Saturday, August 4, 2007

Lewisville-based KumoTek sells 50 robot kits to U.S. Naval Academy

By Pegasus News wire

The Robotis Bioloid Comprehensive Robot is super-cute.

LEWISVILLE — Humanoid robot vendor KumoTek has been awarded a contract to provide 50 Robotis Bioloid Comprehensive Robot Kits to the U.S. Naval Academy. The Bioloid is a versatile robot kit capable of being configured into numerous shapes, such as walking humanoids, dogs, spiders and even snakes. It will be used for classroom instruction. This product is available here.

It's a significant milestone in the educational robotics industry, as robotics instruction has begun to gain prominence in multiple academic disciplines, including computer science, mechanical engineering, and software programming.

KumoTek will be exhibiting the latest in humanoid robot technologies at the nanoTX '07 International Conference & Expo in Dallas this October.

Robotics are "hot." Many robotics companies, including KumoTek, are reporting revenues 3 to 10 times higher for quarters one and two of 2007 than for all of 2006 combined. A growing number of robotics clubs at high schools and universities are now engaged in advanced robotics research and development. Additionally, colleges are adding robotics courses to their undergraduate computer science and engineering departments.

According to the RoboCup Federation, attendance at conferences and robot competitions is up across the board, almost doubling over the past two years. RoboCup is an international joint project to promote AI, robotics, and related fields. The ultimate goal of RoboCup is to develop a team of fully autonomous humanoid robots by 2050 that can win against the human world champion team in soccer. Competitions such as RoboCup are now attracting spectators and competitors from across world.

KumoTek provided critical support as a participating member of this year’s winning RoboCup team from Japan, Team Osaka.

KumoTek CEO Matt Fisher is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and graduate of the University of Richmond with a degree in International Business and Marketing. He is also fluent in the Japanese language. KumoTek business manager Tom Fisher is a graduate of Texas Tech University, an experienced programmer, and a combat veteran of Vietnam, having served as an Army field artillery officer. KumoTek is based in Lewisville, and also operates an Internet web store.

Source: KumoTek

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