Clearpath Robotics

Clearpath Robotics, Inc. (also known as Clearpath) was founded in 2009 by a group of four University of Waterloo graduates, and remains headquartered in Waterloo Region, Canada. The original goal of Clearpath was to streamline field robotics research for universities and private corporations, but the company has since expanded and is now also manufacturing and selling the OTTO line of self-driving vehicles for industrial environments.

Clearpath Robotics, Inc.
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryAutonomous robotics (robotics, manufacturing, logistics, mining, farming, industrial)
FoundedJune 2009 (June 2009)
Founders
  • Matthew Rendall
  • Ryan Gariepy
  • Pat Martinson
  • Bryan Webb
HeadquartersKitchener, Ontario, Canada
Key people
ParentRockwell Automation
Website

History

Clearpath Robotics was founded in 2009 by a group of four University of Waterloo graduates—Matthew Rendall, Ryan Gariepy, Pat Martinson and Bryan Webb—based on a growing demand for environmental monitoring and robotics research equipment.[1][2] Unlike other robotics startups, they only raised a small amount of angel investment upon founding, and sought to achieve profitability before raising more.[3]

In 2012, Open Robotics (then the Open Source Robotics Foundation) was established to ensure that there was continuity in the work being done with ROS, with Clearpath CTO Ryan Gariepy joining the founding board.[4] Not too long after, original ROS creator Willow Garage announced a reduction in formal support.[5] Due to concerns raised by the academic community regarding the future of robotics research, Clearpath issued a statement to reinforce that it would continue to do what it could to support ROS.[6]

With the complete shutdown of Willow Garage in early 2014, Clearpath took over complete maintenance and support of the PR2 robot until through at least 2016.[7][8]

In August 2014, Clearpath became the first robotics company in the world to pledge not to make 'killer robots' (lethal autonomous weapons),[9][10] and continues to back initiatives to ensure AI and autonomous systems are developed in an ethical fashion.[11]

By March 2015, Clearpath announced a $14 million Series A investment led by RRE Ventures meant to fund the development of products capable of automating dangerous jobs in industrial and manufacturing facilities.[12] Shortly thereafter, they announced the first of their OTTO line of vehicles with General Electric as a first customer and strategic investor, as well as announced that Tesla, Inc. co-founder Marc Tarpenning had joined their advisory board.[13][14] At the same time, it continued to develop and sell systems meant to fulfill its original mandate of helping researchers work more efficiently.[15]

A Series B funding round was announced in October 2016 led by iNovia Capital, which also added Caterpillar Inc. as another strategic investor.[16]

Clearpath is currently one of the most well-known Canadian robotics startups, and is regularly recognized as one of the "Top 50 Most Influential Companies in Robotics" by Robotics Business Review.[17][18]

In September 2023, Clearpath Robotics was acquired by an American industrial automation company Rockwell Automation in a deal valued at over US$600 million.[2]

Divisions

Clearpath Robotics

The original Clearpath Robotics brand encompasses the manufacture and sale of a variety of land and sea vehicles used for robotics research, as well as the sale of individual components for robotics prototyping through its online store.[19] It also provides custom robotics integration as well as ROS consulting services, with a portion of the revenue of the latter going to support Open Robotics.[20]

Clearpath was one of the original manufacturers and distributors of the TurtleBot series of open-source research robots,[21] with the newest version now being produced in partnership with Open Robotics and iRobot.[22]

OTTO Motors

The complete OTTO Motors brand was announced in 2016,[23] and is Clearpath's first known entry into the large scale deployment of autonomous vehicles. Its first customer was General Electric, and other notable clients include John Deere and Toyota.[24][25][26]

Litigation

In August 2016, Clearpath filed a complaint in the Northern district of California against Otto (company) with respect to Clearpath Robotics Inc.'s OTTO brand.[27][28] The action was dismissed with prejudice on February 1, 2017. As of May 2017, Uber has ceased using the OTTO trademark, and Clearpath continues to operate the OTTO brand.[29][30][31]

In light of Waymo LLC v. Uber Technologies, Inc. et al.,[32][33] Clearpath has issued a statement to clarify brand confusion.[34]

References
  1. Thomas, Mario (2012-11-28). "Why startups need to start putting customers first". Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  2. Silcoff, Sean (2023-09-12). "Waterloo's Clearpath Robotics sold to Rockwell Automation for US$600-million plus". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  3. "Clearpath moves ahead with robotic precision | TheRecord.com". TheRecord.com. 2010-09-12. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  4. "Open Source Robotics Foundation Officially Announced". IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  5. "UPDATED: Willow Garage to Shut Down? Company Says 'No, Just Changing'". IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  6. "Clearpath Robotics to Stand Firm Behind ROS - ROS robotics news". www.ros.org. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  7. "Willow Garage's Last Days". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  8. "Willow Garage selects Clearpath robotics to service and support the PR2 robot Through 2016 | Willow Garage". www.willowgarage.com. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  9. "Here's The World's First Robotics Company To Pledge Not To Make 'Killer Robots'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  10. "The Growing International Movement Against Killer Robots". Human Rights Watch. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  11. "The IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems Initiative Membership" (PDF). 18 May 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  12. "Clearpath Robotics raises $14 million Series A from RRE & iNovia". BetaKit. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  13. "Clearpath Robotics Launches Self-Driving Vehicle, Lands Investment from GE". Techvibes. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  14. Lambert, Fred (2016-03-11). "Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning: "Self-driving technology is clearly on the cusp of a major breakthrough"". Electrek. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  15. "It's a robot's world: Kitchener's Clearpath looks to automated future". The Globe and Mail. 2015-02-24. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  16. "Caterpillar, GE invest $30M in material-transport robotics company | MINING.com". MINING.com. 2016-10-12. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  17. "6 Canadian Robotics Startups Not Called Clearpath". Nanalyze. 2017-07-24. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  18. "The 2017 RBR50 List Names Robotics Industry Leaders. Innovators". Robotics Business Review. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  19. "Clearpath Robotics Launches Online Store". Techvibes. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  20. "Clearpath offers ROS consulting service - ROS robotics news". www.ros.org. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  21. "TurtleBot Inventors Tell Us Everything About the Robot". IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  22. "TurtleBot Redesigned from ground up with ROS2". The Robot Report. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  23. "Clearpath Robotics unveils OTTO 100 autonomous warehouse vehicle". Cantech Letter. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  24. "GE deploys OTTO robots at Milwaukee medical manufacturing facility [VIDEO]". PLANT. 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  25. "Kitchener's Clearpath Robotics & OTTO bag $30 million round". Geektime. 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  26. "Canadian robotics firm Clearpath gets foot-in-the-door at U.S. Toyota plant - Canadian Manufacturing". Canadian Manufacturing. 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  27. "Clearpath Robotics, Inc. v. Ottomotto LLC". Justia Dockets & Filings. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  28. Griswold, Alison. "Otto, the self-driving trucking startup bought by Uber, is being sued for trademark infringement". Quartz. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  29. "Uber walks away from Otto trademark". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  30. Ohnsman, Alan. "Uber Quietly Drops Otto Truck Unit Name Following Trademark Spat". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  31. Hawkins, Andrew J. (2017-07-05). "Uber's self-driving trucks have a new, fresh, Otto-less look". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  32. "Waymo LLC v. Uber Technologies, Inc; Ottomotto LLC; Otto Trucking LLC | Trade Secrets Institute". tsi.brooklaw.edu. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  33. "Waymo's Complaint Against Uber". The New York Times. 2017-02-23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  34. "OTTO Motors Releases Statement on Waymo v. Ottomotto Lawsuit". OTTO Motors. OTTO Motors. 2017-08-12. Retrieved 2017-08-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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