Nov 22, 2021

November 22, 2021 The awful coronavirus pandemic has changed many people’s lives forever. Many have lost loved ones and many more have suffered illness and inconvenience to their lives and livelihoods. For businesses in many sectors, it has been extremely difficult to keep going through lockdowns which reduced their income to zero or thereabouts. And despite previously unimaginable levels of government support, they were forced to wind down, perhaps to fight another day sometime in the future. Among the business sectors that grew during the past two years have been healthcare, e-commerce and logistics, for obvious reasons. This has had the effect of helping the wider public take a greater interest in automation, with many saying that there should be more of it so that people are less vulnerable to pandemics and worker shortages. For us, it has been the most difficult period that we’ve ever had, for many reasons. And we wondered whether we should do this awards thing at all. But, life must go on, and our readers – despite all the challenges they must be facing in their own lives and work – have supported us throughout this absolutely disastrous time. So, with that said, it’s probably a good idea to remind you of how we decided on the winners highlighted in this brochure. Readers’ Awards So the winners of the Readers’ Awards were decided through an online vote, for which we used a form. We tried to include as many companies and categories as we could, but in the end, we had to reduce those categories down to ones which were the most relevant to our subject matter and the ones which received the most votes. And, of course, the winners – first, second and third places – were decided strictly on the basis on highest numbers of votes. No other factors were involved. Judges’ Awards Here at RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com, we are very lucky to have many knowledgable readers, experts in their respective fields, whether it be industrial robotic arms, autonomous mobile robots, the sensors they use, or pretty much any other related technology. We invited a very wide cross-section of this distinguished community to be judges for these awards. And their votes and comments can be found in this brochure. Trophies and plaques We are still looking at different trophies and plaques to present to the winners, but they have not yet been decided. Apologies for the delay, but trophies and certificates will be sent to all the winners. So here are the details – all the winners and our comments… Top 3D printer manufacturer Readers’ Awards FormLabs Congratulations to FormLabs for winning our first announced award for Top 3D Printer Manufacturer. Founded by three MIT Media Lab students, Formlabs offers hardware and software. Well positioned for continued success. Silver 3D Systems Hugely popular with our readers, and rightly wins the Silver award. One of the first companies in the the largely unknown sector of 3D printing, its former president pioneered stereolithography. Bronze HP One of the original computing giants, HP is now also a big name in 3D printing. Now making huge strides in the as-yet developing field of 3D printing and additive manufacturing. Judges’ Award MarkForged: “Being able to 3D print parts for manufacturing is impressive. Being able to do this using metal is incredible. Being able to use 5 different types of metal, 4 types of composite base and 5 types of continuous fiber is unheard of.” Honorable mention Top farm automation company This category is sponsored by AutoGuide Mobile Robots … A long-established maker of AGVs and AMRs for warehouses. Readers’ Awards Farmwise Mainly a software company that starts with automating the weeding process. One of the first to showcase proven technology that uses AI on a farm. A popular winner with the most amount of votes in its category. Silver John Deere Very much an integral part of modern mechanised farming for many decades, Deere is making tracks in the automation sector. Invested in Blue River’s lettuce farming robot, and other companies, as it continues to grow. Bronze Left Hand Robotics Acquired earlier this year by Toro, Left Hand Robotics is the developer of autonomous outdoor robots that clear snow and mow grass and turf. Widely known beyond our readership, judging from the votes. Judges’ Award Harvest Croo: “I like the concept and the challenge of not only determining which fruit is ready to pick but then having to pick them without damaging the fruit is impressive.” Honorable mention Top vertical farming company Readers’ Awards AeroFarms An aeroponic specialist, AeroFarms has raised at least $138 million in funding since launch in 2004. Currently owns four vertical farming faclities in the US. Says it’s the first in its market to be a Certified B Corporation. Silver Iron Ox Iron Ox has recently raised another $53 million in funding and has started supplying its products to local markets in California, USA. It uses robotic arms in its operations, which are highly automated. Bronze FarmOne Farms in Manhattan? One of the most densely populated urban centers in the world? Who would have believed it a few years ago. But that is indeed what FarmOne does. Provides weekly deliveries of its products to locals. Judges’ Award Iron Ox: “Farming automation is the wave of the future, and being able to grow more food in a smaller physical footprint will continute to be crucial as the world’s population increases. This company does an excellent job combining both.” Honorable mention Top AI chip company Readers’ Awards Nvidia Nvidia is innovating, diversifying and expanding at bewildering speed. Currently in the process of buying ARM. Has developed significant technologies to support the robotics and automation sector. Silver Apple Apple silicon is the name of the business unit under which the iColossus is developing a whole range of AI chips that will eventually enable it to go it alone. It still sources some chips from other suppliers, and uses ARM designs. Bronze Google Not only is Google making AI chips for devices and data centers, it is even using AI to make AI chips, saying it’s better than humans at it. The approach has been praised and is believed hold great promise. Judges’ Award Intel: “Intel continues to dominate this space and their results speak for themselves.” “For such a large company, Intel has been very agile and innovative over the past few years.” Honorable mention Top electric vehicle charging station maker This category is sponsored by SAE … The standards developing organization for engineering professionals. Readers’ Awards ChargePoint Operates what is believed to be the largest online network of independently owned electric vehicle charging stations in the world, present in at least 14 countries, and makes the technology itself. Congratulations. Silver Bosch One of the world’s largest manufacturers of automotive systems, Bosch says its charging network consists of more than 200,000 charge points in Europe. Bosch produces a range of charging solutions for home and business use. Bronze ABB Industrial giant which makes a huge range of electric vehicle charging stations, including large-scale solutions for bus and petrol stations. Claims to have developed the world’s fastest charging point. Judges’ Award Daimler Mercedes-Benz: “I like how Mercedes-Benz is partnering with other companies to create an ecosystem to address charging stations instead of going about it alone.” Honorable mention Top programmable logic controller maker This category is sponsored by item … Provides modular aluminum systems for industrial engineering. Readers’ Awards Siemens Said by some researchers to be the clear leader in PLCs, with more than 30 percent market share. There’s not many factories out there that don’t use Siemens PLCs, and the company means to keep it that way. Silver ABB ABB provides a huge range of PLC solutions for small, medium and large operations, and it is particularly strong in the data center market and the growing renewable energy sector. Emphasises high performance and flexibility. Bronze Rockwell Automation Invented the device in the 1970s and still one of the leading companies in the market, Rockwell offers PLCs as well as PACs – programmable automation controllers. Offers a full range of technologies for factories. Judges’ Award “Far and away the leading company in the PLC sector.” Honorable mention Top warehouse automation company Readers’ Awards Locus Robotics One of the first companies to take up the challenge of filling the gap left by Amazon’s withdrawal of Kiva Systems from the AMR market. Its LocusBots are a distinctive part of automated warehouses today. Silver AutoStore This Norwegian company has provided the foundational technology for many warehouse automation providers for many years. Its automated storage and retrieval system is probably the most recognisable in the industry. Bronze Seegrid Having developed a wide range of heavy-duty automated material handling vehicles and raised a total of $150 million, Seegrid is prepared for the future. Its vehicles have the capacity to lift or pull 8-10,000 lbs at a time. Judges’ Award Vecna Robotics: “Continue to be one of the only true AMR manufacturers out there and their 24 hr service is not only unique, it gives peace of mind to their customers that helps ensure very low downtime for their processes.” Honorable mention Top industrial robotic arm manufacturer This category is sponsored by KVH … Mobile connectivity and inertial navigation systems. Readers’ Awards Fanuc In terms of unit sales or number of installations, Fanuc is the largest industrial robot maker in the world – they were bound to do well in the vote. For such a large company, it is still highly innovative and dynamic. Silver ABB It’s difficult to understand how a company can be so hugely successful in so many sectors. It may all be in the industrial space but the diversity of technologies is enormous. And whatever it does, it does so well. Bronze Universal Robots If we had to choose one company that has been the most innovative, we would probably choose Universal Robots. Its collaborative robots have completely changed the industrial robot arm market forever. Judges’ Award Stäubli: “Impressive product that is supported by a top-notch organization in North America.” “Took on the many challenges of a changing market and continued to be stay true to its quality traditions.” Honorable mention Top autonomous shuttle maker Readers’ Awards Toyota One of the world’s largest automakers, Toyota’s backing of this market was partly inspired by the Olympics. Its autonomous vehicle was designed to shuttle the world’s best athletes from one place to another. Silver Nuro An attractive design for its autonomous vehicle has helped this company to develop partnerships with large retailers to deliver groceries to homes. Really proved useful in its operational areas during pandemic lockdowns. Bronze Optimus Ride Founded by MIT members who took part in a Darpa challenge, Optimus Ride is a specialist autonomous shuttle company. Now partnering with local governments and large companies, it is innovating urban transportation. Judges’ Award EasyMile: “EasyMile has focused on airports first before moving to the highway. This allows it to learn the challenges of autonomy in a controlled environment and perfect their technology before putting it out there in the public.” Honorable mention Top robotics software and systems developer This category is sponsored by Techman Robot … Collaborative robots to fit a broad range of industries. Readers’ Awards RightHand Robotics Concentrating on the tricky problem of developing robotic systems forpiece-picking in the warehouse operations space, RightHand Robotics’ solution could become a key part of the supply chain in the next few years. Silver Realtime Robotics A provider of motion planning software for robots, Realtime Robotics’ platform can be used for one single machine or a whole fleet of them. Uses high-end GPUs, proprietary algorithms, and advanced chips. Bronze Bluefin Robotics US robotics company which specialises in the design and manufacture of military and civilian autonomous underwater vehicles and related technology. Now acquired by General Dynamics Mission Systems. Judges’ Award RoboDK: “RoboDK’s background and long testing a research phase has ensured its transition into the commercial world has been smooth and very successful. And I think its virtual robot programming software is the best of its kind.” Honorable mention Top end effectors, peripherals, sensors and embedded technologies Readers’ Awards SICK Sensor Intelligence Sensors produced by SICK are in a huge number of robots and machines around the world. Inventive and innovative, the company backs up its products with comprehensive teaching, training and support services. Silver Soft Robotics A lot of people have already acknowledged how important soft end effectors for robots are, but it’s difficult to overstate it. We think the future for this company is huge growth as soft end effectors meet warehouses. Bronze Festo Festo is a complex business in terms of the diversity of things it can do for its customers. But from our point of view, its most eye-catching developments are in its research labs, where it is building future tech. Judges’ Award Robotiq: “Robotiq has been providing sophisticated end effectors and systems for robots for many years. Its dedication is evident in its blog and many explanatory articles, which have elevanted people’s understanding of the technology.” Honorable mention Top autonomous delivery robot company This category is sponsored by IDS … Versatile, powerful and easy to use industrial camera systems. Readers’ Awards Starship Technologies Headquartered in San Francisco, this Estonian company has engineering operations in Finland. It is the most recognisable brand in the market, being an early mover, and through its far-sighted partnerships and PR. Silver Kiwibot Specialising in the restaurant market, Kiwibots have become widely recognised in the areas that they operate, autonomously delivering takeaway meals to hungry customers. Must help that the design makes it look friendly. Bronze Segway Robotics Segway has diversified tremendously since the days of its two-wheeled personal transporter, and it has taken to the robotics market with great aplomb. Its Loomo delivery robot is highly in terms of materials used. Judges’ Award Starship Technologies: “Starship Technologies seems to have figured out how to deploy this technology at multiple locations and maintain effectiveness.” “Certainly the most memorable company in its market.” Honorable mention Marble: Top autonomous delivery robot company Thanks again to all our sponsors and everyone who took part ,especially our readers who took the time to vote and make all this happen. Share this: