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How do we get robotaxi rides down to 30 cents/mile while Uber/Lyft charge 50 cents/mile to just connect you?
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
25 Jul 2018
In discussion of the eventual cost of a robotaxi ride, I and others have forecast costs similar to the all-in cost of car ownership. Today that's 40 to 60 cents/mile (plus parking) and for a one pers...
Simulation-based internal models for safer robots
Alan Winfield
16 Jul 2018
Readers of this blog will know that I've become very excited by the potential of robots with simulation-based internal models in recent years. So far we've demonstrated their potential in simple ethic...
Fundings, acquisitions and IPOs, June 2018
Frank Tobe
01 Jul 2018
Twenty-seven startups raised money in June to the tune of $2.1 billion, another great month for robotics! Also during June there were ten acquisitions and two IPOs. See below for details....
Takeaways from Automatica 2018
Frank Tobe
29 Jun 2018
Automatica 2018 is one of Europe’s largest robotics and automation-related trade shows and a destination for global roboticists and business executives to view new products. It was held June 19-22 i...
Don’t watch TV while safety driving
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
29 Jun 2018
The Tempe police released a detailed report on their investigation of Uber's fatality. I am on the road and have not had time to read it, but the big point, reported in many press was that the safety ...
What is artificial intelligence? (Or, can machines think?)
Alan Winfield
21 Jun 2018
Here are the slides from my York Festival of Ideas keynote yesterday, which introduced the festival focus day Artificial Intelligence: Promises and Perils....
WAZE for drones: expanding the national airspace
Oliver Mitchell
14 Jun 2018
Sitting in New York City, looking up at the clear June skies, I wonder if I am staring at an endangered phenomena. According to many in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) industry, skylines across th...
New battery technology is accelerating autonomy and saving the environment
Oliver Mitchell
07 Jun 2018
If the robotics world had a celebrity it would be Spot Mini of Boston Dynamics. Last month at the Robotics Summit in Boston the mechanical dog strutted onto the floor of the Westin Hotel trailed by hu...
Robotics fundings, acquisitions and IPOs: May 2018
Frank Tobe
07 Jun 2018
Twenty-seven startups were funded in May for a total of $2.5 billion....
Automating window washing
Oliver Mitchell
01 Jun 2018
Three and half years ago, I stood on the corner of West Street and gasped as two window washers clung to life at the end of a rope a thousand feet above. By the time rescue crews reached the men on th...
British robot-using online grocer licensing their technology to US Kroger chain
Frank Tobe
24 May 2018
Ocado , the UK leader in home-delivered groceries from robot-run distribution centers, has established a licensing deal with US grocery chain Kroger (NYSE:KR) whereby Kroger w...
Warehousing, fulfillment and DC transformation trends
Frank Tobe
07 May 2018
E-commerce sales for 2017 were $453.5 billion in the U.S. and $1.1 trillion in China, an increase of 16.0% and 32.6% respectively over 2016. This upward trend is projected to continue for the next man...
Robotic fundings, acquisitions and IPOs: April 2018
Frank Tobe
02 May 2018
Twenty startups were funded in April 2018....
Tesla’s fatal crash
Bryant Walker Smith
26 Apr 2018
Tesla can do better than its current public response to the recent fatal crash involving one of its vehicles. I would like to see more introspection, credibility, and nuance....
Teradyne acquires MiR for $272M, continues robotics spree
Frank Tobe
26 Apr 2018
In a surprise but smart move, Teradyne (NYSE:TER), the American test solutions provider that acquired Universal Robots in 2015 and Energid Technologies earlier in 2018, acquired Danish MiR (Mobil...
MODEX 2018: Old and new have never been so far apart
Frank Tobe
24 Apr 2018
MODEX, ProMat and CeMAT are the biggest global material handling and logistics supply chain tech trade shows. But as I walked the corridors of this year’s MODEX in Atlanta, I was particularly aware ...
NHTSA/SAE’s “levels” of robocars may be contributing to highway deaths
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
11 Apr 2018
The NHTSA/SAE "levels" of robocars are not just incorrect. I now believe they are contributing to an attitude towards their "level 2" autopilots that plays a small, but real role in the recent Tesla f...
What’s all the fuss about AI, robotics and China?
Frank Tobe
11 Apr 2018
In the constantly changing landscape of today’s global digital workspace, AI’s presence grows in almost every industry. Retail giants like Amazon and Alibaba are using algorithms written by machin...
Comparing the Uber and Tesla fatalities with a table
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
04 Apr 2018
The Uber car and Tesla's autopilot, both in the news for fatalities are really two very different things. This table outlines the difference. Also, see below for some new details on why the Tesla c...
3 initial thoughts on Ready Player One
Michael Szollosy
04 Apr 2018
The long-anticipated, Steven Spielberg-helmed Ready Player One has just been released in UK cinemas this week, and as a film of obvious interest to DreamingRobots and Cyberselves everywhere, we went ...
Robotics fundings, acquisitions and IPOs: March 2018
Frank Tobe
04 Apr 2018
Twenty-four startups were funded in March 2018 raising a combined total of $350 million. That brings the 3-month total to $1.5 billion!...
Thousands jam to see Jen-Hsun Huang’s keynote at GPU Developers Conference
Frank Tobe
30 Mar 2018
In a 2+ hour talk that filled the Keynote Hall and spillover rooms at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center and had thousands of people in line for hours before, Nvidia’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, in cha...
Arizona bans Uber self-driving cars
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
27 Mar 2018
The governor of Arizona has told Uber to "get an Uber" and stop testing in the state. With no instructions on how to come back....
Almost every thing that went wrong in the Uber fatality is both terrible and expected
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
26 Mar 2018
Today I'm going to examine how you attain safety in a robocar, and outline a contradiction in the things that went wrong for Uber and their victim. Each thing that went wrong is both important and wor...
Quiet inroads in robotics: the Vecna story
Frank Tobe
26 Mar 2018
Robotics is undergoing fundamental change in three core areas: collaboration, autonomous mobility and increasing intelligence.
Autonomous mobility technology is entering the industrial vehicle market...
10 tech-savvy companies on the hunt for AI/robotics talent and IP
Frank Tobe
20 Mar 2018
Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu and JD.com from China are in a global competition with Google/Alphabet, Apple, Facebook, Walmart and Amazon from the USA and SoftBank from Japan. All are agressively searching ...
Healthcare’s regulatory AI conundrum
Oliver Mitchell
14 Mar 2018
It was the last question of the night and it hushed the entire room. An entrepreneur expressed his aggravation about the FDA’s antiquated regulatory environment for AI-enabled devices to Dr. Joel St...
The paradox on robocar accidents
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
14 Mar 2018
I have written a few times about the unusual nature of robocar accidents. Recently I was discussing this with a former student who is doing some research on the area. As a first step, she began lookin...
Self-driving cars have power consumption problems
Oliver Mitchell
08 Mar 2018
I recently chaired a UJA Tech Talk on “The Future Of Autonomous Cars” with former General Motors Vice-Chairman Steve Girsky. The auto executive enthusiastically shared his vision for the next 15-2...
Power transmission line inspection robots
Frank Tobe
08 Mar 2018
In 2010 I wrote that there were three sponsored research projects to solve the problem of safely inspecting and maintaining high voltage transmission lines using robotics. Existing 2010 methods r...
Robotics fundings, acquisitions, IPOs, failures: February 2018
Frank Tobe
02 Mar 2018
Nineteen different startups were funded in February, raising $377 million; a substantial two-month start for the new year. Five acquisitions were reported during the month, while the IPO front had no ...
Research arrows are up with one common thread: digital data
Frank Tobe
15 Feb 2018
MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga said that “data is the new oil.” Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, says that artificial intelligence combined with data gathered by billions of sensors is bringing on an in...
Uber and Waymo settle lawsuit in a giant victory for Uber
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
10 Feb 2018
In a shocker, it was announced that Uber and Waymo (Google/Alphabet) have settled their famous lawsuit for around $245 million in Uber stock. No cash, and Uber agrees it won't use any Google hardware ...
Why ethical robots might not be such a good idea after all
Alan Winfield
08 Feb 2018
Last week my colleague Dieter Vanderelst presented our paper: The Dark Side of Ethical Robots at AIES 2018 in New Orleans....
Robotics industry fundings, acquisitions & IPOs: January 2018
Frank Tobe
02 Feb 2018
Twenty-five different startups were funded in January cumulatively raising $784 million; a great start for the new year. Four acquisitions were reported during the month while the IPO front lay waitin...
Gallery of photos from CES 2018, and other news
Brad Templeton, Robocars.com
29 Jan 2018
I have created a gallery in Google Photos with some of the more interesting items I saw at CES, with the bulk of them being related to robocars, robotic delivery and transportation....
