Robotics

Robotics investments are gaining speed after post-pandemic slowdown

New numbers out of Crunchbase this week see robotics investments once again trending in a positive direction. The previous two years presented a steady drop in overall numbers, following a record 2021 driven by pandemic-fueled job loss. As we head into the second half of the year, 2024 is on track to beat last year’s […]

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Agility’s humanoid robots are going to handle your Spanx

Up to now, the humanoid robotics industry has been all promises and pilots. While important in the eventual deployment of new technology, these programs involve a small number of robots and often don’t graduate into anything more meaningful. On Thursday, however, Agility announced that it has entered into a formal deal following a successful pilot

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Persona’s founders are certain the world can use another humanoid robot

MIT research scientist Jerry Pratt is back at it. In 2022, he left Boardwalk Robotics, a humanoid startup he founded and led, and joined the well-funded ranks of the Bay Area-based robotics firm Figure as its CTO months before it exited stealth. But he and Figure quietly parted ways last month. Last week, when Pratt

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This smiling robot face made of living skin is absolute nightmare fuel

Giving robots a human-like exterior has been the standard for years — centuries even. But giving them actual, living skin that can be manipulated horrifying, slimy expressions? That’s new. The new work, published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, is very much just an experiment. This will not be the face of your next

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Industries may be ready for humanoid robots, but are the robots ready for them?

You could easily walk the entire Automate floor without spotting a single humanoid. There was a grand total of three, by my count — or, rather, three units of the same nonworking prototype. Neura was showing off its long-promised 4NE-1 robot, amid more traditional form factors. There was a little photo setup where you could

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A16z-backed ZeroMark wants to give soldiers guns that don’t miss against drones

Modern warfare is dominated by many thousands of ultra-cheap, ultra-fast drones that conduct robotic “suicide” missions to deliver explosives to enemy territory. Private companies have scrambled to develop counter-UAS tech, but these solutions often aren’t sufficient, leaving the rifled soldier trying to hit these targets with their naked eye.  ZeroMark wants to give those soldiers

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Amazon gets FAA approval to expand US drone deliveries

Amazon has received approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly its delivery drones longer distances, the company announced on Thursday. Amazon says it can now expand its Prime Air service, which uses delivery drones to fly individual packages, to more customers.  The FAA requires that operators maintain a line of sight to

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