Slip Robotics demonstrated its automated trailer loading/unloading system (ATLS) at ProMat 2023. The omnidirectional robot is designed to carry up to 8 full pallets and a total of 6 tons. It is capable of autonomously driving into a tractor-trailer for transport to the next destination. Three ATLS robots can fit inside a typical tractor-trailer. Fork truck operators do not need to enter the trailer and instead load and unload pallets onto the Slip ATLS in the open loading dock.

Robots are being deployed into a number of new applications and markets. New business models are emerging to help make robots successful in their operations. As the number of applications and the market for robotic solutions grows, robotic service providers (RSP) are emerging as an option for operating commercial robots. So what is a robotic service provider? The answer starts by understanding the difference between the traditional capital equipment selling cycle and the concept of a subscription service selling model.

In 2022 we saw big movements in the robotics industry, from high-profile lawsuits to big acquisitions to exciting new robots and deployments, there was no shortage of news to cover this year. Here are the top 10 most popular stories on The Robot Report in 2022. 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. Early this year, Amazon unveiled its first-ever autonomous mobile robot (AMR) Proteus. The company first entered the mobile robot space in 2012, when it acquired Kiva Systems for $775 million.

The robotics industry had its fair share of memorable moments in 2022. Here we take a look back at our picks for the most memorable robotics stories of the year. The list is comprised of moments that made us laugh and cringe, as well as moments that left us surprised or amazed at the capabilities of various robots. Please let us know in the comments what you'll remember most from 2022. Subscribe to The Robot Report Newsletter to stay updated on the robotics stories you need to know about.

FANUC has been added to Wandelbots' robotics manufacturer portfolio. Wandelbots, the Dresden, Germany-based robotics software developer, announced that it has added FANUC to its portfolio of robotics manufacturers. FANUC will be the third robotics company to integrate Wandelbots Teaching into its robots. FANUC plans to launch the first versions of its Wandelbots-enabled robots in 2023. It follows Universal Robots and Yaskawa in integrating the software.

China now has more industrial robots per 10,000 workers than the United States, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). This is the first time China has surpassed the United States in robot density. In 2021, China averaged 322 industrial robots for every 10,000 employees. According to the IFR, China saw a huge jump in robot installations in 2021. The country's industrial robotics market saw 243,300 installations last year, a 44% increase from the year before.

"The future of delivery, today: this is our bold promise," says Lauri Vain (VP of Engineering at Starship), adding, "With a combination of mobile technology, our global fleet of autonomous robots, and partnerships with stores and restaurants, we are helping to make the local delivery industry faster, cleaner, smarter and more cost-efficient, and we are very excited about our partnership with ESPROS and its unique chip technology." Starship Technologies is based in San Francisco with its main engineering office in Estonia. Starship's sidewalk delivery robots travel up to 4 mph (6.4 kph) and weighs around 80 lbs (176 kg). They can carry around 20 lbs (44 kg) at a time. The robots uses a mixture of computer vision and GPS to know its location.

CES has announced the innovation award winners for the upcoming CES 2023 event happening in Las Vegas, on January 5-8, 2023. We went through the list of honorees and highlighted the robotics-related solutions for this story. French robotics company, ACWA Robotics, built a water pipe infrastructure mapping robot. The robot moves through the pipes while the water is running. The robot is able to precisely track its location while imaging the pipes, creating a map of exactly where repairs are needed.

Shin Dong-bin, the chairman of Lotte Group, and Tim Steiner, the CEO of Ocado Group, were both at the signing ceremony, which took place at Lotte World Tower in Seoul. Lotte Shopping announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with Ocado, a global retail technology company based in Britain, to enhance its online grocery solutions in Korea. The company will invest 1 trillion won ($705,060,000) by 2030 in "smart logistics" that focuses on fresh food to lead the 135 trillion won domestic online grocery market. Under the terms of the deal, Lotte Shopping will be able to use the Ocado Smart Platform (OSP) for all of its online shopping. OSP is a technology solution that covers the whole process of buying fresh food online, from attracting customers through mobile apps to delivering orders.

Aurora's premier product, the Aurora Driver, can be used to autonomously operate passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles and heavy-duty trucks. Ford and VW announced this week that the companies would be ending their investment in Argo AI, a self-driving company with partnerships with Lyft and Walmart, and that the company would be shutting its doors. Some of Argo AI's around 2,000 employees would either be receiving offers from Ford, whose president and CEO said the company expected to make several hundred offers, or VW. The rest would be let go and receive severance packages that include insurance and two separate bonuses. Chris Urmson, the co-founder and CEO of Aurora, a self-driving company that has partnerships with Toyota and Uber, shared a note to Aurora's newsletter about the recent news.