Introducing Global Robot Cluster organization - Silicon Valley Robotics and MassRobotics are VicePresidents, and the initiative is chaired by Korea's REPA. Currently at 14 members, we're looking for more cluster organizations who are interested in joining. 

Congratulations... Robust.AI the new startup from Rodney Brooks, Gary Marcus and Henrik Christensen comes out of stealth with undisclosed funding from Playground and others. Festo showed off their biomimetic robots at the Robotics Summit in Boston. And Reuben Brewer's Robocop hobby project at SRI International received lots of television coverage at The Rise of the Robots on May 30.

In Other News... The Robot Report reports 26 funding deals closed in May 2019 for a total of at least $1.5 billion. This is lower than April's $6.5 billion in 30 deals, but still much larger than just a few years ago.

On average, companies that raised Series As had 30 coffee meetings with individual investors. 50% of these meetings led to pitches to individual partners. About 30% of partner pitches led to full partnership pitches. On average, 1 of every 5 partnership meetings produced a term sheet - according to Y Combinator.

More Good Reading...  

AI: Hype Vs. Reality - Season 1 Episode 2 from Dell Technologies

Is AI really coming for all of our jobs? Or is fear of a robot takeover based on hype? To find out, host—and fellow human—Jessica Chobot talks with leading AI experts to uncover the source of the hype, reveal just how challenging it is to train a robot, and clearly define the role of machines in the workplace (spoiler: they may work, but they don’t have jobs). Featuring: Dave Graham (Dell), James Bergstra (Kindred.AI), Sai Cherla (Kindred.ai), Geoffrey Hinton (Vector Institute), Andra Keay (Silicon Valley Robotics) and Dylan Losey (Stanford).

In Other News... 42 countries adopt new OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence (OECD). US senators introduce bipartisan bill on funding national AI strategy: Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act (Senate.gov).

And robotics pets care for the elderly. Astrobee and Robonaut work together on the ISS. Nvidia tries to make humans redundant via robot simulation. China starts driverless deliveries on masse. IOT is starting to digitize and disrupt the construction industry. Australian startup develops some useful robot touch sensors. More fruit picking robots, this time in the UK (NOT a world first btw). Famous robots from the last 50 years. Amazon is doubling down on robots over humans. Facebook is secretly building robot spiders - with help from Hebi Robotics. And visualization technology clears the way for robot logging.

More Good Reading... 

Standardizing robot testing with an affordable robot arm from Berkeley: REPLAB: A Reproducible Low-Cost Arm Benchmark Platform for Robotic Learning (Arxiv). 

Why drone racing benchmarks could revolutionize the economy and the military: Are We Ready for Autonomous Drone Racing? The UZH-FPV Drone Racing Dataset (PDF). Read more: The UZH-FPV Drone Racing Dataset (ETHZurich website).

Train multiple agents at once using the ARENA: Arena: A General Evaluation Platform and Building Toolkit for Multi-Agent Intelligence (Arxiv).
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We have new robotics white papers, reports and strategic plans on the SVR Reports & Publications page.  We've just added a map/list of all the robotics research labs in the Bay Area - there are 50 just counting govt/academic labs!  What reports would you like to see?

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We have some exciting updates from HKSTP!

[Housing subsidy] We are now offering international talents who work for HKSTP companies up to USD 15k for a year to subsidize their housing costs. We are building an apartment building on campus too.

[Pre-incubation] Apply to our new STEP program by 5/31. You will get a USD 12.8k grant and training to develop your idea in Hong Kong for a year.

[Start-up pilots] The Hong Kong government is helping start-ups test their products within the government through the InnoPortal and Smart Lab. Contact us for more info.

[Construction Innovation Award] Gain publicity in Hong Kong for your construction technologies that promote safety, productivity or sustainability in construction. Apply by 6/28.

[Greater Bay Area] With a population of 70m and an economy that is the size of Korea's, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area is the next engine of growth.

FYI, here is an overview of HKSTP's latest support programs for tech companies.

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Register for Shaper: Jobs In Robotics Open House

SHAPER:  is a human-involved robotics company developing entirely new categories of tools that merge human intuition with robotic precision.

This is your opportunity to meet the team behind Shaper, a leading robotics company focused on using computer vision and robotic technology to bring the act of making physical things into the 21st century. Shaper Origin is a mixed reality power tool that leverages an intuitive user interface and implements real-time corrective capabilities to bring machine-quality cuts to human-operated tools.

Who: Our Robotics Community and Candidates : #ShaperMade

When: June 18, 2019, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Address: Shaper Tools, Inc. 247 Shotwell Street San Francisco, CA 94110

What: An opportunity to meet the minds behind Shaper, grab a drink, and make some sawdust! Learn more about what makes their products truly outstanding, and learn about the challenges involved in merging consumer electronics with power tools and software. Don’t miss the important chance to hear leaders of the company discuss growing the business and team, and your chance to explore new job opportunities.

We encourage you to bring a resume to the event, and to come ready do some cutting with Shaper Origin.

Light appetizers & beverages will be served. This event is 21+.

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https://www.upramp.com/get-noticed

Apply to Cable Labs demo day August Colorado

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GENIUS NY's $3 million business accelerator competition is now accepting applications through October 1, 2019.

The program invests in five startup companies in the unmanned systems, cross-connected platforms & IoT, and data-to-decision platforms. The one-year accelerator, located in New York State, provides funding, incubator space, business programming, mentors and advisers, and resources.

Apply now to the world's largest business accelerator competition in UAS.

Complete Step 1

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Edit your SVR Member account OR your newsletter subscription to select the topic forums you'd like to participate in. Forum participation ranges from newsletters or annual meeting to quarterly round tables and online networks. https://svrobo.org/membership/sign-up

Indepth Robotics Networks - select all that apply

• Retail Robotics and AI Lab
• Construction Robotics Forum
• Farm2Fork Technology Network
• Maritime Robotics Alliance
• Space Robotics Network
• Mining Robots
• Manufacturing Robotics and AI
• Logistics and Delivery Robots
• Robotics and AI for Health
• Good Robot Design
• Global Robotics Cluster Network
• Women in Robotics
• ALL

Many SVR memberships are due for renewal at this time of year so please watch for renewal notices or you can log in to svrobo.org using this email address and update your billing details and your company profile - if you are a company member. Or sign up for membership (see below):