In the world of robotic startups, acquisition is often as good an outcome as any. And when it comes to robotic tractor startups, you could do worse than being acquired by John Deere. The agricultural technology giant announced today that it’s set to acquire Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million. The Bay Area-based firm, which […]
Warehouse drones take flight
Drones are neat and fun and all that good stuff (I should probably add the caveat here that I’m obviously not referring to the big, terrible military variety), but when it comes to quadcopters, there’s always been the looming question of general usefulness. The consumer-facing variety are pretty much the exclusive realm of hobbyists and […]
Third Wave Automation raises $40M to bring its autonomous forklifts to warehouses
The California-based startup, which was founded in 2018, has raised $40 million in a Series B round led by Norwest Venture Partners.
Embodied AI, superintelligence and the master algorithm
In the next year and a half, we’re going to see increasing adoption of technologies, which will trigger a broader industry shift, much as Tesla triggered the transition to EVs.
Rani Therapeutics’ $73M IPO will fund upcoming clinical trials
Rani Therapeutics, a San Jose-based company developing a pill to replace medical injections, went public on Friday. According to S-1 filings, shares were estimated to price between $14 and $16 last week. On Friday, shares debuted slightly lower, around $11. Rani raised about $73 million in its debut. Rani’s debut comes amidst a flurry of […]
This 3D-printed soft robotic hand beat the first level of Super Mario Bros.
The hand has integrated fluidic transistors, so it only requires one pressure input.
They’re programmed to work hard and play hard
Industrial robotics are big and heavy — and in some cases, legitimately dangerous. They’re also extremely difficult to train — particularly if you plan to implement them for tasks outside of their purpose-built intentions. There’s huge opportunity for the right AI/software company to come along and help make the bulky systems intended for things like […]
Cassie the bipedal robot runs a 5K
You may well recognize Cassie as the basis of Agility Robotics’ delivery bot, Digit. If you’ve been following the tech’s progression at all, however, you no doubt know that it started life as the ostrich-inspired Cassie. The robot is all legs and not much else. In addition to fueling Agility’s commercial ambitions, the robot has […]
Robotic AI firm Covariant raises another $80 million
In May of last year, Covariant announced that it had raised a $40 million Series B. It was a healthy sum of money for the young company, bringing its total funding up to $67 million. Just a little over a year later, the Berkeley-based AI startup is adding another $80 million to its coffers, riding […]
ロボットとうまく付き合うには、新種の動物だと思ってみるのはどうだろう
ロボットを人間と、AIを人間の知性と比較するのは間違っていると、MITのロボット倫理学者ケイト・ダーリングは言う。人間が動物と共に労働や戦争や生活をしてきた歴史を調査した彼女は、ロボットとの間にも同じような関係を育めると考えているのだ。果たしてロボットに行為主体としての責任は問えるのか？あるいはコンパニオンとして動物同様の関係を築いていくのか？ このたび新著『The New Breed』を上梓したダーリングに話を訊いた。
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