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The Venture Capital arms of both GE and Caterpillar recently invested in Clearpath Robotics, a startup focused on developing autonomous robots for factories, according to Fortune.

The investment by GE and Caterpillar was a part of larger $30 million Series B investment in Clearpath that was led by iNovia Capital. Clearpath will use the new capital to improve its robots and hire more employees.

The company’s robots, dubbed OTTO, are designed to autonomously move packages, boxes, and pallets around factory floors. The OTTO robots use LiDAR and other sensors to map out the path they need to travel and avoid collisions. OTTO robots are also able to determine when they're low on fuel and return to the fueling station.

They have already been put to use in many automotive factories, where they transport parts to the appropriate personnel at their stations for installations and assembly. This makes them ideal for manufacturers like GE and Caterpillar, which could utilize Clearpath’s robots in the future.

Clearpath should be successful, as its robots can help make factory operations more efficient, which, in turn, lowers manufacturers’ bottom lines. The company is following the business model of Kiva Systems, the enterprise robotics manufacturer that built robots for similar use cases and eventually got bought out for $775 million by Amazon for exclusive use in the company's warehouses before spinning into Amazon Robotics.

Last year, Amazon saved $286 million by using Amazon Robots in its warehouses. To replicate the success of Kiva, Clearpath could seek to further refine OTTO’s technology and provide robots to large corporations like Amazon or automakers that use large factories or warehouses for their operations.

Businesses throughout the world are increasingly using robots to automate portions of their workflow.

Traditionally, robots have been used primarily in manufacturing. But other industries including healthcare, shipping and logistics, food services, retail, hospitality, and more are starting to also use robots. For example, hospitals are using robots to assist in surgery, retail stores are testing robots to take inventory, and warehouses are using robots help sort packages.

John Greenough, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on enterprise robotics that examines the rising use of robots across many industries. It examines top use cases, market leaders, growth drivers, potential for workforce automation, the top barriers, and includes market forecasts on shipments and investment in robots between 2015-2021.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

We expect enterprise robotic shipments to nearly triple between 2015-2021.

Manufacturing will continue to be the top adopter of robots. A recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey found 44% of US manufacturers and 66% of German manufacturers plan to install autonomous robots and assistance systems within the next five years.

Rising wages around the world is just one of the key reasons enterprises are beginning to leverage robotics.

Robots have the potential to displace jobs, meaning that while they might take some more labor intensive jobs they have the potential to create new jobs for working on robots.

In full, the report:

Forecasts enterprise robotic shipments

Identifies market leaders

Discusses economic conditions leading to the rise of robots

Examines the advantages of using robots

Identifies five of the top barriers preventing robot adoption

Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:

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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of robotics.