Category: Agriculture

UAV developer CyPhy Works closes $7M financing round

CyPhy Works today reported the close of a $7 million financing round, which it will use to expand its surveying- and situational awareness-focused unmanned aerial vehicles into various commercial sectors. The round was led by Lux Capital and featured participation from General Catalyst Partners, Felicis Ventures and several undisclosed angel investors. CyPhy (pronounced “Sci-Fi”) Works is

Harvest Automation raises $11.75M in Series C financing

Agricultural robotics company Harvest Automation reported today that it has successfully raised $11.75 million in Series C financing. The Massachusetts-based company says the funds will be used to further commercialize the HV-100, its flagship product. HV-100 robots are designed for greenhouse, hoop house and nursery environments, where, as you would expect, they perform the most

4 of 5 dairy processors mulling machine upgrades, survey says

The International Federation of Robotics report on service robots released yesterday showed that demand for milking robots decreased slightly from 2011 to 2012. With 4,750 milking robots sold in 2012, sales were down about 3 percent. However, another report, from the producers of next week’s Pack Expo in Las Vegas, has good news for the

AUVSI president discusses the future of unmanned systems

When Congress passed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, it set the clock ticking toward the day when unmanned aircraft systems must be integrated into the national airspace. The target is Sept. 30, 2015, now just a little more than two years away. That fast-approaching deadline has created a new intensity in discussions

Non-military uses of drones get some attention

Most media coverage of drones to date has been related to their military applications, both because of the inherent controversy and because the military is far and away the biggest user of the technology. That’s not going to change anytime soon. President Obama gave a counterterrorism speech yesterday addressing drone policy that will be dissected

Welcome to The Business of Robotics

Hello and welcome to The Business of Robotics! If you have even a passing interest in robotics, you know the field is exploding, having reached a technological tipping point that is bringing self-driving cars and robot co-workers out of the realm of science fiction and into reality. Just last week, a new $100 million dollar