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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AWS and Isaac Sim can help accelerate robotics development, says NVIDIA.

NVIDIA Corp. today announced at AWS re:Invent enhanced tools for robotics developers, as well as the availability of NVIDIA DGX Cloud on Amazon Web Services and offerings for artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

The company said that NVIDIA Isaac Sim is now available on NVIDIA L40S graphics processing units (GPUs) in Amazon Elastic Cloud Computing (EC2) G6e instances. It said this could double scaling robotics simulation and accelerate AI model training. Isaac Sim is a reference application built on NVIDIA Omniverse for developers to simulate and test AI-driven robots in physically based virtual environments.

With NVIDIA OSMO, a cloud-native orchestration platform, developers can easily manage their complex robotics workflows across their AWS computing infrastructure, claimed the company.

“This combination of NVIDIA-accelerated hardware and software — available on the cloud — allows teams of any size to scale their physical AI workflows,” wrote Akhil Docca, senior product marketing manager for Omniverse at NVIDIA.

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What is ‘physical AI?’

According to NVIDIA, “physical AI” describes AI models that can understand and interact with the physical world. The company said it “embodies the next wave of autonomous machines,” such as self-driving cars, industrial manipulators, mobile robots, humanoids, and even robot-run infrastructure like factories and warehouses.

With physical AI, developers are embracing a “three-computer solution” for training, simulation, and inference to make breakthroughs, NVIDIA said. Yet physical AI for robotics systems requires robust training datasets to achieve precision inference in deployment. Developing such datasets and testing them in real situations can be impractical and costly.

Simulation offers an answer, as it can accelerate the training, testing and deployment of AI-driven robots, the company asserted.

L40S GPUs in the cloud offer to scale simulation, training

Developers can use simulation to verify, validate, and optimize robot designs as well as the systems and their algorithms before deployment, said NVIDIA. It added that simulation can optimize facility and system designs before construction or remodeling starts for maximum efficiencies, reducing costly manufacturing change orders.

Amazon EC2 G6e instances accelerated by NVIDIA L40S GPUs can double performance over the prior architecture, while allowing the flexibility to scale as scene and simulation complexity grows, NVIDIA said. Roboticists can use these instances to train many computer vision models that power AI-driven robots.

This means the same instances can be extended for various tasks, from data generation and simulation to model training. NVIDIA added that OSMO allows teams to orchestrate and scale complex robotics development workflows across distributed computing resources, whether on premises or in the AWS cloud.

NVIDIA said Isaac Sim can foster collaboration and critical workflows, such as generating synthetic data for perception model training.

A reference workflow combines NVIDIA Omniverse Replicator, a framework for building custom synthetic data generation (SDG) pipelines and a core extension of Isaac Sim, with NVIDIA NIM microservices. With it, developers can build generative AI-enabled SDG pipelines, it said.

These include the USD Code NIM microservice for generating Python USD code and answering OpenUSD queries, plus the USD Search NIM microservice for exploring OpenUSD assets using natural language or image inputs.

The Edify 360 HDRi NIM microservice can generate 360-degree environment maps, while the Edify 3D NIM microservice can create ready-to-edit 3D assets from text or image prompts. Generative AI can thus ease the synthetic data generation process by reducing many tedious and manual steps, from asset creation to image augmentation, said NVIDIA.

• Rendered.ai’s synthetic data engineering platform is integrated with Omniverse Replicator. It enables companies to generate synthetic data for computer vision models used in industries from security and intelligence to manufacturing and agriculture.
• SoftServe Inc., an IT consulting and digital services provider, uses Isaac Sim to generate synthetic data and validate robots used in vertical farming with Pfeifer & Langen, a leading European food producer.
• Tata Consultancy Services is building custom synthetic data generation pipelines to power its Mobility AI suite to address automotive and autonomous use cases by simulating real-world scenarios. Its applications include defect detection, end-of-line quality inspection, and hazard avoidance.

NVIDIA, AWS help robots learn in simulation

While Isaac Sim enables developers to test and validate robots in physically accurate simulation, Isaac Lab, an open-source robot learning framework built on Isaac Sim, provides a virtual playground for building robot policies that can run on AWS Batch. Because these simulations are repeatable, developers can troubleshoot and reduce the number of cycles required for validation and testing, said NVIDIA.

The company cited robotics startups that are already using Isaac Sim on AWS: 

• Field AI is building robot foundation models to enable robots to autonomously manage a wide range of industrial processes. It uses Isaac Sim and Isaac Lab to evaluate the performance of these models in complex, unstructured environments in construction, manufacturing, oil and gas, mining, and more.
• Vention, which offers a full-stack cloud-based automation platform, is creating pretrained skills to ease development of robotic tasks, noted NVIDIA. It is using Isaac Sim to develop and test new capabilities for robot cells used by small to midsize manufacturers.
• Cobot offers Proxie, its AI-powered collaborative mobile manipulator. It uses Isaac Sim to enable the robot to adapt to dynamic environments, work alongside people, and streamline logistics in warehouses, hospitals, airports, and more.
• Standard Bots is simulating and validating the performance of its R01 robot used in manufacturing and machining setup.
• Swiss-Mile is using Isaac Sim and Isaac Lab for robot learning so that its wheeled quadruped robots can perform tasks autonomously with new levels of efficiency in factories and warehouses.
• Cohesive Robotics has integrated Isaac Sim into its software framework called Argus OS for developing and deploying robotic workcells used in high-mix manufacturing environments.
• Aescape’s robots are able to provide precision-tailored massages by accurately modeling and tuning the onboard sensors in Isaac Sim.

NVIDIA made other announcements in addition to the availability of Isaac Sim 4.2 on Amazon EC2 G6e Instances powered by NVIDIA L40S GPUs on AWS Marketplace.

It said that NVIDIA DGX Cloud can run on AWS for training AI models; that AWS liquid cooling is available for data centers using its Blackwell platform; and that NVIDIA BioNeMo NIM microservices and AI Blueprints, developed to advance drug discovery, are now integrated into AWS HealthOmics.

The company also said its latest AI Blueprints are available on AWS for video search and cybersecurity, the integration of NVIDIA CUDA-Q with Amazon Braket for quantum computing development, and RAPIDS Quick Start Notebooks on Amazon EMR.

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Digitalization is bringing emerging technologies into the warehouse. Source: Dexory

Designing and deploying a digital warehouse can be a challenge, with numerous technology options to add to your operations. From robotics and automation to the latest data analytics and artificial intelligence, how can you take advantage of digitalization?

At 2:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Dec. 4, expert panelists will discuss how emerging technologies are changing how engineers design warehouse systems and how businesses can gain insights and efficiencies with them. Sensors, digital twins, wearables, and virtual assistants are some of the tools that are part of this digital transformation.

In this free webinar, viewers can learn about:

• Ways to improve labor productivity with workforce management
• The orchestration of people and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for order picking and fulfillment
• Where augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) fit in the warehouse
• How AI will change how operators use data in positive feedback cycle
• How to scale digital transformation across facilities and the supply chain

Register now to attend this webinar on digitalization, and have your questions answered live. Registrants will be able to view it on demand after the broadcast date.

Digitalization speakers to share insights

Robert C. Kennedy is principal at RC Kennedy Consulting. For over four decades, he has planned, developed, and implemented industry-leading supply chain execution systems around the globe. Kennedy and his staff have led more than 200 large-scale implementation projects of supply chain execution software for leading customers in a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical, electronics, third-party logistics (3PL), and food and beverage.

As a leading voice of expertise, Bob is featured in regular interviews by industry media and has published articles, and he has presented at numerous trade shows and seminars.

RC Kennedy Consulting provides assistance to companies to improve operational efficiencies through process design and systems. It also helps them develop strategies for growth.

Ken Ramoutar is chief marketing officer at Lucas Systems, which helps companies transform their distribution center by dramatically increasing worker productivity, operational agility, and customer and worker satisfaction using voice and AI optimization technologies.

In his 25 years of customer centric roles in supply chain software and consulting, Ramoutar has navigated companies through uncertainty and volatility as a thought leader and change agent.

Prior to Lucas, Ken was senior vice president and global head of customer experience at Avanade, a $3 billion Accenture and Microsoft-owned company, and he has held leadership roles at IBM, Sterling Commerce, and SAP/Ariba.

Michael Taylor is the chief product officer and co-founder of Duality AI. He has a 20-year career in mobile robotics, with 15 years dedicated to building autonomous field robots at Caterpillar.

While there, Mike led the team developing the autonomy system for Caterpillar’s autonomous dozer, and he helped launch the Autonomous Mining Truck program. His roles included architecting behaviors and planning systems, as well as building a collection of simulation technologies to accelerate deployment to customer sites.

Taylor was also part of the Carnegie Mellon team that won DARPA’s Urban Challenge, where he led both the Controls Team and the Field Calibration Team. Taylor holds dozens of patents in fields ranging from robotics to simulation technologies.

At Duality AI, Taylor leads the company’s Product and Solutions Engineering team. He is responsible for steering Duality’s product strategy, developing technologies to address customer needs, and helping ensure that customers maximize the value they extract from Falcon. This includes projects ranging from a simulation solution to support a drone-based AI perception system, to generating synthetic data for high-volume manufacturing quality assurance, to characterizing and modeling of uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) navigating novel environments. 

Eugene Demaitre, moderator, is the editorial director for robotics at WTWH Media, which produces Automated Warehouse, The Robot Report, the Robotics Summit & Expo, and RoboBusiness. Prior to working for WTWH Media, he was an editor at BNA (now part of Bloomberg), Computerworld, TechTarget, Robotics Business Review, and Robotics 24/7.

Demaitre has participated in conferences worldwide, as well as spoken on numerous webcasts and podcasts. He is always interested in learning more about robotics. He has a master’s from the George Washington University and lives in the Boston area.

This webinar is sponsored by Baluff and Dexory.

The post Learn about digitalization in the warehouse in new webinar appeared first on The Robot Report.

In Episode 173 of The Robot Report Podcast, co-host Steve Crowe and I catch up on the news of the week, including several recent stories about mobile manipulators.

Featured interview with RGO Robotics and Wheel.Me

In the featured interview this week, I talk to Amir Bousani, CEO of RGO Robotics, and Jacob Petersen, chief commercial officer of Wheel.Me. We discuss the importance of perception for autonomous mobile robots, and discuss Wheel.Me’s decision to leverage RGO Robotics perception engine in its platform.

Show timeline

• 7:44 – News of the week
• 11:02 – Update on Proxie from Brad Porter, founder and CEO of Collaborative Robotics
• 24:15 – Interview with Amir Bousani, CEO of RGO Robotics, and Jacob Petersen, Chief Commercial Officer from Wheel.Me.

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News of the week

2025 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards open for nominations

You can now submit nominations for the 2025 RBR50 innovation awards. They will recognize technology and business innovations in the calendar year 2024, and the awards are open to any company worldwide that produces robotics or automation.

The categories include:

1. Technologies, products, and services: This category includes primary or applied research focusing on robotics and supporting technologies such as motion control, vision, or machine learning. It also includes new products and business, engineering, or technology services.
2. Business and management: This category covers initiatives positioning a company as a market leader or an organization as an important thought leader in the robotics ecosystem. Significant mergers and acquisitions are relevant, as are supplier, partner, and integrator relationships.
3. Applications and markets: The RBR50 will also recognize innovations that improve productivity, quality, and cost-effectiveness, as well as those that automate new tasks.

In addition, the 2025 RBR50 awards will celebrate the following:

• Startup of the Year
• Application of the Year
• Robot of the Year
• Robots for Good Award

The deadline for submissions is Friday, Dec. 20, 2024.

Podcast sponsored by RGO Robotics

The show this week is sponsored by RGO Robotics 

Is your autonomous mobile robot (AMR) struggling in dynamic environments? Is your business stuck because it takes months to commission a new site?

RGo Robotics’ Perception Engine is revolutionizing the AMR business through advanced Vision AI perception technology. Unlike traditional solutions, The company’s software enables AMRs to adapt to changing environments and navigate complex spaces with unprecedented accuracy and the commissioning process is shorter and simpler.

Leading AMR companies are enhancing their fleets with RGo’s AI-powered perception, enabling their teams to accelerate use of advanced AI capabilities like foundation models and digital twins.

Don’t let outdated navigation hold your business back.

To learn more about RGO’s solutions, go to: https://www.rgorobotics.ai/

The post How AI, perception are shaping mobile robotics appeared first on The Robot Report.

Pickle applies AI and computer vision to unload a range of items. Source: Pickle Robot

Robotic truck unloading fits the classic definition of dull, dirty, or dangerous jobs worth automating. Pickle Robot Co. yesterday announced that it has raised $50 million in Series B funding and that six customers placed orders during the third quarter for more than 30 robots to deploy in the first half of 2025. The new orders include pilot conversions, existing customer expansions, and new customer adoption.

“Pickle Robot customers are experiencing the value of ‘Physical AI’ applied to a common logistics process that challenges thousands of operations every day,” said AJ Meyer, founder and CEO of Pickle Robot. “The new funding and our strategic customer relationships enable Pickle to chart the future of supply chain robotics, rapidly expand our core product capabilities, and grow our business to deliver tremendous customer value now and in the future.”

Founded in 2018, Pickle Robot said its robots are designed to autonomously unload trucks, trailers, and import containers at human-scale or better performance. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company‘s goal is to relieve scarce workers and improve productivity and safety at distribution centers around the world.

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Robots and AI unload a growing range of items

Truck unloading is one of the most labor-intensive, physically demanding, and highest-turnover work areas in logistics, noted Pickle Robot.

The company claimed that its Physical AI combines sensors and a computer vision system with industrial robotics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. It uses generative AI foundation models trained on millions of data points from real logistics and warehouse operations.

The Pickle Unload Systems have been collaborating with staffers in production operations at distribution centers since the summer of 2023. To date, they have unloaded more than 10 million lb. (4.5 million kg.) of merchandise from import containers and domestic floor-loaded trailers.

The company said its customers include distributors of footwear, apparel, power tools, toys, kitchenware, packaging materials, small appliances, and other general merchandise. Its product roadmap is expanding to service parcel-type freight.

Pickle plans to add features, global marketing

The company said its Series B funding included participation from a strategic customer. Teradyne Robotics Ventures, Toyota Ventures, Ranpak, Third Kind Venture Capital, One Madison Group, Hyperplane, Catapult Ventures, and others also participated.

“Pickle is hitting its strides delivering innovation, development, commercial traction, and customer satisfaction,” said Omar Asali, CEO of Ranpak and a Pickle board member.

“The company is building groundbreaking technology while executing on essential recurring parts of a successful business like field service and manufacturing management,” he said. “It is a testament to the strong team at Pickle that world-class customers want to work with them and that investors are excited about their trajectory.”

The company said it plans to use its latest funding to accelerate the development of new feature sets. It also plans build out its commercial teams to unlock new markets and geographies worldwide.

It added that it is “on a mission to automate inbound and outbound processes at 1 million warehouse doors over the next 10 years.”

Pickle demonstrates lifting a 50-lb. box in a trailer. Source: Pickle Robot

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The Falcon digital twin platform provides high-fidelity, domain-tailored simulation for a variety of use cases. | Source: Duality AI

Duality AI yesterday launched an EDU license and subscription for its Falcon simulation platform. The company said it designed this new program to equip aspiring artificial intelligence developers with the synthetic data skills needed to create advanced AI vision models.

This educational, non-commercial license is intended to expand access to digital twin simulation, said Duality. The San Mateo, Calif.-based company said it will enable students and developers to build cutting-edge AI models and meet the growing demand for AI professionals across industries.

“Digital twin simulation has unlocked a future where anyone can build AI models safely, rapidly, and affordably,” said Mike Taylor co-founder and chief product officer of Duality AI. “Now is the perfect time to invest in building a community that can harness these tools.”

“Whether learners come from an engineering, research, or creative background, we’re excited to share our expertise and help them discover how their skills can play a vital role in the evolving AI industry,” he stated.

Falcon generates accurate data for modeling, training

Founded in 2018, Duality AI said its multidisciplinary team includes engineers, simulation specialists, AI and machine learning experts, and technical artists. They have more than over 70 patents across robotics, simulation, and visualization.

The company specializes in cases where real-world data is insufficient for achieving the precision required for AI modeling and training of complex operations. Duality said it has developed proven techniques that drive successful outcomes for its customers. 

By bringing high-fidelity digital twins of environments and operating systems into Falcon, organizations can generate accurate data and predictive behavior modeling, said Duality AI. This enables them to deploy automated systems robustly and at scale, the company claimed.

Organizations are using the Falcon platform to help solve problems in AI, robotics, and smart system engineering, said the company. Their applications span off-road autonomous driving, high-volume manufacturing, warehouse automation, and disaster management.

Duality AI told The Robot Report that it is taking a similar approach with the EDU license to its work with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the DARPA RACER, enabling students to generate synthetic data for outdoor environments and train and test AI models for autonomous off-road vehicles.

Duality AI to extend its expertise to students

As the need for accurate AI vision models continues to grow, so does the need for skills in digital twin simulation and synthetic data generation, said Duality AI.

“There is currently a lack of some key skills — such as creating digital twins or best-practice techniques for getting the most out of synthetic data — that are not that difficult to learn, but make a huge difference,” said a Duality AI spokesman. “We’re helping close that gap.”

The EDU program offers subscribers full access to Falcon’s feature set. It also includes guided exercises and community resources developed by Duality AI’s experts.

“As an example: In Exercise 1 of the program, we are showing roboticists another way to develop the object-detection models that run on their systems,” the spokesman said. “In fact, it’s a method that many in our field don’t think is possible. We went to show them that not only is it possible, but [also] that we can teach them how to bring these skills into their own development patterns.”

To further support all learners, Duality is launching an online community where anyone can ask questions, collaborate on projects, and share their work.

The company said the curriculum itself is designed to build a strong foundation in digital twin and synthetic data workflows, equipping participants with the skills to create high-performance AI vision models independently.

“Falcon is the platform I wish I had as a graduate student,” said Dr. Felipe Mejia, an AI vision engineer at Duality. “I was always searching for datasets to test new algorithms, and working with digital twins in Falcon offers endless opportunities to experiment and explore.”

“It allows me to simulate scenarios not well-covered by real data, and easily investigate model failure modes — like how does object detection success rate change based on obstruction, distance, lighting? Or any other variable,” he noted.

Duality AI added that its EDU subscription is intended to inspire innovation, and it encouraged users to experiment, develop their projects, and apply their learnings across a variety of fields. The company said it “hopes to foster a vibrant community of innovators eager to explore the full potential of synthetic data and digital twin simulation in modern AI applications.”

Register now

The post Duality AI offers developers EDU license for Falcon digital twins, synthetic data appeared first on The Robot Report.

The MC600 is designed for reliable mobile manipulation, says MiR. Source: Mobile Industrial Robots

Mobile Industrial Robots ApS today announced the the latest addition to its growing list of MiR Go-approved products, the MC600 mobile collaborative robot.

“By integrating the ‘legs’ of a mobile robot with the ‘arms’ of a cobot, the MC600 addresses multiple automation workflow challenges such as palletizing and machine tending with one system,” said Jean-Pierre Hathout, president of Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR).

“While some companies have explored humanoid robots or one-off custom mobile cobot solutions for such tasks, they remain far from widespread industrial use,” he stated. “The MC600 is ready today to safely handle these complex automation challenges.”

Mobile Industrial Robots develops and manufactures autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) designed to automate internal logistics and optimize material handling for a wide range of payloads, including pallets. The Odense, Denmark-based unit of testing equipment maker Teradyne Inc. said it integrates robotics and artificial intelligence to serve businesses of all sizes in industries including manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare.

MC600 combines Teradyne technologies

The MC600 combines the MiR600 AMR with the UR20 and UR30 collaborative robot arms from Universal Robots A/S, which is also owned by Teradyne. Mobile Industrial Robots said it can handle payloads up to 600 kg (1,322 lb.) and automate complex workflows in industrial environments.

A unified software platform by MiR Go partner Enabled Robotics controls the MC600. MiR said this coordinates its mobile base and robotic arms, simplifying integration into existing workflows and ensuring smooth operations.

“The smaller MC250 has proven especially popular in semiconductor fabrication facilities and other lower-payload manufacturing tasks, but there’s been a clear demand for a mobile cobot that could handle heavier manufacturing applications,” said Ujjwal Kumar, group president of Teradyne Robotics. “The MC600 meets these requirements, another example of how we consistently offer customers the flexibility, safety, and efficiency that meets their unique automation needs.”

Kumar participated in a fireside chat at the 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo.

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MC600 promises efficency, flexibility

The global market for mobile cobots, which offer efficient and flexible automation, is projected to grow 46% annually by 2030, said Mobile Industrial Robots. Hathout said the MC600 offers a proven, safe, and ready-to-deploy system designed for ease of use, repeatability, and ongoing support.

“For companies seeking scalable automation, the MC600 delivers operational efficiency and long-term reliability,” the company claimed.

Building on the success of the smaller MC250, the MC600 can handle heavier items to automate tasks such as palletizing, box handling, and machine tending, said MiR. The UR20’s extended reach allows the new robot to tackle tasks that were previously inaccessible to smaller cobots.

The MC600 can improve productivity by operating with little downtime, serving multiple machines, and performing continuous material-handling tasks, asserted MiR. This enables businesses to redeploy human workers to higher-value assignments, it said.

In addition, by taking over the movement of heavy goods, the MC600 can improve ergonomics, reducing physical strain on workers and enhancing workplace safety, said MiR.

Mobile Industrial Robots said it will demonstrate the MC600 for real-world applications next week at Logistics & Automation Madrid.

ASTM proposes mobile manipulation standard

In other mobile manipulation news, ASTM International’s F45 committee for robotics, automation, and autonomous systems has proposed a new standard, WK92144.

It provides guidelines for documenting disturbances of robot arms, such as by heavy equipment, in unstructured manufacturing environments. The proposed standard describes an example apparatus for testing.

“Many applications of mobile manipulators require high degree of position and orientation accuracy and repeatability,” said Omar Aboul-Enein, a member of ASTM International.

The post MC600 combines UR cobot with MiR base for mobile manipulation appeared first on The Robot Report.

Collaborative Robotics Inc. today unveiled its Proxie mobile manipulator publicly for the first time. The startup has been secretive about the design of the robot since Brad Porter founded the company in 2022.

Porter has hinted at the design of the robot by alluding to the importance of a mobile manipulator for applications within the warehouse, with a kinematic better suited for warehouse workflows than a humanoid.

Porter brings robotics experience, vision

Porter has been a frequent contributor to The Robot Report and a guest on The Robot Report Podcast. He most recently shared his thoughts about Amazon’s acquihire of the Covariant leadership.

At Amazon, Porter led the deployment of more than 500,000 robots as vice president of robotics and distinguished engineer.  After Amazon, Porter saw an opportunity to accelerate more ubiquitous autonomy through better data and tooling, leading him to join Scale AI as chief technology officer.

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Proxie already in trials

In April 2024, Collaborative Robotics closed a $100 million Series B round toward commercializing its autonomous mobile robot (AMR). The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said Proxie can safely and affordably work alongside people in varied manufacturing, supply chain, and healthcare workflows.

In many cases, this is the same work humanoids are jockeying for. In June 2024, Collaborative Robots opened an office in Seattle and began adding to its AI team.

The base of Proxie includes four “swerve drive” motors that provide holonomic motion. | Credit: Collaborative Robotics

Porter told The Robot Report that Proxie is already in trials with several pilot customers, including a global logistics company. Featured clients include Moderna, Mayo Clinic, Owens & Minor, and Tampa General Hospital. He said Proxie has roughly the stature of a human. 

We asked Porter about the design intentions of going with the swerve drive versus other AMR base designs. Proxie has a base with four drive wheels in a “swerve drive” configuration. The AMR attaches to a cart and then pulls the cart to its next destination, navigating safely through the facility.

“The swerve drive gives you pseudo holonomic motion, enabling you to slide sideways into a set of shelving units. The swerve drive also enables you to snap the casters before you start to move. With a differential drive base, the AMR doesn’t have the degrees of freedom, so it’s more clumsy. Finally, mecanum wheels have other problems that are difficult to manage in production.”

On top of the base is a vertical linear axis that carries a dual arm cart interfacing gripper for cart-moving implementations. A six-degree-of-freedom collaborative robot arm will be an optional configuration for Proxie in the future.

Porter said the company has a dual-arm manipulator in its lab, equipped with the ALOHA grippers, for manipulation tasks.

Proxie can be equipped with a rolling cart gripper that attaches to the cart on the normal handle, and then guides the cart throughout the facility. | Credit: Collaborative Robotics

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Nuro’s custom L4 vehicles use the Nuro Driver to safely carry food and drink, with no human present in the vehicle. | Source: Nuro

Nuro Inc. today announced a significant expansion of its driverless capabilities using zero-occupant vehicles with the artificial intelligence-powered Nuro Driver system. The company said this expansion covers multiple cities in two states and includes significant operational advancements.

The expanded deployment of autonomous vehicles demonstrates foundational technology for transporting people and goods, asserted Nuro. It plans to expand in Mountain View and Palo Alto, Calif., where the company increased its deployment area by 83%. Nuro also plans to increase its deployment area in Houston by 70%, in terms of linear miles. 

In September, Nuro expanded its business model to include licensing Nuro Driver to automotive OEMs. As part of the new licensing model, the company also announced the Nuro AI Platform, which consists of scalable and performant developer tools to support AI development and validation for the Nuro Driver.

“Since publicly unveiling our new direction a little over a month ago, we have seen tremendous interest in our AI-driven autonomy platform from automotive OEMs and mobility companies,” stated Jiajun Zhu, the co-founder and CEO of Nuro. “Our latest driverless deployment demonstrates the maturity and capability of our AI platform, and we’re excited for potential partners to capitalize on the performance, safety, and sophistication of the Nuro Driver to build their own incredible autonomy products.”

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Nuro Driver ready to take on new challenges

Founded in 2016, Nuro said its newly expanded operational design domain (ODD) encompasses advances including:

• Multi-lane road operation at speeds up to 35 mph (56.3 kph)
• Improvements related to complex scenario handling, such as reacting to active emergency vehicles, navigating construction zones, and responding to active school busesa
• Night operation, expanding service availability

Nuro said its system now covers a wider portion of everyday driving conditions. The Mountain View-based company said this expanded operational scope demonstrates the growing sophistication and reliability of its autonomous vehicles in real-world applications.

To date, Nuro said its fleet has logged more than 1 million autonomous miles with zero at-fault incidents, underscoring the company’s commitment to safety and technological excellence. Its custom L4 vehicle is designed with cost-effective, automotive-grade components.

Nuro claimed that its approach ensures that its technology is not only highly capable but also practical for large-scale deployment across various vehicle types and use cases. The company said Nuro Driver can accelerate autonomous vehicle development by enabling up to SAE Level 4 autonomy on mobility platforms and personally-owned vehicles.

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In Episode 172 of The Robot Report Podcast, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman catch up on the news of the week, including several recent stories about self-driving vehicles. We also catch up with Yoshi Umeno and learn how Kollmorgen helps clients design and build surgical robots.

Featured interview with ABB

In the featured interview this week, Oitzman catches up with Marc Segura, president of ABB Robotics, to learn how the company is using artificial intelligence to make robotics easier to program and deploy.

Show timeline

• 7:50 – News
• 22:22 – Kayleen Brown interviews Yoshi Umeno from Kollmorgen (sponsored by Kollmorgen)
• 29:50 – Interview with Marc Segura, president of ABB Robotics

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News of the week

Schaeffler plans global use of Agility Robotics’ Digit humanoid

2025 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards open for nominations

You can now submit nominations for the 2025 RBR50 innovation awards. They will recognize technology and business innovations in the calendar year 2024, and the awards are open to any company worldwide that produces robotics or automation.

The categories include:

1. Technologies, products, and services: This category includes primary or applied research focusing on robotics and supporting technologies such as motion control, vision, or machine learning. It also includes new products and business, engineering, or technology services.
2. Business and management: This category covers initiatives positioning a company as a market leader or an organization as an important thought leader in the robotics ecosystem. Significant mergers and acquisitions are relevant, as are supplier, partner, and integrator relationships.
3. Applications and markets: The RBR50 will also recognize innovations that improve productivity, quality, and cost-effectiveness, as well as those that automate new tasks.

In addition, the 2025 RBR50 awards will celebrate the following:

• Startup of the Year
• Application of the Year
• Robot of the Year
• Robots for Good Award

The deadline for submissions is Friday, Dec. 20, 2024.

Podcast sponsored by RGO Robotics

The show this week is sponsored by RGO Robotics 

Is your autonomous mobile robot (AMR) struggling in dynamic environments? Is your business stuck because it takes months to commission a new site?

RGo Robotics’ Perception Engine is revolutionizing the AMR business through advanced Vision AI perception technology. Unlike traditional solutions, The company’s software enables AMRs to adapt to changing environments and navigate complex spaces with unprecedented accuracy and the commissioning process is shorter and simpler.

Leading AMR companies are enhancing their fleets with RGo’s AI-powered perception, enabling their teams to accelerate use of advanced AI capabilities like foundation models and digital twins.

Don’t let outdated navigation hold your business back.

To learn more about RGO’s solutions, go to: https://www.rgorobotics.ai/

The post The ABB Edge: Using AI and robotics to transform industries appeared first on The Robot Report.

LOXO’s Migronomous delivery service demonstrated the Alpha self-driving vehicle. Source: Schindler Group

LOXO AG today opened its first international subsidiary in Munich, Germany. The Bern, Switzerland-based company has developed and deployed software-as-a-service, or SaaS, systems to provide autonomy to delivery vehicles.

“Germany is a natural next step for LOXO as we continue our mission to revolutionize commercial vehicle automation in Europe,” said Amin Amini, CEO of LOXO. “Germany’s strong logistics market, advanced automotive infrastructure, and progressive legislation surrounding autonomous vehicles make it the ideal location for us to further our middle-mile and mobile distribution projects.”

Amin Amini, Lara Amini, and Claudio Panizza founded the company in 2018. LOXO claimed that its vehicle-agnostic LOXO Digital Driver (LDD) software can give nearly any commercial vehicle SAE Level 4 autonomy.

In addition, the company operates its own fleet of logistics vehicles, the electric LOXO Alpha and LOXO R1.

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LOXO begins with autonomous deliveries in Bern

LOXO recently rolled out what it said was Europe’s first L4 self-driving technology, which is operational on public roads in Bern. The company, which began with remote operation, has authorized autonomous driving routes spanning 65 km (40 mi.) within the city.

“The LDD software serves as the core of every autonomous operation, combining advanced AI with an autonomous sensor stack to enable vehicles to drive autonomously,” explained the company on its website. “Our virtual mapping approach significantly enhances scalability, ensuring operations remain fast and cost-effective.”

Last year, it conducted projects with Schindler Group and Migros, Switzerland’s largest online retailer. Its autonomous vehicles are currently proving their capabilities in projects with Planzer, a major Swiss logistics company.

German middle-mile market presents an opportunity

“Germany’s middle-mile logistics sector, valued at approximately $379.89 billion in 2023 and projected to surpass $504 billion by 2032, has enormous untapped potential,” asserted LOXO. “The repetitive nature of middle-mile routes between business hubs presents an ideal opportunity for autonomous driving solutions.”

Lara Amini, co-founder and current chief business officer of LOXO Switzerland, will lead the new Munich subsidiary.

“We’re not just focused on replacing traditional vehicles with autonomous ones. Our goal is to foster innovation that will catalyze the transformation of the entire logistics sector,” said Lara Amini. “By collaborating with local partners and tapping into Germany’s pool of talent, we aim to take LOXO’s successful model and scale it across new markets.”

The company said its expansion into Germany signals its commitment to advancing autonomous driving in one of Europe’s largest logistics markets. It said it aims to further integrate its vehicles into the supply chain and advance the state of commercial vehicle automation.

The post LOXO expands into Germany with self-driving logistics subsidiary appeared first on The Robot Report.

Organization: Locus Robotics Corp.
Country: U.S.
Website: https://locusrobotics.com/
Year Founded: 2014
Number of Employees: 51-100
Innovation Class: Application & Market

In August 2023, autonomous mobile robot (AMR) developer Locus Robotics surpassed 2 billion picks for its warehouse fulfillment customers. The milestone came just 11 months after it surpassed the 1 billion pick mark in 2022, for which the company also won an RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award.

“Achieving the 2 billion picks milestone is an incredible accomplishment or our company and for our customers,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics, at the time. “This event is a testament to the dedication and innovation of our incredible team and the dramatic productivity improvements we deliver to drive our customers’ growth and success.”

It took Locus just 358 days to go from 1 billion to 2 billion, with the last 100 million picks taking just 27 days. That’s an average of 3.7 million picks per day. By comparison, it took more than six years to make the first billion picks and 1,542 days to pick the first 100 million units.

“Locus’ consistent innovation, user-centric approach, and genuine dedication to customer relationships put them at the forefront of warehouse automation,” said Alan McDonald, vice president of continuous improvement at GEODIS. “This milestone is a testament to its technological leadership and synergistic collaboration. We look forward to building on our work together and driving even greater efficiency improvements in the future.”

Warehouse operators are increasingly turning to AMRs to meet growing demand and overcome labor shortages. And Locus Robotics continues to lead the way. Its mobile robots support more than 120 of the world’s top brands and are deployed at 300-plus sites globally.

The Wilmington, Mass.-based company said it enables retailers, third-party logistics providers (3PLs), and specialty warehouses to efficiently meet and exceed the increasingly complex and demanding requirements of today’s fulfillment environment.

Since the its 2024 RBR50 award, Locus passed the 3 billion pick mark in April and the 4 billion pick mark in October.

Explore the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards 2024.

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RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards 2024

The post RBR50 Spotlight: Locus Robotics surpasses 2B picks with AMRs appeared first on The Robot Report.

CaseFlow orchestrates case-picking robots and workers, noted new CEO Karl Iagnemma. Source: Vecna robotics

Vecna Robotics today announced that it has closed $14.5 million in additional funding from existing investors and brought on Karl Iagnemma as CEO. The Waltham, Mass.-based company provides mobile robots for materials handling.

Iagnemma has been a robotics researcher and an entrepreneur. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he authored publications on robotics and artificial intelligence that have been cited more than 20,000 times.

“I got my Ph.D. in 2001 and led the Robotic Mobility Group at MIT from 2001 to 2013, where I did fundamental research into wheeled mobile robots, the foundational technology for autonomous mobile robots [AMRs] and robotaxis,” Iagnemma told The Robot Report.

At MIT, Iagnemma met Daniel Theobald, a fellow alumnus and founder and chairman of Vecna Robotics, while working on a DARPA project. In 2020, Iagnemma made an angel investment in the company.

“I was convinced that Vecna had the world’s best technology to address key workflows in this space,” he said. “It’s a $275 billion opportunity, with 2.5 billion sq. ft. of warehouse space.”

From autonomous vehicles to mobile robots

In 2013, Iagnemma co-founded and served as CEO of autonomous vehicle (AV) developer nuTonomy, which conducted public robotaxi pilots in Singapore.

“nuTonomy launched the first fully Level 4 self-driving vehicles in urban environments,” he recalled. “We raised about $20 million but saw that we needed billions to proceed.”

Tier 1 automotive supplier Aptiv acquired nuTonomy in 2017 for $405 million.

“We then saw that we needed an even bigger partner,” Iagnemma said. “That’s what led us to Hyundai in 2019.”

He was founding CEO of Motional, a $4 billion joint venture between Aptiv and Hyundai Motor Group. In May 2024, Hyundai acquired shares of Motional from Aptiv for $448 million.

“Automation in logistics today is similar to the current state of robotaxis, in that there is a massive market opportunity but little market penetration,” stated Iagnemma.

“I join Vecna Robotics at an inflection point in the material handling market, where operators are poised to adopt automation at scale,” he added. “Vecna is uniquely positioned to shape the market with state-of-art technology and products that are easy to purchase, deploy, and operate reliably across many different workflows.”

What’s the biggest difference between AVs and AMRs?

“With autonomous vehicles, you have to watch out for drunk jaywalkers, the weather, and baby strollers,” replied Iagnemma. “AMRs are ready to be deployed at scale today.”

“One of the first things I did when I joined Vecna is I went to a 1.2 million sq. ft. customer site,” he noted. “There were remarkably few people, and the robots were operating very reliably. It was a more constrained environment [than for AVs], but the robots are still complex. They’re not just technology but products that must operate continuously.”

Iagnemma joins as CaseFlow is released

Vecna Robotics makes autonomous forklifts, tuggers, pallet trucks, and pallet jacks. It also offers the Pivotal software and a round-the-clock Command Center to help manufacturers, warehouses, and distribution operators automate critical tasks, maximize throughput, and quickly scale.

“Pivotal is a great example of the large-scale thinking that is embodied in Vecna,” said Iagnemma. “Some competitors are building widgets for specific workflow products, but Vecna is developing an ecosystem. It’s not just a product for one use case but an AI system that optimizes the performance of every asset, including automation and workers.”

Last month, Vecna introduced the CaseFlow system for optimized human-robot case picking. It offers CaseFlow through a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) model.

“I was excited to join with the release of CaseFlow,” Iagnemma said. “Case picking is one of the highest-value workflows, and this is the only truly flexible way to do it. We’ve seen customer sites with ROI [return on investment] in less than a year, with more than doubling of productivity. It’s not just a simulation.”

Vecna prioritizes strategic partnerships, enhanced products

In June, Vecna raised more than $100 million in a Series C round and named Michael Helmbrecht as chief operating officer. The company’s previous CEOs included Dan Patt and Craig Malloy.

Vecna said it plans to use its latest $14.5 million in funding to accelerate technology and product enhancements.

“My goal as CEO is to continue investing in product development and ‘deepen our moat’ in the automated forklift area,” said Iagnemma. “Another is to achieve scale through new products and strategic partnerships, not at the facility scale but at the enterprise scale.”

“Karl Iagnemma combines exceptional robotics expertise with hands-on leadership, making him the perfect fit to drive innovation and propel Vecna Robotics into its next phase of growth,” said Nick Solaro, general partner at Drive Capital. “We are confident that his extensive network will be instrumental in forging key strategic partnerships, securing the company’s long-term leadership in the market.”

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The Digit humanoid transports totes at a Spanx facility run by GXO Logistics in Georgia. | Credit: Agility Robotics

Details are scarce at the moment, but Agility Robotics has a new strategic partnership. Schaeffler AG, a global leader in motion technology, is making a minority investment into Agility and buying Digit humanoid robots for use across its global plant network.

The companies did not disclose the size of the investment, the number of humanoids being purchased, or what they will be used for. The Robot Report reached out to Agility Robotics and Schaeffler for more details, but both companies declined to comment.

“In disruptive times, implementing innovative manufacturing solutions is crucial to be successful,” said Andreas Schick, chief operating officer of Schaeffler. “Here, humanoids play an important role. We, at Schaeffler, will integrate this technology into our operations and see the potential to deploy a significant number of humanoids in our global network of 100 plants by 2030. We look forward to the collaboration with Agility Robotics which will accelerate our activities in this field.”

Agility Robotics won the inaugural RBR50 Robot of the Year Award from The Robot Report earlier in 2024. It was recognized for showcasing Digit’s ability to perform real-world work in pilots with Amazon and GXO Logistics.

While the pilot with Amazon has been relatively quiet, GXO officially deployed a “small fleet” of Digit humanoids at a Spanx facility in Georgia. The Digit humanoids pick up totes from 6 River Systems‘ Chuck autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and place the totes onto conveyors.

Agility claimed that it was the first company to commercially deploy humanoids. It also asserted that the GXO deal was the first robots-as-a-service (RaaS) implementation of such robots.

Humanoid development marches on

Many other companies are also developing humanoids for commercial use, including Apptronik, Boston Dynamics, Figure, and Sanctuary AI, to name a few. None of them, however, appear to have deployed their humanoids with customers beyond small trials.

“We are excited to welcome Schaeffler as a customer and investor, and look forward to delivering value in their operations with Digit,” said Peggy Johnson, who took over as Agility Robotics’ CEO in March 2024. “While our technology is helping companies like Schaeffler transform their manufacturing, logistics, and warehousing businesses, scaling the use of humanoid robots will require them to work cooperatively with humans and outside of the safety cages they are in today.”

“I am confident that in the next 24 months, Agility will be the first company to deliver a safe humanoid robot that will be able to work alongside people,” she stated.

There currently are no safety standards for humanoids. However, various efforts are under way to explore a path forward for relevant standards. The IEEE Humanoids Study Group just released a survey to better understand how human-robot interaction might affect the development of standards for humanoids.

Late last month, Boston Dynamics released an impressive video of its new electric Atlas humanoid. The video shows the robot handling large automotive parts autonomously. The company said Atlas uses machine learning to execute its tasks and 3D vision to perceive the world around it.

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Brightpick’s Autopickers automate both mobile manipulation and each picking tasks. | Source: Brightpick

Brightpick today announced that it has raised an additional $12 million in a mix of equity and debt funding. The company said it will primarily use the new funding to support the deployment of robots and artificial intelligence in the U.S., which is expected to generate 50% of its revenue in 2024.

“Since launching Brightpick Autopicker early last year, we’ve experienced tremendous interest from new customers,” said Jan Zizka, co-founder and CEO. “Our unique technology offers greater labor and cost savings than any other solution, which resonates strongly with customers. Our focus has always been on scaling in the US, where we’re now seeing the most traction. These funds will primarily support additional customer installations in that market.”

Brightpick spun off in 2021 from Bratislava, Slovakia-based Photoneo, a developer of 3D robotic vision sensors and intelligence software. The company, which is headquartered near Cincinnati in Erlanger, Ky., is part of Photoneo Brightpick Group, which has more than 8,000 technology installations across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Autopicker applies AI to fulfillment

Brightpick offers AI robots for warehouses to automate every step of fulfillment, from order picking and consolidation to dispatch and stock replenishment. The company claimed that its award-winning mobile manipulator is the only one in the world that robotically picks and consolidates orders directly in the warehouse aisles, like a human with a cart.

The flagship Autopicker system, first announced in 2023, takes just weeks to deploy and enables companies to minimize the labor needed for order fulfillment, said Brightpick.

The company added that it now has more 200 employees and over 300 AI robots deployed across the U.S. and Europe. Its customers include leading companies such as Rohlik Group, Dr. Max, and The Feed.

Last year, Autopicker was the 2024 RBR50 Application of the Year winner. The system stood out for its ability to automate both mobile manipulation and each picking. 

Brightpick funding totals $47M

To date, Photoneo has invested more than $35 million in Brightpick, with this latest round bringing total funding to $47 million.

The round saw participation from new investor EBRD Venture Capital alongside existing investors Pavel Baudiš and Eduard Kučera (founders of Avast), Miroslav Trnka (founder of ESET), Maximilian Kolowrat-Krakowsky, and Juraj Duriš.

“We are excited to support Brightpick as they continue to revolutionize warehouse automation with their innovative technology,” said Bruno Lusic of EBRD Venture Capital. “Their ability to deliver unmatched efficiency and cost savings to customers positions them as a leader in the market, and we are confident that their rapid growth in the U.S. will further strengthen their leading position.”

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