Top 10 robotics stories of July 2024

Humanoids continued to grab our readers’ attention in July 2024, with four of our top 10 stories centering on the topic. Unique robot use cases, like an exoskeleton making its Olympic debut, also made headlines last month. 

Here are the top 10 most popular stories on The Robot Report in July 2024. Subscribe to The Robot Report Newsletter or listen to The Robot Report Podcast to stay updated on the robotics stories you need to know about.

10. Wandercraft exoskeleton used in Olympic torch relay

A paraplegic person carried the Olympic torch as part of the traditional relay using an exoskeleton developed by Wandercraft SAS. Kevin Piette, 35, has been paraplegic since a motorcycle accident 11 years ago. He is a trained “test pilot” for Wandercraft. The Paris-based company said it has built its Personal Exoskeleton to help people with disabilities walk. Read More

9. ForwardX Robotics launches 2 mini AMRs in July 2024

ForwardX Robotics has launched smaller, nimbler, middle-weight autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). The two new models are the Flex 300-SCB Mini and Flex 300-L Mini. The Flex 300-L Mini is a platform AMR that also serves as the mobile base for the Flex 300-SCB Mini. Read More

8. Standard Bots raises $63M to bring cobot arms to market

Standard Bots has raised more than $63 million in total funding. Its new Series B round was led by General Catalyst and included participation from the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and Samsung Next. The Glen Cove, N.Y.-based company plans to expand its engineering team, accelerate the development of its robots in new sizes, and enhance its  proprietary software to make these robots intuitive for everyday use. Read More

7. Vayu Robotics puts delivery robot using AI foundation models on the road

While e-commerce deliveries are growing, the cost per delivery remains stubbornly high, according to Vayu Robotics Inc. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup released a delivery robot that it claimed combines foundation artificial intelligence models with low-cost sensors. Read More

6. First Hadrian X bricklaying robot arrives in U.S.

FBR is developing an automated bricklayer robot for large building projects. The Hadrian X robot features a huge mechanism attached to a vehicle that delivers each brick to the end effector through the structure of the robot arm. The Australia-based company has been commercializing products for the construction sector since 1994. Read More

5. China proposes guidelines for future humanoid development

After almost two years of climbing the hype curve, humanoid robots are reaching the point of maturity where they are becoming viable to deploy into real-world applications. The race is heating up around the world, as dozens of robot companies put all of their energy, expertise, and knowledge into to creation of this form factor. Read More

4. Skild AI grabs $300M to build foundation model for robotics

A new wave of startups is emerging to apply recent AI advances into more sophisticated robot behavior. In July 2024, Skild AI emerged from stealth mode and closed a $300 million Series A round. The Pittsburgh-based company said the funding brings its valuation of $1.5 billion. Read More

3. NVIDIA adds tools it says will accelerate development of humanoid robots

At SIGGRAPH in Denver, NVIDIA Corp. announced research and offerings for simulation, generative artificial intelligence, and robotics. The company said it is providing a suite of services, models, and computing platforms to enable robotics and AI designers “to develop, train, and build the next generation of humanoid robotics.” Read More

2. Jacobi Robotics raises $5M for motion planning software

Traditional industrial robot programming can take weeks to months. If you are a software programmer for a systems integrator, your schedule is often squeezed at the end of the project development cycle for your customer, after hardware build and implementation delays hit the project schedule. Jacobi Robotics is trying to solve these issues for robot programmers with its new AI-powered motion planning software that it claimed can deploy robot arms in days. Read More

1. Here’s what it could cost to hire a Digit humanoid

There are lots of questions about humanoid robots as they start to make their way into commercial markets. While the “wheels versus legs” debate is the go-to topic, questions about the business model — cost, ROI, etc. — are also top of mind. Agility Robotics CEO Peggy Johnson gave us a quick peek behind the curtain for Digit while speaking at a tech conference in July 2024. Read More