Robodogs with guns vs robodogs calming dementia patients?
Plus a deep dive into the YC model and 'a small amount of force at the right time'
Some people are policy wonks. I am a total science and technology studies nerd. Want to know about the evolution of ‘housework’? How about 'when sidewalks became a thing’? But my full time focus is on how information can be converted into economic value - ie. supporting startups (in robotics) via the right information at the right time. Similarly, finding road blocks that can be removed.
The story of the SAFE is a great example. Right now, there’s a vast difference between the tech transfer model of the top US universities for science/tech/robotics startups compared to the rest, and we’re using IEEE Entrepreneurship levers to address that.
By partnering with Circuit Launch, we are championing the new best practice for the incubation of deep tech and science based startups. If you take equity and investment completely out of the equation, you can create a very high value accelerator that meets the needs of very early stage robotics companies, before they turn into category creating companies!
Some SVR members at Circuit Launch: 1x (previously known as Halodi Robotics), Cartken, Urban Machines, Ethereal Matter, Berkeley Marine Robotics, Friendly Robots, FLX Systems, Gyropalm and Ceres Robotics. Want to learn more?
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.
Quick Reads:
Scientists create soft and scalable robotic hand based on multiple materials - TechXplore
Should the US implement a robot tax - TechCrunch
US military plans to unleash thousands of autonomous war robots over next two years - The Conversation
Crazy new self-destructing robots can carry out military tasks and then dissolve into nothing - BGR
The army wants to slap a next generation squad weapon on a robot dog - Military.com
Marines overhaul approach to smart robots, eye new military job - MarineTimes
How long till a robot is doing your chores? - BBC
It’s almost magical how robotic pets are helping care home residents - The Guardian
Intuition robotics scores $25m to scale AI care companion for seniors - MobiHealthNews
Korean internet giant Naver explores robotics, AI and autonomous vehicles - TechCrunch
Blendid Opens Tow Robotics Smoothie Kiosks at West Valley College and Mission College in California - QSR Magazine
Hop Robotics is aiming to streamline draft beverage dispensing for events and venues - Sports Business Journal
Food Tech news: Samsung Heads Into the Kitchen, Robot Meets Artisan Pizza - The Spoon
Noah Medical presents positive surgical robot data - MassDevice
July 2023 robotics investments approaches the $2 billion mark - Robotics Business Review
Engineering group ABB ‘pretty pessimistic’ on China - CNBC
Robot invasion slows in the face of weaker US economy, high interest rates - Reuters
Iowa needs more skilled workers to help in robotics, manufacturing - Axios
Japanese space robotics company GITAI raises $15 million - Space News
New dual-arm robot achieves bimanual tasks by learning from simulation - Robohub
Tiny, shape-shifting robot can squish itself into tight spaces - CUBoulder
MIT engineers use kirigami to make ultrastrong, lightweight structures - Robohub
AI helps robots manipulate objects with their whole bodies - Robohub
Team’s New AI Technology Gives Robot Recognition Skills a Big Lift - UTDallas
A list of resources, articles, and opinion pieces relating to large language models & robotics - AIHub
Robotics Events:
September 22 - The New Wave of Robotics: Engineering a Sustainable Future with Synapse and Silicon Valley Robotics
September 19-21 - FIRA USA Salinas: Robotics and Autonomous Farming Solutions - FIRA
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
Innovation & Tech Showcase, GovShop GovMarket Entrepreneur
Come join Public Spend Forum and expand opportunities for your business in government! Place yourself in front of market movers and government buyers to make worthwhile connections and build relationships. Apply today at no cost!
Interesting Robots:
Deeper Reads:
We Need a New Science of Progress
Humanity needs to get better at knowing how to get better.
By Patrick Collison and Tyler Cowen in The Atlantic
In 1861, the American scientist and educator William Barton Rogers published a manifesto calling for a new kind of research institution. Recognizing the “daily increasing proofs of the happy influence of scientific culture on the industry and the civilization of the nations,” and the growing importance of what he called “Industrial Arts,” he proposed a new organization dedicated to practical knowledge. He named it the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Carolynn Levy, inventor of the SAFE
Levy shares how she wrote the five-page document that underpins much of early-stage venture capital today.
Written by Meghna Rao in Meridian
“The one thing that irks me is when people call it a SAFE note,” Carolynn Levy laughs. “It’s just SAFE and it’s not a note.” She gives me a look. This is clearly a common mistake. “We wrote it so it was different from the convertible note, to show that it was equity and not debt, that it was meant to be founder friendly, and philosophically in line with the entire process of raising early-stage capital.”