As VentureBeat and several other sites noted this week, Amazon.com recently added a new section focused on 3-D printers and their related supplies, joining Staples as a major retailer supporting the technology. So far, 3-D printers aren’t exactly splashed across the Amazon homepage under “The Perfect Gift For Dad” heading — instead they’re tucked away
There has been a lot of movement by a broad range of technology firms and automotive manufacturers alike over the last few years to develop autonomous cars and “connected vehicle” technology (as well as a great deal of discussion about the innumerable policy and safety concerns to which these projects give rise). BMW and Honda
At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference yesterday, a robotics and artificial intelligence start-up made a surprise appearance during the opening keynote. The San Francisco-based company, Anki, is backed by $50 million in venture capital from Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures and Two Sigma. Like Bossa Nova Robotics, Seegrid and a host of hot robotics companies, it was
We recently wrote about the promise of the new Xbox Kinect sensor for robotics applications as well as the trend of using existing technologies to enhance the abilities of a new generation of robots. Researchers from the University of Washington have combined those two ideas with a new gesture-recognition system that uses the wireless signals
Zurich-based ABB, which develops power and automation solutions, presented an impressive display of flash-charging technology at a conference last week, demonstrating its ability to power an electric bus in 15 seconds. ABB reported at the 60th congress of the International Association of Public Transport in Geneva that it is working together with the city’s public
Yesterday, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a preliminary statement of policy concerning automated vehicles. The statement says NHTSA is encouraged by the technologies being developed and wants to work with stakeholders to “chart a steady course forward.” Proponents of automated vehicle technology should be encouraged as well, given the overall tone of
Several news organizations, including TechCrunch and VentureBeat, reported today that Double Robotics is now shipping its unique “wheels for your iPad” telepresence robot. Double, as the system is called, has managed to stand out in the somewhat crowded telepresence field because of its attractive design and relatively inexpensive price tag ($1,999 if you order today)
Most media coverage of drones to date has been related to their military applications, both because of the inherent controversy and because the military is far and away the biggest user of the technology. That’s not going to change anytime soon. President Obama gave a counterterrorism speech yesterday addressing drone policy that will be dissected
In our recent conversation with Sam Park, vice president and chief technology officer at South Korea’s Yujin Robot, Park emphasized that his company is looking for ways to remove complexity from its robots by replacing it with technology that is already available in most homes. The most obvious example of this idea is using a
South Korea-based Yujin Robot popped onto the radars of many robot enthusiasts recently thanks to its contribution to the TurtleBot 2: a new mobile base called Kobuki that replaces the iRobot Create used in the original TurtleBot. For those who aren’t familiar with the TurtleBot, it looks like a dorm-room TV stand on wheels, but
