Robotics

Join the IDTechEx webinar Wednesday 31 March 2021 - An introduction to urban air mobility and air taxi services; The basics of eVTOL aircraft design architectures; Background into ongoing eVTOL projects for passenger transportation; and much more!

We are looking for entrepreneurial, enthusiastic people to join IDTechEx to apply their technical knowledge. You will be involved with technology scouting, market research and consultancy in a rapidly growing, exciting, global firm.

The IDTechEx report, "Robot Shuttles and Autonomous Buses 2020-2040," predicted second-generation robot shuttles, and here they come - vectored traction and steering, smart windows, robotic fast charging, and solar bodywork, so 10-40% less charging is needed.

Air taxis and flying cars are easy to hype but IDTechEx's new report on the subject is not that hype. This independent research into electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for passenger transport reflects the reality of the eVTOL market at this early stage of its development.

In February 2021, The US agency DARPA awarded contracts to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation and Martin Defense Group (formerly Navatek) to build demonstration versions of the new Manta Ray unmanned underwater vehicle with an energy-harvesting system to power it indefinitely, allowing the robot submarine to carry out missions lasting months or years without returning to base or refueling.

Drone sensors are critical to wider drone adoption. IDTechEx forecast that the market for drone sensors will be greater than $2.9Bn by 2031, according to their recent market research report "Drone Market and Industries: 2021-2041"

With sensors, the systems and software are a bigger business than the sensors themselves. For example, your body has primitive sensors such as eyes and fingers, but it processes the data in combination, so the whole is greater than the parts. Call it "sensor fusion", something increasingly seen in the automotive, healthcare, and robotic industries.

In 2017, after four years of setbacks and crashes, Alphabet shut its project flying solar-powered fixed-wing drones in the upper atmosphere to beam the internet to those cut-off. They have now ended their upper-atmosphere balloon version as well.

Drones are the key technology of the coming two decades. They are used in many different aspects of industry, and commercial use of this technology has never been higher.

This article analyzes the recently revealed robotaxi from Amazon-owned Zoox.