Soft Robotics

Modular eel robots combine soft and rigid components

Here’s an interesting comment from MIT’s Alfonso Parra Rubio, “Treating soft versus hard robotics is a false dichotomy.” For, I suppose, obvious reasons, thinking around technology tends to be

Automating the income gap

This is going to be another one of those “let’s ask ourselves some difficult questions” newsletter introductions, so if you’re in the U.S., I certainly won’t blame you for not giving

Soft Robotics raises $26 million as staffing shortages continue across industries

I spent last week in Boston, meeting with several of the area’s top automation startups. Soft Robotics — based in nearby Bedford, Massachusetts — is one of those names that comes up a lo

MIT used autonomous knitting to create these soft robotic banana fingers

The MIT CSAIL team calls them “banana fingers,” and I can’t really disagree. They’re oblong and bright yellow, but as visually arresting as they are at first glance, they do serve a function.

Calibrate Ventures raises $97M for second fund targeting AI, automation

With capital flowing freely lately, managing partners Jason Schoettler and Kevin Dunlap shared some insights on what it takes to win deals these days. 

Pausing Pepper, packing meat and picking berries

We’re fresh off of our big Pittsburgh event, and I’ll have more thoughts on that for you next week, once we’ve crawled through all of the interviews, published profiles and all of that fun stuff

Soft Robotics raises another $10M, citing pandemic-related demand

Add Soft Robotics to the long list of automation companies that have seen a boost in investment interest amid the pandemic. The New England-based firm announced this morning a $10 million raise that s

Tiny silver flakes can improve conductivity in soft robots

Soft robotics have long been one of the more exciting categories among emerging technologies. Of course, as with most new tech, the field has some drawbacks over more traditional models. While they im

Cables could help soft robots transform into harder structures

The sub-category of soft robotics has transformed the way many think about the field. Oft-influenced by natural phenomenon, the technology offers a dramatically different approach than the sort of rig

China’s adaptive robot maker Flexiv raises over $100 million

As businesses around the world look to automate production lines and supply chains, companies making the robots are attracting great investor interest. The latest to get funded is Flexiv, which closed

This flexible robot is a speedy runner — and not a bad swimmer

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 robot

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 i

This tiny, soft robo-bug scoots with smarts and survives swats

Nature is a good source of inspiration for roboticists, but it's rare that nature's elegance and genius can be replicated in any real way. Still, we're getting closer. This tiny insect-like robot is m

MIT researchers develop a much better way to optimize the control of soft robots

MIT researchers have developed a new way to optimize how soft robots perform specific tasks — a huge challenge when it comes to soft robotics in particular, because robots with flexible bodies c

MIT develops a robot that can grow like a plant when it needs some extra reach

MIT has developed a new kind of robot that can essentially extend itself — “growing” in a way that’s surprisingly similar to how a young plant grows upward. The way researchers

Softly, softly, catchy jelly: This ‘ultragentle’ robotic gripper collects fragile marine life

The creatures of the depths live in a very different world — one lethal to us. But our world is lethal to them as well, all sharp edges and rapid movements. If we're to catch and learn about the sof

L.A. gets more moolah, thanks to Calibrate Ventures and its new $80 million fund

Two years ago, a couple of VCs from Shea Ventures, a 50-year-old, L.A.-based investment firm, banded together to create a Pasadena, Calif.-based early-stage venture firm called Calibrate Ventures. Inv

Your vegetables are going to be picked by robots sooner than you think

In the very near future, robots are going to be picking the vegetables that appear on grocery store shelves across America. The automation revolution that’s arrived on the factory floor will mak

Soft Robotics raises $20 million to expand operations

Massachusetts-based Soft Robotics announced this week that it’s raised $20 million in funding, courtesy of Scale Venture Partners, Calibrate Ventures, Honeywell Ventures and Tekfen Ventures, along w

This soft robotic arm is straight out of Big Hero 6 (it’s even from Disney)

The charming robot at the heart of Disney's Big Hero 6, Baymax, isn't exactly realistic, but its puffy bod is an (admittedly aspirational) example of the growing field of soft robotics. And now Disney
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