United Kingdom

RPA supplier Blue Prism is likely to be acquired by investor Vista Equity Partners in the near future, reports Bloomberg news agency. The news agency mentions a possible acquisition amount of 1.1 billion pounds (1.5 billion dollars), based on anonymous sources. After the acquisition, Vista could merge the software with that of the previously acquired Tibco Software.

RE2 Robotics has received $1.5 million in Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to develop an autonomous flightline sustainment system for the Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office.  The program, Mobile Autonomous Aircraft Platform for Sustainment (MAAPS), will focus on the development of dual RE2 Sapien robotic arms integrated with a JLG scissor lift to perform tasks on C-17 military aircraft at height.

No matter where you were this summer you must have heard something about the Olympics and the Paralympics. It’s really awesome to see what humans can do if they focus and team up with each other. If they have a common goal, the right context and good coaching. Some say that the success of “Team NL” was partly due to the bond that was created during preparation.

Vecow and Blaize announced the launch of the Vecow ECX-2400 workstation-grade AI Computing System. Vecow ECX-2400 AI Computing System harnesses the Blaize Graph Streaming Processor (GSP) based Xplorer AI accelerator to deliver AI performance with higher system reliability and lower power consumption.

NN is one of the pioneers in robotisation in the Netherlands. A robotisation project was launched five years ago and has since led to several hundred digital staff who assist employees by taking repetitive tasks off their hands. Rocking Robots discussed this matter with Peter Vlam, Manager Process Management & Innovation at NN.

Due to the COVID-19 situation, the strain on hospital employees has increased significantly. Therefore, it has become more important than ever to relieve healthcare staff of repetitive tasks. ZNA uses Robotic Process Automation as a solution to automate this repetitive workload.

Blaize  announced a strategic cooperation agreement with Lidar solutions provider LeiShen, for in-depth cooperation on the integration of Lidar and AI functions in intelligence applications for autonomous operation across a range of automotive and smart city markets in China.

Blue White Robotics, a platform that provides Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) for farms to run themselves autonomously, announced $37M in Series B funding. They will use this new funding to increase the rapid adoption of autonomous farming, drive new US sales, and attract talent for their international team.

In the future, socially interactive robots could help seniors age in place or assist residents of long-term care facilities with their activities of daily living. But will people actually accept advice or instructions from a robot? A new study from University of Toronto Engineering suggests that the answer hinges on how that robot behaves. 

Scientists at Cornell University have created cell-size robots that can be powered and steered by ultrasound waves. Despite their tiny size, these micro-robotic swimmers –  whose movements were inspired by bacteria and sperm – could one day be a formidable new tool for targeted drug delivery.