Finishing this series of CYBATHLON 2020 winners, today we feature the victory of the startup Circleg from Switzerland. We also had the chance to interview them (see the end of this post).

In this race, pilots wearing a leg prosthesis from five teams had to complete a circuit using any kind of active/passive prosthesis. In the CYBATHLON organisers’ own words, “passive prostheses are primarily for cosmetic purposes and have few functional characteristics. So-​called active leg prostheses can be controlled accurately thanks to innovative technologies. After a leg amputation, motorised prostheses allow users to do things like climb stairs more easily and walk up and down sloped surfaces successfully.” The challenge for the pilots was to complete the following tasks:

(1) Balancing cups and plates while sitting down and standing up to test leg strength in a confined space.

(2) Overcoming hurdles while carrying apples on two plates from one end to the other to test their bending ability and movement control of the knee joints.

(3) Transporting two buckets on a beam to test their ability to balance while moving forwards and backwards.

(4) Transporting balls and boxes to the other side of the stairs with only one foot on each step to test their ability to bend the knee joint, the motor power on the stairs, the precision of steps, their stability, all with limited vision.

(5) Crossing a tilted path in both directions while carrying plates with apples to test the bending ability and angle control of the knee and ankle joint.

(6) Balancing a plate with apples while ascending and descending a ramp to test the ability to bend knee and ankle joints, and their bending stability and motor power at the ramps.

As with other disciplines, the top three races were very tight. Team Circleg with pilot Andre Frei completed the circuit in 2m 43s, giving them the gold medal. Only five extra seconds did take the Swiss silver medalist team, NeuroLegs with pilot Stefan Poth. The bronze medal went to the Polish team Contur 2000 with pilot Adrian Bak, finishing the race in 2m 57s. Here’s a summary of the races of the top 4 finalists:

You can see the results from the rest of the teams in this discipline here, or watch the recorded livestreams of both days on their website.

Interview to Simon Oschwald – Co-founder of Circleg

We had the pleasure to interview Simon Oschwald, one of the co-founders of the startup Circleg. Simon studied Industrial and Product Design at the Zurich University of the Arts.

D. C. Z.: What does it mean for your team to have won in your CYBATHLON category?

S.O.: To win the prosthetic leg race at the Cybathlon exceeded all our expectations! Participating in the Cybathlon was a huge milestone for our team and a great opportunity to present the Circleg and our vision on this global stage. It was important for us to be able to show that the Circleg, with its functionality, can support amputees for the various challenges they face in everyday life. Our pilot Andre has now definitely proven this by winning the Cybhatlon race! The performance of the Circleg at the Cybathlon 2020 is also a confirmation that we are on the right track with the development to ultimately achieve our vision of Freedom of Mobility for everyone. We are thrilled!

D. C. Z.: And what does it mean for people with disabilities?

S.O.: I hope that many Amputees worldwide will see the performance of the Circleg at the Cybathlon as a sign that even with limited financial means it is possible to achieve freedom of mobility. Together we can realize with Circleg a holistic and sustainable prosthetic care for the majority of amputees worldwide. See it as a promise from our side that we will give everything to turn this vision into reality!

D. C. Z.: What are still your challenges?

S.O.: There are quite a few: The transformation of Circleg Zero into a mass product, the development of the local production chain and, finally, the implementation of our business model. A sustainable prosthetic supply does not only consist of a functioning product, but also requires locally functioning production, high-quality support, repair and service facilities and appropriate financing mechanisms. With the Circleg we address all these issues an our interdisciplinary is extremely motivated to tackle these challenges!

Manufacturers looking to enter or expand their electrification business often find themselves balancing key production requirements with the unpredictability of an emerging market where best-practice standards are still evolving.

Did you manage to watch all the holiday robot videos of 2020? If you did but are still hungry for more, I have prepared this compilation of Science Magazine videos featuring robotics research that were released during last year. Enjoy!

These ‘beetlebots’ keep flying, even after crashing into poles

What if the folding wings of beetles could help robots navigate narrow places by not being affected by crashes? You can read a bit more here, and see the research article here.

Magnetic spray transforms inanimate objects into mini-robots

Researchers developed an iron-based spray that sticks to surfaces like origami paper or cotton thread, and turns objects into tiny robots that could be maneuvered inside our bodies for future biomedical applications. You can read a bit more here, and see the research article here.

Speedy drones count Antarctic penguin colonies in record time

Reducing the amount of time that it takes to count penguins in Antarctica is crucial when you have to survive its extreme weather conditions. Researchers developed a new algorithm for multiple drones that cut the time from two days to three hours. You can read the story here.

Mosquito-inspired drone dodges obstacles, thanks to air-pressure sensors

By taking inspiration from the way some mosquitoes use changes in air flow to detect close objects, researchers created a sensor that can be fitted into flying robots to avoid crashes even when objects can’t be seen in the dark. You can read a bit more here, and see the research article here.

How NASA’s new rover will search for signs of ancient life on Mars

On 18 February, 2021, a NASA’s rover launched last summer will land on Mars to help researchers understand the planet’s climatic history. You can read the story here.

These sweaty robots cool themselves faster than humans

Cooling systems are important for robots in the same way they are for us. Indeed, researchers were inspired by the human best cooling system: sweat. You can read a bit more here, and see the research article here.

Swarm of drones flies through heavy forest—while staying in formation

Maintaining connectivity while avoiding crashes during outdoor navigation is a difficult challenge for robots flying through forests. Researchers found the way to ease this task. You can read a bit more here, and see the research article here.

Manufacturing facilities are at an increasingly high risk of cyberattacks, especially as they feature more connected, advanced machines that play vital roles in operations.

Many applications require drive solutions that have a central opening through which parts of the application can be guided. Examples of this can be found in optics and photonics for laser steering systems or in automation and robotics for semiconductor handling systems.

The latest Manufacturing Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Report on Business, reveals that economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew significantly in October 2020.

CBS MarketWatch declared 2020: The Year of the SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation). A record 219 companies went public through this fundraising vehicle that uses a reverse merger with an existing private business to create a publicly-listed entity. This accounted for more than $73 billion dollars of investment, providing private equity startups a new outlet to raise capital and provide shareholder liquidity. According to Goldman Sachs, the current trends represents a “year-over-year jump of 462% and outpacing traditional IPOs by $6 billion.” In response to the interest in SPACs, the Securities and Exchange Commission agreed last week to allow private companies to raise capital through direct listings, providing even more access to the public markets outside of Wall Street’s traditional institutional gatekeepers.

For the past few months the SPAC craze has spilled over to the robot and remote sensing industries. Just last week, SoftBank announced it is raising $525 million in a blind pool SPAC for investments in artificial intelligence. In the filing with the SEC, Softbank states, “For the past 40 years, SoftBank has invested ahead of major technology shifts. Now, we believe the AI revolution has arrived.” In 2017, SoftBank’s Chief Executive, Masayoshi Son (nicknamed Masa) predicted that by 2047, robots will outnumber humans on the planet with 10 billion small humanoids (like its own Pepper robot) rolling the streets. An outspoken believer in Singularity, Masa has not been shy about investing in the robotics sector with ownership stakes in Whiz, Pepper, Bear and Brain Corp. The company sold its interests in Boston Dynamics to Hyundai for a billion dollars earlier this month. When launching his own venture capital fund in 2018, Masa declared, “I am devoting 97% of my time and brain on AI.” This past month, Masa’s $100 billion Vision Fund had a huge portfolio win with the IPO of DoorDash, erasing earlier losses of failed investments in WeWork and OneWeb. In that spirit, it is not surprising that the SPAC filing exclaims: “COVID-19 has pulled this future forward by dramatically accelerating the adoption of digital services. During this time, we intersected with many compelling companies that wanted our support at IPO and beyond, but we lacked the vehicle to partner with them. This trend has only increased over the past year as more companies have decided to list publicly.”

SoftBank’s optimism is further validated by the success of SPACs in acquiring hardware sensor companies. Earlier this month, Ouster became the fifth LiDAR startup to go public through a SPAC this year. Already trading on the markets is Velodyne, Luminar, Innoviz, and Aeva. Each of these companies raised hundreds of millions of dollars at valuations exceeding a billion dollars. Some have fared well in the public markets, such as Luminar doubling its valuation in a few weeks. Others, like Velodyne, have had more difficulty. Velodyne’s shares fell by half since its listing in September (it is currently trading modestly above its initial price). As hardware is tough, staying private comes at the cost of founder dilution and overvaluation. SPACs offer startups and their investors quicker access to capital and greater liquidity, enabling investors to reinvest their returns in the autonomous sector and ultimately driving innovation in advance of greater adoption.

Recently, I caught up with Andrew Flett, General Partner of Mobility Impact Partners which raised $115 million for a new SPAC – Motion Acquisition Corp. (ticker symbol MOTNU). Flett’s investment vehicle is still on the hunt for an acquisition of “target businesses in connected vehicle industries globally, which include companies providing transportation software and cloud solutions for fleet management, freight and logistics, and mobile asset management applications.” When speaking with Flett, he described his inaugural experience in the space as follows, “This is the first SPAC I have been directly involved with but the mechanism has evolved and matured over the last couple of decades. They are popular now as a function of the same yield scarcity and immense liquidity that has been driving public equity speculation. There will be both highly speculative companies and companies with solid fundamentals in any wave of interest. This wave is no different.” He astutely points to previous SPAC upticks (since the 1980s) led by dubious underwriters that used the mechanism as a way to make a quick buck through “pump-and-dump” schemes. These market manipulators, many still serving jail time, quickly promoted stocks on the exchanges to only rapidly sell their own interests in the companies before other investors were legally able to trade the shares, ultimately devastating the startup’s and its shareholders’ values. This is compounded by the increased expenses and transparency of publicly traded listings, leaving startup founders ill prepared for their new role on the NASDAQ or NYSE.

Unlike the past, many of the newly formed SPACs have been managed by brand name investors such as Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic), Bill Ackman (Pershing Square) and Peter Thiel (Bridgetown). The performance of the newly listed SPAC 2020 crop has been very impressive, outpacing the S&P, with Draft Kings and Nikola leading the charge with triple digit returns. In nudging Flett for his opinion of these managers, he cautions, “Smart guys. Is it just a branding exercise or will they be involved in the asset evaluation and ultimate de-SPACed company? In the end, the asset needs to stand on its own and regardless of how it gets there (IPO, Direct Listing, SPAC), once public it is a pure apples to apples performance comparison dependent on strategy, management, and execution. If the public company does not benefit from their wisdom, it does not matter what brand is attached at the front end.”

Flett advises founders not to be too easily seduced by public capital, rather “focus on your company. If your company cannot absorb the responsibilities and overhead of being a public company, it is not the right option for you.” Gauging his view of Softbank’s latest announcement, “Like most Private Equity or institutional investors, it is simply a cash grab and an alternative vehicle to demonstrate their investing acumen. I prefer seeing Softbank doing reasonably sized SPACs than raising another misguided Vision Fund,” Flett optimistically opines. However, at the end of the day, the SPAC pioneer reminds us that the market is cyclical and the window of opportunity will eventually close, “As some of the speculative bets burn investors and yield alternatives appear, the SPAC market will slow.”

Predicting when and how collections of particles, robots, or animals become orderly remains a challenge across science and engineering.

Predicting when and how collections of particles, robots, or animals become orderly remains a challenge across science and engineering.

These robots have rhythm.

Here are some lessons learned while shepherding grocery robots as they’ve logged more than 250,000 miles of pilot runs and hundreds of actual deployments.

The Boston Dynamics crew got together to celebrate the start of what we all hope will be a happier year. Happy New Year from all of us.

Multi-domain operations, the Army's future operating concept, requires autonomous agents with learning components to operate alongside the warfighter. New Army research reduces the unpredictability of current training reinforcement learning policies so that they are more practically applicable to physical systems, especially ground robots.

While robots already play a prominent role in logistics and manufacturing, industry leaders are just beginning to realize the potential of this technology in security measures.

Every position is being assessed by small manufacturers. Jobs that can be replaced with robots make the company more attractive for a potential buyer.