In Episode 185 of The Robotic Report Podcast, co-hosts Mike Oitzman and Eugene Demaitre interview Dr. Kevin Dowling, managing director of The Robotics Manufacturing facility, an incubator and accelerator.

Dr. Kevin Dowling, The Robotics Manufacturing facility
Dowling discusses the position of The Robotics Manufacturing facility in fostering robotics startups. He outlines the group‘s three foremost packages: Create, Speed up, and Scale, which purpose to help early-stage firms in numerous features of enterprise growth.
As well as, Dowling talks concerning the strengths of Pittsburgh‘s robotics ecosystem, the significance of collaboration with establishments comparable to Carnegie Mellon College, and the challenges startups face in securing funding.
He describes the importance of ardour and drive in entrepreneurs, in addition to the necessity for a stable mental property technique.
Present timeline
- 2:56 – Information of the week
- 21:55 – Dr. Kevin Dowling, managing director of The Robotics Manufacturing facility
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Information of the week
Newest movies show incremental advances in humanoids
Determine AI humanoid robots demonstrated family chores utilizing a vision-language-action mannequin, under.
1X Applied sciences launched a video of its newest technology of humanoids, NEO Gamma, working in a house.
New purposeful necessities defines for assisted residing robots
IEC 63310:2025 Purposeful necessities for Lively Assisted Dwelling (AAL) robots doc was launched this week and is out there for buy and overview (CHF 115).
The doc offers with the purposeful efficiency standards and tips for robots meant to be used within the AAL linked dwelling setting. This doc doesn’t cowl security necessities of robots.
Apptronik works with Jabil to provide Apollo humanoids
Apptronik, which is creating synthetic intelligence-powered humanoid robots, and Jabil, a worldwide manufacturing and provide chain methods supplier, at the moment introduced a strategic collaboration. The businesses plan to construct Apptronik’s Apollo humanoid robots and combine them into Jabil’s manufacturing operations. This contains the manufacturing strains for the robots, “paving the best way for Apollo to construct Apollo,” they mentioned.
As a part of the pilot program, newly manufactured Apollo items will use Jabil’s manufacturing unit setting for real-world validation testing. The robots will full an array of straightforward, repetitive intralogistics and manufacturing duties, together with inspection, sorting, kitting, lineside supply, fixture placement, and sub-assembly, earlier than being deployed to Apptronik buyer websites.
Humanoids not a panacea, observe columnists
However humanoid robots have as many skeptics as proponents. Mytra Chief Know-how Officer Ahmad Baitalmal shared why he believes robots ought to give attention to operate above a well-known design.
Karthee Madasamy added that that humanoids have captured public creativeness and funding, however builders nonetheless want to unravel manipulation, security, and scale issues. In an article this week, he identified that humanoids have a methods to go and that specialised robots can be found for particular duties at the moment.
Yamaha Motor acquires Robotics Plus, varieties Yamaha Agriculture
Yamaha Motor has acquired Robotics Plus to seed a brand new agricultural expertise firm referred to as Yamaha Agriculture Inc. It can give attention to delivering autonomous tools and AI-powered digital methods to assist growers within the specialty crop market.
Cobot market to achieve $7.2B by 2030, predicts ABI
ABI Analysis famous that synergy with AI, plus renewed curiosity in reshoring, will assist the collaborative robotic market develop quickly. The report predicted that income from cobots will enhance from $970 million in 2023 to $7.2 billion by 2030 at a compound annual development price, or CAGR, of 28%.
The Affiliation for Advancing Automation (A3) tracks industrial and collaborative robotic gross sales in North America. In 2024, firms ordered 31,311 robots valued at $1.9 billion, representing slight will increase of 0.5% in items and 0.1% in income over 2023. In 2023, A3 mentioned North American robotic orders declined by 30% after two years of file gross sales.
