robots
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Watch industrial robots play traditional instruments
Robots are stealing jobs, the narrative says, and, according to this video, robots are stealing the arts too. The video shows several industrial robotic arms playing the piano, guitar, drums and a keyboard. Through some stellar music production, it sounds amazing too. Read More
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Can robots help the U.S. get its economic mojo back?
We only have to look at the top three most competitive countries to understand what’s driving economic growth for their businesses and prosperity for their citizens; the common thread is aggressive adoption of automation. These countries consider robots the fuel that will ignite business growth, enable humans to do more productive and meaningful work, and expand overall economies. Read More
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This vacuum-activated modular robot is equally nasty and neat
Soft robots are a major area of research right now, but the general paradigm seems to be that you pump something (a muscle or tube) full of something else (air, fluid) causing it to change its shape. But a robot from Swiss roboticists does the opposite: its little muscles tense when the air in them is removed. It’s cool — but it also looks kind of gross. Read More
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Industrial hack can turn powerful machines into killer robots
When we imagine the existential threat to humanity posed by automation, we usually think of the negative impact on the workforce, not robots literally bludgeoning us to death. In a post titled “Exploiting Industrial Collaborative Robots,” security researchers at IOActive detail how popular models of consumer and industrial robots have already been compromised in such a way that… Read More
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These tiny modular ‘microbots’ can change shape to capture single cells
In a video out of North Carolina State University and Duke, five tiny cubes float freely under a microscope. Suddenly two pairs snap together, before all five combine into a single unit. Once together, they bend around a hinge, snapping together like Pac-Man’s jaws. The cubes approach a small, circular object — a single yeast cell — using the opening and closing motion to… Read More
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The Envirobot robo-eel slithers along the shore for science
The next time you’re swimming in Lake Geneva, don’t be surprised when you feel something eel-like and yet artificial touch your leg. That would be Envirobot, the latest biomimetic creation from Swiss researchers that autonomously swims around bodies of water and tests them for toxins and other factors. Read More
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Four robot demos you missed at TC Sessions: Robotics
TC Sessions: Robotics featured robots for as far as the eye could see, and several took the stage for special demonstrations. We were honored to play host as these innovative companies and teams showed off their latest creations. The videos are below are well worth your time. The latest version of MIT’s Cheetah robot made its stage debut at TC Sessions: Robotics. It’s a… Read More
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MIT’s Cheetah 3 robot is built to save lives
The latest version of MIT’s Cheetah robot made its stage debut today at TC Sessions: Robotics in Cambridge, Mass. It’s a familiar project to anyone who follows the industry with any sort of regularity, as one of the most impressive demos to come out of one of the world’s foremost robotics schools in recent years. Earlier versions of the four-legged robot have been able to run… Read More
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Crunch Network
Does Silicon Valley have a moral responsibility to stop developing robots?
Should Silicon Valley exercise its moral authority to stop developing this job-killing technology? Andrew McAfee, author of “The Second Machine Age” and the just published “Machine, Platform, Crowd” says absolutely not. Over the next fifty years the economy will become “massively automated”, but at the same time society will have had half a century to… Read More
Latest Crunch Report
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I watched two robots chat together on stage at a tech event
I got a glimpse into the future world of our robot overlords today. It was nervy at times. I watched two robots go on stage at a tech event to “debate” the future of humanity with each other. The robots in question are Sophia and Han, and they belong to Hanson Robotics, a Hong Kong-based company that is developing and deploying artificial intelligence in humanoids. The duo took to… Read More
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RE2 is making bomb-defusing robots as intuitive to control as your own hands
Within a few minutes, I’ve got one hand grasped gingerly on the zipper. The other is holding the bag’s handle in place. I unzip it slowly, as if performing surgery. There’s none of the pressure of a real life battlefield, but the potential humiliation of having to start all over again in front of the film crew is enough motivation to it right this time. RE2… Read More
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Crunch Report | SoftBank Buys Boston Dynamics
SoftBank is buying Boston Dynamics, Pandora sells 16% of company to SiriusXM and Taylor Swift is coming back to music streaming. All this on Crunch Report. Read More
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Draper’s DragonflEye cyber-bug takes flight
Back in January we heard about Draper’s efforts to outfit a living dragonfly with a sort of solar-powered mind control backpack. This project, known as DragonflEye, is cruising right along, and the R&D firm just released a video of the modified insect taking flight. Read More
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All hail this autonomous stone-stacking robot
Robots are good at a few simple things. They can lift and carry huge objects, fly around like dragonflies, and murder our families while we watch, their cold circuits flitting with nascent feelings of remorse and anger. But they can’t stack rocks very well. This is because rocks are all different. However, imagine a situation when a robotic arm needs to move rubble or build a foundation… Read More
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Nike-backed Grabit has quietly raised $25 million for robots that handle what others can’t grasp
Robot arms have come a long way since the 1960’s when George C. Devol and Joseph Engelberger created the earliest industrial models. Those had two-finger grippers that, in retrospect, look fit to pluck a rubber ducky out of a bin in a carnival game, but nothing too sophisticated. By now, robots in factories and warehouses can adjust their grip like human hands, or use suction and… Read More
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These flat-pack turtlebots will crawl across minefields for safety’s sake
The threat of minefields is an ongoing and horrifying one, and the duty of clearing them is as difficult as it is dangerous. All the more reason, then, that it should be done by robots! A new type of inexpensive, versatile bot modeled after turtles could be a great tool for this and other jobs. Read More
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Postmates CEO will testify before Congress about the promise of robots and drones
Postmates CEO Bastian Lehmann is testifying before Congress tomorrow in a hearing called “Disrupter Series: Delivering to Consumers.” The emergence of deliveries via robots and drones has sparked regulatory concerns around safety, as well as fears around the displacement of human workers. In his written testimony, Lehman makes a case for delivery via robots and drones. Read More
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Watch Judah Friedlander explore the future of AI in Judah vs. The Machines
Today at TechCrunch Disrupt NY actor Judah Friedlander, maybe best known for playing Frank Rossitano on 30 Rock, took the stage to announce a new show that will air right here on TechCrunch. Titled Judah vs. The Machines, the show follows Judah Friedlander as he meets the “world’s smartest AI robots”. This trip takes him to places like Facebook HQ and the University of… Read More
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Crunch Network
Is a “robot tax” really an “innovation penalty”?
When Bill Gates recently suggested robots should pay income tax like any other employee, I didn’t immediately disagree. I applaud Gates’ bold thinking to help solve one of society’s biggest upcoming challenges: embracing automation in a way that “lifts all boats” instead of leaving large swaths of society behind. A robot tax would help offset the reduced… Read More
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Former White House economic advisor Jason Furman discusses how automation will impact jobs
When it arrived in December, the White House’s report, “Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Economy” felt like both a parting shot and warning to the incoming administration. That it was perfectly dovetailed with heated election rhetoric around domestic job loss was simply a bit of serendipity, however. The subject matter had been at the forefront of the… Read More
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