The robot invasion has begun! Well, sorta. If by "robot" you mean voice-based app and if by "invasion" you mean pizza delivery. Dominos = Skynet? Not quite. Excerpt: "The company, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, says the updated app for iPhones and Android devices will deliver a "human-like, conversational" experience, but notes that it will take some time to work out the kinks in the technology." Read the rest here.

Places like Vault Of Midnight make Ann Arbor's downtown a true destination for locals and visitors alike. Of course, feel free to add Literati and Aunt Agatha's and Perpetua and... well, you get the idea... to the list. We are glad VoM is getting an extra helping of love. Excerpt: "Vault's focus this year seemed to be on families, as they had face-painting outside for kids and were giving away free Green Lantern Corps power rings for the under-12 set. I'll admit to being a little jealous of the Sinestro Corps yellow power ring that the little boy behind me snagged. They didn't have ice cream this year, which was probably for the best since it was so excruciatingly cold. " Read the rest here.

Three... no, four words: Hi-Def 3D goggles. Guess what's going to be the next hot tech development? At least, Intel thinks so, investing $2 million in Ann Arbor startup Avegant. Excerpt: "“It’s too late,” said another venture capitalist, this one in from Cleveland. “They closed their round at $4 million. I was trying to get in and couldn’t. Intel took $2 million of it and the existing investors took the rest. They took it off the table. I still can’t believe I got shut out.” Having would-be VC investors salivating at the idea of writing you a check, and being able to say no, is a nice, and rare, spot for an early-stage company to be in. How Ann Arbor-based Avegant Corp. got to that spot is an interesting tale of being in the right place at the right time with the right technology." Read the rest here.

As the first Beer Grotto prepares to open in Dexter next week, owner Sam Short is already working to open the craft beer and wine retail and tasting concept's second location on S. Ashley in downtown Ann Arbor.  "It's an ideal location, right across the street from Grange, and all of these other wonderful businesses," says Short. "And more importantly, the building is just so unique. We don't usually have a patio arrangement, but we're changing our concept slightly so we can serve out on the patio."  The 1,500 square foot space won't be seeing too much renovation on the exterior, as preserving on the building's historic integrity is an important factor for Short. On the inside, however, decades of former renovation work will be peeled back to take the interior back to some of its original features.  "We want to maintain some of the spectacular historic elements of building," Short says. Similar to the Dexter location, the Beer Grotto will offer beer and wine for purchase as well as tastings, with seating for enjoying a beverage at the store, including the patio, which will be unique to the Ann Arbor store. Wine and 48 beers will be on draft for customers to take home in growlers.  Short intents for renovations to begin in the next two to three weeks with the hope of opening by mid-September. He plans to hire 10 to 15 employees to operate the Ann Arbor Beer Grotto, and will open at least one more Michigan location this year in Lansing.  Source: Sam Short, Beer Grotto Writer: Natalie Burg

The LLamasoft growth streak continues to spike unabated as the downtown Ann Arbor-based firm expands its footprint around the world. The logistics firm spent its first decade establishing its software in the logistics marketplace, building up a customer base of bigger and bigger firms. LLamasoft landed $6 million in a Series A round of venture capital investment and has leveraged that to scale its business. "We have had some really significant growth," says Ginger Stegmier, vice president of marketing for LLamasoft. "We increased our revenue by 80 percent over the last year." And it has been adding staff, hiring 35 people since the start of this year. It now employs about 150 people in the U.S. and close to 200 people worldwide. After relying on a London office for European growth, LLamasoft has opened satellite in both France and Germany over the last year, and plans to keep expanding its presence in a similar fashion around the world. It's all part of plan to keep doing all of the little things in its business plan to keep growing the company. LLamasoft has expanded its sales and marketing teams to better brand itself. It has also worked to make its logistics software more accessible to customers. "It's not one thing we have done," Stegmier says. "It's a variety of things we have done to grow." LLamasoft is also hosting its fourth annual logistics/supply chain design conference (SummerCon) in Ann Arbor next week. The conference, which features a keynote address by Bill Nye the Science guy, has attracted participants from more than 20 countries and some big names in U.S. logistics, including the senior vice president of logistics for Pepsi. "We have a lot of industry heavy hitters participating this year, and a lot of local companies," Stegmier says. "We're pretty excited about that." Source: Ginger Stegmier, vice president of marketing for LLamasoft Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Clinical trials and venture capital. Those are major milestones the team at HistoSonics is working to hit before the end of this year. The Ann Arbor-based life sciences startup is aiming to finish raising a Series B round of venture capital and finish its first clinical trial by the end of this year. "Those are our two biggies," says Christine Gibbons, president & CEO of HistoSonics. HistoSonics spun out of the University of Michigan four years ago. It's primary product is a medical device that uses tightly focused ultrasound pulses to treat prostate disease in a non-invasive manner with robotic precision. The technology helped inspire the company's name by combining histo (meaning tissue) and sonics (meaning sound waves). HistoSonics has a team of 11 people after adding three new researchers over the last year. It is currently working on a completing a clinical study measuring the safety of their product. The startup is aiming to submit its technology to the FDA for approval in 2016.  HistoSonics also raised $11 million in Series A funding in 2009. It is seeking another $12 million to $15 million in a Series B round this year. "We have gotten some interim funding from our investors so we haven't had to raise a Series B yet," Gibbons says. "We want to get that wrapped up by early fall." Source: Christine Gibbons, president & CEO of HistoSonics Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

FlockTAG, the consumer loyalty startup, is starting to scale it business model across the Midwest this year. The 2-year-old startup is working to reinvent the customer loyalty programs with creating one centralizes card users can use at a number of different retailers. That way technology can keep tabs on the loyalty rewards the user accumulates at local businesses without them carrying around a different card for each business. FlockTAG has grown into seven markets across the Midwest, including Columbus, Indianapolis and Champaign. It is working to expand into more metro areas this year, focusing on high-volume retail locations, such as coffee shops. "We're doing our plan," says David Lin, co-founder & CEO of FlockTAG. "We're growing these direct sales and relationships with franchise groups." FlockTAG has grown its average transactions per day at a location to 30. It’s users per location is now up to 1,100. Both numbers are up 20 percent over the last year. "We have several locations where there are more than 200 transactions per day," Lin says. Lin adds that FlockTAG has been able to drive up those numbers because his team (which stands at 15 people after making seven hires over the last year) has gotten better at its job. Specifically helping keep new stores using the FlockTAG software. "It's about helping the vendors when they need it," Lin says. "When you bring on a vendor you need to help them so they understand the platform." Source: David Lin, co-founder & CEO of FlockTAG Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Think of it as our own version of Radiator Springs (that's a Cars reference btw), a place where driverless cars will navigate everyday environs. File under: "Kind cool and awesome." Excerpt: "Now, a purpose-built simulated town and suburb for that very same purpose--testing autonomous vehicles--is to open this fall on 32 acres at the University of Michigan's North Campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Mobility Transformation Facility will include straight and curving roads of asphalt and concrete, including traffic signs, stoplights, merge lanes, traffic circles, a railroad crossing, sidewalks, and streetlights." Read the rest here.