Dyson is providing the biggest hint that it is venturing into household robots after more than 20 years on floor care robots. In fact, Singapore is one of the countries that was mentioned in the film where Dyson is going to set up a robotics tech office.
Recently, I visited the new Dyson office and during the tour, I was informed that there is a portion of the area that is still not developed (or at least not yet announced to the public). Check out the film here.
I am excited that this is happening and Singapore is one of the 4 locations mentioned.
Dyson officially opened the doors to its new global headquarters at St James Power Station earlier this year; it houses 18 state-of-the-art research laboratories, five of which are dedicated to driving cutting-edge research into robotics and intelligent machines. These include a Robotics Research Lab, Robotics and Autonomous System Lab, Robotics Home Environment Lab, Robotics Software Test Lab, and an Intelligent Machines Lab.
I wonder if Dyson can produce a robot as flexible as Atlas from Boston Dynamics. Check out the Press Release for more details.
Press Release
Dyson gives tantalising glimpse of secret robot prototypes which appear to carry out household chores, as it hunts for the world’s brightest robotics engineers
- Dyson releases film at the premier academic International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Philadelphia
- Exclusive behind the scenes film of company labs catches Dyson-designed robotic hands grasping objects, signalling that the tech company is moving beyond robot floor-based vacuums
- Jake Dyson, Chief Engineer, reveals the company is building the UK’s largest robotics research centre at its Hullavington Airfield site and issues call to robotics engineers to join Dyson
- Robotics is at the centre of Dyson’s five-year S$4.9bn investment plan into new technologies and facilities across Singapore and the UK. More than 2,000 people have joined the tech company this year globally, of which 50% are engineers, scientists, and coders
Today, Wednesday 25 May, at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Philadelphia, Dyson is giving its biggest clue yet to the future of household robots as it seeks to woo the brightest in the field of robotics to join its rapidly growing team.
At the conference, Dyson provides further definition to its ambitions in advanced robotics, and signals it is accelerating development of an autonomous device capable of household chores and other tasks. A film, which has also been released on social media, catches the latest developments of Dyson-designed robotic hands grasping objects, indicating that the tech company is moving beyond robotic floor-based vacuums. The secret R&D work at Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire is being led by Dyson’s Chief Engineer Jake Dyson.
Dyson is half-way through the largest engineering recruitment drive in its history. 2,000 people have joined the tech company this year, of which 50% are engineers, scientists, and coders. Dyson is supercharging its robotics ambitions, recruiting 250 robotics engineers across disciplines including computer vision, machine learning, sensors and mechatronics, and expects to hire 700 more in the robotics field over the next five years. The master plan: to create the UK’s largest, most advanced, robotics centre at Hullavington Airfield and to bring the technology into our homes by the end of the decade.
New recruits will be based at Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire, a new London laboratory close to the Dyson Robotics Lab at Imperial College, and Singapore at Dyson’s global headquarters. Over the past six months, Dyson has been secretly refitting one of the main aircraft hangars at Hullavington Airfield to prepare for 250 roboticists to move into their new home. Its latest robotics makeover is the next stage in Dyson’s S$4.9bn investment plan in new technologies, products and facilities; S$1m of which is to be spent this year.
Dyson officially opened the doors to its new global headquarters at St James Power Station earlier this year; it houses 18 state-of-the-art research laboratories, five of which are dedicated to driving cutting-edge research into robotics and intelligent machines. These include a Robotics Research Lab, Robotics and Autonomous System Lab, Robotics Home Environment Lab, Robotics Software Test Lab, and an Intelligent Machines Lab. Already, some of Dyson’s brightest engineering minds there are collaborating with globally renowned universities and institutions to pioneer cutting-edge research in the realm of robotics.
Dyson had also announced an investment of S$1.5b into its future in Singapore over the next four years, including plans to hire more than 250 engineers and scientists in fields spanning robotics, machine learning, AI, high-speed electric digital motors, sensing and vision systems, connectivity, software, power electronics and energy storage.
Jake Dyson, Chief Engineer at Dyson, said: “Dyson employed its first roboticist 20 years ago and this year alone we are seeking 250 more experts for our team. This is a ‘big bet’ on future robotic technology that will drive research across the whole of Dyson, in areas including mechanical engineering, vision systems, machine learning and energy storage. We need the very best people in the world to come and join us now.”
Until now, Dyson’s robots have been floor-based vacuum cleaners – the first of which, the DC06, was designed 20 years ago. Offering glimpses of new research in manipulation, robot learning, visual perception and compliant control, Dyson’s film gives the world a first glimpse into its latest “big bet”. It also shows a flight of stairs…