robot
Swarms of autonomous insect robots could prove key to future planetary exploration
While we’re preparing to launch a six-wheeled robotic rover roughly the size of a car to explore Mars, future planetary exploration and science missions could employ much smaller hardware —…
OTTO Motors raises $29M to fill factories with autonomous delivery robots
When Clearpath Robotics CEO and co-founder Matthew Rendall looks at the “miles” of roads inside industrial factories, he sees them filled with autonomous vehicles. And in the past five years,…
Robotics startup lets machines get closer as humans keep their distance
Using micro-location robotics, this MIT spinout is tracking five miles of New York subway, showing the transportation authority where six of its trains are — down to the centimeter.
Dishcraft Robotics is using robots to save reopening restaurants from creating more waste
Dishcraft Robotics has a simple pitch to corporate kitchens and restaurants that could potentially save tons of single use plastic, noncompostable takeout containers, dishware and cutlery from ending up in…
Chinese robots will soon be seen roaming a number of warehouse floors across North America. Geek+, a well-funded Chinese robotics company that specializes in logistics automation for factories, warehouses and…
Microsoft launches Project Bonsai, its new machine teaching service for building autonomous systems
At its Build developer conference, Microsoft today announced that Project Bonsai, its new machine teaching service, is now in public preview. If that name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you…
Soft robots have been a booming category for research and manufacturing in recent years, due to a number of beneficial characteristics. The field has become increasingly important to things like…
MIT muscle-control system for drones lets a pilot use gestures for accurate and specific navigation
MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) has released a video of their ongoing work using input from muscle signals to control devices. Their latest involves full and fine…
Will China’s coronavirus-related trends shape the future for American VCs?
There may be dark horses waiting to break out when this pandemic is over. Paraphrasing “A Tale of Two Cities,” this is the worst time, but also maybe the best…
Starship Technologies is sending its autonomous robots to more cities as demand for contactless delivery rises
Starship Technologies has launched a robot food delivery service in Tempe, Ariz., as part of the autonomous delivery startup’s expansion plans following a $40 million funding round announced last August.…
Agriculture, cameras, tire changes and drive-throughs: Here are our robotics pitch-off winners
We tried something new at last week’s TC Sessions: Robotics + AI. For the first time ever, we incorporated a pitch-off into the event. With a site as embedded in…
This bathroom cleaning robot is trained in VR to clean up after you
You’ve no doubt heard about the three Ds of automation. Somatic’s robot handily qualifies for two. I’d say “dangerous” is probably a bit of a stretch here, but the robot…
Boston Dynamics unveils OTTO Motors collaboration to bring our robot overlords to the warehouse
Boston Dynamics, the undisputed heavyweight of technical robotics wizardry, unveiled a new collaboration with the warehouse autonomous material handling and transportation technology developer, OTTO Motors. Over the past year Boston…
Featured Article
‘Robot’ was coined 100 years ago, in a play predicting human extinction by android hands
The big climax arrives in Act Three. There’s an uprising, as the robots take over the factory that created them. By the Epilogue, humankind is all but extinct. Fed up with their treatment, the robots have laid waste to the hands that created them, sparing only a single human — a fellow worker. The decision…
A team of Imagineers will discuss Disney’s tech breakthroughs at TC Sessions: Robotics + AI, March 3 at UC Berkeley
With TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2020 a little over a week away, you likely thought we were finished with our big announcements. Understandably. We have top executives from Amazon…
Announcing the final agenda for Robotics + AI — March 3 at UC Berkeley
TechCrunch is returning to UC Berkeley on March 3 to bring together some of the most influential minds in robotics and artificial intelligence. Each year we strive to bring together…
Intuition Robotics raises $36M for its empathetic digital companion
Intuition Robotics, the company best known for its ElliQ robot, a digital home companion for the elderly, today announced that it has raised a $36 million Series B round co-led…
Nvidia VP Claire Delaunay will discuss empowering robotics startups at TC Sessions: Robotics + AI
Robotics, AI and automation are the future of business. This much seemingly everyone can agree on. Finding the resources to implement these technologies, on the other hand, is a different…
Watch experts from Boston Dynamics, Built, Dusty and Toggle discuss robotic construction at TC Sessions: Robotics
After recently doing a survey of the top robotics investment rounds, it became pretty clear: construction is going to be huge for this industry. Global construction is expected to hit…
Last day for early-bird tickets to TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2020
Today’s your last day to score early-bird pricing on tickets to TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2020, which takes place on March 3. If you want to keep $150 in…
One day left for early-bird tickets to TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2020
No one ever wants to pay more, and that’s as true for well-financed companies as it is for early-stage startup founders on a shoe-string budget. So if you love robots…
Stanford’s Doggo quadrupedal robot and siblings Pupper and Woofer are coming to TC Sessions: Robotics + AI
Animal-like, four-legged robots have been a crowd-pleaser since Boston Dynamics’ BigDog, and Stanford’s Doggo shows how the technology can be made open source, accessible and educational. Doggo’s creators will bring…
Five reasons you (really) don’t want to miss TechCrunch’s AI and Robotics show on March 3
TechCrunch’s fourth Robotics and AI show is coming up on March 3 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. If past experience is any guide, the show is sure to draw a…
72 hours left to save $150 on tickets to TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2020
We’re counting the days (35 to be precise) until TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2020 takes place on March 3 in Berkeley, Calif. But we’re also counting the days that…
TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics+AI 2020 is gearing up to be one amazing show. This annual day-long event draws the brightest minds and makers from these two industries — 1,500 attendees last…
Diligent’s Vivian Chu and Labrador’s Mike Dooley will discuss assistive robotics at TC Sessions: Robotics+AI
Too often the world of robotics seems to be a solution in search of a problem. Assistive robotics, on the other hand, are among one of the primary real-world tasks…
Soft Robotics raises $23 million from investors including industrial robot giant FANUC
Robotics startup company Soft Robotics has closed its Series B round of funding, raising $23 million led by Calibrate Ventures and Material Impact, and including participation from exiting investors including…
TRI-AD’s James Kuffner and Max Bajracharya are coming to TC Sessions: Robotics+AI 2020
With the Tokyo Summer Olympics rapidly approaching, 2020 is shaping up to be a big year for TRI-AD (Toyota Research Institute – Advanced Development). Opened in 2018, the research wing…
We’re bringing TC Sessions: Robotics + AI back to UC Berkeley on March 3, and we’re excited to announce our jam-packed agenda. For months we’ve been recruiting speakers from the…
Is ClicBot a spiritual successor to Cozmo? (Mostly no, but maybe a little yes)
Anki’s true legacy in robotics will only be sufficiently determined over the course of a few years. But while the startup’s vision for Cozmo ultimately failed, I suspect we’ll see…
