Beijing launches $1.4 Billion robotics fund, should US nationalize AI? and how Google's transformers might destroy the company
California cuts back robo-taxi opportunities, mechlabs trains robotics technicians for well paid open positions, and some cool robots :)
Why is the weekend news so late!!! Honestly, I just got bogged down trying to send a couple of longer posts out first… so that I could refer to them in the newsletter. Clearly not my best idea.
However, the SVR Guide to Robotics Research and Education finally has a home on our website. Want to know where to study robotics? From short courses to graduate degrees, you’ll want to read this and/or share it with anyone you know who is interested in working in robotics.
Also the new Mechlabs Robotics Technician short course starts this week. AAA20 is sponsoring the course with a Doosan Cobot and Palletizing Workcell. Successful course completion also lines you up for jobs at AAA20 with a salary range from $70k-$140k.
Big thank you to everyone who has become a paid subscriber - it makes you an angel investor in the work I do at Silicon Valley Robotics and as a startup advisor, and accelerator. And maybe we can do more to share your experience and expertize with the robotics startup community. Mentor Office Hours, maybe startup profiles. We’ll keep exploring.
Robotics Events:
August 22nd SVR Robotics Technical Network - topics incl. NeRFs
August 22nd - Founders & Funders Night Out
August 25th - Deadline to apply to Defense Innovation Challenge & Expo
August 26th - IEEE Robotics Startup Bootcamp
September 19-21 - FIRA USA Salinas: Robotics and Autonomous Farming Solutions - FIRA
September 22 - Sustainable Robotics for Good with Synapse and Silicon Valley Robotics
September 28 - The Autonomous Systems Showcase - Deep Tech Showcase
October 1-5 - IROS in Detroit - IEEE RAS
October 18-22 - ROSCon + PX4 Autopilot Developer Summit in New Orleans and virtual - Open Robotics (save $100 by registering for both events)
October 25 - The Food AI Summit - Alameda CA - from The Spoon
Quick Reads:
Beijing announces $1.4B robotics fund - The Robot Report
Bionic butterflies and performing humanoids: Beijing’s World Robot Conference - in pictures - The Guardian
Lifelike robots and android dogs wow visitors at Beijing robotics fair - Siliconeer
Agility Robotics will discuss and demo Digit at TC Disrupt 2023 - TechCrunch
If it can be designed on a computer, it can be built by robots - The Economist
This supercapacitor is made from cement - IEEE Spectrum
America’s Bridges, Factories and Highways Are in Dire Need of Repairs. Bring in the Robots - Wall Street Journal
Window-washing robots are working on Manhattan skyscrapers - CNBC
San Francisco launches driverless bus service following robotaxi expansion - NBC
2 robotaxi crashes in San Francisco put focus on autonomous vehicle safety - CBS
California DMV steps into autonomous taxi debate, telling Cruise to halve its fleet in SF - SFiST
First ‘autonomous truckport’ opens in Georgia - Overdrive
AMP Robotics adds to Series C, brings round to more than $104.2M - Denver Business Journal
More Autonomous Robots to Hit Farms With Manufacturer’s US Expansion - Bloomberg
Researchers are helping robots teach themselves to open dishwashers and doors - TechCrunch
Robot uses sign language to communicate with deaf blind persons - VOA
Symbotic’s AI-Enabled Robotics Could Revolutionize the Warehouse Industry - Motley Fool
World's first mass-produced humanoid robot? China start-up Fourier Intelligence eyes two-legged robots with AI brains - Yahoo News
Novarc Technologies completes Series A Fundraising round with Caterpillar Venture Capital - Business Wire
Healthcare robotics platform Mendaera secures $24m - MobiHealthNews
How hotel robots are reducing costs, bettering operations - Hotel Management
SwitchBot’s Curtain 3 robot to launch this week - ZDNet
Ocado-backed robotics start-up sold for under half a million - Grocery Gazette
New concept could spark ideas for Tree-Planting Robots - IEEE Spectrum
Automation in Garment Making - Fibre2Fashion
White House manufacturing order has tech transfer experts sighing in relief - Science
Ford’s Shutdown After 100 Years in Brazil Cedes US Territory to China - Bloomberg
Interesting Robots:
Not the actual robot…
Monumental Labs is building AI-enabled robotic stone carving factories. With them, we'll create cities with the splendor of Florence, Paris, or Beaux-Arts New York, at a fraction of the cost.
Atom 1.0 came out in 2010 - help a roboticist get Atom 2.0 into your home
Dan Fuboco has been building humanoid (ish) robots since 1985, or earlier. He’d like to share FutureBots with us as a US based, US built affordable humanoid robot project. He’s collecting donations towards The Humanoid robot projects and the new being built ATOM 2.0 - a more robust humanoid robot.
Deeper Reads:
Opinion | There’s Only One Way to Control AI: Nationalization
AI’s infinite potential — and infinite risk — requires federal ownership.
Charles Jennings is the former CEO of an AI company partnered with CalTech/JPL. His 2019 book, Artificial Intelligence: Rise of the Lightspeed Learners (Rowman &Littlefield), was reissued this year in a paperback edition.