A 360° view on tech world
Alibaba founded Damo Academy in 2017 to carve out a program focused on cutting-edge research that is relatively free of short-term money-making pressure. One of the Academy’s 16 labs conducts research on autonomous driving, which just announced a major change today. Damo’s autonomous vehicle lab will merge into Cainiao, Alibaba’s global logistics network, and will […]
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If you’d told me five years ago that I would be flying to Chicago in March to attend a supply chain and logistics show, you would have been greeted by a momentary blank stare, followed by the image of a man attempting to determine in real time where his life went off-track. This is absolutely […]
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Somewhere along the way, ProMat turned into a robotics show. It’s no surprise, of course. Logistics and automation go hand in hand these days. In the decade since Amazon absorbed Kiva, same- and next-day delivery have become an industry standard. Retailers who can’t match those once impossible speeds are destined to fall behind — and […]
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Another industrial automation firm is bucking VC slowdown, as Plus One Robotics this morning announces a $50 million raise. The Series C brings the San Antonio-based firm’s total funding up to $94 million to date (including a $33 million Series B back in 2021). Scale Venture Partners led the round, which also features participation from […]
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As evidenced by recent layoffs and scaled-back expansions, on-demand delivery is a challenging space. Brands, retailers and operators push to deliver with maximum efficiency, a strategy that’s led within the past several years to the rise of “dark stores.” A dark store, also known as a micro-fulfillment center, is a small, local store without the […]
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I admit to having my doubts when Boston Dynamics announced it was getting into the already-crowded warehouse/logistics field. One could certainly make the case that Stretch is a bit over-engineered and ultimately a bit of overkill for most situations. Keep in mind, the company’s Spot robot runs around $75,000, while no official pricing has been […]
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Since the start of the pandemic, the global supply chain has undergone — and is undergoing — immense strain. As of late last month, there were more than 300 ships in China waiting to load up and head to the U.S., Cargomatic’s Weston LaBar told NPR’s Marketplace. Meanwhile, warehouse space remains at a premium. Experts […]
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The idea for Gepek, a Croatian startup that aims to tap the sharing economy for same-day deliveries, came about because a brother and sister wanted to help their mother access her medication quickly. One Friday afternoon, Carla and Dario Ferreri’s mother had arrived at a seaside village for a holiday when she realized she forgot […]
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Robots have transformed automation across industries such as agtech, automotive, logistics, manufacturing and warehousing. Yet even the most advanced robots typically work in restricted workcells away from people due to safety concerns. The field of human-robot interaction (HRI) offers the potential for robots with enough cognitive smarts to work effectively and safely alongside humans in […]
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