John Deere has acquired SparkAI, a New York-based startup that develops human-in-the-loop technology to help robots resolve edge cases in real-time. John Deere, which has developed autonomous tractors, was a SparkAI customer for a few years prior to the acquisition. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Willy Pell, VP of autonomy and new ventures at Blue River Technology, a company John Deere acquired in 2017 for $305 million, announced the acquisition on LinkedIn. Michael Kohen, founder and CEO of SparkAI, also posted about the acquisition on the social media platform. SparkAI was founded in 2020 and had raised $7.3 million before being scooped up by John Deere.

Kohen was a guest on The Robot Report Podcast in September 2022 and discussed the company’s human-in-the-loop technology at length.

Operating in a harsh environment like a farm with dust, rain and snow can occasionally make it difficult for machine learning models to consistently make confident & safe decisions. Here’s how the technology works with John Deere’s autonomous tractors:

In moments of low confidence, the autonomous tractor automatically calls SparkAI’s service, passing imagery and other metadata via REST API. The objective is to resolve difficult-to-discern details about the scene to support a real-time decision. SparkAI said it does this by combining two key components in real-time:

• 1. Cognitive input from multiple human mission specialists trained for the use case
• 2. Results from its proprietary software-based decision system

SparkAI returns this resolution to the autonomous tractor. The robot combines this resolution with its pre-existing knowledge of the world to decide on a safe and confident action. According to SparkAI, the entire round-trip process takes seconds and happens thousands of times per day, 24/7.

SparkAI’s role in the workflow is not to take over control and remotely pilot the autonomous tractor. SparkAI provides contextual cues that the autonomous tractor is sometimes missing in order to make confident decisions.

“Spark is going to expedite everything we do. We’re going to be able to ship products sooner and at higher quality with less work,” said Pell. “When we automate away the chunks of human intervention, we will do so with great datasets that characterize the problem across many situations and environments. And all the while we will be delivering value to the customers and learning more about our technology and the environment. And then we will apply that cognition to the next area of growth.”

This is the latest in a string of robotics-related moves by John Deere. In May 2022, it acquired numerous patents and other intellectual property from Light, which specializes in depth sensing and camera-based perception for autonomous vehicles. Financial terms of the deal are unknown. Light was founded in 2013 and raised $185.7 million before the acquisition.

In April 2022, John Deere formed a joint venture with GUSS Automation, a Kingsburg, California-based developer of semi-autonomous orchard and vineyard sprayers. Through the joint venture, Deere will help GUSS further collaborate with the Deere sales channel.

In August 2021, John Deere acquired Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million, a Calif.-based developer of autonomous driving technology for tractors. Founded in 2017, Bear Flag Robotics retrofits its autonomy stack onto existing tractors. It uses cameras, LiDAR and radar technology for redundant, 360-degree situational awareness on a farm.

And, of course, John Deere’s quest for autonomy was kicked off by its acquisition of Blue River Technology in 2017 for $305 million.

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Ouster and Velodyne have completed their merger. The combined company will operate under the name Ouster and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “OUST.” 

Velodyne ceased trading on the NASDAQ after markets closed on the day the merger was completed. Each Velodyne share was exchanged for .8204 shares of Ouster common stock. 

The combined company has over 850 customers spanning the automotive, industrial, robotics and smart infrastructure industries. Ouster expects to retain about 350 employees and will be headquartered in San Francisco, with other key offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. 

“We’re thrilled to have completed the merger with Velodyne so quickly, further boosting our financial position and our ability to accelerate LiDAR adoption,” Angus Pacala, CEO of Ouster, said. “Together, we have an even stronger team backed by a healthy balance sheet, new channel partners, and a wide selection of positive-margin products to serve a diverse set of customers and win more deals than ever before. We expect our innovative digital LiDAR roadmap, amplified by exciting new software solutions, to further expand our serviceable market and catalyze growth across the business.”

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Ouster now has an intellectual property portfolio with 173 granted and 504 pending patents. The combined company has a cash balance of over $315 million as of December 31, 2022. Ouster is on track to exceed its estimation that the combined company will save at least $75 million in operating costs within the first 9 months of the transaction’s close.

“The combined Ouster is stronger than ever, led by an esteemed executive leadership team and Board with deep company, industry, and financial expertise,” Dr. Ted Tewksbury, executive chair of Ouster’s Board of Directors, said. “Ouster is well positioned as a global leader in LiDAR backed by the talent, products, and technology roadmap to make performant and affordable LiDAR solutions pervasive while accelerating time to profitability and enhancing value for stockholders.”

The combined company’s executive leadership team is made up of:

• Angus Pacala, chief executive officer
• Mark Frichtl, chief technology officer
• Mark Weinswig, chief financial officer
• Darien Spencer, chief operations officer
• Nate Dickerman, president of field operations
• Megan Chung, general counsel

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Roin Technologies developed a shotcrete handling robot for the construction market. | Credit: Roin Tech

San Francisco-based Built Robotics has acquired Roin Technologies. Roin is a three-year-old engineering company that has designed and built several robotic concrete finishing solutions, including a shotcrete robot and a concrete trowling robot.

Built Robotics CEO and co-founder Noah Ready-Campbell said the acquisition is primarily an acqui-hire that will enable Built to accelerate its current roadmap of automated construction equipment. Roin co-founder and CEO Jim Delaney joined the Built engineering team along with the other engineers from Roin. Financial details of the acquisition were not released.

Solar is hot

Ready-Campbell said the solar utility infrastructure market is one of the hottest segments of the construction industry at the moment. He added that Built is well-positioned to help automate many of the construction processes here. “It’s emerged as a great use case for us, we did some material handling work with Mortenson a few years ago, and we’ve done a bunch of different trenching projects across a bunch of states all over the country and in Australia, too. And solar has come to the [forefront] as one of the most exciting, if not the most exciting, verticals in construction, today.”

One of the key reasons for Ready-Campbell’s bullish stance is that he believes the Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed last summer in the U.S., will likely double the size of the American solar industry over the next five to 10 years. He said this is a perfect storm, where solar has already been growing fast, and now there is even more opportunity to build out the necessary utility infrastructure.

When asked if the company would ever release a commercial version of the shotcrete robot or the autonomous concrete trowling robot Roin has developed, Ready-Campbell said anything is possible in the future. He said both of these use cases qualify as “dull, dirty and dangerous.”

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However, the short-term focus for Built is on the solar market. The company roadmap includes an extension to its current autonomous trenching robot, and Ready Campbell is saving the product details for later this spring. 

Built is ready to expand its product line

Ready-Campbell did emphasize that the addition of Delaney and the Roin engineering staff will help accelerate the time-to-market for the existing roadmap. He had high praise for Dalaney’s skill at automating heavy equipment.

“Since their founding, Roin’s team has pushed the boundaries of construction autonomy, which has created a unique expertise in our industry,” said Ready-Campbell. “With Roin joining Built, the combined teams will continue developing new autonomous construction applications, and customers can expect to see robotic applications expanding beyond earthmoving.”

Built Robotics raised a $64 million Series C round in April 2022. In 2020, Built won an RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award for the IUOE partnership. The Built Exosystem can be rented as standalone units to be installed onto a customer’s existing fleet or customers can lease upgraded excavators from Built with the technology already built in.

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Robotnik has a 20-year track record in developing mobile robots and mobile manipulators. The company has a presence in markets such as Korea, Japan, China, Singapore, the USA, France, Germany and Italy. URG said the acquisition advances its strategy of asserting its position in the European robotics market through organic growth and acquisitions.

“We have been working with Robotnik as our strategic partner, and I am delighted to see the company join our group. We will benefit from 70 highly experienced robotics experts, especially in the areas of R&D and Software. This investment will support us in the development of further applications for CobiotX, the third generation of robots for humans”, said Thomas Linkenheil, co-CEO of United Robotics Group. ”We look forward to working with the local management team around Roberto Guzmán and Rafael López who are leading the company since the very beginning. We are very confident to leverage synergies.”

Founded by Thomas Hähn in 2019, Bochum, Germany-based United Robotics Group was founded in 2019 by Thomas Hahn. The company’s mission is to unite service robotics companies into a unique ecosystem by bundling hardware and software expertise under one roof.

This video showcases some of Robotnik’s work in autonomous mobile robots.

In April 2022, United Robotics Group acquired Softbank Robotics Europe, which develops the Pepper and Nao robots. That business then reverted back to its original name, Aldebaran, which was used prior to being acquired by Softbank. At the time of the deal, SoftBank also acquired a minority stake in United Robotics Group.

United has been the master distributor of Nao and Pepper in Europe since October 2021, responsible for sales, service and maintenance. It also distributes the Plato delivery robot and the Sawyer collaborative robot arm. United is backed by Hahn, a major industrial automation player in Germany. Hahn acquired the IP for Rethink Robotics after the company shut down in 2018. Hahn has since relaunched Sawyer.

“With [its] leading mobile manipulator technology and expertise with arm integration and its modular software, Robotnik is a perfect partner for United Robotics Group,” said Nadja Schmiedl, CTO, United Robotics Group. “We will benefit from Robotnik’s access to the international research networks as well as their products to strengthen our vertical Inspection & Maintenance and explore mobility applications in new CobiotX projects.”

“We are very pleased to integrate in the United Robotics Group and be part of its expansion in the global market,” said Roberto Guzmán, CEO, Robotnik. “We will focus on our strength in developing leading-edge technology and contributing to URG’s success with our network and experience in R&D projects.”

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American Robotics, which will soon be combined with Airobotics, offers an autonomous drone system called Scout. | Source: American Robotics

Ondas Holdings announced that it plans to accelerate its integration plan for its drone segment, which includes American Robotics, ahead of the close of its acquisition of Airobotics. 

The company hopes that it will close its Airobotics acquisition by the end of this month. Its integration plan for American Robotics and Airobotics includes developing a streamlined product roadmap strategy and customer support plans as well as a reduction of personnel at American Robotics. Ondas did not give details on how many employees it planned to lay off, but Eric Brock, the Chairman and CEO of Ondas, tweeted that the headcount reduction would be “substantial.”

These plans included a substantial headcount reduction at AR. We are grateful for the significant contributions of our colleagues. We wish them the best and will provide any support we can as they find new opportunities.

— Eric Brock (@CeoOndas) January 11, 2023

Ondas hopes to focus on securing revenue growth quickly and a return on its investment. It expects that its integration plan can results in $18-20 million in annual savings compared to operating the two companies as separate businesses. In the short term, Ondas expects the plan could save them $500,000 in Q1 of 2023. 

“We are confident that accelerating our integration plans will position us for success as we move forward with the acquisition of Airobotics, focus on near-term revenue generation and work towards profitable growth for Ondas,” Brock said in a release. “While the decision to reduce personnel at American Robotics was difficult, we believe it was necessary to shrink our operating costs and eliminate anticipated redundancies within the future combined operations. On behalf of the executive team and board of directors, we thank all members of the American Robotics staff for their contributions in driving AR’s success to date.”

Ondas plans to hold a virtual investor event in February 2023 to give more details on the business acquisition and combination. It first announced the acquisition in July 2022. The deal is intended to accelerate American Robotics’ technical development and regulatory roadmap and expand the breadth of applications, use cases and vertical AR targets.

Airobotics’ Optimus System is an autonomous unmanned aircraft system that focuses on high-value applications within the industrial, homeland security and smart city services market. The system includes an industrial-grade drone-in-a-box and the Optimus Airbase, which allows for robotic battery and payload swapping. 

The Scout System from American Robotics includes Scout, a fully-autonomous drone, ScoutBase, a weatherproof charging and edge computing station and ScoutView, a fleet management and analytics software. Scout is intended for industrial, agricultural, and defense markets. 

American Robotics was acquired by Ondas Holdings in May 2021 for $70.6 million. The company recently added seven additional sites of operation approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its automated beyond visual line of site (BVLOS) drone technology. It was the first company approved by the FAA to operate automated drones without human operators on-site. 

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Hy-Tek Holdings is a robotics integrator that offers products for customers in e-commerce, third-party logistics and parcel handling. | Source: Hy-Tek Intralogistics

Hy-Tek Intralogistics is kicking off the new year with another acquisition. The company announced that it has acquired Winchester Industrial Controls for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition was announced by Hy-Tek’s CEO Sam Grooms.

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Volvo Cars announced that it now fully owns Zenseact, an autonomous driving software development company. Volvo previously owned 86.5% of the company and acquired the remaining stake from ECARX, a global mobility tech company. 

Volvo said the acquisition is a strategic step towards owning more of its software that will power key functionalities in future cars. Zenseact will continue to operate as a standalone company and will lead the development of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving technologies to be introduced in Volvo and Polestar cars.

Zenseact’s flagship product is OnePilot, an AI-powered software platform for autonomous driving and ADAS applications. This platform is already at work in Volvo and Polestar vehicles.

The platform provides users with three modes of operation: drive, cruise and ride. In drive mode, users drive themselves, while the platform helps them to avoid collisions with information and warnings. The system also provides automatic breaking and steering interventions when needed.

In cruise mode, OnePilot will control the vehicle, but the user is still responsible for supervising the situation. The user should be prepared to take control when needed and keep their hands on the wheel at all times. OnePilot uses a driver monitor and hands-on detection to ensure users are paying attention when in cruise mode.

Finally, in ride mode, OnePilot will take complete, unsupervised control of the car. Currently, the company can only offer this mode in specific road segments, but it hopes to expand this further.

Zenseact’s portfolio also includes an integration suite, a set of configurable components and services that help users integrate OnePilot into different vehicle platforms and cloud environments, and a development suite. The developer suite includes fleet operation and development services offered at scale through the company’s developer portal for independent innovators and developers. 

Volvo completed the acquisition on December 31.

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This year, we covered nearly 50 mergers and acquisitions worth billions of dollars. The SPAC craze of 2021 seemingly came to a crashing halt, but there was still plenty of M&A activity.

Below are 10 robotics acquisitions, in chronological order, that stood out to us in 2022 and two notable mergers. Take a look back at the notable acquisitions of 2021.

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. For all the mergers and acquisitions, check out our special section.

Aptiv acquires Wind River

Date Announced: Jan. 11, 2022
Amount: $3.5B

Aptiv kicked off the year with a bang, announcing it was acquiring Wind River for $4.3 billion. The deal just closed on Dec. 23, but at a lower price point of $3.5 billion. The companies said the price was amended because of certain changes in Wind River’s operating structure required to bring the regulatory approval process to a satisfactory conclusion.

Aptiv, a global mobility company, in 2019 along with Hyundai Motor Group formed the autonomous driving joint venture now known as Motional. Wind River is a global leader in developing software for the edge. Its software is used on more than two billion edge devices across more than 1,700 customers globally. Wind River generated approximately $400 million in revenue in 2021. Intel acquired Wind River in 2008 for $884 million. Intel sold Wind River to TPG Capital in 2018 for an undisclosed amount.

Aptiv said the acquisition allows it to execute against the large software-defined mobility opportunity and expand into multiple industries. Aptiv said it will combine Wind River Studio, a cloud-native intelligent systems software platform, with its SVA platform and automotive expertise.

Zebra Technologies acquires Matrox Imaging

Date Announced: March 15, 2022
Amount: $875M

Zebra Technologies acquired Matrox Imaging for $875 million. Matrox Imaging develops machine vision components and systems and generates annual sales of approximately $100 million.

Matrox offers platform-independent software, software development kits (SDKs), smart cameras, 3D sensors, vision controllers, input/output (I/O) cards, and frame grabbers which are used to capture, inspect, assess, and record data from industrial vision systems in factory automation, electronics and pharmaceutical packaging, semiconductor inspection, and more.

Zebra Technologies in 2021 acquired Adaptive Vision, a machine vision software company, and launched its own line of fixed industrial scanning and machine vision systems. Zebra said the Matrox Imaging deal will complement the aforementioned products.

The deal expanded Zebra’s presence in the automation market. In 2021, Zebra acquired Fetch Robotics, a San Jose, Calif.-based developer of autonomous mobile robots for $290 million.

Bosch Rexroth acquires cobot maker Kassow

Date Announced: March 21, 2022
Amount: Undisclosed

Kassow Robots is developing 7-DOF cobot arms. (Credit: Kassow Robots)

Bosch Rexroth acquired the majority stake in Kassow Robots, a Denmark-based developer of 7-axis collaborative robotic arms. Bosch said the acquisition enables it to offer one-stop solutions, especially for the consumer goods and mobility industry including battery production as well as for semiconductor production. Kassow has five cobots in its portfolio, including reaches from 850mm to 1800mm and payloads from 5kg to 18kg.

Kassow Robots exited stealth mode at Automatica 2018. It was co-founded in 2014 by Kristian Kassow, the former co-founder of Universal Robots, which is the leading developer of cobots. Founded in 2005 by Kassow, Esben Østergaard and Kasper Støy, Universal Robots was acquired a mere 10 years later by Teradyne for $285 million.

Sarcos buys RE2 Robotics

Date Announced: March 28, 2022
Amount: $100M

Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation acquired RE2 Robotics, a Pittsburgh-based developer of autonomous and teleoperated mobile robotic systems, for $100 million. The deal consists of $30 million in cash and $70 million of Sarcos common stock. Both companies have had long-term success with military and defense customers, but they never collaborated.

The combined company now offers an extended product portfolio, which will enable it to target a much broader spectrum of customer needs across the commercial (aviation, construction, medical and subsea) and defense sectors. For example, the company has been working with Changi Airport Group to develop an outdoor-based baggage loading system that can automate the loading and unloading of loose passenger bags from a narrow-bodied aircraft.

American Robotics acquires Airobotics

Date Announced: July 5, 2022
Amount: Undisclosed

American Robotics acquired Airobotics, an Israeli developer of autonomous unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The acquisition is intended to accelerate American Robotics’ technical development and regulatory roadmap and expand the breadth of applications, use cases and vertical targets.

Combining American Robotics and Airobotics also means bringing together leading engineering and aviation talent and two world-class technology platforms. In January 2021, Marlborough, Mass.-based American Robotics became the first company approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to operate fully autonomous drones without visual observers on-site. Before this approval, waivers and certifications awarded by the FAA required visual observers to be stationed along the flight path to monitor a drone’s airspace.

Amazon buying iRobot

Date Announced: August 5, 2022
Amount: $1.7B

Amazon agreed to buy consumer robotics giant iRobot for $1.7 billion back in August, but the deal is under review by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The antitrust investigation is focusing on whether the data provided by iRobot’s Roomba robot vacuum gives Amazon an unfair advantage in the retail industry. The FTC is also analyzing how the line of robot vacuums would fit in with Amazon’s existing smart home products.

Amazon and iRobot have had a relationship dating back to 2005 before iRobot went public. iRobot listed Explore Holdings LLC as an investor and named Elizabeth Korrell as its manager. Explore Holdings was another name for Bezos Expeditions, Jeff Bezos’ personal investment firm at the time, and Elizabeth Korrell was an attorney for Bezos. Beyond that, iRobot uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) and developed voice integration between Alexa and the Roomba.

Both companies could seemingly benefit from this deal. Amazon has struggled to enter the consumer robotics market and underwhelmed the industry with its Astro robot. iRobot’s second quarter revenue fell 30% this year due to weak demand and cancellations from retailers in North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa. The company also warned of weaker growth going forward. iRobot has diversified its product portfolio in recent years with non-robotics products, including a handheld vacuum and air purifiers.

Walmart acquires ASRS maker Alert Innovation

Date Announced: October 6, 2022
Amount: Undisclosed

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, agreed to acquire Alert Innovation for an undisclosed price. Alert Innovation is a North Billerica, Mass.-based developer of robotic e-grocery fulfillment technologies.

Walmart began working with Alert Innovation in 2016 to build custom technology for its micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs). Walmart piloted its first MFC in Salem, N.H. in late 2019 using custom technology from Alert Innovation. The autonomous robot, named Alphabot, can store, retrieve and dispense orders by moving horizontally, laterally and vertically across three temperature zones without any lifts or conveyors.

At the time of the deal, Walmart said that “bringing the best of Alert’s technology and capabilities in-house will enable us to reach more customers quicker by deploying MFCs with greater speed, providing both an unmatched shopping experience and a competitive advantage in omnichannel fulfillment.”

Intrinsic acquires Open Source Robotics Corp

Date: Dec.15, 2022
Amount: Undisclosed

Intrinsic, a software company that launched out of the X moonshot division of Alphabet in mid-2021 to simplify the use of industrial robots, acquired the Open Source Robotics Corporation (OSRC). The OSRC is the for-profit arm of Open Source Robotics Foundation, which is the developer of the popular Robot Operating System (ROS). Intrinsic is also acquiring Open Source Robotics Corporation Singapore (OSRC-SG), the division of the company that led directly to the release of Open-RMF for interoperability.

To be clear, Intrinsic did not acquire the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF), the non-profit that has and will continue to be responsible for the day-to-day activities and development of ROS, Gazebo, Open-RMF and the entire ROS community.

Here’s why this deal is important going forward.

“As a small independent company at OSRC, it’s become increasingly challenging for us to meet the diverse needs of our large and growing user community and continue the commercial business of OSRC,” said Brian Gerkey, co-founder and now-former CEO of Open Robotics, who is joining Intrinsic along with many of his colleagues. “Greater institutional support from Intrinsic and the resources from this transaction allow our team to focus on what we do best and accelerate the development of ROS, Gazebo, and Open-RMF in a sustainable way.

“Together we will give the robotics community great new features in ROS, Gazebo, and Open-RMF, while also building new products and services on top. We will continue to improve ROS, Gazebo, and Open-RMF so that they can be used in even more domains, with ever-higher demands for software quality, testing, and platform support.”

Notable mergers

There were also several notable mergers during 2022. Teradyne companies Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) and AutoGuide Mobile Robots merged to become a single supplier of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). At the end of September 2022, the integrated company officially became known as Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR).

Prior to the merger, MiR offered a range of AMRs capable of carrying payloads and pallets up to 3,000 lb. (1350 kg). By combining with AutoGuide, the portfolio will expand to include high payload AMR tuggers and forklifts that will operate on the MiRFleet software.

Another notable merger took place between LiDAR makers Ouster and Velodyne. At press time, this merger wasn’t complete, but the combined company plans to leverage the complementary customer base, partners and distribution channels to accelerate LiDAR adoption. Combined, Ouster and Velodyne have 173 granted and 504 pending patents, and a cash balance of approximately $355 million as of the end of September 2022.

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Brian Gerkey, former Chief Executive Officer at Open Robotics (left), Wendy Tan White, Chief Executive Officer at Intrinsic (center), and Torsten Kroeger, Chief Technology Officer at Intrinsic (right).

Intrinsic, a software company that launched out of the X moonshot division of Alphabet in mid-2021 to simplify the use of industrial robots, has acquired the Open Source Robotics Corporation (OSRC), the for-profit arm of Open Source Robotics Foundation, which is the developer of the Robot Operating System (ROS).

Intrinsic is also acquiring Open Source Robotics Corporation Singapore (OSRC-SG), the division of the company that led directly to the release of Open-RMF for interoperability.

Intrinsic is acquiring assets from OSRC and OSRC-SG, which are for-profit businesses. The Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF) will continue as the independent nonprofit it’s always been, with the same mission, now with some new faces and a clearer focus on governance, community engagement, and other stewardship activities. OSRC said this means there is no disruption in the day-to-day activities with respect to OSRF’s core commitment to ROS, Gazebo, Open-RMF, and the entire community.

Brian Gerkey, co-founder and now-former CEO of Open Robotics, will be joining Intrinsic as part of the OSRC team and will continue to serve on the board of OSRF. OSRC engineers will be joining Intrinsic as well.

In a blog announcing the deal, Gerkey said “as a small independent company at OSRC, it’s become increasingly challenging for us to meet the diverse needs of our large and growing user community and continue the commercial business of OSRC. Greater institutional support from Intrinsic and the resources from this transaction allow our team to focus on what we do best and accelerate the development of ROS, Gazebo, and Open-RMF in a sustainable way.

“Together we will give the robotics community great new features in ROS, Gazebo, and Open-RMF, while also building new products and services on top. We will continue to improve ROS, Gazebo, and Open-RMF so that they can be used in even more domains, with ever-higher demands for software quality, testing, and platform support.”

He continued, “ROS, Gazebo, and Open-RMF will be nurtured and advanced by OSRF. You can expect ROS 2 Iron Irwini to be available in May 2023 on schedule. Similarly, the continued operation and advancement of TurtleBot will be the responsibility of OSRF, in partnership with Clearpath Robotics and ROBOTIS.”

“Our mission is to democratize access to robotics. We believe that the long-term support for developers of the global ROS community is key to this mission,” Intrinsic said in a statement. “Our team is eager to welcome and work with our new colleagues, expand our use and integration of ROS tools, and build the Intrinsic platform. As we work together to support and serve developers, we see immense value in creating a software platform that expands access to intelligent robotics in a way that’s compatible, useful, and open, while creating countless opportunities where they didn’t exist before.”

Tully Foote, director of community and business development at Open Robotics, described on ROS Discourse what this acquisition means for the ROS community.

“For starters, this new arrangement isn’t particularly new. OSRF, the Foundation, will still be in charge of the open-source intellectual property, project governance, growing the ROS, Gazebo and Open-RMF communities, and continuing with its mission, just like before. OSRF will be the administrator of the Github organizations, continue running the project websites (ros.org, gazebosim.org 1, Discourse, Answers, etc), putting together ROSCon, and developing the TurtleBot. Basically, if it is an open-source tool or project it will stay with the Foundation.

“Vanessa Yamzon Orsi, the current Open Robotics CFO will serve as the OSRF CEO, with Geoffrey Biggs as CTO. The name ‘Open Robotics’ will also live on as a brand under the direction of the Foundation. The OSRF team will lead the transition to a more participatory and durable governance structure for the projects, similar to that found in The Cloud Native Computing Foundation and other projects under The Linux Foundation. OSRF will be working closely with the membership of the ROS 2 Technical Steering Committee to create this new structure.”

Foote continued, “The OSRC team, as Intrinsic employees, will continue to be involved in the development of ROS, Gazebo and Open-RMF as contributors alongside the many developers worldwide who work to improve the projects. From the community’s perspective, the team will continue writing features, fixing issues, merging pull requests, making releases, and generally contributing to the projects day to day. We will have dedicated bandwidth to work on core ROS packages, Gazebo, and Open-RMF.”

Editor’s Note: This story is developing. We will update this article if new information becomes available.

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Ekso Bionics Holdings has purchased the Indego exoskeleton line and the rest of Parker Hannifin’s Human Motion and Control (HMC) business unit. The $10 million deal includes the planned development of robotic-assisted orthotic and prosthetic devices, the companies said.

“The strategic acquisition of Parker’s uniquely-powered and adjustable Indego exoskeletons significantly builds our product offering and extends our market opportunity to the home,” Ekso Bionics executive chair Steven Sherman said. “With the addition of HMC, we intend to grow our global footprint and increase our market position in lower extremity robotic products driven by our shared innovations and leading-edge technologies.”

The FDA cleared the Indego lower-limb exoskeleton systems for clinical and personal use in 2016. Indego Therapy is cleared for the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries or hemiplegia (one-sided paralysis) from strokes. Indego Personal is cleared to help spinal cord injury patients move about their homes and communities.

The Indego Therapy and Indego Personal exoskeletons are also CE marked.

“Indego is one of the most advanced and broadest range of powered and intelligent devices for home use, which represents a strategic fit for Ekso,” Ekso Bionics CEO Scott Davis said. “This acquisition is expected to contribute immediately to our top-line results and establish Ekso as a leader in lower extremity robotics. Moving forward, we plan to continue exploring future growth opportunities that align with our strategy.”

Ekso’s new partner for exoskeleton development

The acquisition also links Ekso and Vanderbilt University, where researchers created the Indego exoskeleton and worked with Parker to commercialize it. Ekso said it expects the Vanderbilt collaboration will “provide a path for future research and product development.”

Founded in 2005, San Rafael, California-based Ekso describes itself as the only exoskeleton company with products that help paralyzed people stand and walk, as well as assist workers in their jobs. The company’s EksoNR robotic exoskeleton won FDA clearance for use with multiple sclerosis patients earlier this year.

“We are pleased to have finalized an agreement with Ekso Bionics as a strategic buyer for our Human Motion and Control business,” Parker chief technology and innovation officer Mark Czaja said in a statement. “This is a great technology with an outstanding team that has built a highly differentiated product offering to help improve gait performance and outcomes for people living with mobility impairments. The acquisition will allow Ekso to leverage their robust commercial and clinical teams to ultimately enable this important technology to reach more patients in need across the continuum of care.”

Editor’s Note: This article was first published by The Robot Report’s sister publication Medical Design & Outsourcing and was republished with permission.

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Nidec, the Japanese electric motor maker, announced that it acquired PAMA, an Italian machine tool manufacturer, and its nine affiliate companies. Nidec passed the resolution to acquire the shares of PAMA on November 28, and executed a transfer agreement on the Stock Acquisition on November 30. 

The deal is estimated to be worth 15 billion yen, or $108 million, according to reporting from Nikkei Asia. PAMA brought in over $124 million (118.3 million Euro) in sales in 2021 and has production bases in Italy and China. 

Nidec has been recently entering into the machine tool business with two prior acquisitions. In August 2021, Nidec purchased Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Tool Co., now Nidec Machine Tool Corporation. And earlier this year it acquired the shares of OKK Corporation, now Nidec OKK Corporation, through a third-party allocation of common shares. 

Nidec primarily builds hard disk drives for computers, home appliance motors and traction motors for electric vehicles, but it hopes its acquisition of PAMA can help build synergy between its already-acquired machine tool manufacturers’ product range, scale, development and manufacturing. PAMA can help the company expand its sales in Asia, Europe and America, where it already has footholds. 

PAMA can also combine its technical expertise with Nidec Machine Tool Corporation’s and Nidec OKK Corporation’s expertise to develop new products and components. In particular, PAMA’s lineup of milling and boring machines and large machine tools will complement Nidec’s existing offerings. 

Nidec also predicts that with the combination, it can optimize its global production in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, which will reduce lead time for delivery and reduce manufacturing costs. Although, Nidec doesn’t expect the acquisition to have a significant impact on its financial performance for the fiscal year ending in March 2023. 

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Ibeo recently filed for insolvency because it could not secure further growth financing. MicroVision said the acquisition will expand its multi-market strategy focusing on industrial, smart infrastructure, robotics, and commercial vehicle segments with Ibeo’s flash-based sensor.

The combined company is expected to have revenue streams from existing and new product lines ranging from software, Ibeo’s flash-based LiDAR and MicroVision’s scanning LiDAR sensor, as well as other combinations of hardware with perception software solutions.

Ibeo Automotive Systems Gmbh developed and launched the SCALA sensor into serial production with a Tier 1 that is today used by premium OEMs like Audi, Mercedes and Stellantis and software solutions used by BMW and VW. Under the terms of the agreement, MicroVision will acquire certain Ibeo assets, IP, and teams to operate within the MicroVision organization as of the closing date, which is expected to be in the first half of 2023.

“This is an exciting time as we welcome the Ibeo team to the MicroVision family. We believe this is the winning combination to accelerate our strategic plan at the exact right time. Our best-in-class hardware solution paired with existing perception features added to our ASIC, accelerated by the Ibeo software and automotive qualification experience, presents a significantly advanced solution for OEM,” said Sumit Sharma, CEO of MicroVision. “I’m also very excited about the immediate expansion of our multi-market strategy with Ibeo’s sensor and hardware.”

The acquisition will enable MicroVision to accelerate its timeline around the delivery of a complete lidar and perception software solution. Ibeo’s perception software will be ported into the MicroVision digital ASIC with compatibility demonstrations available by early Q2 2023.

The forecasted revenue of $8 to $15 million is expected from new and existing customers, including top-tier German and U.S. OEMs as well as non-automotive multi-market customers.

The combined engineering teams in Hamburg, Nuremberg and Redmond, Washington will continue developing LiDAR hardware, perception software, ASIC, auto-annotation software, and other innovative ADAS and autonomous driving products.

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Left, one of Ouster’s solid-state LiDARs. Right, al Velodyne Alpha Prime LiDAR sensor. | Source: Ouster and Velodyne

Ouster and Velodyne announced today that the two LiDAR providers will merge in an all-stock transaction. The agreement was signed on November 4, 2022 and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions including shareholder approval from both companies. 

The combined company plans to leverage the complementary customer base, partners and distribution channels to accelerate LiDAR adoption. Combined, Ouster and Velodyne have 173 granted and 504 pending patents, and a cash balance of approximately $355 million as of the end of September 2022. 

Ouster and Velodyne predict the combined company will save at least $75 million in operating costs within the first 9 months of the transaction’s close. 

Under the terms of the agreement, each Velodyne share will be exchanged for 0.8204 shares of Ouster stock when the deal closes. This will result in Velodyne and Ouster shareholders each owning around 50% of the combined company based on current shares. 

Ouster’s current CEO Angus Pacala will lead the combined company as CEO, and Dr. Ted Tewksbury, Velodyne’s current CEO, will serve as Executive Chairman of the Board of the combined company, which will be made up of eight members, four appointed by each company. 

“Ouster’s cutting-edge digital LiDAR technology, evidenced by strong unit economics and the performance gains of our new products, complemented by Velodyne’s decades of innovation, high-performance hardware and software solutions, and established global customer footprint, positions the combined company to accelerate the adoption of LiDAR technology across fast-growing markets with a diverse set of customer needs,” Pacala said. “Together, we will aim to deliver the performance customers demand while achieving price points low enough to promote mass adoption.”

Kyle Vogt, co-founder and CEO of autonomous driving company Cruise, last year said the LiDAR industry would consolidate. The issue, according to Vogt, is the projected revenue comes from “entirely overlapping potential customers, with very little discount applied to future projections.”

“LiDAR is a valuable enabling technology for autonomy, with the ability to dramatically improve the efficiency, productivity, safety, and sustainability of a world in motion. We aim to create a vibrant and healthy LiDAR industry by offering both affordable, high-performance sensors to drive mass adoption across a wide variety of customer applications, and by creating scale to drive profitable and sustainable revenue growth,” Tewksbury said. “The combination of Ouster and Velodyne is expected to unlock enormous synergies, creating a company with the scale and resources to deliver stronger solutions for customers and society, while accelerating time to profitability and enhancing value for shareholders.”

In September, Ouster announced it was reducing its headcount by approximately 10%, reducing spending across the business by over 15% and suspending sales of common stock through at-the-market. The changes were part of the company’s comprehensive cost-reduction initiative. 

The company paired these cuts with moves to accelerate its market share, like product releases and targeted commercial strategies. Recently, Ouster announced the release of its 3D industrial LiDAR sensor suite designed for high-volume material handling applications. 

Ibeo Automotive Systems GmbH, a global provider of LiDAR sensors, recently filed for insolvency, and the Hamburg insolvency court has granted insolvency proceedings in self-administration. The company is continuing operations in all divisions in Hamburg, Germany, Eindhoven, Netherlands, and Detroit, Michigan at full capacity.

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The new company enters the market with the size, scale and capabilities of a global leader in the category. In a world where increasing consumer demands continually face off with supply chain disruption and other challenges, the newly combined FORTNA offers partnerships and solutions customers can count on to outpace the demands of tomorrow.

“The decision to retain the legacy Fortna name was the result of careful consideration,” said FORTNA CEO Rob McKeel. “We chose the name FORTNA not only for the great reputation the name already has in the market, but because of the strength and resilience embedded within it. The notion of fortitude. Of resilience and strength. It speaks to what our customers need in today’s climate and what they can expect from our partnership – the ability to weather the ever-changing market conditions and come out thriving.”

The companies merged in April 2022 for an undisclosed price. Both companies belong to the investment portfolio of Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL), a private equity firm that invests in middle-market growth companies. THL will remain the majority owner of the combined company. A subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority acquired a minority stake in the company to support the deal.

MHS’s robotic solutions included a multi-pick robotic end effector, a robotic singulation and induction, autonomous mobile robots and a dual-picking robot. Fortna’s solutions included automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), picking and packing robots and an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS).

“At the end of the day, our customers need to know they are ready for anything. That means operations that run at the speed of change – and the intelligence to anticipate what is next,” McKeel added. “We are thrilled to be able to provide the ability for our customers to create scalable, cost-efficient operations through automation.”

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Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, has agreed to acquire Alert Innovation for an undisclosed price. Alert Innovation is a North Billerica, Mass.-based developer of robotic e-grocery fulfillment technologies. Alert Innovation will continue to operate under the Alert Innovation brand based in the Boston area.

Walmart began working with Alert Innovation in 2016 to build custom technology for its micro-fulfillment centers. Walmart said the acquisition will enable it to better leverage its stores for storage and fulfillment and more efficiently fulfill customer orders.

Walmart piloted its first MFC in Salem, N.H. in late 2019 using custom technology from Alert Innovation. The autonomous robot, named Alphabot, can store, retrieve and dispense orders by moving horizontally, laterally and vertically across three temperature zones without any lifts or conveyors. According to Walmart, this provides fewer space constraints inside the MFC and eliminates the need to pause the entire system for bot maintenance.

“I am proud that Alert Innovation is one of the most innovative and capable automation companies in operation today. Our mission to improve people’s lives through innovation will now be dedicated to Walmart customers and associates which is an inspiring undertaking,” said John Lert, Alert Innovation Founder and Executive Chairman.

“We will continue leveraging our development, manufacturing and deployment expertise to enable Walmart to build and scale MFC technology in its stores. With Walmart, we have the opportunity to positively impact millions of lives through the Alphabot System,” said Fritz Morgan, Alert Innovation CEO.

“We are committed to exceeding customer expectations and serving them in new ways, whether it’s in a store, curbside, or at their home,” said David Guggina, senior VP of innovation and automation at Walmart U.S. “Bringing the best of Alert’s technology and capabilities in-house will enable us to reach more customers quicker by deploying MFCs with greater speed, providing both an unmatched shopping experience and a competitive advantage in omnichannel fulfillment.”

Of course, Walmart is no stranger to robotics. It invested in Cruise’s autonomous vehicles for last-mile delivery, recently partnered with Symbotic to deploy automation inside regional distribution centers and is outfitting a new $118 million facility in Canada with robots from GreyOrange.

Walmart also uses Level 4 autonomous trucks from Gatik to automate its middle-mile logistics. In late 2021, Gatik removed the human safety driver behind the wheel of two autonomous trucks operating in Bentonville, Arkansas, which is the home of the retail giant.

Unfortunately, Walmart’s most famous use of robotics ended on a bad note. Walmart in November 2020 abruptly ended a five-year contract with Bossa Nova Robotics, which at the time was developing robots for front-of-store inventory management. When the news broke, Walmart said that it “found different, sometimes simpler solutions that proved just as useful.”

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