Archive 12.07.2018

In this episode, Marwa Mohammed Alaa Eldean Eldiwiny interviews Yong-Lae Park, Associate Professor at Seoul National University in South Korea, about the bio-inspired design and manufacture of soft robots and microrobots for healthcare. Park’s research goal is to analyze the design and dynamics of biological systems and transform them into robotic/mechatronic systems for human life. Some of the his projects include development of artificial skin sensors, soft Muscle Actuators, and wearable robots for human rehabilitation.

Yong-Lae Park

Yong-Lae Park is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University.  Previously, Park was an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the Robotics Institute and the School of Computer Science.  Park received his Doctoral and Master’s Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford. He earned his Batchelor’s Degree from Kansas State University in Manufacturing Systems Engineering and a Batchelor’s of Engineering in Industrial Engineering at Korea University.

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Musica Automata is my new project and upcoming album, containing music written for the biggest robot orchestra in the world. These robots are more than sixty acoustic instruments (part of Logos Foundation) which receive digital MIDI messages that contain precise informations for their performance.

We’re aiming to fund the project through Kickstarter, where you can buy the album in vinyl, CD and digital download. A ticket for an exclusive concert with the robot orchestra is also available to pre-order.

Musica Automata is a multi-sensorial experience where the listener can hear and view where the sounds come from; one can observe the robots and find a precise correlation between the movement of the instrument and the sound perceived. The robot music performance, due to its extreme precision, can often surpass the ability of a human performer and, therefore, introduce completely new expressive possibilities. However next to the precise digital controls, the real performance and acoustic sound of instruments playing in a real acoustic space is preserved. Despite this particular instrumentation, it’s the music that leads the instruments and not the opposite; the emotional impact of the music is still there due to the versatility of the robots, which are not limited to mere artificial reproduction. It’s a performance that comes from a human idea, however devoid of direct human contact with the instrument. This means that the conceived musical idea, once processed and translated into MIDI language, is executed by robots without losing its artistic value in any way.

Here’s an audio preview of the music

Twenty-seven startups raised money in June to the tune of $2.1 billion, another great month for robotics! Also during June there were ten acquisitions and two IPOs. See below for details.

The top fundings were:

1. Rockwell (NYSE:ROK) made a $1 billion equity investment in PTC (NASDAQ:PTC), an automation control software provider to government and industry.
2. Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is investing $500 million in JD (JingDong) (NASDAQ:JD), the Chinese equivalent to Amazon and China’s 2nd largest e-commerce provider.
3. Yitu Technology, a Chinese vision systems and AI startup, raised $200 million in a Series C funding.
4. CMR Surgical, the Cambridge, UK developer of the Versius surgical robotic system, raised $100 million in a Series B funding.

This month’s $2.1 billion in fundings brings the year-to-date total to $7.1 billion!

Fundings

1. PTC (NASDAQ:PTC), a IoT, Industry 4.0 and control software provider to government and industry, has partnered with Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, “to accelerate growth for both companies and enable them to be the partner of choice for customers around the world who want to transform their physical operations with digital technology.” Rockwell is making a $1 billion equity investment in PTC as part of the deal in which the two agreed to align their respective smart factory technologies and industrial automation platforms.
2. JD (JingDong) (NASDAQ:JD), the Chinese equivalent to Amazon and China’s 2nd largest e-commerce provider, raised $500 million from Google/Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG). Like Amazon, JD is heavy in the automated logistics business and now, with this investment, JD plans to open restaurants staffed by robots starting this August and ramping up to 1,000 by 2020. (The restaurants will serve 40 or fewer dishes with customers ordering and paying by smartphone.) JD is also involved in last mile deliveries and just launched 20 mobile robot carts in the Beijing area (each robot can deliver up to 30 different parcels). Google has been partnering and investing in smart logistics, online grocery shopping, virtual assistant shopping and same day delivery and this investment in JD adds to that effort.
3. Yitu Technology, a Chinese vision systems and AI startup, raised $200 million in a Series C funding from ICBC International Holdings, SPDB International and Gaocheng Capital.
4. CMR Surgical, the Cambridge, UK developer of the Versius surgical robot system, raised $100 million in a Series B funding round led by Zhejiang Silk Road Fund and included existing investors Escala Capital Investments, LGT, Cambridge Innovation Capital and Watrium. CMR employs over 200 people and is close to submitting its surgical robotic system for regulatory approval.
5. Quantum Surgical, a French surgical robotics startup, raised $50 million in a Series A funding round led by Ally Bridge Group with participation from China’s Lifetech Scientific through its joint venture with Ally Bridge Group.
6. Bossa Nova Robotics, a San Francisco inventory management AI-enhanced robot maker, raised $29-million funding in a Series B-1 round led by Cota Capital, with participation from China Walden Ventures, LG Electronics, and Intel Capital, Lucas Venture Group, and WRV Capital.
7. Ceres Imaging, an Oakland, CA-based aerial spectral imagery and analytics company for the ag industry, raised $25 million in a Series B funding led by Insight Venture Partners and joined by Romulus Capital.
8. DroneDeploy, a San Francisco provider of software solutions for drones (automated safety checks, workflows and real-time mapping), raised $25 million in a Series C round led by Invenergy Future Fund with participation by Scale Venture Partners, AngelPad, Emergence Capital, AirTree Ventures and Uncork Capital.
9. Starship Technologies, the Estonian mobile robot delivery startup, raised $25 million in a seed round from existing investors Matrix Partners and Morpheus Ventures, along with extra funding from Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk and Skype founding engineer Jaan Tallinn. The money will go toward expanding the fleet which they forecast to exceed 1,000 robots across 20 work and academic campuses, as well as various neighborhoods, in the next year.
10. Silexica, a provider of AI-on-a-chip for ADAS vehicle applications, raised $18 million in a Series B round led by EQT Ventures Fund with previous investors Merus Capital, Paua Ventures, Seed Fonds Aachen, and DSA Invest.
11. Verity Studios, a Swiss indoor entertainment drone startup from one of the co-founders of Kiva Systems, raised $18 million in a Series A round led by Fontinalis Partners with Airbus Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, and Kitty Hawk.
12. Matternet, a Silicon Valley developer of drone logistics solutions, raised $16 million in Series A funding. Boeing HorizonX Ventures led the round and was joined by Swiss Post, Sony Innovation Fund and Levitate Capital.
13. Andrew Alliance, a Swiss developer of a line of bench-top lab pipetting robots, raised $14 million in a Series C funding round from Tecan Group, the Waters Corporation, Inpeco, Rancilio Cube, Sam Eletr Trust and Omega Funds. Andrew Alliance has supplied 18 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies, the top four diagnostic companies, and 16 of the top 20 of the world’s leading academic research institutions with lab robots.
14. Savioke, the Silicon Valley hospitality robot maker, raised $13.4 million in a Series B funding from Brain Corp, Swisslog Healthcare, NESIC and Recruit. The addition of Swisslog as an investor opens a new market for Savioke: hospital point-to-point delivery helping nurses, lab techs and other healthcare workers deliver essential items throughout the hospital.
15. NextInput, a Silicon Valley developer of MEMS-based force-sensor solutions, raised $13 million in a Series B funding round from Sierra Ventures, Cota Capital and UMC Capital.
16. Hailo Technologies, an Israeli chip making startup developing deep learning capabilities on edge devices, raised $12.5 million in a Series A round from Ourcrowd.com, Maniv Mobility, Next Gear; Zohar Zisapel and Gil Agmon.
17. Sphero (Orbotix), a Colorado-based robotic toymaker (think Star Wars, Spider Man and Lightning Mcqueen), raised $12.1 million as the first part of a $20 million fundraising led by Mercato Partners. Sphero spun out Misty Robotics to handle new robot toy business, readjusted its staff after a lackluster holiday sales season, and is remaking itself into an education-first robotics company.
18. WaterBit, a Silicon Valley precision ag irrigation system provider, raised $11.4 million in Series A funding led by New Enterprise Associates and including TJ Rodgers and Heuristic Capital.
19. Chowbotics, the Silicon Valley salad-making robot, raised $11 million in a Series A-1 funding round led by the Foundry Group and Techstars. They will use the funding to develop grain, breakfast, poke, açai and yogurt bowls.
20. Box Bot, a Berkeley-based developer of autonomous delivery robots, raised $7.5 million in seed funding. Artiman Ventures led the round and was joined by Pear Ventures, Afore Capital, Ironfire Ventures and The House Fund.
21. Kittyhawk, a San Francisco-based drone innovation company, raised $5 million in a Series A funding round led by Bonfire Ventures and joined by Boeing HorizonX Ventures and Freestyle Capital.
22. Smart Ag, an Iowa developer of an aftermarket kit for driverless tractors, and AutoCart, a plug-and-play system that automates existing grain cart tractors, raised $5 million from Stine See Farm.
23. CyPhy Works, sans founder Helen Greiner, raised $4.5 million from unknown sources in a Series C funding round. CyPhy provides “persistent” tethered drone platforms for defense and public safety. The company previously raised ~$35 million. Its backers include Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Nexus, Lux Capital, and investment arms of UPS and Motorola. Greiner is now working with the U.S. Army on robotics and artificial intelligence initiatives.
24. Chasing Innovation Technology, a Shenzhen startup making underwater drone products, raised $3 million in a Seed round from Shenzhen Capital Group.
25. InterModalics/Pick-it, a Belgian vision system provider for co-bots, raised $2.9 million from Urbain Vandeurzen and PMV to provide growth capital for the Pick-it vision and distancing device.
26. Acryl, a Korean voice and emotion recognition AI startup, raised around $934,000 from LG Electronics (which equated to a 10% stake in the venture).
27. Centaurs Tech (Chewrobot), a Chinese and American voice processing startup, raised an undisclosed Series A amount from Zongton Capital, Leaguer Venture Capital and Boyaa Interactive.

Acquisitions

1. Bonsai AI, a Berkeley software and AI startup, was acquired by Microsoft (in what might be called an acqui-talent grab) for an undisclosed amount. Bonsai’s 45+ employees will be used by Microsoft to build the machine learning model for autonomous systems of all types.
2. Carter Control Systems, a Maryland integrator of material handling logistics systems for high-volume mail handlers and postal automation, was acquired by Systems Solutions of Kentucky, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lummus, a legacy provider of machinery and parts for cotton gin companies, for an undisclosed amount. Systems Solutions is an integrator of letter, parcel, baggage and cargo sortation devices and conveyor equipment. Carter offers a full range of robotic solutions for picking, packing, machine tending, assembly and palletizing.
3. ESYS Automation, a Michigan industrial robotics integrator, was acquired for an undisclosed amount by JR Automation Technologies, also an industrial robotics integrator.
4. FFT Production Systems, a German integrator of industrial robots, was acquired by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International for an undisclosed amount. FFT provides complete vehicles and production plants for Tier 1 equipment makers in Germany, the USA, Japan, China and other countries. In 2017, FFT recorded revenues of over $984 million and employs over 2,600 people.
5. HEXAGON (STO:HEXA-B), the Swedish conglomerate integrating sensors and software into precision measuring technologies, acquired American AutonomouStuff, a developer and supplier of autonomous vehicle solutions, for an undisclosed amount estimated to be around $160 million. Hexagon has ~18,000 employees and net sales of ~$4.2 billion. During 2017 Hexagon acquired MSC, Vires, Catavolt and Luciad to enhance their autonomous, visualization and mobile capabilities. AutonomouStuff joined Baidu’s Apollo project team working on autonomous vehicle solutions earlier this year and had 2017 sales of $45 million.
6. MyStemKits, an Atlanta-based STEM learning kit that uses 3D printed items, was acquired by Robo 3D, a San Diego 3D printing equipment and supplies provider, for an undisclosed amount.
7. OnFarm Systems, a Fresno, CA-based SaaS for farmers, was acquired by Swiim, a Denver, CO irrigation system provider, for an undisclosed amount. The plan for the acquisition is to integrate SWIIM’s water balance monitoring and reporting data into the OnFarm dashboard thereby creating a more user-friendly product for SWIIM’s clients.
8. On Robot, a Danish gripper maker startup, has become the remaining name in the 3-way merger/acquisition of On Robot, OptoForce, a Hungarian force sensor provider and Perception Robotics, a Los Angeles gripper and tactile sensor developer. No financial information was provided.
9. RedZone Robotics, a Pittsburgh-based multi-sensor inspection provider for wastewater pipeline systems founded 30 years ago by famed roboticist “Red” Whittaker, was acquired by a group of investors led by Milestone Partners and including ABS Capital Partners, for an undisclosed purchase price.
10. Scott Technology (NZ:SCT), a NZ-based food handling robotics provider, has acquired the assets and IP of Transbotics (OTCMKTS:TNSB), an American AGV manufacturer. No financial details were provided.

IPOs

1. Albert Analytical Technology (TYO:3906), a Japanese analytics firm developing AI for self-driving vehicles, issued shares to Toyota Motor in return for $3.6 million of cash “For technological innovation as in the development of automated driving technologies with advanced analytical capacity centered on AI and machine learning.”
2. Odico Formwork Robotics (CPH:ODICO), a Danish construction robotics provider, issued 10 million shares to trade on the Nasdaq First North Denmark Exchange.

VISION: Robots as a tool to unlock human potential, modernise the economy, and build national health, well-being and sustainability.

Australia has released its first Robotics Roadmap following the example of many other countries. The roadmap, launched at Australia’s Parliament House on June 18, is a guide to how Australia can harness the benefits of a new robot economy.

Building on Australia’s strengths in robot talent and technologies in niche application areas, the roadmap acts a guide to how Australia can support a vibrant robotics industry that supports automation across all sectors of the Australian economy, and it is here that it shows some differences from other roadmaps. While many of the recommendations are similar to peer nation roadmaps, the drivers of the Australian economy are unique and we set the foundations of the roadmap on 5 key principles:

To develop the roadmap, the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision, an ARC Centre of Excellence, partnered with industry, researchers and government agencies across the country. Our national consultation process was modelled on Professor Henrik Christensen’s US Robotics Roadmap process and during late 2017 and early 2018 we held a series of workshops, in different Australian capital cities, focussing on areas of economic significance to Australia (see Figure).

Australia’s continued standard of living depends on us improving our productivity 2.5% every year. This is impossible to achieve through labour productivity alone, which over the five years to 2015-16 remained at 1.8%. According to Australia’s Productivity Commission, the productivity gap can be narrowed by new technology – robotics and automation. Automation is thought to be able to boost Australia’s productivity and national income by (up to) $AU2.2 trillion by 2030 (AlphaBeta report, 2017). $AU1 trillion from accelerating the rate of automation and $AU1.2 trillion – from transitioning our workforce to higher skilled occupations. Yet currently Australia is lagging peer nations in robotics ad automation, ranking 18th in the International Federation of Robotics 2017 assessment of industrial robot population density.

To encourage both the uptake and development of robotics and automation technologies, we developed 18 key recommendations, which can be broadly grouped into 5 categories:

The Australian robotics industry is diverse and hard to define, existing as either service businesses within major corporations or small-medium sized enterprises meeting niche market needs. There are no industry associations that collect data and represent the interests of robotics and related companies. Through the roadmapping process we discovered many great examples of Australian companies either developing robotic technologies or implementing them. We conservatively estimate that there are more than 1,100 robotics companies in Australia. These companies employ at least 50,000 people and generating more than $AU12b in revenue. It is an industry worthy of recognition in its own right.

If Australia can implement the roadmap’s recommendations, we believe that robotics and automation will maintain our living standards, help protect the environment, provide services to remote communities, reduce healthcare costs, provide safer more fulfilling jobs, prepare the next generation for the future, encourage investment and reshore jobs back to Australia.

Australia’s first robotics roadmap is a living document, symbiotic with a dynamic industry. Its emphasis will shift as the industry develops but always with the intention of navigating a path to prosperity for our nation. By describing what is possible and what is desirable, the roadmap aims to create the grounds for the necessary co-operation to allow robots to help unlock human potential, modernise the economy and build national health, well-being and sustainability.