50 most modern robotics corporations

We are passionate concerning the affect robotics can have on the world. That’s why for 14 years, the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards have honored essentially the most modern robotics corporations, applied sciences, and purposes from all over the world.

This yr we introduced again three main awards: Robot of the Year, Application of the Year, and Startup of the Year. We added a fourth main honor: Robots for Good, which acknowledges a robotic making a significant affect on society.

The RBR50 Gala returns April 30 from 6-8 PM in Boston on the Robotics Summit & Expo. The Gala affords attendees an opportunity to community with the world’s main robotics innovators. The Robotics Summit additionally has a devoted part on the expo flooring highlighting this yr’s RBR50 winners. Tickets to the RBR50 Gala are restricted and could be bought on-line throughout Robotics Summit & Expo registration.

Profiles of all RBR50 winners could be discovered on the backside of this web page.

Robot of the Year: Waymo robotaxi

Waymo is single-handedly conserving the promise of autonomous autos (AV) alive within the U.S. In 2024, it steadily scaled its robotaxi operations whereas others faltered. Waymo final October surpassed 150,000 paid journeys per week throughout its fleets in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. This was after it exceeded 100,000 paid journeys per week simply two months earlier.

Waymo final yr additionally introduced plans to launch robotaxi providers in Atlanta and Miami in 2025. It additionally stated it’ll start testing in Tokyo for its first worldwide “road trip.”

The AV business has lengthy been affected by corporations that overpromised and underdelivered. After years of delays, technical setbacks, and high-profile failures, many individuals query whether or not AVs will ever turn out to be a widespread actuality.

Waymo has confirmed to be the exception to this rule. It additional solidified its place because the dominant participant within the robotaxi market in 2024. And, extra importantly, it’s exhibiting that secure, autonomous ride-hailing at scale isn’t just doable – it’s already right here.

TEPCO wins Application of the Year

Robots are good for duties which might be dully, soiled, or harmful. And maybe no job is extra harmful than the one carried out by the Application of the Year Winner.

In October 2024, a remote-controlled robotic named Telesco efficiently retrieved a small piece of radioactive gas from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This marked a major step within the decommissioning efforts of three reactors that misplaced their cooling methods through the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, forsaking an estimated 880 tons of radioactive gas.

The robotic is being utilized by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which manages the plant. The potential excessive ranges of radiation within the broken reactors have made it unsafe for people. Scientists stated the pattern will present essential information to refine decommissioning methods. The pattern returned was the dimensions of a grain of rice. TEPCO stated the pattern was considerably much less radioactive than it anticipated. It stated extra sampling missions are essential to acquire extra information.

The cleanup of nuclear waste is a gigantic problem. TEPCO’s use of robotics is vital to making sure employee security and minimizing human publicity to radioactive environments.

Mytra named Startup of the Year

Mytra helps its prospects optimize warehouse area by automating historically handbook pallet dealing with processes. Its 3D lattice storage system maximizes density and eliminates aisles whereas permitting flexibility in dealing with varied payloads, from small gadgets as much as 3,000 lb. pallets.

Founded in 2022, Mytra’s system has already been deployed by main corporations, together with Albertsons, a number one American grocery enterprise. Albertson’s makes use of it in distribution facilities to buffer and sequence stock earlier than delivery to shops. The Mytra answer can be helpful for cross-docking warehouses as it will possibly statically stage and retailer full pallets, queuing them for the trailer loading course of. Across its buyer base, Mytra estimates that warehouses save as much as 88% of labor hours.

Mytra was based by Chris Walti and Ahmad Baitalmal, former leaders in robotics and manufacturing at Tesla and Rivian, respectively. Their area information of logistics and large-scale automation has helped Mytra design a product that straight addresses the inefficiencies they skilled firsthand in fashionable warehouses.

Hello Robot wins Robots for Good Award

Hello Robot’s Stretch 3 cellular manipulator has been acknowledged with the Robots for Good Award for advancing in-home assistive robotics. Built to assist people with mobility challenges, Stretch 3 is compact, light-weight, and succesful in cluttered environments.

Stretch 3 has already gained traction in analysis establishments throughout greater than 20 nations and is gaining floor in real-world purposes. Individuals with extreme mobility impairments are utilizing it to regain independence, interact in social interactions, and ease the burden on caregivers. Henry Evans, a non-speaking grownup with quadriplegia, has shared how Stretch permits him to contribute to family chores and join along with his granddaughter in a means that was beforehand unimaginable.

Beyond particular person use, Stretch 3 is being examined in assistive purposes corresponding to an NIH-funded research exploring robotic assist for older adults with early-stage dementia. Hello Robot has additionally partnered with the ALS Association to develop options tailor-made to that neighborhood’s wants. With open-source software program and continued improvement, Stretch 3 is accelerating the way forward for at-home assistive robots.

To study extra concerning the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards 2025, peruse the winner profiles beneath. We hope you be a part of us on the RBR50 Gala to rejoice this yr’s winners and join with the brightest minds in robotics.

RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards 2025