Wing says its drone logistics systems are lightweight, lab-tested, and real-world approved through 350,000+ commercial deliveries across three continents. | Source: Wing

In a world where convenience and promptness are crucial, customers expect quicker deliveries. Consequently, businesses have been compelled to reconsider their plans to find more economical and effective methods, including drone logistics. 

In addition, a recent survey found that 80.5% of companies reported enhanced revenue figures after implementing same-day delivery. 

Drone integration into distribution and transportation systems is one of the most exciting developments in this field. The way businesses transport their goods could be drastically changed by these autonomous flying machines, particularly in the last mile, which can account for as much as 50% of overall logistical expenses.

The number of packages delivered by drone increased by more than 80.1% from the year 2021 to 2022, reported McKinsey & Co. It said they reached almost 875,100 deliveries globally. 

Drones can enhance the logistics and transportation sectors, where efficiency, speed, and cost-effectiveness are paramount. Traditional trucks often struggle with last-mile delivery, facing bottlenecks in urban areas, costly infrastructure, and supply chain delays.

However, drones promise rapid, direct delivery of goods to remote or hard-to-reach locations. For robotics developers, this represents an opportunity to create cutting-edge autonomous systems that can help solve to age-old problems like congestion, delays, and high operational costs. 

These drones use advanced AI, machine learning, and GPS technology to navigate and deliver packages autonomously. Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) reaching up to 80 kph (50 mph) are cutting down delivery times from hours to mere minutes.

What makes drones particularly innovative is their ability to operate in complex environments. They can fly over traffic jams, reach isolated rural locations, and even work in adverse weather conditions, all while providing real-time tracking and monitoring of goods in transit. This not only reduces the time and cost of last-mile delivery but also enhances the accuracy of deliveries, increasing customer satisfaction. 

Applications in drone logistics and transportation

1. Last-mile delivery: Companies like Wing and Flytrex are focusing on autonomous drones for last-mile delivery in urban and suburban settings. Drones are capable of delivering small packages, food, and even medical supplies. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2030, last-mile deliveries could rise by 78% worldwide.
2. Healthcare logistics: Innovators such as Zipline have already demonstrated the success of drones in delivering medical supplies, including vaccines, blood, and medication, in remote regions. Drones can also deliver small packages or food. Zipline said that millions of patients benefited from the tens of millions of medical supplies it has delivered in the last three years alone. Zipline has made more than a million autonomous commercial flights that covered more than 145,000,000 km (90,000,000 mi.).
3. Warehouse automation: Operations are using drones from providers such as those of Gather AI for inventory management and transportation of goods across large facilities. Such businesses have reported inventory accuracy rates of above 99%, according to Research Nester. Robotics suppliers are creating systems that can pick up and transport packages autonomously, improving warehouse operations and reducing human labor costs. 
4. Freight transport: Matternet has been developing drone systems for larger-scale freight transport, allowing for intercity and even cross-border deliveries. This can significantly reduce the cost and time associated with traditional ground transportation. 

On all these factors, the drone logistics and transportation market is experiencing rapid growth driven by advancements in autonomous technologies and the increasing demand for efficient, cost-effective deliveries. This market spans various sectors, including retail, e-commerce, healthcare, and industrial logistics, including drones for last-mile delivery, medical supply transport, and inventory management. 

Research Nester estimated the size of the drone logistics and transportation market at $1.3 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $275.8 billion by the end of 2037, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 51% from 2025 to 2037. 

The integration of drones into supply chains can reduce delivery times, lower costs, and address logistics challenges in remote or congested areas. With supportive regulatory developments and technological innovation, the market is poised to transform global transportation and logistics networks.

According to a PwC survey, 79% of consumers are likely to select drone delivery due to its effectiveness and quickness, indicating that this technology is becoming more widely accepted.

Robotics development for the future of drone logistics

For robotics developers, the drone logistics sector presents an exciting frontier. The future of drone transportation hinges on further advancements in AI, sensor technology, and autonomous flight systems. Developers are tasked with improving:

• Autonomy and navigation: AI algorithms must continue to evolve to handle increasingly complex environments. Drones will need to navigate dynamic, high-traffic areas with minimal human oversight. 
• Battery efficiency: Longer flight times and more substantial payload capacities are critical. Future drone systems will need innovations in battery technology to handle heavier loads and cover greater distances. 
• Regulatory compliance: The evolving regulatory landscape poses a challenge. Developers must ensure drones are a challenge. Developers must ensure drones comply with FAA regulations, including beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) and operational safety standards. 
• Swarm technology: The ability to have multiple drones communicate and work together as a swarm opens up the potential for large-scale logistics operations. Swarm technology could allow for a more synchronized delivery system, expanding to industrial and city-wide transportation systems. 

The drone logistics and transportation market is at the intersection of cutting-edge robotics development and the logistics industry’s need for speed and efficiency. The market is evolving quickly, and vendors like Zipline, Wing, and Matternet are already demonstrating how drones can revolutionize supply chains, healthcare delivery, and urban transportation.

For robotics developers, this market presents opportunities to push the boundaries of AI, autonomy, and flight technology. As regulatory challenges are addressed and technology continues to mature, drone logistics looks set to redefine the way goods are transported worldwide, offering immense potential for developers, suppliers, and end users alike.

About the author

Deboleena Dutta currently works as a junior content writer at Research Nester. A biotech engineer by training, she ventured into the field of writing and has enhanced her skills in business writing, research, and editing. Being a bibliophile has helped her play with words in her profession as a content writer.

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Sperm whales spend, on average, 10 minutes of every hour on the surface, presenting challenges for researchers studying them. | Source: Amanda Cotton/Project CETI

In the chilly waters off the New England coast, researchers from the Cetacean Translation Initiative, Project CETI, can spend hours searching and waiting for an elusive sperm whale to surface. During the minutes the whales spend above water, the researchers need to gather as much information as possible before the animals dive back beneath the surface for long periods.

With one of the widest global distributions of any marine mammal species, these whales are difficult to track down, and even more difficult to learn from. Project CETI aims to use robotics and artificial intelligence to decode the vocalizing of sperm whales. It recently released research about how it tracks down sperm whales across the wide ocean.

“The ocean and the natural habitat of the whales is this vast place where we don’t have a lot of infrastructure, so it’s hard to build infrastructure that will always be able to observe the whales,” said Stephanie Gil, an assistant professor of Computer Science at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and an advisor on the project.

The project brings together some of the world’s leading scientists in biology, linguistics, robotics, and more. The founder of Project CETI, David Gruber, estimated that it’s one of the largest multi-disciplinary research projects active today.

“Project CETI was formed in March 2020, and we’re now over 50 scientists across eight different disciplines,” he said. “I think we’re over 15 institutions, which I believe puts us as one of the most interdisciplinary, large-scale science projects that’s ever been conducted. It’s incredibly rewarding to see so many disciplines working together.”

Project CETI shares latest research

The researchers at the nonprofit organization have developed a reinforcement learning framework that uses autonomous drones to find sperm whales and predict where they will surface. The paper, published in Science Robotics, said it’s possible to predict when and where a whale may surface using various sensor data and predictive models of sperm whale dive behavior.

This new study involved various sensing devices, such as Project CETI aerial drones with very high frequency (VHF) signal sensing capability that use signal phase along with the drone’s motion to emulate an “antenna array in the air” for estimating the direction of pings from CETI’s on-whale tags.

“There are two basic advantages of [VHF signals]. One is that they are really low power, so they can operate for a really, really long time in the field, like months or even years. So, once those small beacons are deployed on the tag, you don’t have to really replace the batteries,” said Ninad Jadhav, a co-author on the paper and a robotics and engineering Ph.D. student at Harvard University.

“The second thing is these signals that these tags transmit, the VHF, are very high-frequency signals,” he added. “They can be detected at really long ranges.”

“That’s a really huge advantage because we never know when the whales will surface or where they will surface, but if they have been tagged before, then you can sense, for example, simple information such as the direction of the signal,” Jadhav told The Robot Report. “You can deploy an algorithm on the robot to detect that, and that gives us an advantage of finding where the whales are on the surface.”

Sperm whales present unique challenges for data collection

From left to right: Stephanie Gil, Sushmita Bhattacharya, and Ninad Jadhav. | Source: Stu Rosner

“Sperm whales are only on the surface for about 10 minutes every hour,” said Gil. “Other than that, they’re diving pretty deep in the ocean, so it’s hard to access information about what the whales are actually doing. That makes them somewhat elusive for us and for science.”

“Even we humans have certain patterns day to day. But if you’re actually out observing whales on a particular day, their behavior is not going to exactly align with the models, no matter how much data you’re using to make those models right. So it’s very difficult to really predict with precision when they might be coming up,” she continued.

“You can imagine, if [the scientists] out on the water for days and days, only having a few encounters with the whales, we’re not being that efficient. So this is to increase our efficiency,” Gruber told The Robot Report.

Once the Project CETI researchers can track down the whales, they must gather as much information as possible during the short windows of time sperm whales spend on the surface.

“Underwater data collection is quite challenging,” said Sushmita Bhattacharya, a co-author on the paper and a computer science and robotics Ph.D. student at Harvard University. “So, what is easier than underwater data collection is to have data collected when they’re at the surface. We can leverage drones or shallow hydrophones and collect as much data as possible.”

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Developing the AVATARS framework

At the center of the research is the Autonomous Vehicles for Whale Tracking And Rendezvous by Remote Sensing, or AVATARS framework. AVATARS is the first co-development of VHF sensing and reinforcement learning decision-making for maximizing the rendezvous of robots and whales at sea.

“We tried to build up a model which would kind of mimic [sperm whale] behavior,” Bhattacharya said of AVATARS. “We do this based on the current information that we gather from the sparse data set.”

Being able to predict when and where the whales will surface allowed the researchers to design algorithms for the most efficient route for a drone to rendezvous with—or encounter—a whale at the surface. Designing these algorithms where challenging on many levels, the researchers said.

“Probably the hardest thing is the fact that it is such an uncertain problem. We don’t have certainty at all in [the whales’] positions when they’re underwater, because you can’t track them with GPS when they’re underwater,” Gil said. “You have to think of other ways of trying to track them, for example, by using their acoustic signals and an angle of arrival to their acoustic signals that give you a rough idea of where they are.”

“Ultimately, these algorithms are routing algorithms. So you’re trying to route a team of robots to be at a particular location in the environment, in the world, at a certain given time when it’s necessary to be there,” she told The Robot Report. “So this is analogous to something like rideshare.”

Before bringing the algorithms into the real world with real whales, the team tested them in a controlled environment with devices the team put together to mimic whales.

We mimicked the whale using an engineered whale,” recalled Bhattacharya. “So basically we used a speed boat, and it had a loud engine. We used that engine noise to mimic the whale vocalization, and we had it move to mimic whale motion. And then we used that as our ground test.”

Project CETI tests AVATARS in the real world

A customized off-the-shelf drone flying to deploy a whale tag developed by Project CETI researchers. | Source: Project CETI

“Every day was a challenge when we were out on the boat, because this was for me, and my co-author Sushmita, the first time we were deploying real autonomous robots from a boat in the middle of the sea trying to collect some information,” Jadhav said.

“One of the major challenges of working in this environment was the noise in the sensor,” he continued. “As opposed to running experiments in the lab environment, which is more controlled, there are fewer sources of noise that impact your experiments or your sensor data”

“The other key challenge was deploying the drone itself from the board,” noted Jadhav. “I remember one instance where this was probably the first or second day of the second expedition that we went on last November, and I had the drone ready. It had the payload. It was waterproof”

“I had already run experiments here in Boston locally, where I had an estimate of how long the drone would fly with the payload. And then we were out on the boat running some initial tests, and the drone took off,” he said. “It was fine, it was doing its thing, and within a minute of it collecting data, there was a sudden gust of wind. The drone just lost control and crashed in the water.”

The team also had to try to predict and react to whale behavior when performing field tests.

“Our algorithm was designed to handle sensor data from a single whale, but what we ended up seeing is that there were four whales together, who were socializing,” Jadhav said. “They were diving and then surfacing at the same time. So, this was tricky, because then it becomes really hard for us on the algorithm side to understand which whale is sending which acoustic signal and which one we are tracking.”

Team tries to gather data without disturbing wildlife

While Project CETI works closely with sperm whales and other sea life that might be around when the whales surface, it aims to leave the whales undisturbed during data collection.

“The main concern that we care about is that even if we fail, we should not harm the whales,” Bhattacharya said. “So we have to be very careful about respecting the boundaries of those animals. That’s why we are looking at a rendezvous radius. Our goal is to go near the whale and not land on it.”

“Being minimally invasive and invisible is a key part of Project CETI,” said Gruber. “[We’re interested in] how to collect this information without interacting directly with the whale.”

This is why the team works mostly with drones that won’t disturb sea life and with specially developed tags that latch onto the whales and collect data. The CETI team eventually collects these tags, and the valuable data they contain, after they fall off the whales.

“A lot of times, people might think of robotics and autonomy as a scary thing, but this is a really important project to showcase that robots can be used to extend the reach of humans and help us understand our world better,” Gil told The Robot Report.

Project CETI aims to decode whale communications

This latest research is just one step in Project CETI’s overarching goal to decode sperm whale vocalizations. In the short term, the organization plans to ramp up data collection, which will be crucial for the project’s long-term goals.

“Once we have all the algorithms worked out, a future outlook is one where we might have, for example, drone ports in the sea that can deploy robots with sensors around the clock to observe whales when they’re available for observation,” Gil said.

“We envision a team of drones that will essentially meet or visit the whales at the right place, at the right time,” Jadhav said. “So whenever the whales surface, you essentially have a kind of autonomous drone, or autonomous robot, very close to the whale to collect information such as visual information or even acoustic if the drone is equipped with that.”

Outside of Project CETI, organizations could use AVATARS to further protect sperm whales in their natural environments. For example, this information could be used to reroute ships away from sperm whale hot spots, reducing the odds of a ship colliding with a pod of sperm whales.

“The idea is that if we understand more about the wholes, more about the whale communities, more about their social structures, then this will also enable and motivate conservation projects and understanding of marine life and how it needs to be protected,” Gil said.

In addition, the researchers said they could apply these methods to other sea mammals that vocalize.

“Here at Project CETI, we’re concerned about sperm whales, but I think this can be generalized to other marine mammals, because a lot of marine mammals vocalize, including humpback whales, other types of whales, and dolphins,” Bhattacharya said.

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The Insulator Maintenance Solution uses remote operation technology to reach locations known for their difficult access. | Source: Duke Robotics

Duke Robotics Corp. this week announced initial revenue generation from its agreement with the Israel Electric Corp. Per the agreement, the company provides high-voltage insular washing services with its IC Drone. 

The IEC agreement reflects Duke’s transition from development to active service and revenue generation within the civilian sector, it said. The the robotics and drone company said the IEC Agreement establishes it as a provider of aerial cleaning systems designed to enhance the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of utility maintenance operations.

IEC has committed to a minimum utilization of services, with a guaranteed payment in the low seven figures (in NIS, or Israeli new shekels) within the first year of the agreement. With the IC Drone fully operational for cleaning electric utility insulators, Duke now aims to expand its offering to other utility providers globally.

“We are excited to launch our IC Drone services with the IEC,” stated Yossef Balucka, CEO of Duke Robotics. “It also marks the beginning of revenue generation for Duke Robotics, as we reported in our quarterly financial statements for the third quarter ending Sept. 30, 2024.”

“We believe that this deployment is a testament to the effectiveness and value of our drone-enabled solutions,” he added. “We look forward to bringing these benefits to utility companies worldwide as we continue to grow our service offerings.”

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More about Duke Robotics’ technology

Duke Robotics offers its drone technology for both civilian and military applications. For civilian use, the company said its drones can be remotely operated, user-friendly, and portable. They can make dangerous jobs safer, quicker, and more efficient. 

In addition, it said its drones can provide access to difficult-to-reach areas for tasks such as cleaning. Duke Robotics said the IEC agreement demonstrates its devotion to innovative drone applications in the civilian sector and to advancing sustainability in utility maintenance alongside its existing military offering.

Duke’s military offering is called TIKAD, a platform that enables remote, real-time, and accurate firing of lightweight firearms via an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV). The company said it designed TIKAD to serve the growing demand for combat technologies that provide stand-off capabilities to minimize military casualties.

Formerly known as UAS Drone Corp, Duke Robotics said it is focused on bringing advanced stabilization and autonomous systems to both military and civilian sectors. The IC Drone is based on the company’s intellectual property and know-how, integrating algorithms, autonomous systems, and robotic technologies used in mission-critical applications.

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Red Cat’s Black Widow drone features forward-looking obstacle-avoidance capabilities and an integrated FLIR Prism AI software stack. | Source: Red Cat

Red Cat Holdings Inc. this week announced that it won the U.S. Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance, or SRR, program of record contract. The company replaced Skydio on this contract. The U.S. Army set an initial acquisition target of 5,880 systems over a five-year period. 

Skydio first earned this contract in 2021. At the time, it was valued at $99.8 million with a base year value of $20.2 million. While the company did compete for the contract this time around with its X10D drone, the Army said Red Cat’s system was more aligned with its requirements. 

“This is a powerful moment in time, coming after five years of blood, sweat, and tears put into SRR by our incredible team” stated George Matus, chief technology officer of Red Cat and founder of Teal, a subsidiary of Red Cat. “The long-awaited production selection marks a new era for our company and the future of American drones.”

“We were selected based on soldier feedback, technical performance, volume manufacturability, and system cost,” he said. “Our top priority now is to start ramping production of the next-generation system, recently announced as the Black Widow and WEB, and give warfighters the tools they need to be successful on the modern battlefield.”

Red Cat expects increased defense demand

San Juan, Puerto Rico-based Red Cat provides integrated robotic hardware and software for military, government, and commercial operations. Through its Teal Drones and FlightWave Aerospace Systems subsidiaries, the company offers drones including:

• Black Widow, its flagship product, a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) with advanced capabilities
• TRICHON fixed-wing vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle for extended endurance and range
• FANG, a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)-compliant, first-person view (FPV) drone optimized for military operations with precision-strike capabilities

Red Cat said it is preparing to meet increased demand across the rest of the U.S. Department of Defense, the federal government, and allied countries. The company’s Black Widow won the contract. Part of the company’s ARACHNID family of systems, the drones are designed for electronic warfare operations. 

Black Widow has a modular architecture, enabling swift adaptation to requirements for missions such as short-range reconnaissance, said Red Cat. It can also handle secondary payloads.

The company said its system is purpose-built for the warfighter, manufactured in the U.S., and intended to increase survivability and warfighter safety.

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Army gives new ARACHNID line a lift

The Army made the production selection after a test and evaluation process of Teal’s next-generation sUAS. The Army Project Management Office for Uncrewed Aircraft Systems, Army Maneuver Battle Lab, Army Test and Evaluation Command, and Army Operational Test Center evaluated the systems.

Red Cat said the SRR contract selection builds on momentum from its September acquisition of FlightWave, last month’s announcement of the ARACHNID line, and the creation of the Red Cat Futures Initiative. This week, Red Cat also said it is working with Palladyne AI Corp. to integrate Palladyne’s software into Teal drones.

“Both the operational and tactical levels of war and maneuver of combat elements have evolved significantly over the past couple of years,” observed Paul Edward Funk II, a retired four-star Army general and Red Cat board member.

“Operational success today depends on the ability to seamlessly move data across the battlefield,” he said. “From a tactical perspective, small unmanned aerial systems that are rucksack-portable are playing a vital role in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, as well as surgical-strike capabilities based on the real-time needs of the warfighter.”

Skydio brings in $170M in funding

This latest news comes a little over a year after Skydio grounded its consumer drone operations to focus on its enterprise and public-sector customers.

According to the San Mateo, Calif.-based company, its drones are being used to put sensors in dangerous and important places to perform inspections, find missing children, and keep the military safe. They also make core industries, like public safety, transportation, energy, construction, and defense, safer and more efficient, it claimed.

It wasn’t all bad news for Skydio this week. TechCrunch reported that the company raised $170 million in a Series E extension round. This adds to the $230 million it raised last year. Skydio reached “unicorn” status, or $1 billion valuation, around its Series D in 2021.

Investors in the latest round include KDDI, a Japanese telecom operator, and Axon, which develops tasers and other technology for police forces. The extension also included previous investors such as Linse Capital, which currently owns more than 21% of Skydio. 

Skydio said its X10D drone provides timely information using advanced sensors. Its computing power can support team operations and inform the best decisions in real time, it asserted. Six custom-designed navigation lenses provide 360-degree visibility, eliminating blind spots.

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AeroVironment’s JUMP 20 uncrewed aircraft system is equipped with advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. | Source: AeroVironment

AeroVironment, a defense contractor based in Arlington, Virginia, has agreed to acquire BlueHalo in an all-stock transaction worth approximately $4.1 billion. BlueHalo is best known for its drone swarm and counter-drone technology. The acquisition, which has been approved by both companies’ boards of directors, is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

AeroVironment said its acquisition of BlueHalo will create a next-generation defense technology company across multiple domains, including air, land, sea, space, and cyber. It said BlueHalo’s portfolio of products and 100 patents will complement its existing expertise in the design, development, manufacturing, training, and servicing of uncrewed systems, loitering munitions, and advanced technologies.

BlueHalo was founded as a purpose-built platform to provide capabilities in several key mission areas: space technologies, counter-uncrewed aircraft systems (cUAS), directed energy, electronic and cyber warfare, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies including uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs).

BlueHalo estimates it will earn more than $900 million in revenue 2024, in addition to its funded backlog of nearly $600 million and a pipeline of multiple billion-dollar opportunities. BlueHalo generated approximately $886 million of revenue in 2023, compared to $759 million and $660 million in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

On a pro forma basis, the combined company expects to make more than $1.7 billion in revenue.

“For over 50 years, [AeroVironment] has pioneered innovative solutions on the battlefield, and today we are poised to usher in the next era of defense technology through our combination with BlueHalo,” said Wahid Nawabi, chairman, president, and CEO of AeroVironment.

“BlueHalo not only brings key franchises and complementary capabilities, but also a wealth of technologies, diverse customers, and exceptional talent to [AeroVironment]. Together, we will drive agile innovation and deliver comprehensive, next-generation solutions designed to redefine the future of defense. We are thrilled to welcome the talented BlueHalo team as we unite our strengths, expand our global impact, and accelerate growth and value creation for AV shareholders,” he continued.

Per the terms of the merger agreement, AeroVironment will issue approximately 18.5 million shares of common stock to BlueHalo. Following the close of the transaction, AeroVironment shareholders will own approximately 60.5% of the combined company, while BlueHalo’s will own approximately 39.5%. Arlington Capital Partners, an investment firm that is the majority owner of BlueHalo, will retain a significant ownership stake in the combined company.

Nawabi will become chairman, president, and CEO of the combined company. Jonathan Moneymaker, CEO of BlueHalo, will serve as a strategic advisor to the combined company.

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ANELLO offers an evaluation kit for its navigation and positioning system. Source: ANELLO Photonics

Self-driving vehicles, mobile robots, and drones need multiple sensors for safe and reliable operation, but the cost and bulk of those sensors have posed challenges for developers and manufacturers. ANELLO Photonics Inc. yesterday said it has closed its Series B funding round for its SiPhOG inertial navigation system, or INS.

“This investment not only validates our SiPhOG technology and products in the marketplace, but will [also] allow us to accelerate our manufacturing and product development as we continue to push the boundaries and leadership for navigation capabilities and performance to our customers who want solutions for GPS-denied environments,” stated Dr. Mario Paniccia, co-founder and CEO of ANELLO Photonics.

Founded in 2018, ANELLO has developed SiPhOG — Silicon Photonics Optical Gyroscope — based on integrated photonic system-on-chip (SoC) technology. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said it has more than 28 patents, with 44 pending. Its technologies also include a sensor-fusion engine using artificial intelligence.

“I spent 22 years at Intel and started this field of silicon photonics, which is the idea of building optical devices out of standard silicon processing, mostly focused on the data center,” recalled Paniccia. “Mike Horton, my co-founder, was a sensor gyro expert who started a company called Crossbow coming out of UC Berkeley.”

“Everyone doing autonomy was saying lidar and radar, but customers told Mike that if we could build an integrated photonic chip, they’d be very interested,” he told The Robot Report. “If you look at fiber gyros, they work great but are big, bulky, and expensive.”

“The stuff on our phones are MEMS [micro-electromechanical systems]-based today, which is not very accurate and is very sensitive to temperature, vibration, and EM interference,” Paniccia explained. “With the the same concept as a fiber gyro — the idea of light going around a coil, and you measure the phase based on rotation — we integrated all those components on a single chip, added a little laser, and put electronics around it, and you now get SiPhOG, which fits in the palm of your hand.”

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SiPhOG combines compactness and precision

SiPhOG brings high-precision into an integrated silicon photonics platform, claimed ANELLO. It is based on the interferometric fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG) but is designed for compactness, said Paniccia.

“It’s literally 2 by 5 mm,” he said. “On that chip, we have all the components — the splitters, the couplers, the phase modulators, and the delay lines. We measure about 50 nano-radians of signal, so a tiny, tiny signal, but we measure it very accurately.”

The system also has a non-ASIC, two-sided electronics board with an analog lock-in amplifier, a temperature controller, and an isolator, Paniccia said. It has none of the drawbacks of MEMS and uses 3.3 volts, he added.

Paniccia said the SiPhOG unit includes an optical gyro, triple-redundant MEMS, accelerometers, and magnetometers. It also has two GPS chips and dual antennas and is sealed to be waterproof.

The ANELLO IMU+ is designed for harsh environments including in construction, robotics, mining, trucking, and defense. Source: ANELLO

Navigation system ready for multiple markets

Autonomous systems can work with ANELLO’s technology and the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) for navigation, positioning, and motion tracking for a range of applications, said the company.

“We’re shipping to customers now in orchards, where the leaves come in, and the water in them essentially acts like a tunnel, absorbing GPS,” Paniccia said. “Our algorithm says, ‘I’m losing GPS, so weigh the navigation algorithm more to the optical gyro.’ You want the robot to stay within a tenth of a meter across a distance of half a mile. Long-distance, we’re looking at 100 km of driving without GPS with less than 100-m lateral error.”

In addition, SiPhOG is built for scalability and cost-effectiveness.

“VC friends tell me that automakers are putting six lidar systems on a car, and each one is $10,000 each. It’s never going to get to mass market,” Paniccia said. “We have an optical technology for land, air, and sea. And whether that land vehicle is for agriculture or construction, or in the longer term, trucking or autonomous cars, we can do it.”

“You can literally tape SiPhOG to a dashboard and plug it into the cigarette lighter,” he said. “We have self-alignment correction, and within 15 minutes, you can have GPS-denied navigation capability. We’re also shipping this system for indoor robots like in construction.”

“If I put three SiPhOGs in a cube, I can have the same performance but at one-fifth the size and weight and a quarter of the power for precision in three dimensions,” said Paniccia. “That’s exciting for drones and maritime.”

Investors to accelerate ANELLO 

Lockheed Martin, Catapult Ventures, and One Madison Group co-led ANELLO’s unspecified Series B round. New Legacy, Build Collective, Trousdale Ventures, In-Q-Tel (IQT), K2 Access Fund, Purdue Strategic Ventures, Santuri Ventures, Handshake Ventures, Irongate Capital, and Mana Ventures also participated. 

“We’re committed to fostering the art of the possible with investments in cutting edge technologies, including advancements in inertial navigation that have the potential to enhance autonomous operations in GPS-denied environments,” said Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures. “Our continued investment in ANELLO reflects our mission to accelerate technologies that can ultimately benefit national security.”

ANELLO said it plans to use its latest funding to continue developing and deploying its technology. The company has worked with the U.S. Department of Defense to optimize its algorithms against jamming or spoofing.

“Every week, there’s an article about a commercial flight or defense-related mission getting GPS jammed, like thousands of flights to and from Europe affected by suspected Russian jamming,” noted Tony Fadell, founder of Nest and a principal at investor Build Collective. “GPS has become a single point of failure because it’s too easily compromised with various jamming and spoofing techniques.”

“ANELLO’s proven and commercially available optical gyroscope is the only navigational tool that can take over, [offering] precision over long periods of time, the size of a golf ball, low-power, low-cost, that’s immune to shock and vibration,” he added. “ANELLO will save lives in the air, on the road, and over water.”

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Here are the top 10 most popular stories on The Robot Report in October 2024. Subscribe to The Robot Report Newsletter or listen to The Robot Report Podcast to stay up to date on the robotics developments you need to know about.

10. Relay Robotics proposes levels of autonomous navigation for indoor robots

When we think of autonomous navigation, the first thing that usually comes to mind is self-driving cars. Although their development has spanned decades, recent years have seen significant advancements. One important framework that is used ubiquitously in the self-driving car industry is the classification of levels of driving automation. Defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in 2014, this framework remains a standard reference in the field. Read More

9. Robot Utility Models: the coolest thing you never heard about (yet)

Robot Utility Models (RUMs) are a new area of research and development for the advancement of AI training for robotics. Lerrel Pinto, an assistant professor of computer science, and a team at at New York University created RUM. This open-source research project is trying to generalize training for robots so that one doesn’t have to train thousands of examples of a task. Read More

8. Innovative motion solutions are supporting the latest trends in robotics

Rapidly growing markets for robot innovation include applications that enhance human health and wellbeing, such as bionics and robotic surgery. Robots in these fields rely on miniature DC motion technology, which require state-of-the-art motion control. Motors with increasing torque density and dynamics are helping robot designers improve precision and control. Read More

7. Atlas humanoid robot shows increasing competence in latest Boston Dynamics video

Boston Dynamics Inc. released a new video of its Atlas humanoid robot. The video shows the electric robot handling large automotive parts autonomously. According to the company, the robot uses machine learning to execute its tasks and 3D vision to perceive the world around it. Read More

6. Robotics investments near $1B in August

Fifty producers of robots and robotics-enabling technologies received funding in August 2024, pulling in a total of approximately $1 billion. This figure is on par with the $1.2 billion average The Robot Report has tracked each of the previous 12 months. Investment targeted to robotics companies for the first eight months of 2024 equals about $10.86 billion.  Read More

5. Fourier launches GR-2 humanoid, software platform

Shanghai-based Fourier launched GR-2, the latest generation of its GRx humanoid robot series. It has upgraded its hardware, design, and software. This announcement followed the company‘s rebranding from Fourier Intelligence to Fourier earlier this year, and the GR-2 release builds on the production release of the first-generation GR-1 in late 2023. Read More

4. PULS acquires Wiferion’s wireless charging business

DIN rail power supply provider PULS has acquired Wiferion from Tesla. This deal comes after Tesla acquired Wiferion for an undisclosed amount in June 2023. PULS said it plans to continue manufacturing, marketing and selling the company‘s wireless charging products worldwide. Read More

3. Renishaw and RLS help to drive a robot revolution

A revolution in collaborative robots promises to change how assistive care is delivered to the elderly, how people interact with their work environment, and even how surgeons perform heart surgery. RLS d.o.o. has over many years cultivated a value-added partnership with the German company, TQ-RoboDrive, part of the TQ-Group. Read More

2. Universal Robots AI Accelerator offers to ease development of cobot applications

The latest advances in artificial intelligence promise to improve robot capabilities, but engineers need to bring the technologies together. Universal Robots announced its UR AI Accelerator, a hardware and software toolkit to enable the development of AI-powered collaborative robot applications. Read More

1. Corvus Robotics soars to new heights with Series A round for drone inventory

Corvus Robotics Inc. has closed an $18 million Series A round and seed funding led by S2G Ventures and Spero Ventures. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company has been engineering and validating its inventory drone system since it was founded in 2017. Read More

The post Top 10 robotics developments of October 2024 appeared first on The Robot Report.

Joyce Sidopoulos, chief of operations at MassRobotics, addresses Korean startups during the weeklong program. Source: MassRobotics

MassRobotics recently welcomed 10 startups from South Korea for an intensive, weeklong International Immersion Program, in partnership with the KAIST Global Commercialization Center, or GCC.

Designed to help international startups expand their operations into the U.S., the program offered an opportunity for Korean entrepreneurs to connect with Boston’s robotics ecosystem, gain insights into the U.S. market, and build strategic networks for future growth.

Program bridges innovation from Korea to Boston

As part of its mission to foster global innovation, MassRobotics planned a curriculum tailored to the needs of the startups affiliated with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST). All of them had already raised venture capital funding and developed working prototypes.

The program’s core focus was to prepare the startups for a successful U.S. launch, by covering key topics crucial to their growth, including:

1. Understanding U.S. legal structure: Startups learned the intricacies of navigating U.S. corporate laws, intellectual property, and regulatory requirements to ensure a smooth entry into the American market.
2. Sourcing POCs with U.S. companies: The startups were introduced to strategies for identifying and working with U.S. companies to develop proof-of-concept (POC) partnerships. These collaborations can help Korean startups demonstrate their technology’s value and build local credibility.
3. U.S. market-entry strategy: Experts provided insights on market trends, customer acquisition, and competitive analysis, arming startups with the knowledge to develop a tailored strategy for entering the U.S. market.
4. Fundraising: Participants gained exposure to U.S. venture capital expectations and best practices for securing additional funding as they scale their businesses stateside.

Eric Truebenbach of Teradyne Ventures (and a RoboBusiness speaker) speaks to the International Immersion Program. Source: MassRobotics

Cohort from Korea represents a range of innovations

The Korean startups represented a wide range of cutting-edge technologies, from autonomous drones to AI-driven robotics and logistics solutions. The participating companies included:

• Morphing I: It offers the AI-driven MorphingBot, Long-range, small-pipe inspections with precise GIS data and leak prediction.
• Narma: The spinoff of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has commercialized an electric dual tiltrotor drone, focusing on long-distance and high-altitude flights.
• DAIM Research: This startup is pioneering autonomous manufacturing with AI and digital twin technologies.
• Hurotics: A maker of AI-based wearable robots, specializing in modular designs that offer customized gait assistance and rehabilitation treatment for wearers.
• ArgosVision: Provides panoramic 3D vision AI for robots and mobility, enhancing robot intelligence with a human-like wide field of view.
• DOGU: Making the world safer with ASR (AI-powered Safety Robot), DOGU specializes in autonomous systems for both indoor and outdoor environments.
• Floatic: This company has developed an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) for e-commerce warehouse automation and “a future that expands temporal boundaries.”
• EasternGear: Putting efficiency into motion, EPG designs and manufactures next-generation transmissions for high-tech industries.
• Speedfloor: SpeedFloor automates cargo handling for specialized vehicles, boosting transport efficiency.
• L-line: This startup said it’s leading AMR and e-mobility industry innovation through global engineering.

Startups in the program had the opportunity to pitch to several mentors as well as to the MassRobotics residents followed by a networking event.

Startups build global connections for long-term success

The week-long program included not only educational sessions but also networking opportunities with Boston’s robotics professionals, venture capitalists, and business leaders, said MassRobotics. These connections are vital for startups seeking to establish a U.S. presence, build partnerships, and scale operations, according to the organization.

The group had the opportunity to meet Boston Dynamics and Vecna Robotics and discussed how to grow a business here in the U.S. from first hand experienced leaders. The visitors from Korea also received technology demonstrations from these robotics leaders. 

MassRobotics said the International Immersion Program demonstrates its commitment to supporting the global expansion of robotics technology. The program provides the resources and mentorship necessary to succeed in the U.S., it said.

South Korean startups visited local companies including Boston Dynamics. Source: MassRobotics

Startups look ahead to next steps

By the end of the week, the participating startups returned to Korea with a clearer vision for their U.S. expansion plans and a network of contacts to help them achieve their goals, according to MassRobotics. It said programs like this one will play an increasingly vital role in bridging the Boston and global robotics ecosystems and in shaping the future of robotics technology worldwide.

MassRobotics also recently hosted RoboBoston 2024, which featured more than 400 students on STEM Day and over 6,500 attendees for its annual Robot Block Party in Boston’s Seaport District.

Editor’s note: Next week at RoboBusiness in Santa Clara, Calif., MassRobotics will be hosting a two-part Robotics Startup Bootcamp. Joyce Sidopoulos, co-founder and chief of operations at MassRobotics, will also be speaking at the ticketed Women in Robotics Luncheon.

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With obstacle detection, the lightweight Corvus One drone safely flies without disrupting workflow or blocking aisles and can ascend to avoid collisions with people, forklifts, or robots. | Credit: Corvus Robotics

Corvus Robotics Inc. has closed an $18 million Series A round and seed funding led by S2G Ventures and Spero Ventures. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company has been engineering and validating its inventory drone system since it was founded in 2017.

Until now, Corvus has been relatively quiet with marketing and sales. With the funding, the company has a new war chest and is hiring new marketing, sales, and support staffers to begin expanding its customer base.

Co-founder and CEO Jackie Wu told The Robot Report that “something like a quarter of the Fortune 500 is in our pipeline” — good news for a company ready to spread its wings, or rotor blades, and fly.

Corvus drones operate without infrastructure modifications

Most warehouses feature endless straight aisles, stacked from floor to ceiling with inventory. Learn how to fly autonomously and move up and down one aisle, and you can repeat that operation throughout the entire warehouse. 

However, due to the uniformity of warehouse aisles, it is easy for autonomous vehicles like autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and aerial drones to get lost, as any aisle looks like every other aisle. When an autonomous system gets lost, it must ask an operator for help.

Most AMR and drone inventory providers have simplified the localization and lost robot conundrum by fitting the warehouse with fiducials or AprilTags that enable their machines to remain localized throughout a facility. All the robot has to do is locate to the closest tag, and it knows where it is.

Corvus designs and builds its drones in the U.S. The company has engineered custom localization and navigation algorithms that map an entire facility without requiring facility modifications such as placing additional fiducial markers.

“Corvus Robotics fits our mission to invest in companies that truly transform the way business is conducted,” said Marc Tarpenning, co-founder of Tesla and partner at Spero Ventures.  “Other than a landing pad, its drone-powered system requires no infrastructure, is quick and easy to deploy, and cost-effective to manage. It literally merges with the existing warehouse environment.”

Austin Feagins, senior director of solutions at Staci Americas, noted that “being able to run inventory checks 24/7 without operator assistance has been a game changer.”

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Drones continuously scan the warehouse

The bane of warehouse managers is lost or misplaced inventory. The speed of e-commerce is accelerating, and losing things in a facility affects both top-line revenue and bottom-line profit.

Drone-based inventory systems like Corvus can not only track the location of items, but they can also be deployed to spot-check recent work, verifying that items have been moved and placed as anticipated. 

Corvus drones are equipped with high-end barcode scanners that provide precise information about inventory data. These are the same tools that have been used by human associates for decades.

In addition to reading barcode data, the drone can also use computer vision to locate pallets, and count items on pallets. All of this information is reconciled with the warehouse management system (WMS).

According to Wu, Corvus qualifies customers to ensure that they already have an existing WMS, because inventory counting is useless without somewhere to sync the data to engage with the order and shipping workflow.

The role of the drones is to maintain the truth and traceability of the order put-away/replenishment and order-picking workflow. Supervisors can initiate spot checks and request the drones to validate item placement at the end of a shift or anytime throughout the workday.

Corvus One deploys fully autonomous drones, providing warehouses and production plants with efficient inventory management. | Credit: Corvus Robotics

Inventory system works with very narrow aisles

For distribution centers with high-bay storage, drones can access areas that are difficult for traditional equipment like scissor lifts. This expanded reach allows for more efficient inventory management and retrieval, even in tight spaces.

Corvus drones can navigate aisles as narrow as 50 in. (127 cm). The ability to fly in very narrow aisles (VNA) increases the potential applications of drones, said the company.

Drones are best suited for environments where narrower aisles make operations of pivot trucks or other vehicles less feasible. However, businesses with even denser automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) may not need drones.

Corvus One updated for ‘lights-out’ operations

Corvus has also updated its Corvus One system to enable its drone to fly in an automated distribution center and complete inventory scans. This means that the drones can be tasked to fly overnight, while the facility is empty, or to fly in areas where there is no human activity and where lighting might be turned off to save money. Each drone has its own light, to brighten the scene for the onboard scanners and cameras.

“The lights-out capability in the Corvus One system allows our inventory teams to correct discrepancies off-shift and pre-shift before production starts each day, limiting fulfillment delays and production impacts,” said Austin Feagins of Staci Americas.

“The Corvus One system is a vital component of end-to-end inventory visibility and optimization,” Wu added. “We’re growing extremely quickly, and our recent funding round will be used to help Corvus meet rapidly growing customer adoption while continuing to build products with capabilities nowhere else in the world ever has had.”

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The Xtender is a micro tactical indoor ISR for multi-payload tasks in confined space scenarios. | Credit: XTEND

XTEND’s stated mission is to “Win the mission and get home safely.” The drone company has been heavily involved in supporting the Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF, during current Middle East conflicts.

Starting out as a gaming company, XTEND launched a league where “anyone could fly drones,” said Aviv Shapiro, co-founder and CEO. It developed first-person view (FPV) technology that was easy to use and with a short learning period.

The company then pivoted to enterprise use cases such as search and rescue, agriculture, and policing. At the beginning of the Gaza confict, XTEND redesigned its drone technology to meet the IDF’s specific and urgent reconnaissance needs.

Among the challenges that the company faced were GPS-denied environments, limited space and energy in tunnels, and the need for portability.

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XTEND builds rugged autonomy

XTEND built technology that uses AI perception algorithms and an operator interface designed for ease of use. It enables the drones to identify open doors and windows in real time.

The company has innovated to overcome several obstacles to robust operations in the field, including a lack of GPS access and signal jamming. Indoors or underground, signal strength might be weak due to the interference of walls, buildings, or earth.

An operator can simply click on the remote screen, and the drone will autonomously navigate through the desired portal. The drone uses obstacle avoidance to avoid obstacles indoors and outdoors.

The primary use case for drones in the current conflict has been to provide cost-effective battlefield visibility to commanders while minimizing the risk to soldiers’ lives.

XTEND has developed autonomy for drones to detect and enter openings in walls. Source: XTEND

Robots, AI overcome environmental challenges

Underground tunnels restrict aerial drone operations, which have a battery life of only 15 to 20 minutes. XTEND put its XOS operating system and controls on quadruped robot dogs to enable reconnaissance.

The quadruped robots help overcome this limitation, allowing soldiers to extend their presence and capabilities in such environments, said the company. XOS enables the control of multiple machines simultaneously and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) over an artificial intelligence layer.

“We want to reduce the cognitive load on operators, allowing them to have situational awareness and perform their missions,” said Gal Nir, chief commercial officer at XTEND. “AI capabilities help the drone to detect and classify targets.”

“It’s the AI capabilities that you can integrate easily because of the open architecture of our software that allows the user to perform cutting-edge missions in very complex scenarios and do it very easily because most of the hard part is done by AI,” Nir told The Robot Report. “At the end of the day, the user is in the loop and makes the final decision to perform whatever action is necessary.”

XTEND has quickly pivoted from drone racing to defense and other applications. Source: XTEND

Quick training, development required

The IDF has had to call up reservists to serve in the field. These reservists may not have prior drone experience or a lot of time to learn how to operate them in the field.

“Getting qualified now takes hours rather than weeks,” said Nir. “With IDF feedback, we have closed-loop product development with soldiers both in the field and in the office,” he added. “We’ve been pushing out service packs every month and are up to Version 156.”

The U.S. government and allied nations are major customers, but XTEND is torn between building to specifications drawn up two to three years ago and keeping up with current defense needs, noted Shapiro.

“We need to build products that support tasks both underground and in mountainous forests,” he said. “Everything is evolving during the conflict itself. Cybersecurity is also a huge issue because we know that everything that falls on the ground will be taken to Iran or Russia.”

The post XTEND drones rapidly evolve to support defense missions appeared first on The Robot Report.

The new partnership promises to expand the reach of autonomous deliveries. Source: Serve Robotics, Wing Aviation

Ground robots and aerial drones will soon collaborate for last-mile deliveries. Serve Robotics Inc. and Wing Aviation LLC today announced a pilot partnership.

In the coming months, a Serve robot will pick up orders and deliver them to a Wing drone AutoLoader a few blocks away for aerial delivery to customers as far as six miles away.

“Robot-to-drone delivery will enable merchants to tap into drone delivery without any changes to their facilities or workflow and significantly extend the delivery area for sidewalk delivery robots,” stated the companies. “This collaboration represents an important step towards enabling highly automated delivery as the preferred mode of delivery for the millions of small packages delivered every day around the world.”

Serve Robotics rolls out with partnerships

“We’re excited to partner with Wing to offer a multi-modal delivery experience that expands our market from roughly half of all food deliveries that are within two miles of a restaurant, to offering 30-minute autonomous delivery across an entire city,” said Dr. Ali Kashani, co-founder and CEO of Serve Robotics.

“Together, Serve and Wing share an ambitious vision for reliable and affordable robotic delivery at scale,” he added. “Our end-to-end robotic delivery solution will be the most efficient mode for the significant majority of deliveries.” 

Spun off from Uber in 2021, Serve Robotics develops AI-powered, low-emissions sidewalk delivery robots. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company said it has completed tens of thousands of deliveries for enterprise partners such as Uber Eats and 7-Eleven.

Serve has scalable multi-year contracts, including an agreement to deploy up to 2,000 delivery robots on the Uber Eats platform across multiple U.S. markets. 

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Wing enables robot-to-drone deliveries

Wing and Serve claimed that robot-to-drone delivery offers benefits to both merchants and customers, including:

• Fast: Wing drones fly above the gridlock, and Serve robots operate exclusively on sidewalks, so deliveries avoid being snarled in street traffic. 
• Cost-efficient: Drones and robots both lower delivery costs for the operator and consumer with no need for tipping. 
• Environmentally conscious: Both fully-electric, Wing and Serve reduce vehicle emissions associated with food delivery, as well as reducing traffic and congestion.
• Safe: By keeping vehicles off the roads, Serve and Wing help to cut down on traffic accidents.
• Convenient: Curbside robotic package pickup allows merchants to access drone delivery without modifying their facilities or installing new equipment.

“At Wing, we have been delivering food and other goods directly to consumers for over five years, completing more than 400,000 commercial deliveries across three continents. We have a proven ability to make deliveries quickly and efficiently,” said Adam Woodworth, CEO of Wing.

“Both Wing and Serve offer innovative solutions that are changing the way goods are delivered,” he said. “Through this pilot partnership, Wing hopes to reach more merchants in highly-congested areas while supporting Serve as it works to expand its delivery radius.”

A subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet Inc., Wing said its fleet of lightweight, automated delivery drones can transport small packages directly from businesses to homes and between healthcare providers in minutes. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said its systems are safe, sustainable, and easy to integrate into existing delivery and logistics networks.

The Federal Aviation Administration recently allowed Wing and Zipline to make beyond visual line-of-sight flights over Dallas.

The post Serve Robotics partners with Wing for robot-to-drone delivery appeared first on The Robot Report.

In Episode 165 of The Robot Report Podcast, co-hosts Mike Oitzman and Steve Crowe discuss the latest robotics news from the past week.

It’s drone week on the podcast, and we feature two interviews from the world of aerial robotics. A month ago we featured a story about a drone industry group formed to lobby against the Countering CCP Drone Act in the U.S. Congress. This is a group of ag-spraying service providers who’ve built their business around DJI drones. Today, we talk with Hylio Drones CEO and Co-founder Arthur Erickson. He and his fellow University of Texas, Austin co-founders are focused on the ag-spraying industry and are the largest U.S.-based ag-spraying drone company. The company manufactures its drones entirely in the U.S., and a DJI-drone ban will hand them a monopoly in the U.S.

The second featured interview is with Heven Drones CEO and co-founder Bentzion Levinson. Heven (pronounced “heaven”) Drones are innovating in the drone market by using hydrogen fuel cells instead of lithium-ion batteries to achieve fight times of up to eight hours. Heven is deploying its drone platform into use cases such as infrastructure inspection, security, long-distance package delivery, and military applications.

A Heven Drones H2D200 long-distance drone platform. | Credit: Heven Drones

If you want to sponsor a future episode of The Robot Report Podcast, contact Courtney Nagle at cnagle@wtwhmedia.com.

Show timeline

• 8:01 – News of the week
• 24:24 – Interview with Arthur Erickson, CEO and Co-founder, Hylio Drones
• 53:10 – Interview with Bentzion Levinson, CEO and Co-founder, Heven Drones

News of the week

Skydio launches the Dock for X10

At its annual Ascend event, Skydio unveiled its latest innovation: the Dock for X10. This automatic drone hangar is designed to support remote autonomy and Flight Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. As Skydio continues to focus on autonomous drones for police surveillance, security patrols, and industrial inspections, the Dock offers a crucial solution for recharging and protecting these unmanned aerial vehicles. By enabling drones to respond to emergency calls alongside human first responders, Skydio is pushing the boundaries of public safety technology.

IFR World Robotics report says 4M robots are operating in factories globally

The operational stock of industrial robots worldwide. | Source: IFR

According to the International Federation of Robotics’ World Robotics report, the number of industrial robots operating globally reached a new high of 4,281,585 units in 2023, marking a 10% increase from the previous year. For the third consecutive year, annual robot installations surpassed half a million units. Asia continued to dominate the market, accounting for 70% of all newly deployed robots, followed by Europe at 17% and the Americas at 10%.

Boston Dynamics unleashes Spot v4.1

Boston Dynamics has expanded Spot’s capabilities with new sensor integration options. A Spot-mounted Fluke SV600 can now collect acoustic vibration data, enabling automated predictive maintenance and reducing unplanned downtime. Additionally, laser-scanning integration with Orbit, Boston Dynamics’ fleet management software, allows for the creation of digital twins of facilities. Operators can plan reality-capture missions using Spot-mounted Leica BLK ARC laser scanning payloads, and the data can be easily processed in various digital twin software. The Spot Core I/O enhances the robot’s visual semantic context, enabling it to navigate around obstacles more efficiently and perceive a wider area for alternative paths.

Kiva Systems founders to enter Logistics Hall of Fame as mobile robot pioneers

Mick Mountz, Peter Wurman and Raffaello D’Andrea (Left to Right), Co-founders of Kiva Systems, are 2020 inductees in the National Inventors Hall of Fame. | Credit: National Inventors Hall of Fame

In 2003, Mick Mountz, Dr. Peter Wurman, and Prof. Raffaello D’Andrea invented a mobile robot for fulfillment in intralogistics, founded Kiva Systems, and created a category of automation that has grown over the past two decades. A jury has voted to recognize their innovation by inducting them into the Logistics Hall of Fame.

The post Drone Week: Innovation in agriculture and hydrogen fuel appeared first on The Robot Report.

The Certus Mini series promises compact navigation for autonomous systems. Source: Advanced Navigation.

Field robots, autonomous vehicles, and aerial drones require reliable and compact navigational systems. Advanced Navigation this week announced that it expanded Certus range with the new Mini series.

Available in three variants, the Certus Mini series includes the GNSS-aided Certus Mini D and Certus Mini N inertial navigation system (INS). Meanwhile, the Certus Mini A functions as an attitude and heading reference system (AHRS).

Weighing no more than 55 g (1.9 oz.), the products offer high performance and cost efficiency for their weight and size, said Advanced Navigation.

“Manufacturers and system integrators often face trade-offs between performance, size, cost, and weight,” noted Chris Shaw, CEO of Advanced Navigation. “The Certus Mini series is a testament these attributes do not need to conflict with one another.”

“For customers deploying land-based vehicles, this value-driven breakthrough lowers their entry barrier to precise and reliable navigation,” he added. “It also unlocks new possibilities for those using lightweight airborne platforms, such as drones, where every gram counts towards flight efficiency and power consumption.”

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Advanced Navigation designs for future flexibility

“Designed with flexibility in mind, the series is easily integrated into existing and new system builds with simple plug-and-play connectivity, minimizing development time and costs,” stated Shaw. “This adaptability, paired with its performance and size, makes the Mini series a powerful addition to the already versatile Certus range.”

Sydney, Australia-based Advanced Navigation shared the following specifications for its new systems:

• Dual-antenna INS – Leading the series, the Certus Mini D features dual-antenna GNSS (global navigation satellite system) heading for accurate heading, position, and velocity. At a maximum weight of 55 grams, it offers a dual-antenna INS in a lightweight and compact size.
• Multiband GNSS receiver – By operating on the L1/L5 multi-constellation GNSS, the Certus Mini series offers interference immunity, position accuracy, and multipath resistance in urban environments, such as near tall buildings, tree canopies, and canyons.
• Software-enabled hardware – The series includes Advanced Navigation’s algorithmic technology. “This software-enabled hardware delivers navigation data superior to outputs based on traditional filter methods, offering new levels of performance for miniature INS in GNSS-challenged environments,” claimed the company.

The quality of the Certus Mini series is ensured through in-house manufacturing. Source: Advanced Navigation

Certus Mini Dual-antenna navigation

• 0.1 ° roll and pitch
• 0.1 ° heading (GNSS)
• 10 mm RTK (real-time kinematic) positioning
• 1,000 Hz update rate

Certus Mini Navigation, single antenna

• 0.1 ° roll and pitch
• 0.2 ° heading (velocity)
• 10 mm RTK positioning
• 1,000 Hz update rate

Certus Mini Attitude and heading reference system (AHRS)

• 0.1 ° roll and pitch
• 0.8 ° heading (magnetic)
• 1,000 Hz update rate

Certus Mini offers ease of integration

Advanced Navigation said the Certus Mini series can be easily integrated into legacy systems and new builds, reducing installation or upgrade time and minimizing costs. The company said this can accelerate navigation deployment across diverse applications:

• Geospatial surveying – Certus Mini can provide accurate positioning and attitude without weighing down a drone, said Advanced Navigation. This enables new applications for surveying environments across open-pit mines, construction sites, urban areas, and critical infrastructure.
• Agriculture – In a new era of “farming-as-a-service” (FaaS), Certus Mini can be designed into agricultural robots and equipment to assist with a diverse range of tasks. These include aerial spraying, weed detection and localization, monitoring crop health, inspecting moisture levels, creating field maps, autonomous pruning, and grass cutting.
• Open-pit mining – Advanced Navigation said Certus Mini is suitable for surface drilling OEMs and integrators seeking precise rig alignment. The system can provide precise alignment even in deep pits where multipath errors occur, and its ruggedized design delivers reliability in harsh mining conditions, it said.
• Asset tracking – Certus Mini can be used to track and monitor assets for a range of industries, such as mining, facilities management, manufacturing, construction, commercial fleets, automotive, and oil and gas.

The Certus Mini line is designed to add precision to multiple applications. Source: Advanced Navigation

In-house manufacturing enables rapid product delivery

By leveraging capabilities in software-enabled hardware, Advanced Navigation claimed that its navigation and autonomous systems deliver “exceptional performance across land, air, sea, and space applications where GPS is unreliable.”

By manufacturing all systems in-house, Advanced Navigation said its vertical integration framework streamlines development, enhances quality control, and ensures agility in responding to customer demand. The company added that it uses machine learning and advanced quality-control mechanisms to maintain the reliability and longevity of the components integrated into its navigation systems.

The Certus Mini series is now available for purchase in OEM and ruggedized forms.

Advanced Navigation noted that the series will replace its Orientus and Spatial legacy systems. Customer support will continue for Orientus and Spatial, and the company recommends the Certus Mini Series for new builds.

The post Advanced Navigation expands Certus line with Mini series appeared first on The Robot Report.

Pyka’s Pelican Spray technology combines spray precision and chemical drift reduction technologies to provide crop protection at scale. | Source: Pyka

Pyka, a developer of electric aviation technology, raised $40 million in Series B funding. Pyka is commercializing autonomous electric aircraft for a variety of applications, including agricultural crop protection, commercial cargo transportation, and defense logistics. 

The Alameda, Calif.-based company said it currently produces a large, commercially-approved uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) in the United States and maintains active commercial operations in Central America and Brazil.

“With commercial production well underway, and our aircraft deployed with customers on multiple continents, we are extremely proud of the progress we’ve made as a company thus far,” Michael Norcia, co-founder and CEO at Pyka, said. “This round of funding brings us one step closer to unlocking autonomous electric flight for society.”

Pyka said its portfolio of customers includes players in the agriculture, commercial cargo, and defense logistics value chains, such as Dole, Embraer, Sierra Nevada Company, Heinen Brothers Agra Services, and Skyports Drone Services. In early 2024, the company delivered three aircraft to the United States Air Force as part of the Agility Prime program.

Obvious Ventures led the funding round. New and existing investors in the round include Piva Capital, Prelude Ventures, Metaplanet Holdings, and Y Combinator. 

Pyka plans to leverage investment for growth across products

Pyka said the new investment will accelerate its growth across its dual-use product line. On the commercial side, it will support further Pyka’s domestic manufacturing capabilities, boost production of its Pelican Spray and Pelican Cargo products, and enable expanded operations with both U.S. and international customers.

Additionally, the Series B funds will advance the development of new capabilities to support contested logistics operations for the U.S. Department of Defense and allied partners.

Pyka’s family of products includes Pelican Spray, a 1,320 lb (598.7 kg), fully autonomous and 100% electric aircraft designed for complex agricultural operations. The aircraft combines spray precision and chemical drift reduction technologies to provide crop protection at scale.

Additionally, Pyka produces Pelican Cargo, an autonomous electric cargo aircraft capable of long-range and off-airport operations. The 100% electric aircraft can transport up to 400 lbs (181.4 kg) over a range of 200 miles (321.9 km). Pyka has partnered with Sierra Nevada Company to introduce RUMRUNNER, a modified edition of Pelican Cargo, to customers within the U.S. Department of Defense for sustainment in contested logistics operations.

All of Pyka’s products incorporate its proprietary autonomous flight engine and all-electric propulsion system to enable operations in the world’s most complex environments without putting human operators in harm’s way, at unprecedented cost savings to customers.

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e-con plans to demonstrate a 5MP camera for precision agriculture. Source: e-con Systems

Cameras are continuing to improve for a wide range of robotics applications. e-con Systems plans to show its recently launched camera systems designed to maximize the performance of various applications next month in Stuttgart, Germany.

Since 2003, the company has been designing, developing, and manufacturing OEM cameras. It focuses on delivering vision and camera products to industries such as retail, medical, industrial, agriculture, and smart cities.

 e-con Systems’ portfolio includes time-of-flight (ToF) cameras, MIPI camera modules, GMSL cameras, USB 3.1 Gen 1 cameras, stereo cameras, GigE cameras, and low-light cameras. It claimed that its cameras are currently embedded in more than 350 customer products.

e-con Systems touts new cameras

At the VISION 2024 event, e-con Systems plans to offer the following interactive demonstrations:

• 5MP Global Shutter Camera for future-ready precision farming: The demo will focus on the camera’s ability to deliver high-quality imaging for weed detection. This camera ensures high accuracy in detecting and managing weeds, improving crop growth, as well as achieving higher efficiency in agriculture operations.

• 3MP Global Shutter Camera for posture analysis: e-con Systems said it will showcase imaging-based basketball tracking technology, which analyzes posture points and movement with high accuracy. “This camera opens new possibilities for advanced motion tracking and performance evaluation in sports,” said the company. Attendees will be able to test their basketball skills in Booth 10H60.

The event will focus on innovations in machine vision, for machine vision, hyperspectral imaging, deep learning, and embedded vision technologies. By registering online, attendees can schedule one-on-one discussions with e-con Systems’ camera experts and explore how the systems can be customized for specific application requirements.

The company is also offering a 20% discount to all registered attendees for sample purchases until next month. After the online registration, the promo coupons will be available at its booth.

Register now

Embedded vision market widens with robotics

The global market for robotic vision could expand from $2.6 billion in 2023 to $4 billion by 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1%, estimated Markets & Markets. The research firm attributed this growth to industrial demand for automation and inspection systems, as well as the development of robots to perform more than one task without reprogramming.

In May 2023, e-con Systems raised $13 million for embedded vision systems. More recently, in July 2024, it launched the See3CAM CU31, a 3MP, HDR, low-light USB camera. It has also released the STURDeCAM34 3MP, 140dB, HDR GMSL2 camera compatible with NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin (see below).

The company said it has shipped over 2 million cameras to the U.S., South Korea, and other countries. e-con has offices in Riverside, Calif., and St. Louis, Mo., as well as in the U.K., Japan, Singapore, India, Germany, and South Korea.

The post e-con Systems to demo specialized cameras for precision farming, sports analytics appeared first on The Robot Report.