation providers received less investment. Healthcare systems, field robots, and drones got funding in September 2020.
August 2020 Robotics Transactions Continue Strong Summer Pace
Despite the ongoing pandemic, robotics investment and acquisition activity did not slow down in August 2020, with funding flowing to autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, and drones.
June 2020 Transactions Rebound for Mobile, Medical, and Manufacturing Robotics
In June 2020, investment and acquisition activity picked up a bit for autonomous vehicles, mobile robots, healthcare systems, and industrial automation.
6 River Systems Talks Shopify Acquisition, Gatik Discusses Autonomous Vehicles
6 River Systems’ CEO Chris Cacioppo discusses creating a culture of innovation, along with the sale of 6 River to Shopify. In addition, Gautam Narang, Co-founder and CEO of Gatik, reviews how Gatik is solving middle-mile logistics using Level 4 autonomous vehicles.
May 2020 Robotics Transactions Drop in Number, but Self-driving Cars Pick Up More Funding
The novel coronavirus pandemic slowed global manufacturing as investors look to the future of transportation.
Robotics Business Review Launches RoboBusiness Direct
Robotics industry experts to address critical robotics business development issues through integrated series of online presentations, follow-on Q&A, and continuing media coverage and analysis.
Nuro AI’s Autonomous Driving Exemptions an Important Milestone for Driverless Delivery
The US Department of Transportation and State of California provide Nuro AI with exemptions to operate self-driving cars on US roads without a human drivers present.
Sense Photonics Names Shauna McIntyre CEO, Keys on the Automotive Sector and is Primed for Growth
The solid-state LiDAR market remains hot, impelled by innovation, continuing sector investment and value delivery for automotive Tier 1 automotive suppliers and OEMs.
March 2020 Robotics Transactions Slow, But Continue During COVID-19 Crisis
As the COVID-19 pandemic slowed global manufacturing and trade, investments in robots, drones, and self-driving cars continued in March 2020, with both more shutdowns and an eventual recovery to come.
SiLC Technologies raises seed funding for long-range, single-chip lidar
Dell Technology Ventures leads funding round, as SiLC develops integrated FMCW lidar for autonomous vehicles, machine vision, and augmented reality.
February 2020 Investments Flow to Industrial, Field Robots
Field robots, industrial automation, self-driving vehicles, and healthcare systems received funding in February 2020.
Waymo raises $2.25B in first external funding round
The self-driving car company has been operating in 25 cities and is offering ride-hailing services.