Market trends and business perspectives
Automotive systems supplier Continental is expanding its international network for artificial intelligence in Silicon Valley.
The expansion will involve the “DeepDrive” partnership the company has with the University of California, Berkeley, dubbed “BDD”.
Continental says the partnership is designed to “speed up neural networks for the car of the future and safety of AI systems”. [Read more…] about Continental strengthens AI research partnership with University of California
Volkswagen says it has significantly increased the level of automation in its massive Kassel depot, in Germany.
The company says the upgrade has cost at least $10 million and involved designing its own “ergonomic repackaging stations”.
The vast majority of the depot is automated using conveyors, but new equipment and more digitalization has improved productivity, says Volkswagen. [Read more…] about Volkswagen increases automation in its parts depot
The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Dongfeng Motor Group have formed a new joint venture to co-develop and sell electric vehicles in China.
The new joint venture, eGT New Energy Automotive Company, or eGT for short, will focus on the core competencies of each partner and will “harness the full potential of the Renault-Nissan Alliance electric vehicle leadership”, according to the companies.
It will also combine the resources of DFG in the new energy industry, to meet the expectations of the Chinese market. [Read more…] about Renault-Nissan and Dongfeng agree joint venture to develop electric vehicles in China
Visteon, a supplier of automotive cockpit electronics, and ZongMu Technology, a China-based supplier of advanced driving assistance systems, have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to develop Level 3-plus autonomous driving solutions.
Under the agreement, Visteon and ZongMu will combine their strengths to jointly develop a self-parking solution integrating Visteon’s DriveCore autonomous driving platform and ZongMu’s autonomous parking system.
Markus Schupfner, chief technology officer for Visteon, says the cooperative agreement with ZongMu supports Visteon’s commitment to collaborate with “highly respected technology partners” to advance autonomous driving in the fast-growing China market. [Read more…] about Visteon and ZongMu Technology sign co-operation agreement on autonomous driving solutions
Kodiak Robotics has raised $40 million in Series A financing led by global investment firm Battery Ventures.
CRV, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Tusk Ventures also participated in the round.
Kodiak is an autonomous-vehicle startup founded by Don Burnette, previously a co-founder of the self-driving trucking company Otto, and Paz Eshel, a former venture capitalist. [Read more…] about Kodiak Robotics raises $40 million to develop self-driving trucks
One of the world’s leading humanoid roboticist has unveiled a new android which is modeled on a 10-year-old boy, although no-one specific. (See video below.)
Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, Wakayama University, Japan, has previously made a robot called Geminoid that looked exactly like himself and another modeled on a young woman, which he called Erica.
The new robot, called Ibuki, and the IEEE has given us all permission to panic over it.
While some would say it’s a technical achievement, others would say it’s downright creepy.
Ibuki gets around on wheels but “can fake walking”, meaning it looks like it’s walking if you view the top half.
What its application might be is uncertain, but this is more of a research robot rather than a commercial one.
But according to a story on TechWorld.com, Professor Ishiguro “wants a humanoid future” when humans and androids live together.
“The more human we make robots, the more we will accept them in our daily lives,” he said.
SoftBank is considering investing around $750 million in Zume, according to the Economic Times.
Zume has deloped a pizza delivery system in which robots make pizzas inside trucks while on the road. (See video below.)
The trucks are said to be proprietary and Zume is positioning itself as an automation platform for the food industry. [Read more…] about SoftBank considering investing $750 million in Zume
Pizza Hut has introduced robot waiters from Woowa Brothers in its South Korean restaurants, according to the Korea Times.
The robot, which is called Dilly Plate, is similar to machines produced by Savioke and others, and makes short-distance deliveries, within the restaurant.
We don’t have pictures of it ourselves, but one can be seen on the Korea Times website.
As quoted by Korea Times, Cho Yoon-sang, Pizza Hut Korea’s Chief Marketing Officer, says: “We will actively adopt new technologies to satisfy both our employees and customers and make various attempts in line with food tech development.”
As well as the Dilly Plate, Woowa Brothers also offers a food delivery app and has invested in other robotics development.
And as quoted by Korea Joong Ang Daily, Kim Bong-jin, CEO and founder of Woowa Brothers, says: “The robotics we are interested in encompass delivery, connectivity and artificial intelligence.
“When a robot delivers, delivery charges that normally range between 3,000 won and 4,000 won will go down to as much as several hundred won.
“The price of food that consumers think is appropriate in proportion to the amount of delivery charge is 18,000 won to 20,000 won. Not many are willing to pay a 4,000 won delivery fee for a 7,000 won dish. ”
One US dollar is approximately equivalent to 1,000 South Korean won.
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