Listen to this article

For over a decade, Robotics Business Review’s RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards have highlighted the most creative and influential innovations from around the world that have advanced the state of robotics. Robotics Business Review is currently seeking nominations for the 2021 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards. The nomination deadline ends Friday, April 16, 2021.

Innovation and transformation

For the robotics sector, the importance of innovation has never been greater. Innovation is critical to success and long-term competitiveness among regions, vertical markets, individual companies. Not only can innovations result in new products and services, but they can also transform industries and societies.

All forms of innovation

At its core, each innovation begins with an idea that can influence, improve, or create a solution. The solicitation and selection process for the 2021 RBR50 understands that innovation can take many forms – technological, business, market, and investment – that act individually, or in confluence, to accelerate robotics sector growth. The sources for robotics innovation can be technology, product, and services providers, but also academics and researchers, governmental and private business development groups, and the investment community.

How to apply

The editors of Robotics Business Review are seeking submissions from companies, research and development organizations, business development and investment groups, and others for consideration for the 2021 RBR50 awards.

• Each submission must refer to an innovation that was initiated, released, or executed between January 1, 2020 and April 1, 2021.
• Each submission must fall under one of three categories: 1. Business and management innovation; 2. Technology, services, and research innovation; or 3. Application and market innovation (see descriptions below)
• The deadline to apply is Friday, April 16, 2021.

---

---

RBR50 Categories

1. Business and Management Innovation
Entries should describe business and management initiatives or practices that enhance a company’s commercial standing, foster robotics sector growth, or improve society. Innovative business and management categories include:

• Leadership: setting goals and taking action that results in improved business performance, outperforming the competition, inspiring others, or other positive conclusions
• Market engagement: actions that increase the interaction between a company and its customers, partners, or the robotics sector
• Business models: novel approaches for selling robotics products or services, including market expansion, new product introduction, acquisitions and investments, and more
• Social good: initiatives that provide a positive social benefit such as improving sustainability, encouraging diversity, increasing workplace safety, and supporting underserved groups or communities

2. Research, Product Technology, and Services Innovation
Submissions should describe innovative technologies or services that entered the commercial market after January 2019.

• Primary or Applied Research: Research published between January 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 focused on robotics, automation and supporting technologies and methods that are expected to advance the commercial robotics sector.
• Product Introduction: Innovative technologies and products that were released and made available for sale to individuals, companies and other groups in the industrial, commercial, public sector, and consumer markets.
• Services Introduction: Includes newly introduced business, engineering or technology services. Examples include design, development and manufacturing services, legal services, and Robotics-as-a-Service offerings.

3. Application and Market Innovation
RBR50 entries should feature newly developed applications for specific sectors that deliver value, provide entry to new markets, or improve performance over existing approaches by improving productivity, increasing quality, reducing costs, etc. Markets include:

• Agriculture
• Construction / demolition
• Consumer
• Defense / public safety / security
• Energy / utilities
• Healthcare / medical / rehabilitation
• Hospitality
• Manufacturing
• Mining
• Retail / wholesale
• Supply chain / logistics
• Transportation

Benefits for RBR50 honorees

The RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards presents technology, product, and services providers, along with researchers, business development organizations and investment groups, a unique branding, marketing and education opportunity. Benefits for RBR50 honorees include:

• A press release announcing the winners of the 2021 RBR50 Innovation Awards will be sent out over, as well as pushed through WTWH Media’s Robotics Group extensive technology and business social media channels.
• A searchable listing and profiles of the 2021 RBR50 Innovation Award winners will be hosted on Robotics Business Review. RBR50 winners will be cited as part of ongoing robotics coverage throughout the year.
• 2021 RBR50 Innovation Award winners will be included in a special RBR50 Innovation Award publication produced by The Robot Report to be inserted into Design World Magazine as a print publication (40,000 circulation) and downloadable e-magazine.

Examples

For a searchable listing of the 2020 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards winners click HERE. To view The Robot Report June 2020 Digital Edition featuring the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards click HERE.

Questions?

For questions regarding the 2021 RBR50 innovation awards, please contact editors Dan Kara or Steve Crowe.

---

About WTWH Media

WTWH Media LLC is an integrated media company serving engineering, business, and investment professionals through more than 50 websites, five print publications, and many other technical and business events. The “WTWH Network” includes The Robot Report, Collaborative Robotics Trends, and Robotics Business Review, online technical, business, and investment news and information portals focused on robotics and intelligent systems. WTWH Media also produces leading in-person robotics conferences, including the Robotics Summit & Expo, RoboBusiness, and the Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum, as well as the RoboBusiness Direct online webinar program.