RobotShop announces the creation of a spin-off for MyRobots, The “Facebook® for robots”, which will be integrated into the Robot Lab network, the first robotic incubator.
RobotShop, the world’s leading source for domestic and professional robots, has been developing, since 2009, a unique technology to allow robot owners and robot manufacturers to connect their hardware to the Internet via a universal API. The advantage of such a system is a centralized service which monitors, manages and controls robots and smart objects, and ultimately facilitates the coexistence and communication between machines as well as between machines and humans.
A new era for millions of robots and users of connected objects:
MyRobots aims to promote the development and implementation of a variety of cloud applications for many types of existing and future robots (domestic, professional, hobbyist, educational and recreational). Since its launch, MyRobots has attracted thousands of users and robot builders who have connected their devices to the cloud with the help of the “MyRobots Connect“, or other hardware. The devices which use the MyRobots service are not only robots of various brands (Lynxmotion, Robotis Darwin OP, Vex Robotics, DFRobotShop Rover, LEGO Mindstorms, Aldebaran NAO, iRobot Roomba, Neato Robotics XV Series), but also includes monitoring of normal computers, mobile phones and microcontrollers such as Arduino.
Video launched in 2013 – Some materials such as logo, web page and user interface may have been updated and may not represent the actual product and/or service.
According to statistics released by MyRobots, over 33% of connected devices are custom-made robots. The possibilities in this field are infinite – MyRobots recently hosted its first connected plant (named Irene), that sends notifications automatically when it needs water.
Mario Tremblay, RobotShop CEO, said:
“MyRobots is the culmination of a long-term vision that we have been working on for more than 7 years. The Beta website, launched in 2011, gave us valuable information pertaining to the needs of the market, and the necessary technology to meet or exceed them. We are now ready to begin phase two of our development.
To accomplish this, we created a “spin-off“ company and found Robot Lab to be an ideal partner that shares our passion and determination needed to achieve our goals. After only 15 months in existence, Robot Lab has proven their ability to successfully accelerate technological development. I am delighted about this new partnership and confident in our ability to support manufacturers and developers in connecting their products to MyRobots, and ultimately simplify the lives of millions of users of robots and connected devices.“
Alexandre Ichai, founder of the Robot Lab adds:
“I am very proud to share Mario's ambition and to accompany him in this success. His vision is powerful, and we will do everything to make it a reality.“
Value-creating synergies within the Robot Lab ecosystem already identified:
The company Blue Frog Robotics has confirmed that its robot “Buddy“, the first real robot companion for the mass market, will be natively compatible with the universal platform MyRobots. “Buddy“, designed to improve our lives by bringing us closer to each other through interactions with all surrounding technology, is set to become the platform of choice for developers throughout the robotics community. Blue Frog Robotics, is also incubated at Robot Lab and was funded in part by Robot Capital and a crowdfunding campaign of $618,000 on Indiegogo.
AutoPets, the global leader in automatic self-cleaning litter boxes, announced that it would make the next Litter-Robot compatible with MyRobots. They envision the connectivity will inform users when to refill litter, empty the waste drawer, or even flag irregular behavior patterns of the cat using the litter box—an early warning sign that it might be time to consult the veterinarian.
By connecting to MyRobots, the Litter-Robot can share its status and interact with fellow robots on the network, such as a nearby connected robot vacuum. By detecting that the Litter-Robot has just gone through a cleaning cycle, the robot vacuum could make a pass around the unit, removing any litter that may have been tracked out by the cat.
“Connectivity is a direction we've been heading in for a while“ said Brad Baxter, President of Automated Pet Care Products, Inc. DBA AutoPets, “and as we approach the launch of our mobile app, we're excited to integrate MyRobots into our product plans to maximize compatibility for our customers with other connected devices in their homes.“
Litter-Robot Open Air
Other visionary robot manufacturers have also announced their intention to implement native compatibility with MyRobots including the company Immersive Robotics, and their first tele-robotic robot "Waldo", as well as the telepresence robots “Ubbo“ from AXYN Robotics and “Keylo“ from WYCA.
Ubbo, Keylo and Waldo Telepresence Robots
The new MyRobots spin-off also announced that in 2016 the popular “Cloud Robotics Hackathon” will be re-introduced and held with the support of the LetsMakeRobots.com community website, the largest online group of robot builders in the world. Thousands of registered members will be given the chance to connect their robots and exploit the full potential of MyRobots.
For more information about the development of MyRobots, see the official press release.
