CES 2025 didn’t disappoint, with robots of all sizes and shapes designed for numerous functions. | Credit: The Robot Report
The annual Consumer Electronics Show brings collectively the newest in know-how product bulletins. Last week, Las Vegas was as soon as once more filled with robotics and AI-based programs. While CES 2025 catered primarily to shopper electronics and robotics, we hunted down the industrial robotics merchandise sprinkled all through the occasion.
The week began with a demo trip across the Las Vegas strip in an autonomous Zoox robotaxi. Zoox is now in non-public beta with the service open to native Zoox workers and visitors. The 45-minute trip across the Las Vegas Strip was comfy and uneventful, with the leisure being watching bystanders and different drivers take footage of the automobile.
The Zoox Robotaxi is a bidirectional, four-wheel drive four-seater with no steering wheel or driver. | Credit: Zoox
SiLC reveals accuracy and vary
SiLC Technologies had a collection on the high of the Westgate, the place it privately demonstrated its silicon photonics-based know-how. The firm is launching a brand new 3D laser digital camera later this yr known as the Eyeonic Trace, focused at warehouse functions.
The new 3D scanning gadget can scan a shifting conveyor and produce a submillimeter-accurate 3D picture of something coming down it, together with packing containers, totes, and pouches. From that information, the gadgets might be scanned for high quality or quantity, corresponding to earlier than palletizing. SiLC mentioned the Eyeonic Trace is its first turnkey, totally built-in providing.
SILC additionally demonstrated its long-range lidar by resolving a constructing 9 km (5.5 mi.) away with centimeter accuracy. Last yr, the corporate offered the identical know-how, solely at a 2 km vary.
The Eyeonic Trace is a Class 1 Laser Line Scanner able to precisely dimensioning objects, even from distances as much as 10 m (32.8 ft.). | Credit: SiLC Technologies
Eureka Park options worldwide startups
Eureka Park at CES is the place younger know-how firms exhibit their merchandise. This is essentially the most fascinating a part of CES yearly, and The Robot Report devoted a complete day to strolling the ground at Eureka Park, on the lookout for new and fascinating robotics reveals.
Pollen Robotics demonstrated the newest technology of its Reachy cell manipulator. This teleoperated platform options one or two arms on a cell base. Reachy 2 targets analysis labs as a data-acquisition platform for coaching AI basis fashions.
Reachy is a modular humanoid platform designed for analysis. | Credit: Pollen Robotics
4D1 launched what it calls “indoor GPS”, a ceiling-mounted navigation system for automated guided autos (AGVs) and autonomous cell robots (AMRs).
The ceiling-mounted sensors emit ultrasonic waves which can be picked up by a reasonable sensor mounted on the cell gadget. The system may also be mounted on tooling to trace the operations of human staff.
2023 RoboBusiness Pitchfire winner Glidance was in attendance, demonstrating the newest prototype of its assistive gadget for folks with sight impairments.
The firm is planning the pilot manufacturing launch later this yr. I had the chance to check this newest technology, and the gadget has developed based mostly on suggestions from the sphere trials in 2024.
Glidance demonstrated the newest working prototype of its steerage gadget for sight-impaired people on the 2025 CES occasion. | Credit: The Robot Report
Sitting down for a chat with ElliQ
The Robot Report had a non-public exhibiting of the newest ElliQ social robotic and a dialogue with Intuition Robotics co-founder and CEO Dor Skuler. The firm just lately launched the ElliQ Caregiver Solution.
The little tabletop robotic is participating and designed to be a companion for aged people. During the assembly, ElliQ remembered parts of our dialog because it realized extra about my pursuits. The gadget is designed to be interactive and randomly solicits dialog about matters which can be related to the person.
Users can play video games with the robotic, be alerted to approaching occasions on their calendars, and obtain light reminders to take their medicines. Responsible caregivers might be alerted to healthcare occasions corresponding to taking medication or different therapies.
ElliQ can even simply provoke a video name with family members by way of the companion display. Intuition Robotics mentioned the system permits customers to retain company of their lives.
ElliQ, from Intuition Robotics, is designed to be a social companion for aged people. | Credit: The Robot Report
Humanoid robots scatter throughout CES 2025
There had been loads of humanoid robots on the present, though it was a scavenger hunt to seek out a number of of them. Unitree Robotics had the preferred pure robotics sales space on the present flooring. The centrally situated sales space was frequently mobbed by attendees and content material creators who wished a selfie with the Unitree G1 and robodogs, which had been up on a platform.
Meanwhile, Agility Robotics‘ Digit demonstrated how humanoids can carry out real-world duties with warehousing demonstrations on the Schaeffler and Accenture cubicles.
Apptronik‘s Apollo was hidden away within the Texas Instruments suite however wowed the group with interactive demos. Startup Open Droids confirmed off each of its cell manipulators in Eureka Park, together with the single-arm R1D1 and the dual-armed R2D3.
Enchanted Tools additionally had a well-liked sales space on the CES 2025 present flooring, with its Mirokai robotic charming guests. The firm is making ready to launch and promote its pilot technology of robots later this yr.
Mobile manipulator developer Cobionix is within the technique of acquiring U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its teleoperated system for distant ultrasound imaging. The firm had a static show of its robotic in Eureka Park.
Big names launch automation at CES 2025
Several acquainted manufacturers additionally demonstrated their improvements in industrial automation. John Deere launched 4 autonomous programs on the present. Kubota additionally launched a number of new agriculture-related autonomy platforms, together with the CES Innovation Award-successful KATR tractor.
Kubota launched a novel tractor known as KATR, and four-wheel steering and adaptive four-corner wheel struts, the autonomous robotic can preserve a stage platform on any terrain. | Credit: Kubota
OshKosh, a producer of commercial autos corresponding to rubbish vans, fireplace vans, excessive lifts, and jetways had one of many extra fascinating cubicles at CES 2025. It supplied a glance on the subsequent technology of refuse assortment, fireplace combating, and airport tarmac automation.
The spotlight of OshKosh’s sales space was a brand new know-how demo known as HARR-e, an electrical AMR designed to gather refuse on-demand from deliberate communities, liberating owners from taking their trash to a central dumpster.
Suzuki has created a brand new inner division centered on autonomy, and it launched the primary technology of a small autonomous platform appropriate for sidewalk supply or different autonomous automobile functions.
The firm provides a whole cell robotic chassis, together with the motors, battery, controls and onboard compute. Customers merely want so as to add a sensor package deal crucial for the supposed software.
Suzuki is actively in search of improvement companions to construct payloads on high of the platform.
The new Suzuki e-mobility platform provides a whole cell robotic chassis. | Credit: The Robot Report
Autonomous racecars present an exciting end
At CES 2025, the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) featured a progressive, tiered competitors format designed to permit college groups at various ranges to compete and showcase their AI driver improvement. Nine groups competed in three race occasions.
In a show of cutting-edge AI know-how, the Autonomous Tiger Racing – Auburn University group claimed victory within the Tier 1 single-car time trials with a blistering quickest lap common of 163.6 mph. The competitors was fierce, with the IU Luddy – Indiana University’s group clocking in with a quickest lap common of 158.0 mph and the Caltech Autonomous Systems and Technologies Racer group – California Institute of Technology reaching a lap common of 144.3 mph.
The day culminated with a historic multi-car exhibition race with 4 autonomous racecars:
- UNIMORE Racing from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy
- Cavalier Autonomous Racing from the University of Virginia
- PoliMOVE-MSU from Politecnico di Milano from Milan, Italy, with Michigan State University and the University of Alabama
- KAIST, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
They competed in an open-format 20-lap race together with 5 overtakes, demonstrating the evolution of AI’s potential to handle multi-agent, high-speed autonomy. The multi-car race additionally demonstrated the primary use of autonomous push-to-pass, the place the AI drivers needed to strategically decide when to make use of the 30-second 25 mph enhance through the race.
The dramatic end to the 20-lap race had UNIMORE overtake KAIST to win by two automotive lengths on the line.
The most modern robotics product at CES 2025
The Absolute Magnetics encoder design options an embedded magnetic wire and a novel sensor orientation to ship < 0.1-degree precision. | Credit: Absolute Magnetics
The most noteworthy robotics discovery at CES 2025 has to go to Absolute Magnetics, a Swiss startup that has developed a novel and patented absolute encoder. As boring because it is likely to be to speak about encoders at CES, particularly with the entire flashy tech gadgets elsewhere within the present, absolute encoders might be important to designing a robotics axis the place calibration to a tough cease isn’t possible.
The firm’s magnet-based absolute encoder has a novel design. The in-booth demo was spectacular and promised to ship accuracy to <0.1 levels whereas rejecting stray magnet fields from the motor.
Absolute Magnetics is launching the know-how this yr and mentioned it could customized design an encoder for particular motor and axis necessities.
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