Even in the era of the virtual event, it tends to take me a few days to recover from the whirlwind of CES. Frontloading the year’s big hardware news is a bit less than ideal, but perhaps the changing nature of the big tech event will bring adjustments to the news cycle, as well. For […]
Consumer Robotics Show
CES has always been a weird show for robotics. That’s not an indictment of the show itself, so much as a comment on the state of robotics generally. It’s true the organization behind the show dropped the name “Consumer Electronics Show” some number of years ago (a fact it continues to be very insistent about […]
New Year’s robolutions
This is always a strange week — that liminal space between the Christmas holiday and New Year. Romjul — or “Dead Week” — as they call it in Norway (thanks Haje). It’s a time for quiet and reflection on the year that was for some — and CES embargoes for others. We’re currently focused on […]
Dinner is servoed
I’ve been up to my neck in CES planning — and, I suppose, unplanning this week. There’s a strange disconnect getting pitches for the one millionth UV light sanitizing robot while you’re weighing the pros and cons of attending a show in-person, amid the latest variant surge. Ultimately, we’ve decided not to go to Vegas […]
Treat every day like Boxing Day
Oh, hey, before we get started this week, I’m excited to finally be able to tell you that TC Sessions: Robotics has been announced for next year, and we’re returning to the East Coast! I’ve been pushing for this for a while now — and not just because it’s a shorter flight for me. Berkeley […]
Raise and deliver
Remember all the way back to December 2020. Where were you? What were your plans? What did you expect and hope the new year would bring? I suspect I’m not alone in feeling like I’ve spent much of the past year on a hamster wheel, with better days just over the horizon. Truth is, few […]
Actuator is go!
Today’s the big day! After months of toiling away in roundups, Actuator is finally graduating to your inbox as the latest addition to the TechCrunch newsletter family. I’ve written 40 of these things since our quiet, pre-name test launch back in February (we called ourselves “Robotics Roundup” for a few unfortunate months there). You can […]
Robot response team
I’ve been working on a big project the past several days (more on that soon), which means, unfortunately, I’ve been away from the daily breaking news. That means, in turn, that I really haven’t been on top of the big robotics news this week. So let’s use this column as an opportunity to play a […]
Ad Astro
Let’s talk about arms for a second. Or, rather, let’s talk about a lack of arms. It’s a common thread between Jibo, Kuri and now Astro. I suppose one could make the argument that Anki’s Cozmo had arms of a kind, but the overhead forklift wasn’t good for much beyond hooking into a proprietary block. […]
Attack of the $200M robotic raises
How’s this for a bit of regional synchronicity? This week, a pair of Chinese robotics firms secured $200 million rounds. It’s all part of a booming ecosystem that we get some insight into every so often. There are so many players in China’s robotics space it can be hard to keep track of some of […]