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Oqton raises over $40 million investment for its digital manufacturing platform

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Oqton, an American-Belgian software company specialising in artificial intelligence-powered solutions for the manufacturing industry, has raised more than $40 million in a Series A financing round, led by Fortino Capital, a leading B2B software investor, by PMV, the regional Flemish investment fund, and by Sandvik, a global engineering group.

The founding team – Samir Hanna and Ben Schrauwen – and several angel investors, including Carl Bass, who is the former CEO Autodesk, Dries Buytaert, of Drupal and Acquia, and Peter Mercelis, of Layerwise, also participated in the round.

The financing will be used to further develop its platform, while expanding its commercial partnerships in multiple domains and verticals, including additive manufacturing, robotic welding, and CNC machining. [Read more…] about Oqton raises over $40 million investment for its digital manufacturing platform

Magna partners with Fisker to expand ADAS business

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Automotive parts and systems company Magna is collaborating with Fisker to develop an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), which will be applied to the Fisker Ocean sports utility vehicle that is expected to launch in late 2022.

This new business win demonstrates Magna’s ability to bring scale and efficiency to the mobility landscape and represents an important expansion of the EV platform sharing, vehicle engineering and manufacturing cooperation the two companies announced last October.

Magna and Fisker will work together to develop industry-unique ADAS features and a suite of software packages powered by a scalable domain controller architecture. [Read more…] about Magna partners with Fisker to expand ADAS business

Seoul Robotics launches ‘breakthrough’ perception software platform

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​Seoul Robotics​, a 3D computer vision company using AI and machine learning to power the future of mobility, has made its formal debut in the US market with the launch of its first commercial product, Discovery.

The company, which has been developing sensor agnostic perception software for 3D sensors for the past three years, provides large-scale companies, institutions, and governments with access to LiDAR solutions to support a range of functions and increase efficiency and safety.

The LiDAR market is currently on track to reach more than $3 billion by 2025, fueled over the last decade by companies focused on the development of autonomous vehicles. [Read more…] about Seoul Robotics launches ‘breakthrough’ perception software platform

The Best Tools to Help You Create a Website for Free

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Any business that is serious about staying ahead of the competition – regardless of which sector it operates in – must have an attractive and engaging website.

With more and more commercial transactions taking place online, many consumers won’t even consider buying a product or service from your business unless they can visit your site.

With that in mind, it’s essential that you launch a website as soon as possible. For start-ups and entrepreneurs, finding the funds to hire a professional web designer is a tricky proposition… but fortunately, that’s not the only route you can take. [Read more…] about The Best Tools to Help You Create a Website for Free

Swiss university developing mobile robot that learns on the job

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A team from the Autonomous Systems Lab at the public research university ETH Zurich in Switzerland is creating robots and intelligent systems that are able to learn on the job. (See video below.)

The team’s machine – which consists of a robotic arm mounted on a mobile platform – can “autonomously operate in complex and diverse environments”, says an article on Clearpath Robotics’ website.

Using a Clearpath Ridgeback as a base and equipped with a Franka Emika Panda manipulator arm (called RoyalPanda, that is Ridgeback + Panda), the team is experimenting with a series of different scenarios to develop best practices of how a robot could “learn”. [Read more…] about Swiss university developing mobile robot that learns on the job

Wrapify, Kiwibot and Gong partner for ‘first’ autonomous bot delivery campaign

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Wrapify, the advertising tech platform for brands powered by out-of-home and the gig economy, has agreed a “first-of-its-kind” autonomous bot delivery campaign alongside partners Kiwibot, the delivery robot company, and Gong, the revenue intelligence platform, kicking off in San Jose and coming soon to Denver and Los Angeles.

Robotic delivery services can promise contactless delivery, a highly sought-after service under mandates of social distancing.

With autonomous bots on the rise, Wrapify’s Boost provides these delivery operators with a brand-new transit media revenue stream with the ability to provide brand and agency clients robust attribution reporting, data visualization and multi-channel retargeting capabilities. [Read more…] about Wrapify, Kiwibot and Gong partner for ‘first’ autonomous bot delivery campaign

Ridecell raises $45 million in latest funding round

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Ridecell, the startup providing fleet management software for autonomous vehicles, has secured $45 million in its Series C financing round.

The round was led by new investor, Fort Ross Ventures, and includes new investor Solasta Ventures.

Existing investors Activate Capital, Denso, LG Technology Ventures, and Initialized Capital also participated in the round. [Read more…] about Ridecell raises $45 million in latest funding round

Blockchain-based environmental drones ‘can help fight water pollution’, say scientists

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According to the World Health Organization, almost a third of the world’s population does not have access to fresh water.

As evidenced by the 2020 UN report on water supply and climate change in the world, water consumption will experience a 20-30 percent increase by 2050, fuelled by the constant population growth and industrial development throughout the world.

Water pollution is a serious threat to both people and water inhabitants, greatly evidenced by the ecological disaster that took place on the coast of Kamchatka in September 2020. [Read more…] about Blockchain-based environmental drones ‘can help fight water pollution’, say scientists

Critical Manufacturing launches its new, ‘most advanced’ manufacturing execution system

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Critical Manufacturing has relased what it describes as its “most advanced” Industry 4.0 Manufacturing Execution System (MES).

Critical Manufacturing MES V8 reveals a revolutionary new IoT Data Platform that merges IoT with MES and, two significant new modules that advance smart manufacturing in areas of materials logistics and factory automation to enable manufacturers to move closer to “Lights-Out” factories.

The release represents a “step change” for manufacturers to accelerate progress towards Industry 4.0, says Critical Manufacturing. [Read more…] about Critical Manufacturing launches its new, ‘most advanced’ manufacturing execution system

Industrial camera manufacturer IDS expands headquarters

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IDS Imaging Development Systems has expanded its headquarters in Obersulm-Willsbach – after a construction period of about one and a half years, the technology centre b39 could be moved into.

Jan Hartmann, managing director says: “Despite Covid 19, the work went almost without a hitch.

“We are very pleased that with the new building we can provide our employees with an ultra-modern and at the same time very attractive place to work.” [Read more…] about Industrial camera manufacturer IDS expands headquarters