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It would be a massive understatement to suggest that robot toys are a mixed bag. They largely get the looks right, but brains are another thing altogether. Look at the time and money that went into building the first Roomba, for example, and it becomes very clear why the dream of ubiquitous home robot still […]
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Some robotics challenges have immediately clear applications. Others are more focused on helping systems solve broader challenges. Teaching small robots to play soccer against one another fits firmly into the latter category. The authors of a new paper detailing the use of reinforcement learning to teach MIT’s Mini Cheetah robot to play goalie note, Soccer […]
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Manipulation and sensing have long been considered two key pillars for unlocking robotics’ potential. There’s a fair bit of overlap between the two, of course. As grippers have become a fundamental element of industrial robotics, these systems require the proper mechanisms for interacting with the world around them. Vision has long been a key to […]
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As far as delivery robots go, Amazon’s in-house Scout program seemed like a no brainer. Few – if any – companies stand to gain more from a successful sidewalk deliver service. As noted by Bloomberg earlier this week, however, Amazon is pumping the brakes on the program. In a statement offered to TechCrunch, Amazon notes […]
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The quest to build the perfect humanoid robot is heating up, as Figure — a startup currently operating in stealth — is developing a multi-purpose bipedal ‘bot it plans to pilot in 2024. Speaking under the condition of anonymity, a source close to to the company recently confirmed the startup’s operations, funding, high-profile hires and […]
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Its 2015 acquisition of Aldebaran didn’t go as smoothly as SoftBank hoped. At the time, the French robotics startup was best known for its Nao, which had become a fairly ubiquitous presence in research facilities across the globe. The small humanoid robot formed the foundation for the rebranded SoftBank Robotics’ best-known creation, Pepper. Nao mostly […]
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Like a number of attendees, I was taken with ClicBot when I first saw it a few CESes ago. We’re all up to our ears in “educational” robotics kits. STEM learning is important, of course, but the last several years have seen a veritable explosion in these sorts of toys, and your mileage is going […]
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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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Ottonomy.IO, a startup working on solving delivery problems using autonomous robots, has raised $3.3 million in a seed funding round as it looks to expand its market and deploy robots to existing customers. Led by Bengaluru-based Pi Ventures, the latest funding round included participation from Connetic Ventures and Branded Hospitality Ventures. Sangeet Kumar, founder and […]
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In case you missed it, robots took over TechCrunch on Thursday, July 21. We played host to the robotic industry’s leading startups, researchers and academics at TC Sessions: Robotics. The event was a blockbuster success, and we hope you enjoyed the show. All the features, panels, interviews and podcasts are embedded below. TechCrunch Editor Brian […]
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