Marco van der Hoeven

The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) team PoliMOVE from Politecnico di Milano (Italy) and the University of Alabama  won the Autonomous Challenge at CES, making history as the first head-to-head autonomous racecar competition champion.

With an investment of DKK 335 million from A.P. Møller Holding, Blue Ocean Robotics will roll out mobile robot solutions globally.

Today, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off in Las Vegas. A total of 130 companies, including various robotics and AI providers, will present their offerings to a partly physical and partly online audience. A number of major tech companies have declined to participate due to the Covid pandemic, including Facebook/Meta, Amazon and Twitter.

Amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland has recently conducted a high-energy laser weapon system demonstration while sailing in the Gulf of Aden. During the demonstration, the Solid State Laser – Technology Maturation Laser Weapons System Demonstrator (LWSD) Mark 2 MOD 0 aboard Portland successfully engaged a static surface training target. Portland previously tested the LWSD when it successfully disabled a small unmanned aerial system while operating in the Pacific Ocean.

The vision of Rocking Robots is to report on the interaction between humans and robots. The interviews we published this year show that we as humans are increasingly successful in making robots work for us. However, it remains important to pay attention to pre-eminently human issues such as ethics, acceptance and safety. Where that happens, applications of technology arise that actually help us as humans.

This year the Defense Finance and Accounting Service expands RPA program saw a shift from delivering simple automations to more value added automations for the Agency. The first twelve bots the Robotics team implemented in 2020 12 were this year joined by additional bots.

Whether we are talking about RPA, software robots or automation, the underlying technology has entered the next phase for many organizations. While there are still organizations building their first digital employees, there are more and more cases where the first pilot-built robots become part of an effective digital workforce. This year at Rocking Robots we have have documented several cases that show how RPA has evolved.

This is the time for HR to step up and claim a more strategic role in the organization. Automation enables HR professionals to gain valuable time by freeing them from day to day routine tasks, making them a partner for the business. Adding technology like AI can even lead to HR better serving their internal customers. Rocking Robot discussed the opportunities for HR in automation with Hamish Taylor, who has an impressive track record in brand management.

Hyperscience announced it raised $100 million in Series E funding led by existing investors Global Founders Capital, Tiger, Stripes, and Bessemer. The new round of investment enables Hyperscience, with nearly 400 global employees—a 72% increase year-over-year—to further invest in talent and R&D, both organically and through acquisition. 

The dates of the 2022 European Robotics Forum have been changed. ERF2022 is now scheduled to take place in Rotterdam on 28-30 June 2022. Organizers euRobotics and the University of Twente have taken this decision in response to the latest and fast-changing conditions created by the Covid-19 pandemic.