Vecna Robotics

Vecna Robotics, Inc. is an American robotics and technology company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.[1] Incorporated in 2018 as a spin-off from Vecna Technologies, the company specializes in automated material handling, hybrid fulfillment and workflow optimization for industrial applications.[2]

Vecna Robotics, Inc.
TypePrivate
Industry
Founded2018
Founders
  • Daniel Theobald
Headquarters425 Waverley Oaks Dr,
Waltham, Massachusetts
,
United States
Key people
  • Daniel Theobald (CEO)
Products
  • Autonomous Conveyor
  • Autonomous Pallet Truck
  • Autonomous Tugger
  • Autonomous Counterbalanced Fork Truck
  • Tote Retrieval System (TRS)
  • Pivotal Orchestration Engine
Services
  • Automated Material Handling
  • Hybrid Fulfillment
  • Workflow Optimization
Websitevecnarobotics.com

In December 2017, the firm won the DHL & Dell Robotics Innovation Challenge for developing the Tote Retrieval System (TRS), [3] an automated guided vehicle (AGV) capable of warehouse navigation and mobile piece-picking from conventional shelves.[3]

History

Vecna Robotics originated as a division of Vecna Technologies, [4] which had been founded in 1998 by MIT engineering alumni, Daniel Theobald.[5] According to a December 2017 profile of Theobald by Forbes contributor, Frederick Daso, the company name ‘Vecna’ is derived from the Czech word věčný, fem. věčná, meaning ‘eternal’.[6] Vecna Technologies focused primarily on healthcare software development, while the robotics division engaged in research for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and National Aeronautics and Space Administration.[7][8][9]

The company was later based in Cambridge, MA and supported efforts to build the Massachusetts Robotics Cluster.[1][10][11]

In the mid-2000s era, Vecna Robotics received funding from the U.S. Army, DARPA and other government agencies to develop the Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot (BEAR).[12][13] The humanoid robot was originally designed to rescue wounded soldiers from the battle field, but as the company refined and adapted its robotics software, other commercial applications became evident.[12][14][15] In turn, Vecna Robotics abstracted its autonomy software or "brain" from the BEAR's physical hardware and utilized the same methodology to develop a range of logistics robots.[14][16] In April 2012, the QC Bot, a robotic courier, was piloted in hospitals to distribute medicine and food.[17] The company's product expansion continued in April 2017 when additional logistics robots became generally available to the industrial sector.[2] Concurrently, Vecna Robotics was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of Vecna Technologies.[18][19] The separation positioned Vecna Robotics to seek outside investment as well as specialize in autonomous mobile solutions for manufacturing and warehouse applications.[18][19]

In January 2018, Daniel Patt, the former Deputy Director of DARPA's Strategic Technology Office (STO), joined as CEO.[20][21] The same year, Vecna Robotics spun out from former parent, Vecna Technologies.[1] 60 existing employees transferred to positions in the new company.[1] According to a filing with the SEC, Vecna Robotics reincorporated in Delaware and raised $13.5 million in a funding round that began August 14, 2018.[22] The round was led by Columbus, Ohio-based venture capital firm, Drive Capital, and marked the first outside equity investment in the new company Vecna Robotics.[20][23] In January 2020, an additional $50M in investment was announced along with a change of leadership as Theobald took over as CEO. [24]

Technology

Vecna Robotics’ automated material handling product line includes the RC20 Conveyor, RC500 Conveyor, RL350 Lifter, RL3600 Pallet Truck, RT4500 Tugger and the Tote Retrieval System (TRS).[25][26] As of October 2018, the company's RL3600 Pallet Trucks were deployed at Milton CAT's Milford, Massachusetts distribution center to increase fulfillment speed.[27] The RL3600 addressed the problem of retrieving slow-selling items stored at long walking distances.[27] In March 2018, a fleet of six RT4500 Tuggers were profiled by Cade Metz in The New York Times as new “robotic colleagues” at the FedEx industrial shipping hub in Kernersville, North Carolina.[28] In this warehouse application, the tuggers pull trains of carts with bulky goods such as car tires or canoes to manage a growing percentage of eCommerce orders for items unable to fit on conveyor belts.[28] In addition to Vecna Robotics’ hardware line, the company also developed artificial intelligence (AI) software designed to integrate warehouse management systems, robotics and human workflow.[18][29]

References
  1. Tobe, Frank (March 24, 2018). "Quiet Inroads in Robotics: Vecna's Story". The Robot Report. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  2. Banker, Steve (February 6, 2018). "Distinctive Warehouse Robotics Solutions Are Emerging". Forbes. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  3. Crowe, Steve (December 13, 2017). "Vecna Tote Retrieval System Wins Mobile Picking Robot Challenge". Robotics Business Review. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  4. RBR Staff (February 17, 2010). "Vecna Throws Hat into Robotics Ring". Robotics Business Review. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  5. Barr, Julie (May 5, 2015). "Robot Road Race Helps Save Lives [VIDEO]". MIT Alumni Association. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  6. Daso, Frederick (December 18, 2017). "Bill Gates And Elon Musk Are Worried For Automation - But This Robotics Company Founder Embraces It". Forbes. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  7. Seiffert, Don (June 14, 2013). "Research grants let Vecna stay true to startup principles". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  8. Bray, Hiawatha (April 3, 2017). "Vecna aims new wave of robots for warehouses". Boston Globe. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  9. "SBIR Award Listing: Vecna Techologies, Inc". Small Business Innovation Research. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  10. Huang, Gregory T. (July 16, 2015). "Vecna and VGo Are Now One: An Important Robotics Acquisition". Xconomy. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  11. Nickerson, Russell (2009). "Pioneering the Personal Robotics Industry" (PDF). Bridgewater State University Undergraduate Review. 5 (1): 136. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  12. Silverstein, Jonathan (December 20, 2006). "The BEAR: Soldier, Nurse, Friend and Robot". ABC News. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  13. Barrie, Allison (March 29, 2012). "Teddy bear-faced robot is built for battlefields". Fox News. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  14. Weinberger, Sharon (November 18, 2014). "Next generation military robots have minds of their own". BBC. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  15. Vallor, Shannon (2016). Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting. Oxford University Press. p. 213. ISBN 9780190498511. Retrieved December 19, 2018 – via Google Books.
  16. Daniel Theobald (December 22, 2017). "Boston-Area Companies Push For Robot Workers In Warehouses Under Holiday Crunch" (radio broadcast). WBUR-FM Bostonomix. Interviewed by Asma Khalid. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  17. Overly, Steven (April 8, 2012). "At Vecna Technologies, low funding for BEARs leads to building Bots". Washington Post. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  18. Engel, Jeff (April 3, 2017). "Vecna Reorganizes, Pushes Logistics Robots in Hot Market". Xconomy. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  19. Andersson, Thomas (February 2018). Goods-to-Person Ecommerce Fulfillment Robotics 2018 (Report). Styleintelligence. p. 24. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  20. DC Velocity Staff (December 3, 2018). "Backed by new VC, Vecna Robotics spins off from parent company". DC Velocity. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  21. Engel, Jeff (January 17, 2018). "From DARPA to Vecna: New CEO on How Automation Can "Elevate" Humans". Xconomy. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  22. Vecna Robotics, Inc. "SEC Form D". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  23. Engel, Jeff (August 30, 2018). "Vecna Robotics Grabs $13.5M, Led by Drive, as Logistics Robots Stay Hot". Xconomy. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  24. Smith, Jennifer (January 7, 2020). "Warehouse Robotics Startups Drawing Bigger Investor Backing". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  25. Britt, Phil. "10 Robots That Can Speed Up Your Supply Chain" (PDF). Robotics Business Review. RBR Insider White Paper. p. 11–12. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  26. "Company Profile: Vecna Robotics". Robotics Industries Association. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  27. RBR Staff (October 30, 2018). "Innovation at Work: Vecna Robotics Helps Milton CAT Develop a Flexible Workflow". Robotics Business Review. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  28. Metz, Cade (March 18, 2018). "FedEx Follows Amazon Into the Robotic Future". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  29. "Autonomous Robots Take On Dangerous Warehouse Jobs". NASA Spinoff. 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
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