The robots of ICRA 2023, Bots & Beer and the IERA Award
127 industry exhibitors at ICRA 2023 in the largest industry presence yet
I’m following up with a longer post about the various robot exhibitors at ICRA, especially the humanoids, and kicking things off with a shorter summary of the IERA Award and the Industry events at ICRA.
Four finalists for the IERA Award presented to industry judges during ICRA 2023;
Alain Hui Bon Hoa from United Group for Plato Cobot
Aaron Edsinger from Hello Robot for Stretch
Zen Koh from Fourier Intelligence for ArmMotus EMU
Mat Allen from Australian Droid and Robot for Explora Bot
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. Maybe Mentor Office Hours, maybe startup profiles. We’ll keep exploring.
Quick Reads:
Robot takeover? not quite. here’s what AI doomsday would look like - Kari Paul in The Guardian
Humanoid robots best suited for interaction and not chores, says robotics pioneer - Evening Standard
These robot hands can be controlled from anywhere in the world - Metro
What’s new in robots? An AI-powered humanoid machine that writes poems - Siliconeer
Three industries ripe for automation, according to a robotics guru - CNBC
Rise of the machines: What will drive adoption of robotics and automation in specialty crops? AgFunder Network
Driverless trucks on California freeways? Legislators don’t trust the DMV to ensure safety - AOL.com
Who’s the coolest robot of all? > The Robots Guide wants your opinion on hundreds of robots - IEEE Spectrum
Perspectives in AI: from search to robotics with Hussein Mehanna, SVP Cruise and Pear’s Aparna Sinha - Pear.vc
Robot passes the Turing Test for polyculture gardening > UC Berkeley’s AlphaGarden cares for plants better than a professional human - IEEE Spectrum
We are pleased to announce our 3rd Reddit Robotics Showcase! - Reddit on Robohub
Automate 2023 recap and the receding horizon problem - Oliver Mitchell on Robohub
From manufacturing to agriculture, China sees wider use of robots - Malaysia Sun
Breaking Barriers - Spotlighting San Antonio women leading a revolution in robotics - San Antonio Business Journal
US ‘won’t tolerate’ China’s ban on Micron chips, commerce secretary says - Reuters
China, South Korea agree to strengthen talks on chip industry, Chinese commerce ministry says - Reuters
US led Indo-Pacific talks produce deal on supply chain early warnings - Reuters
Washington and Tokyo vow closer chip cooperation - Reuters
America’s Industrial Transition - US m,anufacturing is slowing - Joseph Politano in Aparicitas Economics
VC Contagion - is Venture Capital killing itself? - Kyle Harrison in Investing 101
Cash - Kingmaker or Killer? An examination of when cash can anoint a market winner - Kyle Harrison in Investing 101
And the 2023 IERA Award winner is…
2023
“for the combination of smart adaptive rehabilitation and entertainment technology which can transform our healthcare landscape, particularly in the extended RehabHub concept.”
2022
Drishti (Mountain View, California)
"for Action Recognition: Transforming video streams on production lines into data to operators in mere seconds thus avoiding errors, and improving productivity, quality and training as well as safety."
2021
ABB "PixelPaint" (Carrie-MiaoJing Zou, Zürich, Switzerland and ABB Engineering (Shanghai) Ltd, China)
"For innovations in the field of automated painting, providing more flexibility and customization with reduced wasted paint for the wellness of the environment"
2020
Photoneo (Svorad Stolc, Slovakia)
"For MotionCam-3D: a novel 3D imaging system merging the benefits of both stereo vision with structured light approaches to yield a fast and accurate perception system with applications in society and industry."
2019
UVD Robots/ Blue Ocean Robotics (Claus Risager, Denmark)
"For achievements in developing the UV Disinfection Robot for the unique application of service robotics technologies in the combination with UV disinfection equipment to fight the spread of (esp. multiresistant) bacteria in hospitals."
2018 - THREE Recipients this year!
Perception Robotics (USA)
"For the "Industrial Self-Cleaning Gecko Gripper", a Gecko-style gripping solution that uses NASA technology for industrial automation"
KUKA Deutschland
"For developing "LBR Med", a collaborative robot assistant for medicine & research as well as new applications"
Lely International (Netherlands)
"For the "Discovery 120 Collector", a barn floor cleaning robot that cleans solid floors in the dairy industry"
2017
Steve Cousins - Savioke, USA
Relay autonomous delivery robot
"For his achievements in developing core technology in professional service robotics to a readiness level which enables a 24/7 operation in public, human inhabited environments"
2016
Phil Crowther - ABB Robotics, Sweden
The collaborative dual-arm robot "YuMi®"
2015 - Two Recipients this Year!
Francois Boucher - Kinova Inc, Canada
"For providing an easy to use robotic solution that enhances the autonomy of disabled people"
Tom Lipinski - Q-Bot Limited, United Kingdom
"For developing a simple robotic solution for insulating homes thus positively impacting lives of people and protecting the environment by reducing energy consumption"
2014
Guy Caverot - BA Systemes, France
"Mobile base designed to receive an X-ray machine"
2013
Robert Horst - AlterG Inc. (former Tibion Corporation)
"for the Tibion Bionic Leg"
2012
Esben Østergaard - Universal Robots
"UR5 - a flexible and eco-friendly robot arm. The UR5 is a small, light and user friendly 6-axis industrial robot, which has been created specifically for small and medium sized enterprises"
Gino De-Gol - RoboCoaster
"Passenger Carrying Industrial Robotics - The RoboCoaster TÜV robot is the world's first application of industrial robotics being fully adapted and certified for passenger carrying operations"
2011
Bruno Maisonnier - Aldebaran Robotics
"For development of the Humanoid Robot Nao"
2010
Alexander Verl - Fraunhofer IPA
"Inline Measurement Robots - Robots Get the Precision for Car Body Inspection"
2009
Yoshiyuki Sankai - Cyberdyne Robot Suit HAL
"Wearable suit that expands, enhances, and supports the physical capabilities of its user"
2008
Mick Mountz, Pete Wurman, Raffaello D'Andrea - KIVA Systems
"Kiva Mobile Fulfillment System, in which pallets, cases, and orders are stored on inventory pods that are picked up and moved by a fleet of mobile robotic drive units to any operator on the factory floor"
Thomas Brandstetter, Dieter Steegmüller, Michael Zürn - Daimler
"The development of the Assembly 21: an innovative system and assembly concept for rear axle assembly for the new C-Class with cooperatíng robot teams"
2007
Hugh Durrant-Whyte - Australian Centre for Field Robotics
"AutoStrad: An Autonomous Straddle Carrier for movement of shipping containers"
2006
Rainer Bischoff - KUKA Roboter
"CAFIR: Flexible and Scalable Collision Avoidance for Industrial Robots based on complex geometric models"
2005
Joe Jones - I-Robot
"Roomba Discovery Robotic Floorvac"
Robotics Events:
The next Silicon Valley Robotics Bots&Beer will be hosted at Polymath Robotics in San Francisco. Also it’s going to be on TUESDAY June 6th, not the usual Wednesday due to many event clashes.
June 5-6 - IEEE Conference on AI in Santa Clara - IEEE CS
June 6 - Bots & Beer at Polymath Robotics - Silicon Valley Robotics
June 7-8 - Robotics Investment Summit in Boston - Cybernetix Ventures
June 10-11 - Reddit Robotics Showcase - Reddit
June 14-17 - VivaTech in Paris - VivaTechnology
June 19-22 - TechConnect World in Washington DC - TechConnect Org
June 20-22 - FITMA in Mexico City - Feria Internationale
June 20-22 - Sensors Converge in Santa Clara - Sensors Converge
June 26-29 - Collision in Toronto - Web Summit
June 27-30 - Automatica in Munich - VDMA
June 27 - The Future with Robots - Silicon Valley Robotics and IEEE RAS at the Commonwealth Club SF
Oct 1-5 - IROS in Detroit - IEEE RAS
Deep Reads:
National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan 2023 Update - A report by the Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence of the National science and Technology Council
OSTP Request for Information - National Priorities for Artificial Intelligence - OSTP
The Strange Story of the Teens Behind the Mirai Botnet > Their DDoS malware threatened the entire Internet - IEEE Spectrum
Modern AI is Domestification - Ted Xiao in The Gradient on Substack
The power of strategic narrative: Andy Raskin - Lenny’s Podcast