How AI, perception are shaping mobile robotics

Collaborative Robotics unveils Proxie mobile manipulator

Collaborative Robotics Inc. this week unveiled its Proxie mobile manipulator publicly for the first time. The startup has been secretive about the design of the robot since Porter founded the company in 2022. In April 2024, Collaborative Robotics closed a $100 million Series B round toward commercializing its autonomous mobile robot (AMR).

The company’s been closed-lipped about the design of the robot, but on Wednesday it released images and video of the Proxie AMR, along with a newly redesigned website. The AMR features a swerve drive, a hot-swappable battery, and a fixed linear actuator in its “spine.” The robot is designed to be fitted with a variety of onboard actuators, and the first one to be productized is a simple cart acquisition.

Pickle Robot gets orders for over 30 unloading systems, plus $50M in funding

Pickle Robot Co. raised $50 million in Series B funding this week. It also announced that six customers placed orders during the third quarter for more than 30 robots to deploy in the first half of 2025. Founded in 2018, Pickle Robot said its robots are designed to autonomously unload trucks, trailers, and import containers at human-scale or better performance.

The company said its Series B funding included participation from a strategic customer. Teradyne Robotics Ventures, Toyota Ventures, Ranpak, Third Kind Venture Capital, One Madison Group, Hyperplane, Catapult Ventures, and others also participated. The company said it plans to use its latest funding to accelerate the development of new feature sets. It also plans to build out its commercial teams to unlock new markets and geographies worldwide.

MC600 mobile manipulator combines UR cobot with MiR base

The new MC600 combines the MiR600 AMR with the UR20 and UR30 collaborative robot arms from Universal Robots A/S, which is also owned by Teradyne. Mobile Industrial Robots said it can handle payloads up to 600 kg (1,322 lb.) and automate complex workflows in industrial environments. A unified software platform by MiR Go partner Enabled Robotics controls the MC600. MiR said this coordinates its mobile base and robotic arms, simplifying integration into existing workflows and ensuring smooth operations.

ASTM proposes mobile manipulation standard

In other mobile manipulation news, ASTM International’s F45 committee for robotics, automation, and autonomous systems has proposed a new standard, WK92144. It provides guidelines for documenting disturbances of robot arms, such as by heavy equipment, in unstructured manufacturing environments. The proposed standard describes an example apparatus for testing.