Since its founding in 1998, Vecna Technologies has developed a number of ways to help hospitals care for patients. The company has produced intake systems to respond to Covid-19 patient surges, prediction systems to manage health complications in maternity wards, and telepresence robots that have allowed sick people to stay connected with friends and loved ones. The differences among those products have also led to a number of transformations and spinoffs, including material handling company Vecna Robotics and the health care nonprofit VecnaCares. Vecna Technologies co-founders Deborah Noel Theobald '95 and Daniel Theobald '95, SM '98 say each of those pivots has been driven by a desire to build a robotics company that makes a positive impact on the world. "We knew we wanted to do robotics and do something good in the world," Deborah says of the team's mindset.

Daniel has been on the forefront of robotics for more than 20 years, working closely with DARPA, DOD, NASA, NIH, USDA and many others to advance the use of robots and AI software to improve supply chain automation. In addition to founding Vecna Robotics, Daniel also co-founded MassRobotics, a non-profit dedicated to the global advancement of the robotics industry. Daniel is dedicated to the idea that technology can be used to empower people worldwide to live more fulfilling lives.

Ask a manufacturing company what their current top headaches are, and supply chain disruptions and staff shortages will probably top the list. Vecna Robotics might have the solution for both. Vecna Robotics develops autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) used in distribution, logistics, warehousing and manufacturing (the company first cut its teeth in hospitals and other health care facilities). Their secret sauce is the software; after all, explains founder and Chief Innovation Officer Daniel Theobald, robotics is 90-95% software. Vecna Robotics implants its software brains in existing equipment like forklifts and pallet trucks, making them autonomous – though the company does build some hardware of its own.

The material handling industry has been plagued by labor shortages and high-turnover rates, while simultaneously struggling to react to e-commerce demand reaching all-time highs. To address these problems, leading facilities in the industrial sector are increasingly turning to self-driving equipment like Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) to increase adaptability and throughput. Listen to the recent Advanced Manufacturing Now podcast to hear from Jeff Huerta, VP of Sales at Vecna Robotics, about how profitable facilities are using intelligent autonomous equipment to not only outlast, but come out ahead in turbulent conditions. Learn why autonomous vehicles like self-driving forklifts, pallet movers, and tuggers are more effective than ever before in creating a competitive advantage manufacturing, distribution and warehousing. Over 4 billion pallets are moved everyday on a global scale, with a good deal of that being non value-added travel.

Vecna Robotics, the autonomous mobile robot and workflow orchestration company, announced it has been recognized as the recipient of three industry accolades. The company has been inducted into the Spring 2020 MIT STEX25 startup accelerator cohort, named an RBR50 Robotics Innovations Award winner by Robotics Business Review and recognized by Supply & Demand Chain Executive as one of the 100 Top Supply Chain Projects of 2020 for its work with Milton CAT. These industry awards highlight the most innovative U.S. startups, leading robotics organizations and the most successful real-world supply chain use-cases. "This has been a historic year for Vecna Robotics," said Daniel Theobald, founder and CEO, Vecna Robotics. "We kicked off 2020 with a strong Series B financing round that helped accelerate our vision and product strategy that we'll continue executing on for the remainder of the year and beyond. These awards validate the commitment we've made to building world-class robotic platforms and orchestration software that helps businesses streamline their logistics operations. A special thank you to each organization for their recognition, and to the Vecna Robotics team for their hard work and dedication."

Robotics is undergoing fundamental change in three core areas: collaboration, autonomous mobility and increasing intelligence. Autonomous mobility technology is entering the industrial vehicle marketplace of AGVs, forklifts and tugs with new products, better navigation technologies and lower costs. Forecasters Grandview Research and IDTechEx suggest that autonomous forklifts and tugs will emerge as the standard from 2022/2023 onwards, ultimately growing to represent 70% of annual mobile material handling equipment by 2037. The key to this transformation is unmanned mobile autonomy. These new mobile autonomous robots can achieve higher productivity and cost efficiencies because the technology largely reduces the driver labor costs, increases safety, and lowers insurance rates and spoilage.