09 April 2025 | News
Image Courtesy: Public Domain
WTWH Media, LLC, has announced the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards with three new categories in 2024 – Robot of the Year, Application of the Year, and Startup of the Year – and will be holding the inaugural RBR50 Gala on May 1 from 6-8 PM during the Robotics Summit & Expo.
“The incredible work of this year’s RBR50 winners represents the cutting edge of robotics and raises the bar for the industry,” said Steve Crowe, Executive Editor, Robotics, WTWH Media. “We look forward to celebrating all the innovators at the inaugural RBR50 Gala during the Robotics Summit & Expo. Congratulations to the RBR50.”
Digit is Robot of the Year
2023 was the year of humanoids, and Agility Robotics has taken an early lead with commercial trials. The company’s Digit humanoid demonstrated its ability to pick up totes from a shelf, walk over to a conveyor, and place the totes onto the conveyor.
Later in 2023, Agility announced pilots with two major customers to perform a similar task: Amazon and GXO Logistics, which claims to be the world’s largest pure-play contract logistics provider. Digit is 5 ft, 9 in. (175 cm) tall, weighs 143 lb. (64.8 kg), and can carry up to 35 lb. (15.8 kg).
Autopicker wins Application of the Year
Brightpick was named the inaugural Application of the Year winner. In 2023, Brightpick unveiled Autopicker, an AMR that can pick and consolidate orders directly in warehouse aisles.
Autopicker combines a mobile platform, a robotic arm, machine vision, and artificial intelligence for e-commerce fulfillment. The system’s patented two-tote design enables it to retrieve orders from bins on shelving and pick items to one of its totes.
Electric Sheep named Startup of the Year
Electric Sheep’s unique business model allows it to bring in revenue as it takes its time deploying its technology. This business model led to it being named Startup of the Year.
Electric Sheep develops autonomous robots for outdoor maintenance. Instead of selling or leasing the robots to commercial landscaping businesses, it is becoming vertically integrated by purchasing landscaping companies. Since implementing this strategy, Electric Sheep said it has grown revenue by eight times.
Other notable winners include Harvard University’s development of a soft exoskeleton that helped a 73-year-old man with Parkinson’s walk without freezing. And Seattle-based startup Glidance developed a robot that offers autonomous mobility assistance for the visually impaired.
