Articles about Robotics

Etzioni on AI: Elon Musk promised humanoid robots, but China delivered

While American tech giants are valued for the anticipation of perfect prototypes, Chinese manufacturers are winning the robotics race by getting paid for delivery. Read More

Overland AI lands Marine Corps deal worth nearly $20M to build self-driving military vehicles

Seattle-based Overland AI won a Marine Corps contract to produce more than a dozen autonomous ground vehicles, which the startup says makes it the first ground autonomy company to serve as the prime contractor on a military production deal. Read More

GeekWire 200 update: New unicorns and a hardware surge remake our list of top Pacific NW startups

The latest GeekWire 200, our quarterly ranking of the top Pacific Northwest startups, reflects a shift toward companies building physical products — rockets, fusion reactors, robots and space-based data centers. Starcloud was the biggest mover, two new unicorns joined the list, and Helion held the No. 1 spot. Read More

‘Digit’ maker Agility Robotics to go public in $2.5B deal — here’s what the filings say about its finances

Salem, Ore.-based Agility Robotics, whose two-legged Digit robots have been tested inside Amazon warehouses, is set to become the first publicly traded U.S. company dedicated solely to humanoid robots, beating its Silicon Valley and East Coast rivals to Wall Street. Read More

This 3-foot-tall robot wants to be your kid’s classroom buddy and your mom’s new friend

Mind Children Robotics, a Seattle-area startup co-founded by AGI researcher Ben Goertzel, is building Codey — a child-sized social robot priced under $10,000 and aimed at classrooms, hospitals and senior care. The company plans its first pilots in South Korea. Read More

Event Calendar

Scaling Robotic Fleets | Thinkspace (Seattle Tech Week)

A hands-on robotics session at thinkspace Seattle for everyone from garage hexapod builders to industrial manipulator designers — live demos,… Read More

Show-and-tell panel with Paul Mikesell at podium and Otter Pup spacecraft in foreground

Founders on the frontiers of space and robotics show off their gadgets and tell the stories behind them

Carbon Robotics, Overland AI, Starcloud and Starfish Space get their share of the spotlight at a DeepTech session featuring AI chips, satellites and more. Read More

Seattle teens to take on real-world ocean science challenges in underwater robotics championship

This year’s tasks include mapping cold-water coral ecosystems, deploying ocean observatory instrumentation, modeling offshore wind turbines, and operating profiling floats beneath sea ice. Read More

No dirt, no tractor, no problem: Canopii aims to tuck robotic farms into tennis court-sized urban spaces

Oregon startup Canopii is tackling the food supply system by launching automated, tennis court-sized greenhouse franchises that use robots to grow 40,000 pounds of greens a year. Read More

Robot pizza startup runs out of dough: Picnic shuts down, sells assets to mystery buyer

Picnic, the Seattle startup that raised about $50 million on a vision of robots churning out pizzas in restaurants, stadiums, and other high-volume venues, has shut down and liquidated its assets after it was unable to pay its debts. A buyer has already been found for the company’s assets and intellectual property. Read More

From Pokémon GO to physical AI: Niantic Spatial unveils its global 3D mapping platform

Niantic Spatial, the company spun out of Pokémon GO maker Niantic, is launching a revamped version of its Scaniverse platform and a new global visual positioning system, in its biggest release since becoming an independent company last year. Read More

A whole new ballgame for trading cards: Startup uses robots and AI to sort and analyze collections

Gradient’s Renton, Wash., office space is home to 10 million sports and gaming cards, where a team of card geeks and engineers are using technology to upend a $15 billion U.S. market. Read More

Amazon lays off robotics staff in latest cuts

The layoffs are separate from Amazon’s broader cuts announced in January that impacted more than 16,000 corporate workers. Read More

TerraClear launches autonomous farm robot to capture images for tackling rocks, weeds and more

The startup says the TerraScout can collect ultra-high-resolution imagery across an entire field and convert the data into plans which can be executed by existing farm equipment. Read More

Illustration: Hubble Space Telescope with spacecraft equipped with robotic arms, shown in Earth orbit

Orbital Robotics reaches out with a plan to build robotic arms that use AI

Seattle-area startup recruits investors and partners to support the development of space manipulator systems with built-in smarts. Read More

Drone capital of the world? Seattle could be a big winner in the U.S. crackdown on DJI and others

New U.S. restrictions on foreign-made drones could reshape the industry — and give Washington state a major opening. Brinc Drones CEO Blake Resnick says the region’s existing players and aerospace talent position Seattle to benefit as domestic manufacturers scale up. Read More

How Amazon is bringing name brands to Whole Foods, without putting them on the shelves

Amazon officially unveiled a new “store within a store” at a Whole Foods Market outside Philadelphia, blending natural and organic groceries with national name brands through an in-app ordering system and robotic fulfillment. Read More

Amazon layoffs reaction: ‘Thought I was a top performer but guess I’m expendable’

On social media and elsewhere, impacted employees and others reacted to Amazon’s decision to cut 14,000 corporate and tech workers across numerous divisions. Read More

Amazon and the media: Inside the disconnect on AI, robots and jobs

Amazon’s big robotics showcase highlighted the company’s vision for “AI at work,” but the event also revealed a widening gap between its public messaging and media coverage about automation’s impact on jobs. Read More

Fertile ground for innovation: A list of agriculture tech startups in Seattle and Washington state

With top-tier tech talent and a deep farming heritage, Seattle and the broader Pacific Northwest are emerging as one of the country’s key hubs for agriculture technology. Read More

Robotics startup FieldAI, backed by Gates and Bezos, hits $2B valuation after latest funding

FieldAI, a robotics startup backed by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and others, raised $405 million in recent funding rounds as… Read More

Photos: Inside the Allen Institute for AI’s new HQ in Seattle’s first mass-timber office building

It was a big news week for Seattle’s Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Ai2), including the announcement of a new… Read More

Ai2 unveils MolmoAct: Open-source robotics system reasons in 3D and adjusts on the fly

The Allen Institute for AI released a new AI robotics system that uses novel approaches to help robots navigate messy… Read More

B.C. company with mushroom-picking robots lands $29M

A British Columbia ag tech company offering robots that harvest and package mushrooms has raised $29 million from investors. 4AG… Read More

Taste test: Robot chef cooks lunch at GeekWire — and leaves us hungry for more work to do

The joy of cooking may mean different things to different people in the kitchen, whether it stems from the process… Read More

Go deep! Watch an autonomous robot paint the lines on the Seattle Seahawks practice field

The Seattle Seahawks have found an exceptionally efficient route runner. While Turf Tank might have a perfect football name, it… Read More

UW prof Dieter Fox leaves Nvidia to lead robotics initiative at Allen Institute for AI

Dieter Fox, the former head of Nvidia’s robotics research lab in Seattle, has joined the nonprofit Allen Institute for Artificial… Read More

A high-tech harvest: Innovative lending library brings bots to Washington farms

A first-of-its-kind program to put cutting-edge agriculture technology into the hands of farmers is blossoming among hay, corn and berry… Read More

Amazon unveils its first warehouse robot with a sense of touch

Amazon’s robots are really feeling it now. The tech giant this morning unveiled what it describes as its first warehouse… Read More

Agility Robotics reportedly raising $400M for humanoid warehouse robots

Agility Robotics, the Salem, Ore.-based company known for its Digit bipedal humanoid warehouse robot, is reportedly raising $400 million in… Read More