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Toyota and SoftBank to set up new mobility services joint venture

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Toyota Motor Corporation and SoftBank Corp. have agreed to form a strategic partnership to create new mobility services, and plan to establish a joint venture company, MONET Technologies Corporation, before the end of the 2018 fiscal year (April 2019).

MONET will provide coordination between Toyota’s Mobility Services Platform, Toyota’s information infrastructure for connected vehicles, and SoftBank’s Internet of Things Platform, which was built to create new value from the collection and analysis of data acquired from smartphones and sensor devices.

By utilising a wide range of different forms of data related to automotive and human mobility on both platforms, MONET is aiming to optimise supply and demand in transportation and, ultimately, to launch Mobility-as-a-Service businesses capable of resolving social mobility issues and creating new value.

[Read more…] about Toyota and SoftBank to set up new mobility services joint venture

SoftBank considering investing $750 million in Zume

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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

SoftBank to invest more than $2 billion into General Motors’ self-driving cars unit Cruise Automation

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SoftBank is planning to invest more than $2 billion into General Motors’ self-driving vehicle technology unit, Cruise Automation. 

Cruise Automation is a startup company acquired by General Motors two years ago.

In some ways, this is a surprise move by SoftBank. The Japanese telecommunications giant has previously invested in other sectors of the robotics market.  [Read more…] about SoftBank to invest more than $2 billion into General Motors’ self-driving cars unit Cruise Automation

SoftBank appoints new partner to resell Pepper humanoid robots

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SoftBank Robotics Europe has appointed Jacky’s Business Solutions as its first reseller in the UAE for its Pepper robot.

Pepper is the first humanoid robot created to interact with humans. It is equipped with features and a high-level interface for proactively communicating with those around it, using the latest advances in voice and face recognition.

To support the relationship, Jacky’s will invest in expanding its team of software and support engineers to include programmers who can code Pepper to suit the diverse applications across industries and departments. [Read more…] about SoftBank appoints new partner to resell Pepper humanoid robots

SoftBank to invest $10 billion in Uber

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SoftBank is highly likely to go ahead with its plan to invest $10 billion in Uber, the ride-hailing app company, according to a report on CNet.com. 

An Uber representative quoted by CNet says: “We’ve entered into an agreement with a consortium led by SoftBank and Dragoneer on a potential investment.

“We believe this agreement is a strong vote of confidence in Uber’s long-term potential. Upon closing, it will help fuel our investments in technology and our continued expansion at home and abroad, while strengthening our corporate governance.”  [Read more…] about SoftBank to invest $10 billion in Uber

Humanoid robot market to grow to $4 billion in five years

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The market for humanoid robots is forecast to grow to $4 billion in about five years, according to a new report by ReportsnReports. 

The researcher values the current market at approximately $320 million in 2017. So that would mean annual growth of more than 50 per cent.

Humanoids include such robots as Pepper and Nao, which are owned by SoftBank Robotics, as well as Emiew, produced by Hitachi, and Honda’s famous Asimo, although that one is more of an exhibition robot.

The others, like Nao and Pepper, for example, are already finding many buyers. SoftBank says it has sold 10,000 units of Nao, and it releases batches of 1,000 at a time of the Pepper robot, and it sells out online within minutes.  [Read more…] about Humanoid robot market to grow to $4 billion in five years

Plenty attracts ‘largest-ever agriculture technology investment’ led by SoftBank to develop indoor farms in city centres

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A company called Plenty claims it has attracted the “largest-ever agriculture technology investment”. 

The company says the investment will drive its development of its global, large-scale indoor farm network to deliver “radically fresher, affordable food to local communities everywhere”.

Plenty describes itself as a “field-scale indoor farming company remaking the global food system”.  [Read more…] about Plenty attracts ‘largest-ever agriculture technology investment’ led by SoftBank to develop indoor farms in city centres

Effects of artificial intelligence will surpass the industrial revolution, says SoftBank CEO

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The chief executive of telecommunications giant SoftBank says the effects of artificial intelligence will take the world much further and have a more profound effect than even the industrial revolution. 

Masayoshi_Son
An old picture of Masayoshi Son, courtesy of Wikipedia

In an article accompanying a special edition of the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son was quoted as saying the new “information revolution” is being partly driven by data collected through billions of sensors.

SoftBank has been buying up a variety of AI and robotics startups, most recently a company called Nauto, which is developing systems for driverless cars.

At the root of the technology, Son says, are microprocessors and microcontrollers. “Those who rule chips will rule the entire world,” he said. “Those who rule data will rule the entire world. That’s what people of the future will say.”

Brain Corp raises $114 million to develop self-driving technology for robots

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Brain Corp, an artificial intelligence company specializing in the development of self-driving technology for robots, has raised $114 million in a Series C funding round led by the SoftBank Vision Fund.

Brain has developed AI and self-driving technology to enable robots to perceive their environment, learn to control their motion, and navigate using visual cues and landmarks while avoiding people and obstacles.

The investment will be used to further develop AI technology and create brains for multiple types of commercial and consumer robots.  [Read more…] about Brain Corp raises $114 million to develop self-driving technology for robots

SoftBank to buy Boston Dynamics, the maker of those unnervingly realistic humanoid and canine robots

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SoftBank, the maker of the Pepper and Nao humanoid robots, has reached a deal to buy Boston Dynamics, the robotics business owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google. 

Some of the robots Boston Dynamics has been building a wide range of robots, some of which are humanoid, others canine and one or two wheeled – or a hybrid of these structures.

But whatever robots the company has made, they’ve been widely acclaimed as having some of the most realistic movements and best balance of any robots made anywhere – watching them move can be quite unnerving because they move almost exactly like humans or canines.  [Read more…] about SoftBank to buy Boston Dynamics, the maker of those unnervingly realistic humanoid and canine robots

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