Simbe is now selling and deploying large fleets of its Tally inventory scanning robots to large retailers. | Credit: Simbe Simbe Robotics has partnered with Plexus Corp. to manufacture its Tally inventory scanning robot to meet growing demand. Plexus will assist Simbe’s growing operations and customer base, which spans numerous countries, and enable the company to meet surging interest from prospective retail partners globally. Plexus is an electronics manufacturing services and contract manufacturer. Plexus has helped many companies in a variety of industries to design, develop, manufacture ..read more

The new linear brake solution uses electrical fields to hold the axis. | Credit: ESTAT ESTAT Actuation engineers and manufactures electronic brakes and clutches that use the physics of electric fields to deliver a braking or clutching interaction when powered on. The company spun out from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019 and introduced its first innovation with a rotary joint clutch/brake product, useful for robotics applications. Now the company is expanding its product line to offer what it describes as an electroadhesive braking solution for linear motion axes. Electroadhesion appears t ..read more

iRobot named Gary Cohen its new CEO this week. | Credit: iRobot iRobot has found its new leader who will try to rejuvenate the consumer robotics pioneer following Amazon’s failed $1.7 billion acquisition deal. Gary Cohen, who has 25-plus years of executive leadership and turnaround experience, yesterday was named CEO. He will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of iRobot, including innovation, product and commercial strategies, operational excellence, talent, and maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. In the announcement, iRobot points out that Cohen has a history of leading ..read more

InductOne is designed to handle a wide range of parcels with high throughput. Source: Plus One Robotics CHICAGO — As items pass through warehouses and other facilities, they are often handled as packages rather than as eaches. Plus One Robotics yesterday launched InductOne, a two-armed robot designed to optimize parcel singulation and induction in high-volume fulfillment and distribution centers. “Parcel variability is a significant challenge of automation within the warehouse,” stated Erik Nieves, CEO of Plus One Robotics. “That’s why InductOne is equipped with our innovative individual cup ..read more

Doosan’s PRIME-SERIES P3020 cobot has the longest reach of any of the company’s cobots to date. | Source: Doosan Robotics Doosan Robotics Inc. unveiled its latest and most powerful series of cobots yet: the PRIME-SERIES, or P-SERIES yesterday. Its new P3020 cobot, part of the line, is the company’s longest-reaching cobot to date.  The P3020 collaborative robot (cobot) has a payload of up to 30 kg (60 lbs) and a reach of 2,030 mm (80 in). This means it can palletize from the floor to up to 2 m high, stacking up to 10 layers of boxes approximately 8 inches tall, using its simple fixed bas ..read more

Wayve has developed hardware-agnostic foundation models for autonomous driving. | Source: Wayve Wayve yesterday announced it closed a $1.05 billion Series C funding round. The London-based developer of embodied artificial intelligence (AI) for autonomous driving was founded in 2017. While most autonomous vehicles (AVs) work by extensively mapping out the areas they drive in, Wayve uses deep learning techniques to allow its cars to drive anywhere. To train its software, Wayve uses hundreds of millions of data samples of real-world and simulated driving.  SoftBank Group led the round, whi ..read more

Medrobotics Flex 360 robotic surgery system. Tiger Group and Liquidity Services today announced the availability of all surgical robotics assets from a Medrobotics plant for sale. The companies say they’re offering all assets from the fully furnished, 40,000-square-foot plant in Raynham, Massachusetts. Assets, including surgical robotics platforms used by nearly 30 hospitals around the world, are available in a turnkey sale. Medrobotics boasted an FDA-cleared, CE-marked surgical robotic platform for several years. The company designed its Flex system for use in minimally invasive surgical pr ..read more

Carbon Robotics Laserweeder is a smart implement that autonomously destroys weeds. | Credit: Carbon Robotics Seattle-based Carbon Robotics has raised new funding for its Laserweeder smart implement that autonomous controls weeds on farms. The new investment comes from NVentures, NVIDIA’s venture capital arm. Financial details of this latest deal were not released. However, Carbon Robotics closed a Series C round in April 2023 and has raised a total of $74 million to date since it was founded in 2018, according to Crunchbase. Lasers instantly kill weeds At the heart of the solution is a ..read more

ABB Robotics is already expanding its lineup of modular industrial robot arms. The company this week introduced the IRB 7710 and IRB 7720 that offer 16 new variants and are designed for a variety of applications. However, ABB said it expects the majority of installations of the new robots to be in automotive OEM and Tier supplier sectors, as well as a significant level of installation in logistics, foundry, machinery manufacturing, construction and agriculture applications. The IRB 7710 and IRB 7720 can handle payloads between 280kg to 620kg. These new robots join ABB’s recently launched IR ..read more

In this free webinar, learn how to involve stakeholders in warehouse automation adoption. Source: Exotec To successfully deploy warehouse automation, an understanding of change management is as important as technical expertise. In this webinar, you can learn about strategies for bringing robots into your warehouse or distribution center. Systems integration expert Race Kangas will also discuss best practices for fostering open communication across diverse teams, reassuring workers about shifting roles, and delivering effective training. From associates and integrators to IT and manageme ..read more