Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Humanoids

Robot Era raises $42 million and unleashes humanoids to traverse Gobi Desert in China

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Robot Era, a Chinese developer of humanoid robots, has tested its next-generation humanoid robot, the Star 1, in the challenging terrain of northwestern China’s Gobi Desert.

This exercise aimed to highlight the robot’s adaptability to real-world natural environments.

Two units of the flagship Star 1 were put through their paces during a running test in Yumen, a prefecture-level city in Gansu, renowned for its stunning red-sandstone Danxia landforms. [Read more…] about Robot Era raises $42 million and unleashes humanoids to traverse Gobi Desert in China

Humanoid robots are a ‘publicity stunt and serve no purpose in automated warehouses’, says Exotec

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In a blistering critique, established warehouse automation company Exotec says “useless” humanoid robot prototypes are a “publicity stunt and serve no purpose in automated warehouses”, adding that they “discredit the warehouse industry”.

Robotics systems have evolved significantly in the past decade, evolving from prototypes to fully established technologies across a range of industries.

Warehouses are a major area where robots have made a significant impact. While automated robotics systems can now fulfil increasingly complex tasks, humanoid robots are being touted as the next big thing in some quarters. [Read more…] about Humanoid robots are a ‘publicity stunt and serve no purpose in automated warehouses’, says Exotec

Inaugural humanoid robot industry event reflects ‘tremendous amount of interest’

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The Humanoid Robot Forum, the first event focused exclusively on this growing robotics category, has released its agenda with experts poised to outline the latest advancements, strategies and applications in manufacturing, logistics and daily life.

The forum is being organised by the Association for Advancing Automation, or A3, one of the world’s leading robotics and automation industries associations.

Speakers at this inaugural event, held October 7 in Memphis, Tennessee, will include Melonee Wise of Agility, Jeff Cardenas of Apptronik, Adrian Stoch of GXO, Huan Tan of UBTECH, Brendan Schulman of Boston Dynamics and Aaron Prather of ASTM International along with other visionaries from Collaborative Robotics, HaptX, NEURA Robotics, Persona AI, Reflex Robotics, Stokes Educational Services, Synapticon and WiBotics. [Read more…] about Inaugural humanoid robot industry event reflects ‘tremendous amount of interest’

GXO partners with Reflex Robotics to install humanoid robots in warehouse

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GXO Logistics, a pure-play contract logistics provider, has reached a new agreement with Reflex Robotics, a startup company producing humanoid robots, to pilot Reflex’s robotics solution for deployment into live operations. This is GXO’s second Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) agreement.

The Reflex Robot is an out-of-the-box solution that reaches operational capability within 60 minutes of deployment and ramps to become fully autonomous by learning from human demonstrations over time.

The multi-purpose humanoid from Reflex can transition seamlessly between repetitive tasks, from tote transfers between other kinds of automation to product picking.

[Read more…] about GXO partners with Reflex Robotics to install humanoid robots in warehouse

New study finds exosuits ‘reduce back injuries’ in warehousing

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HeroWear, an occupational exosuit company, has revealed new, long-term injury data collected across multiple companies that show the “significant impact” of exosuits on worker back injury incidence.

After deploying HeroWear Apex 2 exosuits at multiple distribution centers in the United States, worker injury data from over 280,000 hours of work were collected and analyzed.

This dataset is equivalent to 140 full-time employees working for one year while regularly wearing exosuits, encompassing an estimated 50-60 million lifts by workers. [Read more…] about New study finds exosuits ‘reduce back injuries’ in warehousing

Deep Robotics presents its first humanoid robot and showcases new quadruped robot

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Deep Robotics, a leading embodied AI and robotics company, unveiled its inaugural humanoid robot model the Dr.01 at the World Robot Conference that opened in Beijing, marking the startup’s efforts to diversify from quadrupedal robotics into the thriving humanoid robotics space.

During the five-day event, which runs through August 25, Hangzhou-based Deep Robotics also demonstrates a series of capabilities of its Embodied AI-powered quadrupedal robot.

Through AI and big data training, future humanoid robots are expected to assist humans in performing repetitive, high-precision tasks, safeguard personnel safety in hazardous environments, enhance human productivity in industrial settings, and improve the quality of life at home.

[Read more…] about Deep Robotics presents its first humanoid robot and showcases new quadruped robot

Figure AI unveils new humanoid robot with ‘three times’ more computing power than it had before

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Humanoid robotics startup Figure AI reveals new robot using Nvidia Isaac Sim for synthetic data and generative AI models trained on Nvidia accelerated computing for real-time inference

Silicon Valley’s Figure AI has taken the wraps off of its next-generation Figure 02 conversational humanoid robot that taps into Nvidia Omniverse and Nvidia GPUs for fully autonomous tasks.

Figure said it recently tested Figure 02 for data collection and use-case training at BMW Group’s Spartanburg, South Carolina, production line. [Read more…] about Figure AI unveils new humanoid robot with ‘three times’ more computing power than it had before

Richtech Robotics’ humanoid bartender to serve cocktails at baseball game

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Richtech Robotics, a Nevada company and a provider of AI-driven service robots, has officially unveiled its installation of its robotic solution ADAM at the Texas Rangers’ Major League Baseball stadium, Globe Life Field.

With unique AI capabilities and advanced human-like motions, ADAM will serve as the first humanoid bartender robot in any major league sports arena or large-scale entertainment venue.

The launch of ADAM at Globe Life Field, in collaboration with global hospitality and entertainment company Delaware North, marks ADAM’s 10th permanent installment, and is part of Richtech Robotics’ state-of-the-art robotic technology for more personalized hospitality experiences. [Read more…] about Richtech Robotics’ humanoid bartender to serve cocktails at baseball game

Robot Era’s humanoid robot walks on Great Wall of China

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Robot Era, a Chinese humanoid robot developer, became the first company to put a humanoid robot through a walking test on the Great Wall of China.

In a video released yesterday by Robot Era, XBot-L, a full-sized humanoid prototype standing 1.65 meters tall, is seen walking along sections of the Great Wall, waving hello, practicing shadowboxing and performing other movements.

Robot Era took the machine out to showcase its locomotion, dexterity and self-balancing capabilities, in particular, its adaptability to a complex outdoor environment on the Great Wall. [Read more…] about Robot Era’s humanoid robot walks on Great Wall of China

German Bionic to launch ‘human augmentation’ and exoskeleton platform at VivaTech

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This year at VivaTech, which starts tomorrow, German Bionic will unveil its comprehensive 360° Human Augmentation Platform.

The user-centered ecosystem integrates the latest versions of the Apogee series e-exoskeletons together with German Bionic OS – the first and only proprietary operating system for exoskeletons, the German Bionic IO data platform, and will be joined by two new human-machine interfaces having their public debut at VivaTech.

This integration of individual components into a single, powerful platform exemplifies German Bionic’s commitment to delivering highly accessible human-centric technology solutions that are simple to use, empowering, and designed to improve health and productivity.

[Read more…] about German Bionic to launch ‘human augmentation’ and exoskeleton platform at VivaTech