Robotics startup Figure released a video update showcasing their Figure 02 humanoid robot autonomously performing tasks at HQ for a BMW use case. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Source
Figure 02 performing tasks autonomously Read More »
Forget cold plunges. The new flex could soon be human washing machines. According to one of Japan’s oldest newspapers, an Osaka-based shower head maker called Science has developed a contraption that’s shaped like a cockpit, fills with water when a bather sits in a seat at its center, and measures the person’s pulse and other
A company is now developing human washing machines Read More »
Warehouses aren’t the only places grappling with a labor crunch. Since the start of the pandemic, restaurants around the world have been grappling with staffing shortages. A number of startups have entered the picture with automation solutions, aimed at reducing the number of hands required to keep the lights on and the food warm. There
Botinkit’s robot wants to cook for you Read More »
American drone manufacturer Skydio has raised an extension round of $170 million, adding onto the $230 million Series E it closed early last year. The new tranche of funding brings in strategic investors like Japanese telecom operator KDDI and Axon, the creator of the taser and other police tech. It also includes previous investors, like
Drone manufacturer Skydio raises $170 million extension round Read More »
Good news for anyone who’s ever wanted to rent a delivery robot. Kiwibot this week announced a new “rent a robot” offering, making it possible for companies to use its army of autonomous delivery systems for a finite amount of time. The robot as a service (RaaS) approach follows the startup’s recent acquisition of advertising
Ever wanted to rent a food delivery robot? Now you can. Read More »
Seagrass punches above its weight. The marine plant only occupies 0.1% of the ocean floor but can be credited with supporting marine ecosystems of plants and fish, filtering ocean water and capturing quite a bit of carbon. Seagrass is also being destroyed, due to climate change and other factors, with meadows reducing 7% globally each
Ulysses is using robots to restore seagrass populations Read More »
Roomba maker iRobot is laying off 105 employees — about 16% of the company’s workforce, per an SEC filing — saying the cuts are part of an “operational restructuring plan.” The move comes after iRobot slashed roughly 350 jobs — about 31% of its workforce — earlier this year. Those cuts were made after plans
iRobot lays off another 105 employees Read More »
Meta’s former head of augmented reality glasses announced on Monday she is joining OpenAI to lead robotics and consumer hardware, according to a post on LinkedIn. OpenAI confirmed to TechCrunch that Caitlin Kalinowski will be joining the startup. Kalinowski is a hardware executive who led the development Meta’s augmented reality hardware team since 2022. She
Meta’s former hardware lead for Orion is joining OpenAI Read More »
Automation skeptics ask: why humanoids? We’ve discussed many of the benefits and drawbacks of the robotics form factor, but Boston Dynamics’ latest electric Atlas video showcases one of the most under discussed factors: costumes. “Why build a humanoid robot?” the company rhetorically posits. “Because the world is designed for humans, including all the best Halloween
Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid hot dogs for the camera Read More »
MRIs are an indispensable tool for surgeons, though the technology certainly has its limitations. Take, for instance, surgeons using the machines to guide their procedures. The current process entails putting the patient into a machine to get an image, before pulling them out to advance a needle one centimeter at a time. It’s a time-consuming
MDC is building a surgical robot that operates inside an MRI Read More »
