Prescribing a Robot ‘Intervention’

 

According to Australian Centre for Robotic Vision Research’s Nicole Robinson, research studies on the impact of social robot interventions there have been few and unsophisticated. There is good news… the results are encouraging.

As our world struggles with mental health and substance use disorders affecting 970 million people and counting (according to 2017 figures), the time is ripe for meaningful social robot ‘interventions’. That’s the call by Australian Centre for Robotic Vision Research Fellow Nicole Robinson – a roboticist with expertise in psychology and health – as detailed in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR).

Having led Australia’s first study into the positive impact of social robot interventions on eating habits (in 2017), Robinson and the Centre’s social robotics team believes it is time to focus on weightier health and wellbeing issues, including depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and eating disorders.

Global Trials To Date
In the recently published JMIR paper, A Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials on Psychosocial Health Interventions by Social Robots, Robinson reveals global trials to date are ‘very few and unsophisticated’. Only 27 global trials met inclusion criteria for psychosocial health interventions; many of them lacked a follow-up period; targeted small sample groups (<100 participants); and limited research to contexts of child health, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and older adults.

Of concern, no randomised controlled trials have yet involved adolescents or young adults at a time when the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates one in six adolescents (aged 10-19) are affected by mental health disorders. According to the agency, half of all mental health conditions start by 14 years of age, but most cases are undetected and untreated.

WHO warns: “The consequences of not addressing adolescent mental health conditions extend to adulthood, impairing both physical and mental health and limiting opportunities to lead fulfilling lives…”

In good news for the Centre’s research into social robot interventions, WHO pushes for the adoption of multi-level and varied prevention and promotion programs including via digital platforms (Read more HERE).

A  Therapeutic Alliance
Despite limited amount of global research conducted on psychosocial health interventions by social robots, Robinson believes the results are nevertheless encouraging. They indicate a ‘therapeutic alliance’ between robots and humans could lead to positive effects similar to the use of digital interventions for managing anxiety, depression and alcohol use.

“The beauty of social robot intervention is that they could help to side-step potential negative effects of face-to-face therapy with a human health practitioner such as perceived judgement or stigma,” said Robinson, who has used Nao and SoftBank’s Pepper robots in her research at the Centre.

“Robots can help support a self-guided program or health service by interacting with people to help keep them on track with their health goals.

“Our research is not about replacing healthcare professionals, but identifying treatment gaps where social robots can effectively assist by engaging patients to discuss sensitive topics and identify problems that may require the attention of a health practitioner.”

In the JMIR paper, published last month, Robinson puts out a timely global call for research on social robot interventions to transition from exploratory investigations to large-scale controlled trials with sophisticated methodology.

At the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision’s QUT headquarters, she’s helping to lay the groundwork. The Centre’s research, sponsored by the Queensland Government, is assessing the capabilities of social robots and using SoftBank Robotics’ Pepper robot to explore applications where social robots can deliver value beyond their novelty appeal.

Social Robot Trials
In 2018, the Centre’s social robotics team initiated a set of trials involving Pepper robots to measure the unique value of social robots in one-to-one interactions in healthcare. After supporting an Australia-first trial of a Pepper robot at Townsville Hospital and Health Service, the Centre’s team has placed Pepper into a QUT Health Clinic at Kelvin Grove Campus.

The three-month study to June 2019 involves Pepper delivering a brief health assessment and providing customised feedback that can be taken to a health practitioner to discuss issues around physical activity, dietary intake, alcohol use and smoking. Members of the public who are registered as patients at the QUT Health Clinic are invited to take part in this trial.

In a separate online trial, the Centre’s social robotics team is assessing people’s attitudes to social robots and their willingness to engage with and discuss different topics with a robot or human as the conversation partner.

For more information on the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision’s work creating robots able to see and understand like humans, download our 2018 Annual Report.


Editor’s Note: This article was republished with permission from The Australian Centre for Robotic Vision. The original article can be found HERE.


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Robotics investments recap: March 2019

CloudMinds was among the robotics companies receiving funding in March 2019.

CloudMinds was among the robotics companies receiving funding in March 2019. Source: CloudMinds

Investments in robots, autonomous vehicles, and related systems totaled at least $1.3 billion in March 2019, down from $4.3 billion in February. On the other hand, automation companies reported $7.8 billion in mergers and acquisitions last month. While that may represent a slowdown, note that many businesses did not specify the amounts involved in their transactions, of which there were at least 58 in March.

Self-driving cars and trucks — including machine learning and sensor technologies — continued to receive significant funding. Although Lyft’s initial public offering was not directly related to autonomous vehicles, it illustrates the investments flowing for transportation.

Other use cases represented in March 2019 included surgical robotics, industrial automation, and service robots. See the table below, which lists amounts in millions of dollars where they were available:

CompanyAmt. (M$)TypeLead investor, partner, acquirerDateTechnology
Airbiquity15investmentDenso Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., Toyota Tsushu Corp.March 12, 2019connected vehicles
AROMA BIT Inc.2.2Series ASony Innovation FundMarch 3, 2019olofactory sensors
AtomRobotSeries B1Y&R CapitalMarch 5, 2019industrial automation
Automata7.4Series AABB March 19, 2019robot arm
Avidbots23.6Series BTrue VenturesMarch 21, 2019commercial floor cleaning
BoranetSeries AGobi PartnersMarch 6, 2019IIoT, machine vision
Broadmann1711Series AOurCrowdMarch 6, 2019deep learning, autonomous vehicles
Cloudminds300investmentSoftBank Vision FundMarch 26, 2019service robots
Corindus4.8private placementMarch 12, 2019surgical robot
Determined AI11Series AGV (Google Ventures)March 13, 2019AI, deep learning
Emergen Group29Series BQiming Venture PartnersMarch 13, 2019industrial automation
Fabu Technologypre-Series AQingsong FundMarch 1, 2019autonomous vehicles
FortnarecapitalizationThomas H. Lee PArtners LPMarch 27, 2019materlais handling
ForwardX14.95Series BHupang Licheng FundMarch 21, 2019autonomous mobile robots
Gaussian Robotics14.9Series BGrand Flight InvestmentMarch 20, 2019cleaning
Hangzhou Guochen Robot Technology15Series AHongcheng Capital, Yingshi Fund (YS Investment) March 13, 2019robotics R&D
Hangzhou Jimu Technology Co.Series BFlyfot VenturesMarch 6, 2019autonomous vehicles
InnerSpace3.2seedBDC Capital's Women in Technology FundMarch 26, 2019IoT
Innoviz Technologies132Series CChina Merchants Capital, Shenzhen Capital Group, New Alliance CapitalMarch 26, 2019lidar
Intelligent MarkinginvestmentBenjamin CapitalMarch 6, 2019autonomous robots for marking sports fields
Kaarta Inc.6.5Series AGreenSoil Building Innovation FundMarch 21, 2019lidar mapping
Kolmostar Inc.10Series AMarch 5, 2019positioning technology
Linear Labs4.5seedScience Inc., Kindred VenturesMarch 26, 2019motors
MELCO Factory Automation Philippines Inc.2.38new divisionMitsubishi Electric Corp.March 12, 2019industrial automation
Monet Technologies4.51joint ventureHonda Motor Co., Hino Motors Ltd., SoftBank Corp., Toyota Motor CorpMarch 28, 2019self-driving cars
Ouster60investmentRunway Growth Capital, Silicon Valley BankMarch 25, 2019lidar
Pickle Robot Co.3.5equity saleMarch 4, 2019loading robot
Preteckt2seedLos Olas Venture CapitalMarch 26, 2019machine learning automotive
Radar16investmentSound Ventures, NTT Docomo Ventures, Align Ventures, Beanstalk Ventures, Colle Capital, Founders Fund Pathfinder, Novel TMTMarch 28, 2019RFID inventory management
Revvo (IntelliTire)4Series ANorwest Venture PartnersMarch 26, 2019smart tires
Shanghai Changren Information Technology14.89Series AMarch 15, 2019Xiaobao healthcare robot
TakeOff Technologies Inc.equity saleMarch 26, 2019grocery robots
TartanSense2seedOmnivore, Blume Ventures, BEENEXTMarch 11, 2019weeding robot
Teraki2.3investmentHorizon Ventures, American Family VenturesMarch 27, 2019AI, automotive electronics
Think Surgical134investmentMarch 11, 2019surgical robot
Titan Medical25IPOMarch 22, 2019surgical robotics
TMiRobSeries B+Shanghai Zhangjiang Torch Venture Capital March 26, 2019hospital robot
TOYO Automation Co.investmentYamaha Motor Co.March 20, 2019actuators
UbtechinvestmentLiangjiang CapitalMarch 6, 2019humanoid
Vintra4.8investmentBonfire Ventures, Vertex Ventures, London Venture PartnersMarch 11, 2019machine vision
Vtrus2.9investmentMarch 8, 2019drone inspection
Weltmeister Motor450Series CBaidu Inc.March 11, 2019self-driving cars

And here are the mergers and acquisitions:

March 2019 robotics acquisitions

CompanyAmt. (M$)AcquirerDateTechnology
Accelerated DynamicsAnimal Dynamics3/8/2019AI, drone swarms
Astori AS4Subsea3/19/2019undersea control systems
BrainlabSmith & Nephew3/12/2019surgical robot
Figure Eight175Appen Ltd.3/10/2019AI, machine learning
Floating Point FXCycloMedia3/7/2019machine vision, 3D modeling
Florida Turbine Technologies60Kratos Defense and Security Solutions3/1/2019drones
Infinity Augmented RealityAlibaba Group Holding Ltd.3/21/2019AR, machine vision
Integrated Device Technology Inc.6700Renesas3/30/2019self-driving vehicle processors
MedineeringBrainlab3/20/2019surgical
Modern Robotics Inc.0.97Boxlight Corp.3/14/2019STEM
OMNI Orthopaedics Inc.Corin Group3/6/2019surgical robotics
OrthoSpace Ltd.220Stryker Corp.3/14/2019surgical robotics
Osiris Therapeutics660Smith & Nephew3/12/2019surgical robotics
Restoration Robotics Inc.21Venus Concept Ltd.3/15/2019surgical robotics
Sofar Ocean Technologies7Spoondrift, OpenROV3/28/2019underwater drones, sensors
Torc Robotics Inc.Daimler Trucks and Buses Holding Inc.3/29/2019driverless truck software

Surgical robots make the cut

One of the largest transactions reported in March 2019 was Smith & Nephew’s purchase of Osiris Therapeutics for $660 million. However, some Osiris shareholders are suing to block the acquisition because they believe the price that U.K.-based Smith & Nephew is offering is too low. The shareholders’ confidence reflects a hot healthcare robotics space, where capital, consolidation, and chasing new applications are driving factors.

In the meantime, Stryker Corp. bought sports medicine provider OrthoSpace Ltd. for $220 million. The market for sports medicine will experience a compound annual growth rate of 8.9% between now and 2023, predicts Market Research Future.

Freemont, Calif.-based Think Surgical raised $134 million for its robot-assisted orthopedic surgical device, and Titan Medical closed a $25 million public offering last month.

Venus Concept Ltd. merged with hair-implant provider Restoration Robotics for $21 million, and Shanghai Changren Information Technology raised Series A funding of $14.89 million for its Xiaobao healthcare robot.

Corindus Vascular Robotics Inc. added $5 million to the $15 million it had raised the month before. Brainlab acquired Medineering and was itself acquired by Smith & Nephew.

Driving toward automation in March 2019

Aside from Lyft, the biggest reported transportation robotics transaction in March 2019 was Renesas’ completion of its $6.7 billion purchase of Integrated Device Technology Inc. for its self-driving car chips.

The next biggest deal was Weltmeister Motor’s $450 million Series C, in which Baidu Inc. participated.

Lidar also got some support, with Innoviz Technologies raising $132 million in a Series C round, and Ouster raising $60 million. In a prime example of how driverless technology is “paying a peace dividend” to other applications, Google parent Alphabet’s Waymo unit offered its custom lidar sensors to robotics, security, and agricultural companies.

Automakers recognize the need for 3-D modeling, sensors, and software for autonomous vehicles to navigate safely and accurately. A Daimler unit acquired Torc Robotics Inc., which is working on driverless trucks, and CycloMedia acquired machine vision firm Floating Point FX. The amounts were not specified.

Speaking of machine learning, Appen Ltd. acquired dataset annotation company Figure Eight for $175 million, with an possible $125 million more based on 2019 performance. Denso Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. contributed $15 million to Airbiquity, which is working on connected vehicles.

Service robots clean up

From retail to cleaning and customer service, the combination of improving human-machine interactions, ongoing staffing turnover and shortages, and companies with round-the-clock operations has contributed to investor interest.

The SoftBank Vision Fund participated in a $300 million round for CloudMinds. The Chinese AI and robotics company’s XR-1 is a humanoid service robot, and it also makes security robots and connects robots to the cloud.

According to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, TakeOff Technologies Inc. raised an unspecified amount for its grocery robots, an area that many observers expect to grow as consumers become more accustomed to getting home deliveries.

On the cleaning side, Avidbots raised $23.6 million in Series B, led by True Ventures. Gaussian Robotics’ Series B was $14.9 million, with participation from Grand Flight Investment.

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Wrapping up Q1 2019

China’s efforts to develop its domestic robotics industry continued, as Emergen Group’s $29 million Series B round was the largest reported investment in industrial automation last month.

Hangzhou Guochen Robot Technology raised $15 million in Series A funding for robotics research and development and integration.

That was followed by ABB’s participation in Series A funding of $7.4 million for Automata, which makes a small collaborative robot arm named Ava. Mitsubishi Electric Corp. said it’s spending $2.38 million to set up a new company, MELCO Factory Automation Philippines Inc., because it expects to grow its business there to $30 million by 2026.

Data startup Spopondrift and underwater drone maker OpenROV merged to form Sofar Ocean Technologies. The new San Francisco company also announced a Series A round of $7 million. Also, 4Subsea acquired underwater control systems maker Astori AS.

In the aerial drone space, Kratos Defense and Security Solutions acquired Florida Turbine Technologies for $60 million, and Vtrus raised $2.9 million for commercializing drone inspections. Kaarta Inc., which makes a lidar for indoor mapping, raised $6.5 million.

The Robot Report broke the news of Aria Insights, formerly known as CyPhy Works, shutting down in March 2019.


Editors Note: What defines robotics investments? The answer to this simple question is central in any attempt to quantify robotics investments with some degree of rigor. To make investment analyses consistent, repeatable, and valuable, it is critical to wring out as much subjectivity as possible during the evaluation process. This begins with a definition of terms and a description of assumptions.

Investors and Investing
Investment should come from venture capital firms, corporate investment groups, angel investors, and other sources. Friends-and-family investments, government/non-governmental agency grants, and crowd-sourced funding are excluded.

Robotics and Intelligent Systems Companies
Robotics companies must generate or expect to generate revenue from the production of robotics products (that sense, think, and act in the physical world), hardware or software subsystems and enabling technologies for robots, or services supporting robotics devices. For this analysis, autonomous vehicles (including technologies that support autonomous driving) and drones are considered robots, while 3D printers, CNC systems, and various types of “hard” automation are not.

Companies that are “robotic” in name only, or use the term “robot” to describe products and services that that do not enable or support devices acting in the physical world, are excluded. For example, this includes “software robots” and robotic process automation. Many firms have multiple locations in different countries. Company locations given in the analysis are based on the publicly listed headquarters in legal documents, press releases, etc.

Verification
Funding information is collected from a number of public and private sources. These include press releases from corporations and investment groups, corporate briefings, and association and industry publications. In addition, information comes from sessions at conferences and seminars, as well as during private interviews with industry representatives, investors, and others. Unverifiable investments are excluded.

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