"These are definitely the droids you're looking for," insists MassRobotics about its Robot Block Party this weekend, in that way that people who make robots like to pretend they won't eventually rise up and subjugate all of humanity. In reality, it's pretty cool that kids and adults alike will get to experience robotics up close and personal when more than 30 different companies and universities take to the Seaport with drones, autonomous vehicles, collaborative robots, humanoids, robot dogs, flying bionic birds, and all sorts of other mechanical beings available for first-hand viewing. Part of RoboBoston, a two-day affair that also features a STEM Field Trip Day and a Robotics and AI Technical Career Fair -- both on Friday -- the Robot Block Party will mark the fifth time the robots have taken over. Er, the Seaport, that is. "The world looks to our cluster for innovations and advances in robotics. RoboBoston is a chance to celebrate, recognize and share our robust community," said Tom Ryden, executive director of MassRobotics.

Boston Dynamics Spot Robot can be deployed in industrial environments to complete tasks that are dangerous or tedious for humans. Amazon CTO Werner Vogels has announced AWS will have an increasing focus on robotics technologies. The new AWS Robotics Startup Accelerator is open to robotics hardware and software startups. The accelerator, which AWS is running with MassRobotics, offers a range of benefits including hands-on training with AWS robotics solutions, and up to $10,000 in promotional credits to use AWS IoT, Robotics, and machine learning services. MassRobotics will support select startups with an intensive, four-week advanced curriculum specially designed to accelerate their growth using AWS.

Back in July, I wrote about how Amazon Robotics is using AWS to build the next generation of robots in our warehouses. In that post, I shared how even the most seemingly mundane aspects of a system are crucial to achieving fully functional robots as opposed to just automation. "In the coming years, we will see a rapid evolution of robotic capabilities, reliability, and safety, all driven by the seamless integration of emerging technologies, cloud, and newly connected hardware." Now, the reality is that this isn't so much of a prediction as it as an observation of what's already happening all around us. Robots are becoming more and more commonplace in our world, playing roles in everything from performing surgery, to cleaning the floor, to teaching young children.

NEW YORK, July 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cowen Inc. (COWN) ("Cowen" or the "Company") and MassRobotics today announced a collaboration to bring together their extensive market knowledge to advance research into the emerging robotics and artificial intelligence industry. Based in the Boston area, MassRobotics is a global hub for robotics, and the collective work of a group of engineers, rocket scientists, and entrepreneurs focused on the needs of the robotics community. "The robotics and artificial intelligence industry is a rapidly expanding market, and one that will define the advancement of manufacturing and services on a global basis. We are thrilled to be partnering with such an innovative collective in MassRobotics, which was established through a shared vision of advancing the robotics industry," said Jeffrey M. Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of Cowen. "Cowen has dedicated substantial time into the research of robotics and AI and we look forward to sharing our knowledge and capital markets expertise to support the emerging growth companies associated with MassRobotics."

The new capital arrives a few months after Humatics announced an $18 million Series A funding round. The Boston-based firm was one of the early companies to participate in the STEX25 startup accelerator program at MIT. (Humatics is another company that has received support from the initiative, according to the STEX25 website.) The Toro Company, the Minnesota-based maker of lawn mowers and other equipment, bought a minority stake in GreenSight Agronomics, a Boston drone startup serving the agricultural sector. Meanwhile, Radian Capital made a growth equity investment in Boston-based retail software company Blueday, which also named former Salesforce executive Graeme Grant as its CEO. The company's founding CEO, serial entrepreneur Dave Balter, shifted to the role of chairman in November in part so he could focus on his latest venture, Flipside Crypto.