Students at Stanford University have developed Mobile ALOHA, a robot mounted on a moving platform and equipped with home-made robotic arms and a low-profile logistics robot that acts as a chassis, from scrap and sticks available on the free market. To train the robot, its creators performed a specific task 50 times, after which the robot was able to perform the operation autonomously.
Samsung Electronics will unveil a new line of vacuum cleaners with enhanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities at CES 2024. The Bespoke Jet Bot Combo is a vacuum cleaner and mop robot (for wet cleaning) that features a 3D sensor that expands the number of objects it can distinguish, providing a better cleaning experience. The novelty is a further development of the technology previously introduced in the Bespoke Jet Bot AI+, which was presented at CES 2021.
LG Electronics is preparing to unveil an artificial intelligence smart assistant at CES 2024, which does not yet have an official commercial name and is currently known as LG's smart home AI agent. LG's smart home AI agent is a robot with artificial intelligence and multimodal technologies. These are technologies that use two or more different channels to transmit information. For example, multimodal technologies can use text, sound, video, or touch inputs. This enables it to move, learn, understand, and carry on complex conversations. LG's robot is designed to improve users' daily lives and is a step towards the company's vision of a "Zero Labour Home", a home with zero daily work.
Working in a greenhouse is time-consuming and demanding. With humidity levels of 80 per cent and temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius, the people working there are exhausted very quickly. The harvester robot developed by Floating Robotics takes over particularly monotonous tasks, thereby reducing the workload on humans. It is currently being tested at Beerstecher AG in Hinwil, Switzerland.
A team of researchers from the University of Tokyo were able to build a link between the GPT-4 large language model and the Alter3 robot, allowing them to perform more human-like gestures and program the robot in natural language, abandoning traditional hardware-dependent control systems. The project authors called this progress a "paradigm shift" in robotics.
In the world of robotics, the speed of development of 3D printing technologies is increasing every year. Researchers from ETH Zurich, together with Inkbit, have proposed a new technology that allows printing robots with bones, tendons and ligaments using new strong and flexible polymers.
Aaron Johnson, a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University's Department of Mechanical Engineering, and his team are working on a new type of robot - controlled bipedal robots with a single motor. These robots have the ability to control their movements and perform various actions. However, building such robots is a complex process.
Mika, the world's first humanoid robot with artificial intelligence, has been appointed CEO of Dictador, a global Polish-based company that produces collectible rum. According to the company, this underlines the company's "innovative approach and focus on the future". But so far, it looks like nothing more than a PR stunt to draw attention to the alcohol producer.
Luna Japan, a subsidiary of the Anker Group, has started pre-ordering the Loona Blue pet robot. Loona Blue is a robot created by Anker that acts as a pet, providing emotional support and enriching the family's daily life. The device is capable of imitating emotions through movements and expressions, responding to the words and gestures of its owners. Loona Blue uses artificial intelligence to interact with family members by recognising faces and following commands.
The introduction of a robotic delivery system in the suburb of Kawasaki that uses unmanned aerial vehicles could significantly change delivery logistics, make shopping easier for the elderly, and promote social activity and mutual aid in the community. Panasonic, Tokyu, and the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR) have entered into a cooperation agreement to conduct a pilot project to use drones for delivery in the Kawasaki suburb of Kanagawa Prefecture. The project is set to be the first of its kind, introducing aerial robots for civilian logistics operations in residential areas.
At the Japan Mobility Show 2023, Japanese company Prodrone presented the SORA-MICHI flying light truck concept, which can carry cargo over a distance of 50 km and is aimed at solving regional transport problems and delivering aid during disasters. It is faster and more efficient than land transport due to the use of propellers, which allows it to quickly cross rivers or climb mountains. The helicopter part of the vehicle is made using a single-rotor design with a steering propeller. After landing, the vehicle drives the last mile on the ground as an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle). The fuel consumption declared by the developers will range from 2-3 litres without cargo to 10-15 litres with a load of 50 kilograms during a 50-kilometre flight.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have presented an advanced methodology based on generative models of artificial intelligence that significantly improves the performance of robotic systems when manipulating objects in a limited space.
