CHAPTER 8

Robot Manufacturers: Profiles and Plans

I just want the future to happen faster. I can’t imagine the future without robots.

—Nolan Bushnell, technology entrepreneur, founder of Atari Corp (www.azquotes.com)

Chapter Overview

In this chapter, we take a look at nine different robotics companies and review what they are currently focused on and what they will likely be doing in the near future. These are by no means the only robotics companies that are doing interesting things. We selected them because they offer a thought-provoking sample of robotics companies from across the globe, which are working on robots that will interact with humans in a variety of ways. We start the chapter with three additional robotic companies that have recently shut their doors, to remind us there will certainly be continued ups and downs in this industry.

Recent Robotic Failures

The robotics industry is a turbulent one, particularly for companies making robots designed to interact closely with humans. While there have been successes, there have also been failures, namely, robots launched into the marketplace that have been discontinued within a couple of years due to lack of adequate sales. Some of the failures have been so significant that the manufacturing companies behind them have gone out of business. For instance:

• Boston-based Jibo Inc. shut down in 2018 after sales of its home companion robot (also named Jibo) failed to live up to expectations.
• Mayfield Robotics (maker of the Kuri robot) closed its doors in 2018, due to disappointing sales.
• Anki (maker of the Cozmo and Vector robots) went bankrupt in 2019, due to funding struggles.

(Vanderborght 2019; Van Camp 2019)

The robot companies that have failed, such as those listed here, have done so because they created robots that were unable to clearly prove their value to consumers, particularly given the fact that some of them had hefty price tags. While the technology was impressive, these robots were not solving any problems or fulfilling any needs for consumers better than other alternatives could; nor did they provide enough engaging entertainment or social interactions to be deemed worthwhile by today’s demanding consumers (Nichols 2019). Just because a robot is new and shiny does not mean it will be a success in the marketplace.

However, a not-so-small army of robotics companies are undeterred, and are working tirelessly to launch new and improved human-interactive robots. Not all the robots they create will succeed in the marketplace. Yet, many already have, and others show great promise. We profile a select group of these companies in the following text, which are focusing on robots that will intermingle with humans in their daily lives (as opposed to companies building industrial robots for factories and warehouses, which is a massive industry in itself). For each company, we briefly describe what they have been working on recently and what they hope to roll out in the near future. This is by no means an exhaustive list. We offer it as a diverse sampling of companies from across the globe that are working hard to bring about the robot revolution.

Quick Review of Nine Interesting Robotic Companies to Keep an Eye On

Amazon Lab126 (lab126.com)

• Founded in 2004 by Gregg Zehr. Owned by Amazon.
• Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
• Major products: Lab126 is famously known as the developer of the Kindle, Echo and Echo Dot, and Alexa.
• Future plans:
  • Many reports suggest that the secret project that Lab126 has codenamed “Vesta” is actually a home service and companion robot that runs on Amazon Alexa technology. There has been widespread speculation about what the specifics of such a device might be, but true to form, Amazon has remained tight-lipped. Reports are that it will be waist high and move about the home on wheels, and, in a way, bring Alexa to life (Vincent 2018). It is unclear when it will launch, but with the marketing power and deep pockets of Amazon behind it, we would expect it to have a significant market impact.
• It is worth noting that Amazon also has a company called Amazon Robotics (headquartered in North Reading, Massachusetts). However, this company focuses almost exclusively on robots for use in Amazon’s fulfillment centers.

Boston Dynamics (bostondynamics.com)

• Founded in 1992 as a spin-off of MIT’s Robotics Lab by Marc Raibert.
• Acquired by Google in December of 2013, then sold to the Japanese company Softbank Group in June 2017.
• Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
• Many of its major products are not for households or consumer services but rather military and other applications (though for roles that still involve human interaction).
  • Its military robots include BigDog, a robotic “pack mule” that moves on four legs and is designed to carry up to 340 pounds of troops’ equipment (though it has been shelved for now due to excessive noise inconsistent for battlefield use) and Cheetah, a four-legged robot that can move at 28 mph and even climb stairs.
  • Boston Dynamics also creates robots designed for dangerous tasks, such as Atlas, a bipedal humanoid robot meant for search-and-rescue operations; PETMAN, a bipedal device for testing chemical protection suits (the name stands for Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin); and Handle, a humanoid research robot.
  • The Atlas robot is capable of some of the most advanced movements of any robots today. Here is a video of the Atlas robot running through a complex obstacle course (www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSjKoEva5bg). Imagine it is chasing you, and you might just have a nightmare tonight!
• Future plans:
  • The Spot and Spot Mini are “pack mule” robots like the BigDog, but smaller in size and being further developed for consumer and household applications.

Emoshape, Inc. (emoshape.com)

• Founded in 2007 by Patrick Levy-Rosenthal.
• Headquartered in London, England, with its US headquarters in New York City.
• Emoshape is not a robotics company. However, it has been developing highly advanced emotional software that will be widely used in robots.
• The company developed EmoSPARK, a highly advanced artificial intelligence console that uses facial recognition and language analysis to evaluate human emotion and convey responsive content according to the emotion. The console runs on programming which the company calls an Emotional Processing Unit, or EPU, and this EPU is now the main product that Emoshape produces and sells. These EPUs are being utilized across a number of “smart” industries to improve interactions between intelligent technology and humans. These “smart industries” range from self-driving cars to personal domestic robots to sentient virtual reality and immersive gaming.
• Future plans:
  • Emoshape hopes to continue to push the boundaries of emotional intelligence in AI, which is a key frontier for human-interactive robotics.

Hanson Robotics (hansonrobotics.com)

• Founded in 2013, by American roboticist David Hanson Jr.
• Headquartered in Hong Kong, China (after relocating from Texas).
• Hanson Robotics’ goal is to make humanlike androids with cutting-edge artificial intelligence that will allow for true human-robot relationships. It has pushed the envelope with its highly intelligent, interactive, and very human-looking robots such as Sophia (which has been discussed already in this book).
• Future plans:
  • Hanson Robotics is moving into the consumer realm with its “Little Sophia” robot, currently under development. Like Sophia, Little Sophia can have conversations, recognize faces, and facial expressions and it continuously learns via its interactions with humans. However, it is only 14 inches tall and will be marketed as a companion to children, particularly girls.
  • The company website says “We bring robots to life,” and it seems like they plan to do just that.

iRobot (irobot.com)

• Founded in 1990 by three graduates from the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab.
• Headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts.
• Major products include: Roomba (robotic vacuums), Braava (robotic mops), Mirra (robotic pool cleaner).
• Developed a branch of military and police robots as well, until 2016 when the company decided to sell the military/police division of its business in order to focus entirely on the consumer robotics market.
• Estimated at $1.2 billion in revenue in 2019, which represents roughly 10 percent annual growth. A recent seal of approval from the Bank of America Merrill Lynch specifically identifies the iRobot company stock as one that should be watched for strong growth in the coming months.
• Future plans:
  • The company announced in 2019 that it is developing a robotic lawnmower which they have named Terra, set to go on the market in 2020.

Knightscope (knightscope.com)

• Founded in 2013, by former police officer Stacy Stevens.
• Headquartered in Mountain View, CA.
• A leading company in robotic security.
• Has created a line of security robots, the K1 (stationary), K3 ­(mobile—indoor use), K5 (mobile—outdoor use) and K7 (an all-terrain unit with four wheels). The two mobile units look roughly like R2D2 from Star Wars.
• Future plans:
  • Knightscope is beta testing facial recognition technology for use in its security robots.
  • The company plans to aggressively market its security bots, to place them in more and more public and private settings. You can expect to see them in a growing number of settings, from malls to office buildings to university campuses to stadiums to city streets.

Qihan Technology Company, Ltd. (en.sanbot.com)

• Founded in 2006.
• Headquartered in Shenzhen, China.
• Its main robotics brands are:
  • Sanbot brand. Producer of high-end, intelligent commercial robots, used in businesses and public areas such as shopping malls, hospitals, and restaurants. More recently sold direct to consumers for home use. The Sanbot Elf is IBM Watson-enabled and can perform a wide variety of helpful functions including security patrolling and customer interaction. The Sanbot Nano is Amazon Alexa-enabled, and the first Sanbot product to be designed specifically for use in the home. The most recent product from this brand is the Sanbot King Kong, which is different from its predecessors in that it contains a pair of bionic arms and advanced voice integration/recognition software.
  • Donkey brand. Producer of consumer service robotics, including robotic vacuum cleaners, robotic floor cleaners, intelligent scooter bikes, and a range of advanced accessories for mobile devices.
• Future Plans:
  • The main focus of Qihan as they move forward is summed up nicely in this quote from the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, Ryan Wu:

    The launch of Sanbot King Kong represents our commitment to bringing the world the most advanced robotics solutions and supporting the needs across all industries. We’re excited about creating an artificial intelligence platform that will provide even more opportunities for robots to interact in our lives. Sanbot King Kong’s open SDK development tools will also allow global developers to continue progressing industry applications for future generations of this humanoid.

UBTech Robotics (ubtrobot.com)

• Founded in March of 2012, by James Zhou.
• Headquartered in Shenzhen, China.
• Major products include: Alpha and Alpha Mini (intelligent robot companion/educational toy) and JIMU Robot Kits (all-inclusive kits with the pieces and instructions needed to build and code your own robots).
• The company also markets a number of products for enterprise settings, including CRUZR (cloud-based intelligent service robot) and ATRIS (all-terrain patrol robot for intelligent security).
• Future plans:
  • Last seen publicly in January 2019 at Consumer Electronic Show 2019, the robot being presently developed by this company is known as Walker. A humanoid, bipedal robot capable of many physical feats. Walker has the company thinking big. The mission statement for UBTech, according to their website, is “to bring a robot into every home and business,” and, with Walker, they might pull it off.

WowWee (wowwee.com)

• Founded in 1982, by brothers Richard and Peter Yanofsky.
• Headquartered in Hong Kong, China (after moving from Canada).
• Focuses on affordable robotic toys.
• Major Products: Robosapien (released in 2004 as the world’s first commercially available robot companion based on bipedal dynamic motion and biomorphic robotics), Flytech Dragonfly (radio-controlled flying insect, rated one of Time Magazine’s best inventions of 2007), Roboquad (four-legged robotic arthropod toy), Rovio (Wifi-enabled robotic webcam), RS Tri-bot (humanoid robot companion toy), MiP and MiPosaur (robot companion toys).
• Future plans:
  • All signs indicate that WowWee is sticking to the formula that has served it well for years—producing fun robotics toys that appeal to children. Having children interact with robotics at a young age will help better prepare them for the robot future.

Implications for Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy

No matter what industry you are in, keep an eye on what robotics companies are doing. Think about how you might use the technology they are developing for any possible touchpoints between you and your customers. If you are not, likely a competitor is. It may not be these nine particular robot companies, but be on the lookout for something useful that robotic companies might have to offer your company. When the time is right, perhaps partner with a robotic company to develop robots to fit your needs. As shared in Chapter 2, useful resources to review regularly for trends and new developments in the robot industry are robotics.org, robohub.org, and roboticsbusinessreview.com.

At the same time, do not get caught up in hype. Be discerning. Keep in mind the many case studies shared in this book that show not every robot will be successful. Not every robot is right for your customer interactions. Keep an eye out for the robot technology that will improve your customer service experience for your customers, or provide value to the end user if sold directly to your customer. When you find it, jump on it before your competitors do.