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by Andra
Unbounded Robotics today launched UBR-1, a robot that has many of us very excited. UBR is the first robot with intelligence, manipulation and mobility for below $50k. While UBR definitely resembles a smaller, cuter PR2, the UBR is actually more sophisticated. After all, the PR2 was developed 5 years ago and a lot has changed in …
Continue reading “Unbounded launch affordable, all purpose UBR-1”
by Andra
Didn’t get a robot entered in the DARPA grand robotics challenge (DRC)? Never mind, there are several robot design and business model competitions on at the moment, from social robots, to affordable robots, to open source humanoids. The International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR) is running a design competition for robot companions. RoboSavvy is running …
by Andra
Dash is the first product to launch today on Dragon Innovation‘s new hardware crowdfunding site. Dragon Innovation was founded in 2009 by Scott Miller and Herman Pang, ex iRobot and Hasbro. Dragon are partnering with GE, Qualcomm and freescale to bring us this new hardware crowdfunding site, which seems to be nicely positioned to …
Continue reading “Dash launching Dragon hardware crowdfunding platform”
by Andra
Crowdfunding is often cited as one of the mechanisms accelerating robot startups, alongside COTS, reduced costs, rapid prototyping, digital manufacturing, smart phones, connectivity etc. The entire premise of Chris Anderson’s new book “Makers: the new Industrial Revolution” is that we now live in a time when the barriers to hardware production are lower than they’ve …
by Andra
While I love getting robots in the mail, crowdfunding sites are also good for supporting a whole range of robot related activities. The 3rd annual Robot Film Festival just launched a Kickstarter campaign to complement ticket sales on Eventbrite. This year, the Robot Film Festival is at Bot&Dolly studios in San Francisco on July 20-21, …
Do you like getting robots in the mail? I’m a sucker for cool crowdfunded robots like some of these ones. But this can also be serious research for your startup. Crowdfunding is a great way to extend your prototyping time, build a community or get your preorders for the first manufacturing run. However, successful campaigns require …
by Andra
The first Engadget Expand expo at Fort Mason in San Francisco was a great weekend out with lots of robotics. In fact the striking thing was how much of the event was talking about or demonstrating robotics – even in some of the panels which were ostensibly about something else ie. space exploration, smart devices …
by Andra
Robots were all over the California Academy of Science at their popular Nightlife event on Thursday March 7. This year Nightlife with Robots attracted 3000 people, making it one of their most popular evenings! I was really impressed by the range of robots on display and what an enjoyable evening it was. BEAM meets humanoid …
by Andra
In my opinion, the International Consumer Electronics Show used robots gratuitously, out of context and without benefit to robotics companies. It’s a category problem more than anything else and is repeated across consumer electronics, media and popular culture. CNET used robots in the showreel for the “post mobile future of technology” panel, yet didn’t discuss …
