Robot startups need to 'Start Telling People' plus highlights from BARS 2023
Silicon Valley Robotics
Supporting innovation and commercialization of robotics technologies - Robots&Startups at https://249x.substack.com
This is my new Halloween thing. Robot Pumpkins!
BARS 2023, the Bay Area Robotics Symposium on Friday, was a firehose of the latest robotics research from the epicenter of innovation in robotics and AI. Even the most pure control systems people were finding ways to use transformers in their research and the pace of robotics research is pretty fast atm! A lot of this research will be presented at CORL 2023 in Atlanta GA in 2 weeks time.
The BARS keynote from Jon Barron, Google Research , about NeRFs and now NeRF 2.0 was fascinating. If you want to stay up to date in robotics research and only have time for one thing, then read up on NeRFs and why they provide great depth models for robotics, and some of the other NeRF potentials that are just emerging.
If/when the BARS videos are online, I’ll share them here too.
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Focus:
I’m recommending this book (now on Audible ) for any robotics or hardware startup. The author Chris Matthews has many years of experience in marketing for robotics and hardware startups and shares it all, including how to pull off a perfect demo in a wifi denied high stakes setting.
Start Telling People is an indispensable guide for technical startup founders, investors, and marketers, packed with practical advice tuned explicitly for the unique needs of emerging startups. Matthews provides frameworks, examples, and interviews that reinforce the book's central thesis: marketing is a discipline, not just an activity. From customer-centric go-to-market models, to the tips and tricks of mastering a new product demo, to content strategy and AI tools, to surviving budgeting and downturns, the book delivers practical, jargon-free ideas that blend the best in marketing fundamentals with the functional realities of fast-paced, growth-focused startups.
Table of Contents
Quick Reads:
PickNik picks up more funding for their space robotics vision - PickNik Robotics
This company envisions a future where humanoid robots are as ubiquitous as smartphones - CNN
Amazon’s Tye Brady discusses generative AI, humanoid robots and mobile manipulation - TechCrunch
The Challenges Posed by 21st Century Warfare and Autonomous Systems - CEPA
Mineral reimagines our food system using breakthrough AI and robotics - AgDaily
Versatile developing autonomous tractors - Grainews
Robotics can help food and beverage companies reach full potential, former Bai COO says - FoodDive
From Hong Kong to Japan, startup Rice Robotics brings ‘friendly’ AI bots to the service sector - South China Morning Post
California sidelines GM Cruise’s driverless cars, cites safety risk - Reuters
Uber begins offering rides in self-driving Waymo cars - CNBC
Autonomous vehicles in LA bring out protesters concerned with safety and job loss - CBSLA
Wayve’s Alex Kendall on autonomous driving, giving robots feedback and being vindicated by Elon Musk - Sifted
Honda unveils autonomous vehicle, next-gen concepts - Times of India
Geely and Baidu, in challenge to Tesla, launch autonomous EV - Automotive News
California Gov. Newsom is right. Truck drivers and autonomous trucks an thrive together - not just coexist - Fortune
SK Telecom, Mars Auto to develop autonomous truck technology - RCRWirelessNews
Leoni autonomous truck sets course for the motorway - Automotive World
Cyngn Reveals DrivMod Tugger: Fully Autonomous, Electric Tugger for Industrial Operations - Yahoo
Ati Motors: Giving autonomy on industry floors - Forbes
Why Reliable Robotics is getting into the business of building radars - The Air Current
Boeing Air Taxi Company Wisk Flies in Los Angeles - IOT World Today
1st Autonomous, Electric Aircraft in World To Get Approval For Commercial Flights - CleanTechnicaAviation
领英推荐
The steps to autonomous flight: How machine learning is shaping the sky’s future - T_HQ
Robotics: who are the leaders in autonomous carts for the travel & tourism industry? Airport Technology
Samsung heavy Industries and DNV in Autonomous Shipping Collaboration - MarineLink
Saildronre’s autonomous vessels reach 1 million nautical miles, advancing ocean research and climate monitoring - UpNorthLive
Callboats: Autonomous passenger ferries in Helsinki - Electrive
TideWise secures $1.9M investment to drive autonomous naval technology in Brazil - LatamList
Saronic secures US$55M funding to propel advancements in Maritime Autonomy - Jumpstart
Tribe Technology: Revolutionising mining with autonomous drill rigs - Proactive
CCAC, in Allegheny County Pennsylvania, to open $43M Center for Advanced Tech, Robotics - Government Technology
As baby boomers retire, German businesses turn to robots - Reuters
Augmented Reality, AI and Robotics: discover Poland’s Silicon Forest - EuroNews Next
How 3D printing and surgical robotics enable Stryker’s cementless knee implants - Medical Design
UBC engineers develop breakthrough ‘robot skin’ in collaboration with Honda researchers - UBC News
Paolo Dario to receive 2024 IEEE Robotics and Automation Award and Davide Scaramuzza to receive 2024 IEEE Kiyo Tomiyasu Award at the 2024 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA ) - IEEE RAS News
Robotics Events:
30 October - 3 Nov - ICAM, the International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing - Washington DC from ASME
1 Nov - Bots & Beer at San Jose CTE - Silicon Valley Robotics
3 Nov - AI x Robotics Hackathon - SF Schematic Ventures
4 Nov - Computer History Museum 2023 Fellow Awards - Rodney Brooks, Barbara Liskov and Thomas E. Kurtz - Online only
6-9 Nov - Future in Review - Terranea CA from The Strategic Review (I’m hosting a panel with Agility Robotics, Apptronik and 1x)
20 Nov - SVR’s Robotics Technical Network at Autodesk (are you a CTO, technical founder or senior robotics engineer? Ask for an invitation)
4 Dec - SVR’s Startup Mentor Office Hours
4 Dec - SVR’s Founders & Funders Night Out
5 Dec - SVR / AMBay Area Bots & Beer Mixer
Want to attend more science based robotics conferences?
Interesting Robotics:
Get early notification of Tangram Vision’s new HiFi Depth Sensor
Perception Pipeline For Robotics Built-In.But it's more than that. HiFi's high-fidelity sensing stack delivers exceptional depth quality unmatched by any other 3D sensor under $3000. Just look at HiFi's depth quality versus other sensors often used by roboticists:?That's because HiFi has double the resolution, plus self-calibration to maximize depth quality with sub-1% depth error across its entire range of 0.3m to 5m!Here's what else is inside HiFi:120° diagonal field of view8 Tops of AI processing power for running machine learning and AI at the edgeUSB-C 3.1 and Gigabit Ethernet for your choice of data and power connectionPTP hardware time synchronizationOut-of-the-box ROS streamingOnboard SLAMDual active stereo pattern projectorsHiFi's compact design and multiple mounting options make it easy to add to any robot, and a front-facing status LED make it simple to understand device status at a glanceSign up now to get notified of HiFi's launch on Kickstarter. We'll have a limited number of Early Bird specials at up to 50% off MSRP, and you'll be the first to get access to them!
Join the Farm Robotics Challenge - deadline to sign up Oct 31
Funded Robotics Startups October ytd:
Congratulations to Silicon Valley Robotics Member US Positronix for closing their first pre-seed round, $225K. See more familiar companies in the funding news for October 2023: