As its military sales have stagnated over the past year, robotics market-leader iRobot has been leaning more and more on its always preeminent Home Robots division to drive corporate profits. Over the past several years, however, that division has often seemed to be less a site of technological innovation and product diversification than a home
At least since George Jetson first came through his front door to be greeted by Rosie the robotic maid in 1962, the endlessly unpredictable wonders of the nebulous “Home of the Future” have held a unique status in our collective aspirations. Though Rosie herself may still be some way off, however, more and more American
The latest generation of Lego’s Mindstorms consumer robotics platform will hit shelves Sept. 1, the company reported today, marking the third update to the system since its introduction 15 years ago. The new kits, dubbed Lego Mindstorms EV3, were previewed at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Today, the company shared 12 fan-designed robots that
The UPS Store reported today that it will become the first nationwide retailer to test in-store 3-D printing services. Select UPS Store locations will offer 3-D printing services beginning in the San Diego area with plans to expand more broadly within the U.S. in the near future. The company said it made the move based
In the latest sign that 3-D printing is getting closer to the mainstream, organizers of the 2014 International CES reported yesterday that the technology will be highlighted in a new “3D Printing TechZone” at next year’s show. The annual Las Vegas-based consumer electronics show will feature 20 such market-specific zones. The public profile of 3-D
We’re living in an era where low-cost computers, open-source software and crowdfunding have helped democratize the creation and production of robots. Now a new company that comes out of that ethos — its product runs off Arduino boards, it promotes open-source ideology and its origins were on Kickstarter — is trying to do the same for
When Congress passed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, it set the clock ticking toward the day when unmanned aircraft systems must be integrated into the national airspace. The target is Sept. 30, 2015, now just a little more than two years away. That fast-approaching deadline has created a new intensity in discussions
It will be years before driverless cars are available to the public thanks to technological and regulatory hurdles, but a new survey suggests that a delay is required for another reason as well: to get people comfortable with the idea of handing the wheel over to a computer. TE Connectivity Ltd. today shared the results
In the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recent policy statement on automated vehicles, the group defined five different levels of automation — from “no automation” to “full self-driving automation.” Many of the autonomous advancements car manufacturers will introduce during the next several years will fall between those two extremes, yet they will still represent revolutionary
In yet another sign of how quickly 3-D printing is growing, Stratasys announced yesterday that it will acquire MakerBot in a stock-for-stock transaction initially valued at $403 million — not including performance-based incentives that could increase the total to more than $600 million (based on Wednesday’s stock price). It was just last week that we
