Seaside robotics competition
Seaside robotics competition
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TechCrunchRobots can make jobs less meaningful for human colleagues
Much has been (and will continue to be) written about automation’s impact on the jobs market. One aspect of the conversation that is oft neglected, however, is how human workers feel about their robotic colleagues. The Brookings Institute this week issued results gleaned from several surveys conducted over the past decade and a half to evaluate the impact that robotics have on job “meaningfulness.”
- TechCrunch
Collaborative Robotics is prioritizing ‘human problem solving’ over humanoid forms
It is, after all, a lot easier to generate press for robots that look and move like humans. For a while now, Collaborative Robotics founder Brad Porter has eschewed robots that look like people. As the two-year-old startup’s name implies, Collaborative Robotics (Cobot for short) is interested in the ways in which humans and robots will collaborate, moving forward.
- TechCrunch
Agility Robotics lays off some staff amid commercialization focus
Agility Robotics on Thursday confirmed that it has laid off a “small number” of employees. The well-funded Oregon-based firm says the job loss is part of a company-wide focus on commercialization efforts. “As part of Agility’s ongoing efforts to structure the company for success, we have parted ways with a small number of employees that were not central to core product development and commercialization,” the company wrote in a statement provided to TechCrunch.
- TechCrunch
Humanoid robots are learning to fall well
The savvy marketers at Boston Dynamics produced two major robotics news cycles last week. As I write this, the sub-40 second video is steadily approaching five million views. The accompanying video was a celebration of the older Atlas’ journey from DARPA research project to an impressively nimble bipedal ’bot.
- Yahoo Sports
Mike Tomlin says Russell Wilson has lead for QB spot but Justin Fields will compete
Mike Tomlin said Russell Wilson is currently the Steelers' QB1.
- TechCrunch
Sanctuary’s new humanoid robot learns faster and costs less
Sanctuary AI often isn’t mentioned in the same breath as humanoid robotics firms like Boston Dynamics, Agility, Figure and 1X, but the Canadian company has been operating in the space for some time. In fact, a new robot introduced on Thursday is actually the seventh-generation of its Phoenix line. While a recent iteration introduced legs into the line, Sanctuary is most concerned with what’s happening from the waist up.
- TechCrunch
Pitch Deck Teardown: NOQX's $200K pre-seed deck
The company hasn't been around for very long — the team behind NOQX felt frustrated by a lack of effective goal management tools for companies and founded the company in 2023. With "clarity of objectives" as its rallying cry, NOQX addresses a critical function of any business — and indeed, of pitch decks — so I was intrigued to see how well NOQX communicates this for itself. NOQX’s deck has 18 slides, none of which has any redactions, although the company omitted its competition slide.
- TechCrunch
RevenueCat raises $12M Series C as it expands its subscription management to the web
RevenueCat, a top subscription management platform for apps that monetize via in-app purchases, is now flush with new capital as it expands to the web. The company has closed on a $12 million Series C led by Adjacent, following the launch of a new product, RevenueCat Billing, that allows web app developers to integrate subscription purchases into any website. The timing of the product's launch is notable, as it arrives amid the implementation of the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulation, which is forcing Apple to open the iPhone and the App Store to new competition.
- TechCrunch
UK probes Amazon and Microsoft over AI partnerships with Mistral, Anthropic and Inflection
The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is launching preliminary enquiries into whether the close-knit tie-ups and hiring practices involving Microsoft, Amazon and a trio of AI startups falls within the scope of its merger rules — and whether the arrangements could impact competition in the U.K. market. The announcement comes amid growing scrutiny of Big Tech's approach to M&A in the world of AI, where critics argue that the so-called "quasi-merger" has emerged as the flavor of the day as a means of bypassing regulatory scrutiny. Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched its own enquiries into Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft's various investments in emerging AI companies to establish whether the "partnerships pursued by dominant companies risk distorting innovation and undermining fair competition."
- Engadget
Google has delayed killing third-party cookies from Chrome (again)
Google has once again delayed the phasing out of third-party cookies from Chrome. Now the company says it’ll happen in 2025.
- TechCrunch
Atlas shrugged: Boston Dynamics retires its hydraulic humanoid robot
Now that humanoids are all the rage in the robotics industry, Boston Dynamics on Tuesday officially retired theirs. Boston Dynamics has been focused on commercializing technologies for a number of years now. Boston Dynamics was, of course, well ahead of the current humanoid robotics curve.
- TechCrunch
TikTok Shop expands its secondhand luxury fashion offering to the UK
TikTok Shop, TikTok’s social commerce marketplace, is launching a secondhand luxury category in the U.K., putting it in closer competition with The RealReal, Vestiaire Collective, Depop, Poshmark, and Mercari, among others. The offering has already existed in TikTok Shop U.S. for over six months. The new category allows customers in the U.K. to purchase pre-owned high-end clothing, designer handbags, and other accessories, all without leaving the TikTok app.
- Engadget
Menteebot is a human-sized AI robot that you command with natural language
Menteebot is a human-sized robot that’s stuffed with AI bells and whistles. Users can command the bot to do their bidding via natural language prompts and it can learn new tasks.
- TechCrunch
Meta to close Threads in Turkey to comply with injunction prohibiting data sharing with Instagram
Meta said on Monday that it plans to "temporarily" shutter Threads in Turkey from April 29, in response to an interim injunction imposed by the Turkish competition authority last month over the way Meta shares data between Threads and Instagram. The Turkish Competition Authority (TCA), known as Rekabet Kurumu, noted on March 18 that its investigations found that Meta was abusing its dominant market position by combining the data of users who create Threads profiles with that of their Instagram account — without giving users the choice to opt in.
- Engadget
Meta is shutting down Threads in Turkey following injunction against data-sharing with Instagram
Meta is temporarily shutting down Threads in Turkey on April 29. This follows an injunction against data-sharing with Instagram.
- TechCrunch
Robot delivery firm Kiwibot buys Taipei chipmaker, citing US/China tensions
Bay Area/Colombia-based delivery robotics firm Kiwibot this week announced that it has acquired Auto Mobility Solutions. The Taipei firm produces chips specifically for the world of robotics and autonomous driving. Kiwi founder and CEO Felipe Chávez Cortés does, however, tell TechCrunch that rising tensions between the U.S. and China are a key motivator for the purchase.
- TechCrunch
Alternative browsers report uplift after EU's DMA choice screen mandate
A flagship European Union digital market regulation appears to be shaking up competition in the mobile browser market. It's been a little over a month since the Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into application and there are early signs it's having an impact by forcing phone makers to show browser choice screens to users. On Wednesday, Reuters reported growth data shared by Cyprus-based web browser Aloha and others that it said suggests the new law is stirring the competitive pot and helping smaller browser makers gain share or at least grab more attention than they were.
- Yahoo Life Shopping
Ina Garten just posted about the only 4 knives you need — plus, the Wusthof winners she loves are on sale
Said the Barefoot Contessa on Instagram: 'The most important tool every home cook should have is a great set of knives.'
- Autoblog
Polestar betting two new SUVs will help it take on even its gas-powered rivals
Swedish EV brand Polestar, with a revamped ownership structure and new funding in place, is hoping two new SUVs can get the automaker back on track.
- Engadget
Meta asks a judge to throw out an FTC antitrust case
Meta has asked a court to throw out an FTC lawsuit that aims to force the company to unwind its purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp. It argued that the agency "has failed to provide evidence to support its claims."