BurnBot, a San Francisco startup, is pioneering wildfire prevention with its RX2 controlled-burn machine. Designed to deliver safe, efficient prescribed burns, the RX2 operates 10 times faster than traditional methods, producing minimal smoke and reducing the risk of escape fires.
Read More »The Godmother of AI Wants Everyone to Be a World Builder
According to market-fixated tech pundits and professional skeptics, the artificial intelligence bubble has popped, and winter’s back. Fei-Fei Li isn’t buying that. In fact, Li—who earned the sobriquet the “godmother of AI”—is betting on the contrary. She’s on a part-time leave from Stanford University to cofound a company called World …
Read More »The Japanese Robot Controversy Lurking in Israel’s Military Supply Chain
Activists in Japan earlier this year accused one of the country’s largest robotics manufacturers of profiting off the war in Gaza, accusing it of violating its own company policies in aiding the Israeli defense industry. At a protest outside the headquarters of FANUC Corporation earlier this summer, the Boycott, Divestment, …
Read More »This Could Be the Start of Amazon’s Next Robot Revolution
In 2012, Amazon quietly acquired a robotics startup called Kiva Systems, a move that dramatically improved the efficiency of its ecommerce operations and kickstarted a wider revolution in warehouse automation. Last week, the ecommerce giant announced another deal that could prove similarly profound, agreeing to hire the founders of Covariant, …
Read More »Unitree’s $16,000 humanoid robot is ready for mass production
Unitree’s new G1 humanoid robot is set for mass production at $16,000. Standing over 4 feet tall and weighing over 77 pounds, the G1 will now feature stronger performance, with capabilities such as jumping, walking at over 4.4 mph, and climbing debris-covered stairs. While not expected to perform household tasks …
Read More »You, Too, Can Own a Short King Humanoid Robot
Does anyone want to buy a humanoid robot for $16,000? The latest product from Unitree hopes that you will: Meet the Unitree G1, a “Humanoid agent AI avatar,” aka a robot. If you haven't heard of Unitree, it's sort of the go-to “budget Chinese option” in the robot space. You're …
Read More »Somehow This $10,000 Flame-Thrower Robot Dog Is Completely Legal in 48 States
If you've been wondering when you’ll be able to order the flame-throwing robot that Ohio-based Throwflame first announced last summer, that day has finally arrived. The Thermonator, what Throwflame bills as “the first-ever flamethrower-wielding robot dog” is now available for purchase. The price? $9,420. Thermonator is a quadruped robot with …
Read More »The Atlas Robot Is Dead. Long Live the Atlas Robot
Old robots never die, they simply fade away. (And probably rust a bit.) This week, Boston Dynamics said adieu to HD Atlas, the human-ish robot that debuted over a decade ago. And then promptly introduced its replacement. For years, Atlas has scared us silly with cutesy dance moves and parkour …
Read More »The Quest to Give AI Chatbots a Hand—and an Arm
Peter Chen, CEO of the robot software company Covariant, sits in front of a chatbot interface resembling the one used to communicate with ChatGPT. “Show me the tote in front of you,” he types. In reply, a video feed appears, revealing a robot arm over a bin containing various items—a …
Read More »Robot Car Crash Investigation Concludes GM’s Cruise Didn’t Disclose Key Information
A law firm hired by the General Motors’ self-driving subsidiary Cruise to investigate the company’s response to a gruesome San Francisco crash last year found that the company failed to fully disclose disturbing details to regulators, the tech company said today in a blog post. The incident in October led …
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