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Iván Hernández Dalas: Autonomous vehicle legislation withdrawn from California senate

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Several autonomous vehicle companies are based in California, including Cruise and Waymo. | Source: Waymo California Sen. Dave Cortese last week withdrew Senate Bill (SB) 915 from consideration. SB 915 would have allowed local municipalities to restrict and tax autonomous vehicle (AV) companies, similar to how taxicab companies are regulated in the state.  “It’s good to see California lawmakers going back to the drawing board on autonomous vehicle policy,” said Chamber of Progress director of civic innovation policy Ruth Whittaker. “ Autonomous vehicles have the power to save thousands of lives in California by eliminating drunk, distracted, and unsafe human driving. Over the past month, we’ve heard leaders from across the state raise concerns that this bill could derail progress on California’s roads.” Currently, AVs are legislated by two statewide entities in California, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Onc
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Iván Hernández Dalas: RBR50 Spotlight: Glidance provides independence to visually impaired individuals

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Organization: Glidance Inc. Country: U.S. Website: https://glidance.io/ Year Founded: 2023 Number of Employees: 2-10 Innovation Class: Application In the U.S., around 1 million adults are blind. Yet, only 2% to 8% use a white cane for navigation. Most instead rely on guide dogs or sighted companions, according to the Perkins School for the Blind. This reliance limits independence and mobility, a challenge that Glidance, winner of the 2023 RoboBusiness Pitchfire Competition, aims to address through robotics. The company ’s flagship product, Glide, offers autonomous mobility assistance for the visually impaired. It incorporates advanced guiding technologies and a unique mechanical design to foster independence. Glide’s innovation provides haptic and audio feedback for safety. The product has garnered praise from industry experts, particularly for its potential to serve an underserved market segment. CEO Amos Miller, himself blind, brings a firsthand perspective to Glida
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Iván Hernández Dalas: Coval releases redesigned CVGC carbon vacuum grippers

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The upgraded CVGC carbon vacuum gripper has a variety of customizations, including sizing, configurability, and compatibility. | Source: Coval Vacuum grippers are a popular option for manufacturers and warehouse operators hoping to get the most payload capacity out of their robots. These grippers can provide between four and 10 times more power than their electromechanical counterparts, making them good at lifting heavy weights, said Coval Inc. The provider of vacuum automation technology has released its redesigned CVGC carbon vacuum gripper.  Coval it designed this upgraded gripper with feedback from its customers, integrators, manufacturers, and operators. The Raleigh, N.C.-based company said it also took into account current and future trends in the collaborative robot market. These trends include greater application diversity, growth in the number of manufacturers, increased co-presence with operators, and handling of heavier loads.  The new CVGC offers a number of advant
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Iván Hernández Dalas: RTI Connext to deliver real-time data connectivity to NVIDIA Holoscan

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Medical device developers can now use RTI Connext and NVIDIA Holoscan. Source: Real-Time Innovations Devices such as surgical robots need access to distributed, reliable, and continuous data streaming across different sensors and devices. Real-Time Innovations, or RTI, today said it is collaborating with NVIDIA Corp. to deliver real-time data connectivity for the NVIDIA Holoscan software development kit with RTI Connext. “Connectivity is the foundation for cutting-edge technologies, such as AI, that are transforming the medtech industry and beyond,” stated Darren Porras, market development manager for medical at Real-Time Innovations. “We’re proud to work with NVIDIA to harness the transformative power of AI to revolutionize healthcare.” “By providing competitive, tailored solutions, we are paving the way for sustainable business value across the healthcare, automotive, and industrial sectors, marking an important step toward a future where technology enhances the quality of life
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Iván Hernández Dalas: Formic brings in $27.4M to expand its global fleet, increase support network

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Formic Stack address labor shortages with automated palletizing, while Formic Pack automates placement of prepacked goods into containers. | Source: Formic Technologies Formic Technologies Inc. today announced that it raised another $27.4 million in Series A funding. This builds on the company’s January 2022 funding round , bringing the company’s total Series A funding to $52 million.  “[During] the first Series A, we were really at the early stages of kind of figuring out the business,” Formic co-founder and CEO Saman Farid told The Robot Report . “We had probably fewer than 10 deployments. We had some early customers; we had some data around how much productivity our robots can bring to our customers. But it was really kind of anecdotal, and in the roughly two years since then, I would say we’ve really kind of figured out a lot of those questions and have a lot more to show.” The Chicago-based company offers its systems to U.S. manufacturers through a robots-as-a-service ( Raa
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Iván Hernández Dalas: RoboBusiness 2024 registration now open

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Registration for RoboBusiness 2024 is now open. RoboBusiness, which takes place October 16-17 in Santa Clara, Calif., is the premier event for commercial robotics developers. Attendees will gain the latest insights from experts in robotics and AI on cutting-edge research, industry trends, and innovative applications. They can also learn about investments and topics related to running a robotics business. Full conference passes start at $595 and expo-only passes only $75, with an early bird discount until Aug. 16. Discounts are available for qualified academic, association, and corporate groups. Passes can be purchased here. Please email events@wtwhmedia.com for more details about discount programs. “Since its founding in 2004, RoboBusiness has been the leading event for robotics business development,” said Steve Crowe, chair of RoboBusiness and executive editor of The Robot Report . “Our speakers, sponsors, and attendees will once again make RoboBusiness the venue for the global
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Iván Hernández Dalas: Meet DAL-e Delivery and Parking Robot, Hyundai’s office-friendly systems

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Hyundai’s DAL-e delivery robot is equipped with face identification AI developed by Robotics LAB. | Source: Hyundai Motor Group South Korea, which already has the world’s highest robot density, is getting more service robots. Hyundai Motor Group last week announced the deployment of the DAL-e Delivery robot from Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp., as well as Hyundai WIA’s Parking Robot. The partners said the robots will deliver beverages and provide parking services, respectively, at Factorial Seongsu, a smart building owned by IGIS Asset Management. “With DAL-e’s full-fledged delivery service, we aim to make Factorial Seongsu the first building to apply our Robot Total Solution,” stated Dong Jin Hyun, vice president and head of the Robotics LAB of Hyundai Motor and Kia. “We plan to expand our robotics services to more buildings, making these technological enhancements a major criterion for space innovation.” Parking Robot moves cars, Dal-e delivers drinks At the building, DAL-e D
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