Dobot
Dobot is a brand of robotic arms produced by Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology Co., Ltd. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Shenzhen, China. That year, the first Dobot significantly exceeded its initial $36,000 Kickstarter funding goal, ultimately raising $650,000.[1][2][3] The company has since released five models.
History[edit]
Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in June 2015 by Jerry Liu, who became its CEO, and six of his classmates in robotics engineering.[2][4] The company is based in Shenzhen, China. Liu and his cofounders originally intended to build large-scale industrial arms, but realizing the competition in the field, he decided to begin with smaller models and then scale upward.[5] In October 2015 of that year, the company launched a Kickstarter campaign for a desktop robotic arm called Dobot. The campaign was successful, raising over $600,000 more than the initial goal of $36,000.[1][2] The success of the Kickstarter campaign led to an additional $3 million of third-round funding for the startup in April 2016, making it one of the most valuable robotics startups in China.[4]
By March 2017, the company had expanded to have 96 employees.[2] That year, a calligraphy performance by the Dobot Magician was featured in the CCTV New Year's Gala broadcast, drawing further publicity.[6][7]
Models[edit]
Dobot V1.0 debuted on Kickstarter in 2015. The arm is capable of precision household tasks.[1][3][8]
In 2016, Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology released the Dobot Magician, which allows precision writing and laser engraving.[2][9]
Dobot M1, which also premiered in 2016, features two toolheads, with the options of a gripper hand, a suction cup, a 3D printer, a 4th axis attachment, or a laser engraver. The M1 can be programmed by a manual learning mode or through coding and is intended primarily for industrial use by small businesses.[10][2][11] Like its predecessors, the M1 began with a Kickstarter campaign, the first round of which sold out in under 10 minutes.[12] In a review, Digital Trends described it as able to perform "an absolutely massive range of different tasks" similar to "Tony Stark’s JARVIS robot".[13] In a dissenting review, Geekwire was skeptical of the price, saying that Dobot "is playing it fast and loose with the word 'affordable.'"[14]
Dobot Rigiet is a three-axis stabilizer for cameras and smartphones, released in 2017.[2] The Huffington Post included it in their "Ultimate Tech Gift Guide for the 2017 Holiday Season".[15]
Dobot MOOZ is a 3D printer aimed at artists and educators. It can also do CNC carving and laser engraving.[16][9] In the first month of its 2017 Kickstarter campaign, it raised over $100,000.[16]
Dobot products include: Dobot Arm in Industry: Dobot CR, Dobot MG400 and Dobot M1 and Dobot Arm in Education: Dobot Magician
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Olewitz, Chloe. "This programmable robotic arm is basically your own personal JARVIS." Yahoo News. October 27, 2015. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g Sin, Ben. "Chinese Robotics Start-Up Used Tech From Its Robot Arms To Make A Super Steady Gimbal". Forbes. April 25, 2017. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ a b "Daily Briefing." San Francisco Chronicle. October 29, 2015. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ a b Noda, Tomas S. "Dobot-maker Yuejiang raises $3m in third round funding". Deal Street Asia. April 20, 2016. Accessed April 13, 2018.]
- ^ "Asia's Brave New World of Robots." Straits Times. September 26, 2015. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ Hui, Lu. "China Focus: Can robots replace humans in the art world? " Xinhua. August 25, 2017. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ Onawole, Habeeb. "World Robot Conference Plays Host To Da Vinci & Beethoven". Gizmo China. August 2017. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ Mills, Kelly-Ann. "Robot arm that makes tea, chops food and builds Lego could change your life." Daily Mirror. April 14, 2016. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ a b "DOBOT Educational Robotic Show at BETT 2018". Markets Insider. January 26, 2018. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ Kamps, Haje Jan. "Dobot is crowdfunding a robot that laser-engraves, 3D prints and much more". Tech Crunch. November 30, 2016. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ Marks, Gene. "10 things in technology you may have missed last month ". Accounting Today. January 11, 2017. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ Laros, Shane. "Is it Possible to Sell an Industrial Desktop Robot for Under $2000?". Engineering.com. November 30, 2016. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ Prindle, Drew. "Awesome tech you can’t buy yet." Digital Trends. December 4, 2016. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ Nicklesburg, Monica. "10 of the goofiest CES pitches this year". Geekwire. December 29, 2016. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ Miller, Jason. "The Ultimate Tech Gift Guide for the 2017 Holiday Season". Huffington Post. December 7, 2017. Accessed April 13, 2018.
- ^ a b Chang, Lulu. "With the Mooz, you can 3D print, carve, and engrave, too". Digital Trends. October 14, 2017. Accessed April 13, 2018.