Video Friday: $2.6 Billion

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion.

HRI 2024: 11–15 March 2024, BOULDER, COLORADO, USA

Eurobot Open 2024: 8–11 May 2024, LA ROCHE-SUR-YON, FRANCE

ICRA 2024: 13–17 May 2024, YOKOHAMA, JAPAN

RoboCup 2024: 17–22 July 2024, EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS

Enjoy today’s videos!

Figure has raised a US $675 million Series B, valuing the company at $2.6 billion.

[ Figure ]

Meanwhile, here’s how things are going at Agility Robotics, whose last raise was a $150 million Series B in April of 2022.

[ Agility Robotics ]

Also meanwhile, here’s how things are going at Sanctuary AI, whose last raise was a $58.5 million Series A in March of 2022.

[ Sanctuary AI ]

The time has come for humanoid robots to enter industrial production lines and learn how to assist humans by undertaking repetitive, tedious, and potentially dangerous tasks for them. Recently, UBTECH’s humanoid robot Walker S was introduced into the assembly line of NIO’s advanced vehicle-manufacturing center, as an “intern” assisting in the car production. Walker S is the first bipedal humanoid robot to complete a specific workstation’s tasks on a mobile EV production line.

[ UBTECH ]

Henry Evans keeps working hard to make robots better, this time with the assistance of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University.

Henry said he preferred using head-worn assistive teleoperation (HAT) with a robot for certain tasks rather than depending on a caregiver. “Definitely scratching itches,” he said. “I would be happy to have it stand next to me all day, ready to do that or hold a towel to my mouth. Also, feeding me soft foods, operating the blinds, and doing odd jobs around the room.”
One innovation in particular, software called Driver Assistance that helps align the robot’s gripper with an object the user wants to pick up, was “awesome,” Henry said. Driver Assistance leaves the user in control while it makes the fine adjustments and corrections that can make controlling a robot both tedious and demanding. “That’s better than anything I have tried for grasping,” Henry said, adding that he would like to see Driver Assistance used for every interface that controls Stretch robots.

[ HAT2 ] via [ CMU ]

Watch this video for the three glorious seconds at the end.

[ Tech United ]

Get ready to rip, shear, mow, and tear, as DOOM is back! This April, we’re making the legendary game playable on our robotic mowers as a tribute to 30 years of mowing down demons.

Oh, it’s HOOSKvarna, not HUSKvarna.

[ Husqvarna ] via [ Engadget ]

Latest developments demonstrated on the Ameca Desktop platform. Having fun with vision- and voice-cloning capabilities.

[ Engineered Arts ]

Could an artificial-intelligence system learn language from a child? New York University researchers supported by the National Science Foundation, using first-person video from a head-mounted camera, trained AI models to learn language through the eyes and ears of a child.

[ NYU ]

The world’s leaders in manufacturing, natural resources, power, and utilities are using our autonomous robots to gather data of higher quality and higher quantities of data than ever before. Thousands of Spots have been deployed around the world—more than any other walking robot—to tackle this challenge. This release helps maintenance teams tap into the power of AI with new software capabilities and Spot enhancements.

[ Boston Dynamics ]

Modular self-reconfigurable robotic systems are more adaptive than conventional systems. This article proposes a novel free-form and truss-structured modular self-reconfigurable robot called FreeSN, containing node and strut modules. This article presents a novel configuration identification system for FreeSN, including connection point magnetic localization, module identification, module orientation fusion, and system-configuration fusion.

[ Freeform Robotics ]

The OOS-SIM (On-Orbit Servicing Simulator) is a simulator for on-orbit servicing tasks such as repair, maintenance and assembly that have to be carried out on satellites orbiting the earth. It simulates the operational conditions in orbit, such as the felt weightlessness and the harsh illumination.

[ DLR ]

The next CYBATHLON competition, which will take place again in 2024, breaks down barriers between the public, people with disabilities, researchers and technology developers. From 25 to 27 October 2024, the CYBATHLON will take place in a global format in the Arena Schluefweg in Kloten near Zurich and in local hubs all around the world.

[ CYBATHLON ]

George’s story is a testament to the incredible journey that unfolds when passion, opportunity and community converge. His journey from a drone enthusiast to someone actively contributing to making a difference not only to his local community but also globally; serves as a beacon of hope for all who dare to dream and pursue their passions.

[ WeRobotics ]

In case you’d forgotten, Amazon has a lot of robots.

[ Amazon Robotics ]

ABB’s fifty-year story of robotic innovation that began in 1974 with the sale of the world’s first commercial all-electric robot, the IRB 6. Björn Weichbrodt was a key figure in the development of the IRB 6.

[ ABB ]

Robotics Debate of the Ingenuity Labs Robotics and AI Symposium (RAIS2023) from October 12, 2023: Is robotics helping or hindering our progress on UN Sustainable Development Goals?

[ Ingenuity Labs ]

Reference: https://ift.tt/rVGTjsA