Last week, insurance giant American International Group, announced it has won approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration to fly drones. That means AIG could potentially speed up the process of cutting reimbursement checks to homeowners and businesses hurt by floods or hurricanes by getting to disaster-stricken towns in the US more quickly by deploying unmanned aerial vehicles. Continue reading… “Will your insurance company use drones to check up on you?”
China’s booming drone delivery services
Packages are already soaring through the air in China, while companies like Amazon are chomping at the bit to launch drone delivery services in the United States. Continue reading… “China’s booming drone delivery services”
US academic: Killer robots could be good news
A renowned US roboticist says that killer robots could actually save lives. Continue reading… “US academic: Killer robots could be good news”
Bionic ants and butterflies from Festo
Every year at about this time, German automation company Festo announces its newest animal-inspired robots. Continue reading… “Bionic ants and butterflies from Festo”
Rethink Robotics unveils new robot Sawyer
Rethink Robotics has developed a new robot. It is not a new version of their older robot Baxter, but a completely different robot, stuffing all of the adaptive, collaborative technology that makes Baxter unique into a form factor that’s smaller, faster, stronger, and more precise. Continue reading… “Rethink Robotics unveils new robot Sawyer”
Bill Gates’ thoughts on the future of education, programming and more
From the demise of lecture halls to the awesomeness of the patent system, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has thoughts on a lot of things. Continue reading… “Bill Gates’ thoughts on the future of education, programming and more”
Who is set to make money from the coming AI boom?
Many people predict that artificial intelligence is about to take off in a big way. A new report from Goldman Sachs defines AI as “any intelligence exhibited by machines or software.” That can mean machines that make that make sense of huge amounts of disparate data, or that learn and improve their operations over time. Continue reading… “Who is set to make money from the coming AI boom?”
Time for presidential candidates to deal with robots
For more than two decades now presidential candidates have been arguing about whether free trade is hurting middle-class workers. 2016 may launch a similar debate about robots and computers, automation may be the new outsourcing. Continue reading… “Time for presidential candidates to deal with robots”
Making robots that have better morals than humans
Many people are worried about artificial intelligence, and what will happen if machines become smarter than humans. Even Bill Gates has said he is concerned about the decisions machines of the future will make once they outsmart humans. Continue reading… “Making robots that have better morals than humans”
Using drones to map cemeteries
Demo day for 500 Startups’ newest class has taken a somber turn. Demo day featured not one, but two startups that are in the death business, and one uses the hot tech of the moment — drones.
Continue reading… “Using drones to map cemeteries”
Robots learn to cook watching YouTube videos
We have seen several robots that can cook but they mostly follow some level of pre-programmed instructions. One of the trickiest things about robotics is telling robots what to do and how to do it. That is especially tricky for the end user. But, now we can all just sit back and let the robots learn things by watching YouTube videos. (Video)
Continue reading… “Robots learn to cook watching YouTube videos”
Japanese banks to get robot assistants in April
In April, humanoid robots designed by the creator of SoftBank’s Pepper robot will provide assistance to banking customers at Japan’s largest bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. Continue reading… “Japanese banks to get robot assistants in April”













