News

New showroom and concept store shows robots in action in downtown Mountain View

InOrbit Inc. opens Robot Space to show real world robotics, plans to host events

Castro Street's newest storefront gives the community a place to gather and learn about robots in action. Courtesy InOrbit.

Downtown Mountain View just got a lot more high tech with the latest addition to Castro Street.

InOrbit Inc., a software company dedicated to cloud-based robot operations, announced its new Robot Space in Mountain View on Feb. 6, and held a grand opening on Feb. 3. The new storefront is a community space, product showroom and concept store all in one, the company said, and gives visitors a chance to see robots in action.

InOrbit’s RobOps platform allows robots from different vendors to work together in the real world and perform tasks together like restocking merchandise and delivering customer orders, the company said in a statement.

An InOrbit team member talks with a visitor at the InOrbit Robot Space's grand opening on Feb. 3. Courtesy InOrbit.

“This ability to orchestrate multi-vendor robot fleets at scale through a single pane of glass is what sets InOrbit apart,” the company said. “Robotics companies that are part of the InOrbit Connect ecosystem will be able to showcase their robots in a realistic, yet scaled-down environment.”

InOrbit co-founder and CEO Florian Pestoni said the company’s goal is to show people how robots can help them in the real world.

Help sustain the local news you depend on.

Your contribution matters. Become a member today.

Join

“This is a space for the robotics community at large to learn and advance the state of the art in robot operations,” Pestoni said in the statement. “It’s also a place for everyone else – from kids to older adults – to experience how robots can help with everyday chores.”

In addition to giving the community a space to get hands-on with robots, the new InOrbit store will sell merchandise for all ages and the space is available for community events and robotics-related meetings. There are already plans to host Women in Robotics, Silicon Valley Robotics, and Robot Operations Group meetings there.

“In order to remain competitive, we need more high school girls and undergrad women to choose career paths in computer science and engineering,” said Andra Keay, president of Women in Robotics and managing director of Silicon Valley Robotics, in the statement. “The InOrbit Robot Space will be a great location for SVR and WiR events, helping attendees connect with successful women in robotics and get hands-on experience with the latest in robotics and robot operations.”

The InOrbit Robot Space is located at 293 Castro St. in Mountain View. Operating hours are Monday through Friday from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on Feb. 20.

Stay informed

Get daily headlines sent straight to your inbox in our Express newsletter.

Stay informed

Get daily headlines sent straight to your inbox in our Express newsletter.

Malea Martin
Malea Martin covers the city hall beat in Mountain View. Before joining the Mountain View Voice in 2022, she covered local politics and education for New Times San Luis Obispo, a weekly newspaper on the Central Coast of California. Read more >>

Follow Mountain View Voice Online on Twitter @mvvoice, Facebook and on Instagram @mvvoice for breaking news, local events, photos, videos and more.

New showroom and concept store shows robots in action in downtown Mountain View

InOrbit Inc. opens Robot Space to show real world robotics, plans to host events

by / Mountain View Voice

Uploaded: Mon, Feb 6, 2023, 1:31 pm

Downtown Mountain View just got a lot more high tech with the latest addition to Castro Street.

InOrbit Inc., a software company dedicated to cloud-based robot operations, announced its new Robot Space in Mountain View on Feb. 6, and held a grand opening on Feb. 3. The new storefront is a community space, product showroom and concept store all in one, the company said, and gives visitors a chance to see robots in action.

InOrbit’s RobOps platform allows robots from different vendors to work together in the real world and perform tasks together like restocking merchandise and delivering customer orders, the company said in a statement.

“This ability to orchestrate multi-vendor robot fleets at scale through a single pane of glass is what sets InOrbit apart,” the company said. “Robotics companies that are part of the InOrbit Connect ecosystem will be able to showcase their robots in a realistic, yet scaled-down environment.”

InOrbit co-founder and CEO Florian Pestoni said the company’s goal is to show people how robots can help them in the real world.

“This is a space for the robotics community at large to learn and advance the state of the art in robot operations,” Pestoni said in the statement. “It’s also a place for everyone else – from kids to older adults – to experience how robots can help with everyday chores.”

In addition to giving the community a space to get hands-on with robots, the new InOrbit store will sell merchandise for all ages and the space is available for community events and robotics-related meetings. There are already plans to host Women in Robotics, Silicon Valley Robotics, and Robot Operations Group meetings there.

“In order to remain competitive, we need more high school girls and undergrad women to choose career paths in computer science and engineering,” said Andra Keay, president of Women in Robotics and managing director of Silicon Valley Robotics, in the statement. “The InOrbit Robot Space will be a great location for SVR and WiR events, helping attendees connect with successful women in robotics and get hands-on experience with the latest in robotics and robot operations.”

The InOrbit Robot Space is located at 293 Castro St. in Mountain View. Operating hours are Monday through Friday from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on Feb. 20.

Comments

Bruce Karney
Registered user
Old Mountain View
on Feb 6, 2023 at 4:07 pm
Bruce Karney, Old Mountain View
Registered user
on Feb 6, 2023 at 4:07 pm

I wish them success! May they follow in the footsteps of The Byte Shop, the very first store to sell Apple-1 computers in 1975. It was located at 1063 W El Camino Real in Mountain View. Perhaps 48 years from now as many people will have a robot as have an iPhone today.


ivg
Registered user
Another Mountain View Neighborhood
on Feb 6, 2023 at 9:38 pm
ivg, Another Mountain View Neighborhood
Registered user
on Feb 6, 2023 at 9:38 pm

Why do you think it'll take 48 years? Robot vacuum cleaners are already on the march.


Mark
Registered user
Monta Loma
on Feb 8, 2023 at 9:18 am
Mark, Monta Loma
Registered user
on Feb 8, 2023 at 9:18 am

Great.
More robot-luv.
That's just all we need around here.
The robocops are coming next, up soon, for sure.


Don't miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to be notified of new comments on this topic.

Post a comment

In order to encourage respectful and thoughtful discussion, commenting on stories is available to those who are registered users. If you are already a registered user and the commenting form is not below, you need to log in. If you are not registered, you can do so here.

Please make sure your comments are truthful, on-topic and do not disrespect another poster. Don't be snarky or belittling. All postings are subject to our TERMS OF USE, and may be deleted if deemed inappropriate by our staff.

See our announcement about requiring registration for commenting.