The United Nations approves its first resolution on artificial intelligence aimed at ensuring the technology is safe
- by Yahoo
- Mar 21, 2024
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Nvidia enlists humanoid robotics’ biggest names for new AI platform, GR00T
It’s tough to argue with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang when he notes, “Building foundation models for general humanoid robots is one of the most exciting problems to solve in AI today.” The humanoid form factor is one of the most hotly contested topics in the world of robotics at the moment, raising venture capital by the boatload, while generating massive skepticism along the way. Naturally, Nvidia wants a piece. - TechCrunch
Gitai's autonomous robot installs panel outside the ISS, showing orbital repairs in action
Los Angeles-based Gitai said Tuesday that its autonomous robotic arm has nailed a tech demonstration outside the International Space Station. Gitai CEO Sho Nakanose told TechCrunch in an interview last year that the company aims to reduce in-space labor costs by 100 times, in the same way that SpaceX and other providers have dramatically reduced launch costs. Autonomous robotic systems still have a ways to go before they render human labor obsolete, especially here on Earth; but in space, human labor is expensive (and dangerous), which provides an opening for a robotic alternative. - TechCrunch
Xiaomi’s latest robot dog does backflips off skateboards, costs $3,000
When it was first unveiled in the summer of 2021, Xiaomi’s CyberDog design was best described as a more nightmarish version of Boston Dynamics’ Spot. Announced this past summer, CyberDog 2 looks a bit more friendly than its predecessor. The robot dog is still no Sony Aibo. - TechCrunch
Agility Robotics’ new CEO is ‘focused on the here and now’
There was nothing else like Digit on the ProMat floor last year. Many of the biggest names in the space were present, showcasing autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), bin picking arms and automated storage and retrieval systems. Interest in humanoid robots is at an all-time high, and deep-pocket investors no longer consider it a pipe dream. - TechCrunch
Applied Intuition lands $6B valuation for AI-powered autonomous vehicle software
Autonomous vehicle software company Applied Intuition has raised $250 million in a round that values the startup at $6 billion, as it pushes to bring more artificial intelligence to the automotive, defense, construction and agriculture sectors. Applied Intuition appears to have nailed a particular sweet spot for VCs who are on the hunt for startups with AI products that cross into large industries with big budgets — defense being one hot area — with seemingly endless opportunities. The Series E round was led by Lux Capital's Bilal Zuberi, investor Elad Gil, and Porsche Investments Management, the sports car maker's independent venture arm. - TechCrunch
Mercedes begins piloting Apptronik humanoid robots
Pilot season has officially begun for the world of humanoid robotics. Last year, Amazon began testing Agility’s Digit robots in select fulfillment centers, while this January, Figure announced a deal with BMW. Now Apptronik is getting in on the action, courtesy of a partnership with Mercedes-Benz. - TechCrunch
Behold, TruckBot
One undeniable trend from this year’s Modex conference: suddenly everyone is into truck unloading. Most solutions are some variation on a basic theme: a robotic arm attached to a mobile base that can be moved in and out of crates. When I first saw the system, which made its show debut last year, it took me a minute to understand what I was looking at. - TechCrunch
Uber Eats is launching a delivery service with Cartken's sidewalk robots in Japan
Uber, along with partners Mitsubishi Electric and autonomous robotics startup Cartken, are launching a service in Japan that will use self-driving sidewalk robots to deliver food to customers. Uber and Cartken, a startup founded in 2019 by former Google engineers behind the short-lived Bookbot, already operate a delivery service together in Fairfax, Virginia and Miami. It also brings in Mitsubishi Electric, a company that will supervise operations in Tokyo. - TechCrunch
Bear Robotics, a robot waiter startup, just picked up $60M from LG
LG Electronics may no longer be a household name in smartphones, but it still sees a big future in gadgets like robots. Today, the company confirmed a $60 million investment in Bear Robotics, the California startup that makes artificial intelligence–powered server robots (autonomous tray towers on wheels that are meant to replace waiters) for restaurants and other venues. With the investment, LG Electronics becomes Bear’s largest shareholder. - TechCrunch
Google hopeful of fix for Gemini's historical-image diversity issue within weeks
Google is hopeful it will soon be able to "unpause" the ability of its multimodal generative AI tool, Gemini, to depict people, per DeepMind founder, Demis Hassabis. Google suspended the Gemini capability last week after users pointed out the tool was producing historically incongruous images, such as depicting the U.S. Founding Fathers as a diverse group of people, rather than only white men. Instead he suggested the issue was caused by Google failing to identify instances when users are basically after what he described as a "universal depiction." - TechCrunch
Locus Robotics’ success is a tale of focusing on what works
“We’re fundamentally a software company,” Locus CEO Rick Faulk says with a laugh. It’s a familiar refrain from companies whose most public-facing products are hardware. While it’s true that these tote-moving systems are fundamental to the Massachusetts-based firm’s warehouse play, Faulk tells TechCrunch that the company’s software is what really sets the market leader apartment from the competition. - TechCrunch
The loneliness of the robotic humanoid
Perhaps a few years from now, the halls of the Georgia World Congress Center will be peppered with humanoid robots the week of Modex. This time last year at Modex (the Chicago version of the conference), Digit had something of an industrial automation coming out party. A line of the bipedal robots were moving totes to a nearby conveyor belt at select times throughout the week. - TechCrunch
Humanoid robots face continued skepticism at Modex
If your robotics startup is looking to raise, there’s close to a 100% chance you’re going to get two questions from potential investors: 1) How are you incorporating generative AI? If you’re running a robotics firm in 2024, you have almost certainly experimented with incorporating generative AI into your workflow. It's reasonable to suspect that we’ve entered the apex of the robotic hype cycle. - TechCrunch
Elon Musk says xAI will open source Grok this week
Elon Musk's AI startup xAI will open source Grok, its chatbot rivaling ChatGPT, this week, the entrepreneur said, days after suing OpenAI and complaining that the Microsoft-backed startup had deviated from its open source roots. Musk, who didn't elaborate on what all aspects of Grok he planned to open source, helped co-found OpenAI with Sam Altman nearly a decade ago as a counterweight to Google's dominance in artificial intelligence. - TechCrunch
Reflex Robotics’ wheeled humanoid is here to grab you a snack
On the opposite end of the Georgia World Congress Center, Reflex Robotics, a younger and smaller startup, was drawing its own crowd. Passersby requested something from the Reflex robot, and it spring into action, grabbing the item off the shelf (it didn’t hurt that the company was giving out free food and beverage). From the look of it, most showgoers were impressed by the system’s speed and accuracy.
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