Steve Crowe

Boston

Staff Editor at Robotics Business Review

Editor at Collaborative Robotics Trends

Editor, The Robot Report - https://t.co/1k0UT8Yvii Founder/Host, The Robot Report Podcast - https://t.co/kiOxIphcGs Chair, Robotics Summit & Expo - https://t.co/mdEXtamjG2

Articles

Waymo robotaxis to map Boston

3 days ago | therobotreport.com | Steve Crowe

Waymo is sending a small fleet of robotaxis to map the city of Boston. The cars won’t be driving autonomously. Instead, Waymo said the vehicles will have trained, human autonomous specialists behind the wheel at all times. The goal of the trip is to explore Boston’s unique – and chaotic – driving environment and understand the differences compared to areas where Waymo routinely operates. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said its robotaxis will be exploring Boston in May and June.
RoboBusiness 2025 call for speakers now open

1 week ago | therobotreport.com | Steve Crowe

WTWH Media, producer of The Robot Report and Robotics Summit & Expo, invites you to submit a talk to be considered for RoboBusiness 2025, which takes place October 15-16 in Santa Clara, California. RoboBusiness was founded in 2004. In addition to enabling tech and robotics development, RoboBusiness focuses on investments and business challenges.
50 most innovative robotics companies

1 month ago | therobotreport.com | Steve Crowe

We are passionate about the impact robotics can have on the world. That’s why for 14 years, the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards have honored the most innovative robotics companies, technologies, and applications from around the world. This year we brought back three major awards: Robot of the Year, Application of the Year, and Startup of the Year. We added a fourth major honor: Robots for Good, which recognizes a robot making a meaningful impact on society.
RightHand Robotics receives investment from Rockwell Automation

2 months ago | therobotreport.com | Steve Crowe

RightHand Robotics, a leader in robotic piece-picking for logistics operations, has received a strategic investment from Rockwell Automation. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Rockwell Automation is one of the world’s leading industrial automation providers. Rockwell’s investment comes at a pivotal moment for RightHand Robotics. It right-sized its operation in 2024 and co-founder Yaro Tenzer stepped in as CEO to expand operations in Europe and North America.
ABB Robotics survey predicts EV production growth in 2025

2 months ago | engineering.com | Steve Crowe

Survey respondents are optimistic about EV production growth in 2025, with mobile robots, cobots, and humanoids playing a big role. ABB Robotics' third Automotive Manufacturing Outlook Survey offers some great insights into how automotive manufacturing leaders and key suppliers view electric vehicle (EV) production objectives. According to the survey, there is a positive outlook from manufacturing leaders on the growth of EV production in 2025.
ABB Robotics survey predicts EV production growth in 2025

2 months ago | therobotreport.com | Steve Crowe

ABB Robotics’ third Automotive Manufacturing Outlook Survey offers some great insights into how automotive manufacturing leaders and key suppliers view electric vehicle (EV) production objectives. According to the survey, there is a positive outlook from manufacturing leaders on the growth of EV production in 2025. Thirty-one percent of the 434 survey respondents predicted EV output would increase by more than 10%. A further 44% said production would grow in 2025 by up to 10%.
Robotics Summit & Expo announces conference agenda

Feb 12, 2025 | therobotreport.com | Steve Crowe

The Robotics Summit & Expo, produced by The Robot Report, has unveiled the first look at its conference agenda for the April 30-May 1 event at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The Robotics Summit & Expo brings together 5,000+ developers focused on building robots for a variety of commercial industries. Attendees will gain insights into the latest enabling technologies, engineering best practices, and emerging trends.
Physical Intelligence open-sources Pi0 robotics foundation model

Feb 7, 2025 | therobotreport.com | Steve Crowe

Physical Intelligence, the San Francisco-based startup that has raised more than $400 million, has open-sourced its Pi0 robotic foundation model. Pi0 was introduced a few months ago and can be tuned to a range of tasks, including folding laundry, cleaning a table, scooping coffee beans, and more. Physical Intelligence has released the code and weights for Pi0 as part of its experimental openpi repository on GitHub.
Gazebo Classic robotics simulator reaches end of life

Feb 4, 2025 | therobotreport.com | Steve Crowe

Gazebo Classic, a popular robotics simulator developed by the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF), reached end of life last week. Going forward, only versions of modern Gazebo will be supported by the Gazebo team. All versions of Gazebo Classic, denoted by numbered release names, are end-of-life. The last version of Gazebo Classic, Gazebo 11, was released in January 2020 as a long-term supported (LTS) release with support lasting five years.
Germany's robotics industry 'has lost competitiveness'

Jan 28, 2025 | therobotreport.com | Steve Crowe

The VDMA Robotics + Automation Association (VDMA R+A) is voicing concerns about Germany’s robotics industry. The German trade association, which falls under the VDMA umbrella that has 420-plus member companies, said the country’s robotics and automation industry “has lost competitiveness.”The VDMA R+A forecast that Germany‘s robotics and automation industry will drop 9% in total turnover in 2025 to €13.8 billion ($14.4 billion U.S.).