Celebrating International Women in Robotics Day on October 4th (and all October really!)

Plus Farmbots, Sustainable Robotics and the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge deadline extended till Oct 5th

Coming up is International Women in Robotics Day on Oct 4 with the publication of the annual collection of “50 women in robotics you need to know about” from Women in Robotics organization. There are also plenty of celebration events underway across the USA and beyond, including the launch of new Women in Robotics chapters. Host and event, register it at Women in Robotics, share on social media and send us your photos!

And following on from our fabulous Sustainable Robotics event last week, Hardware to Save a Planet has shared this interview with Andrew Gillies, Co-Founder of Urban Machines. So much good news each week in robotics! I’ve landed in Detroit for IROS 2023 and so next post will have lots about the expo, and hopefully some great papers too.

Big thank you to everyone who has become a paid subscriber - it makes you an angel investor in the work I do at Silicon Valley Robotics and as a startup advisor, and accelerator. And maybe we can do more to share your experience and expertize with the robotics startup community. Mentor Office Hours, maybe startup profiles. We’ll keep exploring.

Quick Reads:

Yori: a hybrid approach to robotics cooking - IEEE Spectrum

Open Robotics’ ROS is safe despite Alphabet buying OSRF, says Intrinsic - TechCrunch

The 2024 Farm Robotics Challenge Competition Kickoff - The Robot Report

Dusty Robotics role in spacious new medical office building completion - HCO News

A new global map of the AI future - Politico

Roadmap for Responsible Robotics - Dagstuhl Seminars

Agility Robotics: Our robot won’t be armed and won’t take your jobs - TechCrunch

Inside America’s plans for an autonomous and AI powered military - The Hill

How robotics tech can help elite athletes get faster - Running Magazine

The synergy of artificial intelligence and robotics in medical practice - Forbes

ABB plans stunning new robotics hub in Sweden as part of $280 million investment in Europe - Robotics and Automation news

Rockwell Automation makes shift to ‘as-a-service’ model - CIO News

Dexterity AI and FedEx Unveil First-of-its-Kind Robotics Trailer Loading Technology - Robotics Tomorrow

We can’t find enough workers: can automation fill the gaps - Forbes

Will automation in manufacturing boost diversity - TheManufacturer.com

The future of grocery automation: Four trends in fresh - Supermarket News

FIRA USA agrobotics recap - The Robot Report

‘The Android of agriculture’: Monarch Tractor CEO Praveen Penmetsa on the future of farming - The Verge

Blendid expands robotics smoothie presence in Californian campuses - Robotics and Automation News

Chinese manufacturers use 12x robots than US when controlling for wages - ITIF

Boxbot raises $12m after a pivot to package delivery - SVRobo

Viam releases modular registry to streamline the building and customization of smart machines - SVRobo

Robotics Events:

October 4 - the inaugural International Women in Robotics Day with events in Detroit, Bay Area, Boston, Texas, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Canada, UK and beyond! Host an event and have it listed on the Women in Robotics Org website.

September 28 - The Autonomous Systems Showcase - Deep Tech Showcase

September 28 - InOrbit Connect Live - Where Robots and Users Meet - InOrbit

September 29 - AI x Hardware 24 Hour Hackathon - Studio 45

October 4 - Bots&Beverages in SF at Studio 45 - SVR

October 1-5 - IROS in Detroit incl. Women in Engineering Lunch and Learn and SVR/RAS Startup Workshop on Oct 2nd and Diversity Cocktails on Oct 3rd - IEEE RAS

Maker Faire is back in the Bay Area! More next week

October 18-22 - ROSCon + PX4 Autopilot Developer Summit in New Orleans and virtual - Open Robotics (save $100 by registering for both events)

October 25 - The Food AI Summit - Alameda CA - from The Spoon

Nov 3 - AI x Robotics Hackathon - Schematic Ventures

Startup Deadlines

Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge

Good news, the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge has been extended! Early-stage deep tech startups now have until next Thursday, October 5th at 11.59PM Pacific Time to apply.

As you may know, we cover all industries & technologies and select 5-7 Finalists (about 70 total) for each of the tracks below. They pitch on stage in front of 400 people & compete for a chance to win the top 3 prizes totalling €150K.

• Industrial Biotech & New Materials

• Aerospace

• Sustainable Construction & Infrastructure

• Advanced Computing & Electronics

• Digital Health & Medical Devices

• Energy

• Environment & Biodiversity

• Food & Agriculture

• Industry & Machines

• Medical Biotech & Pharmaceuticals

But even if they're not selected a Finalist, about 700 startups will be selected as Deep Tech Pioneers and will get tons of business/fundraising opportunities for free all year long and along with access to our Investor Day and Global Summit in Paris in March 2024. There they’ll get the chance to meet 1-to-1 with: C-level industry leaders, VCs & CVCs, international media as well as fellow deep tech entrepreneurs.

Invest Tokyo Program

EY has been entrusted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to run the Invest Tokyo program. Our aim is to attract global companies to Tokyo in order to maintain the city’s role as a hub for Asia while driving economic growth across Japan.

At a time of global disruption in business and society, we are focusing on innovative overseas companies developing cutting-edge technologies such as AI and IoT who may be considering a move to Tokyo. In support of the program’s goals, the Metropolitan Government will provide incentives and support to make it easier and more attractive for companies to set up and operate in Tokyo. These include:

１）Free consultancy services
２）Business partner search
３）Financial incentives (provided by Tokyo Metropolitan Government)
４）On the ground support (assistance with registration, personnel recruitment, office search, etc)

The program runs until March 2024 and is aimed at companies which plan to open an office in Tokyo by March 2025.

Email: Invest.tokyo@jp.ey.com
Website: http://www.eyjapan.jp/advisory/

Interesting Robots:

Can training make three arms better than two heads - IEEE Open Journal for Engineering

Univ. of Washington researchers roll out tiny, battery-free, autonomous robot called ‘MilliMobile’

Farm robots inspired by ant brains - TechExplore

FarmBot presentation for IEEE Buenaventura chapter.

FarmBot is a US start-up agricultural robotics manufacturer using 100% open-source hardware, software, and data platform to design a Cartesian robot for small to medium-scale automated precision food production for gardening. Marc from FarmBot presents the FarmBot Genesis system and show the latest technology from FarmBot. Referenced Videos:

Deeper Reads:

The Future of Venture Capital? Insights Into Data-Driven VCs by Abhishek Bhatia and Gary Dushnitsky

In California Review Management, UC Berkeley

Recently, some venture capitalists have opted to embrace data-driven approaches (Gompers, Gornall, Kaplan, Strebulaev 2020). The tools are deployed for various use cases, such as sourcing and screening of nascent startups or more mature investment opportunities. Below, we focus on the use of data-driven tools towards sourcing and screening nascent investment opportunities; namely, the practice of ‘first money’ into budding startups. We further discuss findings from analysis documenting portfolio characteristics for data-driven as well as traditional VCs.

Preliminary findings suggest D-VCs in the United States back founders from underrepresented backgrounds (i.e., more females, fewer graduates of ‘elite’ universities), in comparison to their T-VC peers. The portfolios of both US-based investor groups exhibit similarities in terms of startups’ age and location in ‘startup hubs.’

See also Data Driven VC Landscape by Andre Retterath at DataDrivenVC.io

Here’s the latest IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine!

There’s an interesting piece on Open Hardware for Robotics, a measurability capability comparison of various Lidar and Radar sensors for application in robotics, and the announcement of a new journal “IEEE Robotics and Automation Practice” or RAP which will begin soliciting submissions early in 2024. RAP will be a venue where practitioners can find research that is explicitly directed toward deployment in actual robotics and automation settings.