Robotics companies located in Mass.

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Massachusetts is home to more than 100 robotics companies, and man, they’ve come up with some neat stuff. These bots are carrying around plants, hovering above enemy war zones, examining the ocean floor, and much more. Following the release of a report by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, a statewide industry group, we’ve decided to take a closer look at some of the incredible robots produced by local companies. Here are just a few.


Did we forget your favorite local robotics company? Email us at Hive@boston.com

Love robots? Here’s a few you might recognize.





Massachusetts is home to more than 100 robotics companies, and man, they’ve come up with some neat stuff. These bots are carrying around plants, hovering above enemy war zones, examining the ocean floor, and much more. Following the release of a report by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, a statewide industry group, we’ve decided to take a closer look at some of the incredible robots produced by local companies. Here are just a few.


Did we forget your favorite local robotics company? Email us at Hive@boston.com

Love robots? Here’s a few you might recognize.


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iRobot Corp.



Headquarters: Bedford

Application: Consumer robotics


In 2002, iRobot released the first vacuum cleaner robot, the roomba. It has since sold more than 3 million units.


Shown is the Mirra 530 Pool Cleaning Robot, which iRobot announced in January. It automatically calculates the size and shape of your pool, then removes the algae and bacteria from the floor and sides, filtering 70 gallons of water per minute.


iRobot


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Rethink Robotics



Location: Boston

Application: Factory automation/ distribution


Formerly Heartland Robotics, the company was founded by Rodney Brooks, a robotics professor and former head of the artificial intelligence lab at MIT and was also one of the founders of iRobot. Shown is Baxter, assembly line robot, which can work alongside humans in industrial settings, Boston Globe Innovation Economy columnist Scott Kirsner wrote in Sept. 2012. Baxter can be trained to do tasks by having a person move its arms through desired motions. Its vision and proximity sensors allow it to work nearby humans on an assembly line without putting them in danger.


Rethink Robotics


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Bluefin Robotics



Location: Quincy

Application: Military/ public safety (marine)


Founded in 1997 by engineers from the MIT AUV Laboratory, Bluefin develops, builds, and runs Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and similar technologies for defense, commercial, and scientific customers.


Shown: Ben Pelletier, a marine operations engineer, readies a Bluefin-9 unmanned underwater vehicle for a demonstration at Bluefin Robotics in Quincy.


Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe


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Hydroid



Location: Pocasset

Application: Military/ public safety (marine)


A subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime, Hydroid creates Autonomous Underwater Vehicles similar to Bluefin for military and commercial use. Its robots have been used to search for Amelia Earhart’s missing plane, as well as take photos of the Titanic from the ocean floor.


Hydroid


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CyPhy Works



Location: Danvers

Application: Military/ public safety (Aerospace)


In December, the company unveiled two hovering drones for indoor and outdoor operations. CyPhy was started in 2009 by Helen Greiner, one of the three founders of iRobot. The products are unmanned aerial vehicles tethered to a hand-held control system on the ground, rather than being free-flying, which gives them unlimited flying time, Kirsner wrote in his Innovation Economy blog. The bot also transmits high-definition video back to the control system using the wire, which can’t be jammed by an enemy like a wireless device. They are used for tasks like helping military or police units investigate the interior of buildings without sending people in.


Shown: The Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications (PARC).


CYPHY PARC


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Boston Dynamics



Location: Waltham

Application: Military/ public safety (Aerospace)


With customers like Sony Corp., the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the US Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, Boston Dynamics has its hands full. It was founded by MIT grad Marc Raibert in the early 1990s to develop advanced robots for the military. “Among Boston Dynamic’s robots is the BigDog, a bulky animal-like bot (shown) that can lumber over rough terrain and carry 340 pounds, and the SandFlea, a small, fast-moving machine that can jump 30 feet in the air to place a camera in a remote location,” wrote Globe reporter Michael Farrell. The company has doubled in 18 months and now has 90 employees.


Boston Dynamics


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Harvest Automation



Location: Billerica

Application: Consumer


With both founders from (you guessed it) iRobot, Harvest Automation produces robots geared towards the agriculture industry. For their first product, Harvest developed a robot to carry around potted plants weighing up to 20 pounds as they grow, Kirsner wrote in July. “In the winter, the plants are clustered together, and in the summer, they’re spread out with about a foot between them... with a battery swap every few hours, the robots can work around the clock — even when overhead sprinklers are watering the plants.”


Dina Rudick/Globe Staff


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Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems



Location: Waltham

Application: Military/ public safety


Ranging from unmanned ground vehicles that move like snakes, to an iron man-like suit, Raytheon is one of the biggest companies for designing military defense systems, several of which involve robots.


Shown: President Barack Obama awards Raytheon BBN Technologies CEO Edward Campbell with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honors bestowed by US upon scientists, engineers, and inventors, on February 1, 2013.


AFP PHOTO/Jewel SamadJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images


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