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Startup offering pre-orders of Eliza humanoid robot for $420,000 minimum

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Eliza Wakes Up, the project bringing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) agents to life, has opened pre-orders for “Eliza” (main picture), which the company or group describes as “the next-generation personal robot set to redefine the capabilities of robotics and intelligent machines”.

Powered by Eliza Wakes Up, ElizaOS, and incubated by Ryze Labs, this state-of-the-art personal companion seamlessly integrates AI, blockchain technology, and advanced robotics into a cutting-edge, fully customized humanoid robot.

Ava, head of projects, Eliza Wakes Up, says: “We’re bringing AI to life in a way that has never been done before. Eliza is designed as a real girl with emotional intelligence, offering human-like companionship. [Read more…] about Startup offering pre-orders of Eliza humanoid robot for $420,000 minimum

Symbotic to buy Walmart’s robotics business for up to $350 million

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Symbotic, a developer of AI-enabled robotics technology for the supply chain, has agreed to acquire Walmart’s Advanced Systems and Robotics business.

This transaction expands the long-standing relationship between Walmart and Symbotic with the aim of developing an integrated automated supply chain.

Walmart has chosen Symbotic to develop, build and deploy an advanced solution leveraging Symbotic’s AI-enabled robotics platform to offer Walmart customers greater shopping convenience through accelerated online pickup and delivery (APD) options at stores. [Read more…] about Symbotic to buy Walmart’s robotics business for up to $350 million

Deep Robotics’ robot dog pioneers smart inspection in Singapore power cable tunnel

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Deep Robotics, a Chinese developer of quadrupedal robotics, has crossed a major milestone with the deployment of its industrial-grade quadruped robot, the X30.

The robot, nicknamed “SPock” within Singapore’s SP Group, is now operational in the country’s extensive underground power transmission cable network, marking it the first Chinese quadruped robot to be deployed to an overseas power system.

The partnership with SP Group represents a critical step forward in Deep Robotics’ global expansion and demonstrates the growing importance of emerging technologies such as robotics and digitization in infrastructure maintenance. [Read more…] about Deep Robotics’ robot dog pioneers smart inspection in Singapore power cable tunnel

ABB launches AppStudio no-code tool for robot interface programming

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ABB has launched AppStudio, which the company describes as an intuitive no-code software tool designed to empower users of all experience levels to quickly and easily create customized robotic user interfaces.

With intuitive functionality and features including a collaborative cloud-based library enabling users to share application templates, AppStudio will reduce setup times by up to 80 percent.

Marc Segura, president ABB Robotics, says: “A growing shortage of skilled labor requires the further simplification of automation and programming, especially among small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) where complexity is seen as a major barrier to implementing robotic automation. [Read more…] about ABB launches AppStudio no-code tool for robot interface programming

Nvidia unveils Cosmos platform for robotics development

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Nvidia has unveiled its Cosmos World Foundation Model platform for the development of physical AI systems such as autonomous vehicles and robots.

Cosmos comprises state-of-the-art generative world foundation models, advanced tokenizers, guardrails and an accelerated video processing pipeline built to “advance the development of physical AI systems”, says Nvidia.

Physical AI models are costly to develop, and require vast amounts of real-world data and testing. Cosmos world foundation models, or WFMs, offer developers an easy way to generate massive amounts of photoreal, physics-based synthetic data to train and evaluate their existing models. Developers can also build custom models by fine-tuning Cosmos WFMs. [Read more…] about Nvidia unveils Cosmos platform for robotics development

MIT reveals bug-sized flying robot that could help pollinate plants

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By Adam Zewe, MIT News

With a more efficient method for artificial pollination, farmers in the future could grow fruits and vegetables inside multilevel warehouses, boosting yields while mitigating some of agriculture’s harmful impacts on the environment.

To help make this idea a reality, MIT researchers are developing robotic insects that could someday swarm out of mechanical hives to rapidly perform precise pollination. However, even the best bug-sized robots are no match for natural pollinators like bees when it comes to endurance, speed, and maneuverability.

Now, inspired by the anatomy of these natural pollinators, the researchers have overhauled their design to produce tiny, aerial robots that are far more agile and durable than prior versions. [Read more…] about MIT reveals bug-sized flying robot that could help pollinate plants

Apple’s main contract manufacturer Foxconn brings in UBTech humanoids to work in its factories

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UBTech Robotics has entered what’s described as “a comprehensive long-term partnership” with Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai), the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer and a primary assembler for Apple.

This is according to various media reports, including on the South China Morning Post website.

This collaboration aims to integrate UBTech’s humanoid robots into Foxconn’s production lines, enhancing efficiency and precision in the assembly of complex electronics and electric vehicles. [Read more…] about Apple’s main contract manufacturer Foxconn brings in UBTech humanoids to work in its factories

Neura Robotics secures €120 million in funding to commercialize humanoids

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Neura Robotics, a cognitive robotics pioneer and thought to be “the only humanoid robotics company in Germany”, has raised €120 million in a Series B funding round.

This substantial investment underscores Neura Robotics’ key role in cognitive robotics, showing how it is uniquely positioned to lead the European robotics industry and become a major force in the global robotics landscape, alongside strong players in the US and China.

The round was led by Lingotto Investment Management, with participation from BlueCrest Capital Management, Volvo Cars Tech Fund, InterAlpen Partners, Vsquared Ventures, HV Capital, Delta Electronics, C4 Ventures, L-Bank, founder David Reger, and others. [Read more…] about Neura Robotics secures €120 million in funding to commercialize humanoids

Kuka partners with Shenyang Institute of Technology

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Kuka Robotics has officially opened its Kuka Institute at the Shenyang Institute of Technology as part of the “2024 Kuka Robotics School-Enterprise Cooperation Conference”.

The aim of the partnership between Kuka China and the institute is to educate talent with the changing technological and industrial needs in mind. This initiative is a significant step in promoting collaboration between academia and industry.

The collaboration includes the signing of a cooperation agreement between the institute and Kuka China, the creation of a platform for talent development, and the awarding of the prestigious title “Kuka Authorized Industrial Robotics Institute” to the Shenyang Institute of Technology. [Read more…] about Kuka partners with Shenyang Institute of Technology

Xocean secures €115 million investment to accelerate growth of its ocean data services platform

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Xocean, a provider of ocean data to the offshore energy and civil hydrography sectors, has closed a €115 million fundraise that will help support its ongoing growth across the company’s expanding global footprint.

The company partnered with S2G Ventures to structure the round, which was funded by S2G, Climate Investment, Morgan Stanley’s 1GT fund, and an affiliate of the Crown Family’s CC Industries, collectively referred to as “the investor consortium”.

This financing will support Xocean in accelerating the growth of its platform servicing the offshore energy and civil hydrography sectors. It will also help enable the company’s geographic expansion and product innovation efforts to meet the rapidly growing demand for high-quality data solutions across the blue economy. [Read more…] about Xocean secures €115 million investment to accelerate growth of its ocean data services platform