Brian Heater
Hardware Editor
The Latest from Brian Heater
The newest Roomba gets smarter as it vacuums
The Roomba is easily among the most ubiquitous robots in the world — but it has never been one of the smartest. On the whole, that’s not a major issue. The top-selling vacuum is good at what i
Peloton’s CEO and chief content officer are coming to Disrupt
It’s been a wildly unprecedented year and a half by any metric. The pandemic has utterly transformed many industries and made or broken others. In the world of technology, however, few categories we
DJI’s smartphone camera stabilizer gets smaller for the OM 5
DJI’s camera stabilization tech started life as an outgrowth of its drone tech, and has managed to develop into a robust line of its own. Roughly this time last year, the company announced that its
Apple’s next event is September 14
Invites just went for Apple’s next big event, scheduled for 10AM PT/1PM ET on September 14. The invite doesn’t offer a lot in the way of what’s to come — it’s a neon logo set
Roli is rebooting as Luminary, following financial struggles
I was fascinated by Roli the first time I saw founder/CEO Roland Lamb bending the keys of the Seaboard back at SXSW in 2013. Over the years, the London-based company has continued to offer creative mu
Alphabet X’s exosuit
Last week, Kathryn Zealand shared some insight on the eve of Women’s Equality Day. The post highlighted an issue that’s been apparent to everyone in and around the robotics industry: there’s
Agility Robotics’ Digit gets a warehouse gig
A new video from Agility Robotics showcases an increasing familiar sight: advanced, autonomous robots performing boring warehouse tasks. It’s not the sort of video that tends to be hugely viral for
Apollo completes its $5B acquisition of Verizon Media, now known as Yahoo
Private equity firm Apollo Global Management this morning announced that it has completed its acquisition of Yahoo (formerly known as Verizon Media Group, itself formerly known as Oath) from Verizon.
Carbon Robotics secures $27M for its autonomous field weeders
Agricultural robotics firm Carbon Robotics (not to be confused with our former Battlefield contestant) announced this week that it has secured $27 million in funding. The round — which features
Whoop raises another $200M for its athlete-focused fitness wearable
Founded in 2012, Whoop is far from a household name in the world of fitness trackers. But over the years, the company has attracted its share of converts. It hasn’t had any issue attracting venture
Bose’s QuietComfort 45 arrive September 23 for $330
Following a spate of leaks, Bose this morning announced the latest addition to its well-loved over-ear headphones. The QuietComfort 45 (which replace the 35 II) sport improved noise cancellation and 2
Windows 11 launches October 5
Microsoft offered a broad “Holiday 2021” release date when it announced Windows 11 back in June. Of course, it didn’t specify precisely which holiday. Perhaps the company was aiming for World Te
Rugged showcases its layout-printing construction robots
Few robotics categories are poised to benefit more from the events of the past year than construction. It’s a booming field that could benefit massively from automaton, a fact that’s only been amp
Apple buys classical music service, Primephonic
In a bid to expand its classical music offering, Apple today announced that it has acquired Primephonic. The Amsterdam-based service, which launched in 2014, will bring a laser focus on a music genre
OnePlus Buds Pro review: Much better
What does a company have to do to differentiate wireless earbuds in 2021? The near ubiquity of good hardware has made this an increasingly difficult question to answer. I’ve probably tested around 1
The DOJ and DHS subpoenaed Peloton over treadmill injury reporting
On Tuesday, Peloton announced the upcoming release of its entry-level Tread device. The news came ahead of a disappointing earnings report and after recalls of both of its treadmill products. Today, t
Simbe’s robots will be deployed across midwestern grocery chain, Schnucks
St. Louis-based grocery chain Schnucks (one of those “With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good” situations, one imagines) announced this week that it will be deploying technology from S
Salad chain Sweetgreen buys kitchen robotics startup Spyce
Like so many other aspects of the robotics world, the pandemic has dramatically accelerated interest in the automated kitchen. After all, the food and restaurant industry was deemed essential amid glo
Kanye wants to sell you a $200 music gadget
Kanye (or “Ye,” as it were) is going all out in the promotion of his upcoming tenth studio album, “Donda” (named for his late-mother, Donda West). In July, there was a massive listenin