In Episode 213 of The Robotic Report Podcast, hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the main robotics information of the week.
Dustin Vaughan, VP of R&D for robotics at Asensus.
This week’s present options Dustin Vaughan, vice chairman of analysis and improvement for robotics at Asensus Surgical. He discusses the strategic path and priorities of his group, with a give attention to the event of the Luna platform.
Vaughan explains how performance-guided surgical procedure and the mixing of augmented intelligence can improve scientific help techniques. He additionally addresses the challenges of navigating regulatory landscapes and cybersecurity issues whereas noting the potential of robotics and automation within the medical discipline.
Vaughan says the way forward for surgical robotics is vibrant, notably in pediatric care. As well as, he touches on the function of AI in enhancing surgical outcomes. Asensus was a 2025 RBR50 award winner for its Senhance system.
Additionally featured through the information part is Anders Beck, vice chairman of know-how at Common Robots, with a producer’s perspective on the most recent collaborative robotic requirements.
Present timeline
- 05:39 – Dialog with Anders Beck, VP of know-how, Common Robots
- 14:37 – Information of the week
- 27:30 – Dialog with Scott Kuindersma, VP of robotics analysis at Boston Dynamics
Information of the week
Determine AI turns into a humanoid robotics unicorn with Collection C funding
With its Collection C funding spherical, Determine AI Inc. this week mentioned it has surpassed $1 billion in dedicated capital, bringing its post-money valuation to $39 billion. The San Jose, Calif.-based firm is working towards general-purpose robotics.
Determine AI mentioned it plans to construct out its Helix embodied intelligence platform and the BotQ high-volume manufacturing setting unveiled in March. The corporate beforehand introduced plans to ship 100,000 humanoids over the following 4 years.
The race to develop a commercially viable humanoid robotic has gotten numerous gas currently, with UBTECH just lately securing $1 billion in financing to scale manufacturing and Dyna Robotics elevating $120 million in its Collection A spherical to construct a scalable basis mannequin.
Jaime Lee from Tamarack International appeared in Episode 147 in March 2024. Return and hearken to this podcast installment to get a greater sense of the joy shared by the investor group for the promise of humanoids.
Rethink Robotics shuts down — once more
Rethink Robotics Inc., which rose as a force- and power-limited arm pioneer, has shut down for a second time. Robotics innovators Rodney Brooks and Ann Whittaker co-founded Heartland Robotics in 2008 with the intent of making low-cost robots. In 2012, the then-Boston-based firm renamed itself Rethink Robotics and launched the two-armed Baxter, one of many first so-called cobots. It was initially widespread with researchers.
Nevertheless, Rethink’s robots suffered from nagging issues with precision and repeatability due to the selection of sequence elastic actuators. In 2018, Rethink went bankrupt, and HAHN Group acquired its mental property (IP).
By September 2024, United Robotics Group relaunched Rethink and returned the corporate from Germany to the U.S. Nevertheless, its newest Reacher robotic arms, Ryder autonomous cellular robots, and Riser cellular manipulators introduced new challenges.
Catch the most recent on humanoid and surgical robotic improvement at RoboBusiness 2025. Be a part of Deepu Talla, vice chairman of robotics and edge AI at NVIDIA, for a keynote titled “Bodily AI for the New Period of Robotics.”
