Hardware

Soft Robotics raises $26 million as staffing shortages continue • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 17, 2022Posted in Hardware, Robotics & AI, Soft Robotics, Tyson VenturesNo Comments

I spent last week in Boston, meeting with several of the area’s top automation startups. Soft Robotics — based in nearby Bedford, Massachusetts — is one of those names that comes up a lot. As the concept of soft robotics grippers have increasingly come into vogue, the company of the same name has been reaping much of that windfall. Today, for instance, it announced a $26 million Series C, led by Tyson Ventures. The VC arm of Tyson Foods is a natural fit here. After all, food production has long been a big piece of Soft Robotics’ strategy. Its compliant grippers do a good job picking up fragile and inconsistently sized foodstuffs, from meat to produce — a longstanding challenge for more rigid systems. “At Tyson, we are continually exploring new areas in automation that can enhance safety and increase the productivity of our team members,” Tyson Ventures’ Rahul Ray said in a release. “Soft Robotics’ revolutionary robotic technology, computer vision and AI platform have the potential to transform the food industry and will play a key role in any company’s automation journey.” Marel and Johnsonville also joined the round as new investors, following a $23 million Series B with a $10 million extension raised in June of last year. At the time, Soft Robotics cited pandemic-fueled job loss as a major motivator in the funding round. Obviously the job situation hasn’t gotten much better — particularly in industries like meat packing — even as funding has largely slowed down across the board over the past year. The firm says the new round of funding will go toward accelerating the deployment of its mGripAI system, which combines 3D vision with a soft gripping system. Soft Robotics says the perfect storm of pandemic-fueled issues has resulted in “the four largest sales quarters in the company’s eight-year history.”

Qualcomm debuts latest flagship Snapdragon chip and a new AI platform • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 17, 2022Posted in chips, Gadgets, Hardware, Qualcomm, snapdragonNo Comments

It’s that time of year again. It can drop 20 degrees on any given day, and we’re stuck indoors watching people watch Qualcomm announce new chips and reference designs in sunny Hawaii. The Snapdragon Summit is the component-maker’s annual opportunity to map out its big plans for the next year, ahead of the holiday scrum and product deluge of CES and MWC. It’s an ideal time to pepper the industry with some timeline news items. Many of the major manufacturers are effectively finished announcing hardware for the year, and things won’t really ramp up for another couple of months. The big news is, naturally, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. That’s the chip that’s going to power a majority of your flagship Android handsets next year — at least until the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2 presumably starts rolling out at some point mid-2023. It’s likely not surprising for those who have been following the space for the last several years that Qualcomm is positioning AI/ML as the centerpiece of its latest system on a chip. With the new Hexagon Processor (that’s a Qualcomm trademark, mind) at its center, the new system on a chip promises up to 4.35x gains for things like natural language processing. “This is thanks to the industry’s only Micro Tile Inferencing technique so we can power features like real-time multi-language translation,” the company writes. “In other words, you can speak into a language translator and have it translated into multiple languages running these complex networks.” Computational photography is the other big piece there. The system is able to recognize and segment different aspects of an image before the photo is taken. It uses a portrait as an example — breaking up hair, clothes, the background and a face into different segments. It’s a feature that will no doubt be present in imaging products like Portrait mode, in which depth sensing is important. The first devices with Gen 2 are set to arrive before the end of the year. The list of phone makers signed up for the SoC includes ASUS, HONOR, iQOO, Motorola, nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, REDMAGIC, Redmi, SHARP, Sony Corporation, vivo, Xiaomi, XINGJI/MEIZU and ZTE. Image Credits: Qualcomm Also of note this week is the arrival of Qualcomm’s new augmented reality chip, the Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1. The component is designed to power a new generation of slim AR wearables. It’s a low-power solution that sits across different parts of the glasses in order to better distribute its weight. “We built Snapdragon AR2 to address the unique challenges of headworn AR and provide industry-leading processing, AI and connectivity that can fit inside a stylish form factor,” Qualcomm’s Hugo Swart said in a release. “With the technical and physical requirements for VR/MR and AR diverging, Snapdragon AR2 represents another metaverse-defining platform in our XR portfolio to help our OEM partners revolutionize AR glasses.” The list of manufacturers developing hardware with the platform includes Lenovo, LG, Nreal, OPPO, Pico, QONOQ, Rokid, Sharp, TCL, Vuzix and Xiaomi.

Scene Report: Boston • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 17, 2022Posted in amazon robotics, boston, Hardware, MassRobotics, Robotics & AI, Tye BradyNo Comments

What surprised me most on returning to Boston* for the first time since the onset of the pandemic was just how clustered things are. I’m not a great scheduler and I don’t know the city’s geography particularly well, but after two days spent meeting with more than a dozen startups, it slowly dawned on me that I was mostly operating within a five- to ten-block radius a stone’s throw from MIT (and, for that matter, Harvard). I’d given myself a little breathing room between meetings and site visits on Friday and was able to walk to all my meetings (the unseasonably warm weather didn’t hurt) — passing several of the spots I’d visited for conversations two days prior. Much like Pittsburgh, Boston has a tight-knit startup community. As companies get bigger, they’ll move to places like Waltham and Bedford on the outskirts, but they’ll remain part of this community nonetheless. There are several reasons I can see, as an outsider with only passing familiarity: It’s less sprawling than a place like the Bay Area/Silicon Valley or New York. The startups are often the outgrowth of universities (MIT, Harvard, Northeastern, BU), and there’s a built-in camaraderie there. Most people have worked at iRobot at some point. That last one’s diversifying a bit. Big corporations like Amazon (which may soon absorb iRobot) and Google have moved in as well. But the fact remains that most people aren’t ready to launch a startup right out of college, and these sorts of bigger corporations can be a good place to establish yourself and get a lay of the land. (Though universities are now doing an increasingly good job providing startup resources and accelerating companies after graduation.) Much like my own industry, everyone sort of knows everyone else, whether personally or by reputation. The longer you stay in a relatively insular industry, the more you’ll find yourself working with the same people time and again, so definitely try not to be an asshole (good advice generally, but doubly so when there can be clear and immediate consequences). You’re going to cross paths with the same people over and over. Life is funny like that. *I had drinks with a friend on Friday who helpfully noted that not every local is thrilled at the idea of using Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and the like interchangeably. So I’m going to just have to ask forgiveness rather than permission as I attempt to get this newsletter out in a timely fashion. I understand the importance of regional distinctions, as someone who has spent the majority of his life living in both the San Francisco Bay Area and two New York City boroughs, but for the sake of expediency in a very long newsletter, let’s assume all mentions of Boston are a reference to the city’s greater metropolitan area. World’s widest cable stayed bridge crossing the Charles River. Completed 2002. Image Credits: Getty Images / John Coletti This struck me the first time ZebethMedia did a small dinner ahead of our first Robotics event. Everyone knew everyone else. And most of them had been through the ranks of iRobot at one point or another. It’s not quite the Willow Garage story, but it’s another very clear case of a hub with a lot of important spokes. It also points to — as numerous people rightfully reminded me over the past week — the fact that we’re still very much in the early days of robotics. It feels like a small community because it is one, in a lot of ways. That’s exciting. I’ve spent much of my life feeling like I was a bit lately to different parties, but robotics feels new and fresh because it is. Some folks point to the home-brewed computer revolution that pulled in Steve Jobs and Bill Gates as a helpful way to contextualize where we are on the timeline. Others (like Tye Brady below) point significantly further back. I don’t think there’s a direct analog, but I do believe that 15 or 20 years from now, people will fondly remember this as a golden age for robotic discovery. The energy is palpable when you visit these sites. Much of Silicon Valley has spent the last decade trying to reengineer the same handful of tired apps over and over again (that’s not to say it’s all bad, but there’s a kind of stasis that comes with maturity). Here, however, you can talk to a million people chasing down real-world problems. The speed and excitement at which many of these breakthroughs occur can be head spinning. Of course, it’s important to remember that they’re standing on the backs of decades of research. Practically every technical founder has some university professor they’ll happily tell you is one of the great unsung heroes of robotics and AI. This, I think, is a big part of the reason why many robotics firms have set up a kind of miniature museum near the building’s entrance. It serves to show how far you’ve come, while providing a tangible connection to where you came from. Many of the products found on these shelves are a jumble of hastily soldered wires and 3D-printed parts. They’re the results of the excitement that drives people to build things with their hands in an effort to prove out whiteboarded theses. You want to bottle that jolt of electricity you get from the first time a scrappy bit of hardware works as intended and mete it out in those times when businesses become a hard slog and you lose sight of that original vision. Image Credits: Rise Robotics I should add here that pivoting doesn’t necessarily qualify as losing sight. It’s extremely common in robotics. You set out to solve a specific problem and find yourself suddenly deeply immersed in another thing entirely. A prime example of that from last week is the team at Rise Robotics, which started life as an exosuit company and is now making massive actuators for heavy machinery. Perhaps the most

Ghost Robotics fires back against ‘baseless’ Boston Dynamics lawsuit • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 17, 2022Posted in boston dynamics, ghost robotics, Hardware, Robotics & AINo Comments

A legal dispute over robotic patents is devolving into a war of words, as Ghost Robotics fires back against Boston Dynamics. The Philadelphia firm calls the suit both “obstructive and baseless” in a statement sent to ZebethMedia. It notes, in part, Ghost Robotics’ success has not gone unnoticed by Boston Dynamics. Rather than compete on a level playing field, the company chose to file an obstructive and baseless lawsuit on November 11th in an attempt to halt the newcomer’s progress. Boston Dynamics is drawing on their considerably larger resources to litigate instead of innovate. Ghost’s statement, in which it refers to itself as “the number one supplier of legged robots to US and Allied Governments,” follows press reports of a lengthy suit filed by Boston Dynamics in a Delaware court. It adds that the company has its roots in its own legged robotic research, writing, “Ghost Robotics was born out of the PhD research of CTO Avik De and CEO Gavin Kenneally, under the tutelage of the esteemed Prof. Dan Koditschek at The University of Pennsylvania. Prof. Koditschek is a pioneer in the field of legged robots and holds the patent (jointly with his former students, Martin Buehler and Uluc Saranli) for the first battery-powered, dynamic legged robot, RHex (US6481513B2, filed March 14, 2001).” On Tuesday, Spot’s maker told ZebethMedia that it doesn’t comment on pending lawsuits, but added, Innovation is the lifeblood of Boston Dynamics, and our roboticists have successfully filed approximately 500 patents and patent applications worldwide. We welcome competition in the emerging mobile robotics market, but we expect all companies to respect intellectual property rights, and we will take action when those rights are violated. In the suit, Boston Dynamics cites multiple letters, including cease and desists, calling on Ghost to suspend the manufacture of its own four-legged dog robots over several alleged patent violations. It’s not the first time to two companies have butted heads. Ghost made national headlines after images surfaced of one of its dog robots sporting a SWORD Defense Systems Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle (SPUR). A drawing from Boston Dynamics’ suit The company’s then-CEO Jiren Parikh (who passed away in March of this year) told ZebethMedia at the time, We don’t make the payloads. Are we going to promote and advertise any of these weapon systems? Probably not. That’s a tough one to answer. Because we’re selling to the military, we don’t know what they do with them. We’re not going to dictate to our government customers how they use the robots. We do draw the line on where they’re sold. We only sell to U.S. and allied governments. We don’t even sell our robots to enterprise customers in adversarial markets. We get lots of inquiries about our robots in Russia and China. We don’t ship there, even for our enterprise customers. Last month Boston Dynamics joined a number of follow robotics firms in an open letter condemning the practice of weaponizing robotics. The letter notes, in part, We believe that adding weapons to robots that are remotely or autonomously operated, widely available to the public, and capable of navigating to previously inaccessible locations where people live and work, raises new risks of harm and serious ethical issues. Weaponized applications of these newly-capable robots will also harm public trust in the technology in ways that damage the tremendous benefits they will bring to society. Boston Dynamics is seeking unspecified damages in its suit.

Elephantech wants to create circuit boards that are kinder to the environment • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 17, 2022Posted in Asia, Environmentally Friendly, Hardware, Japan, pcb, printed circuit boards, Startups, VentureNo Comments

Printed circuit boards (PCB), which perform essential functions in electronic devices, including displays and sensors, need a lot of energy to create. Moreover, traditional PCB manufacturing processes generate large amounts of liquid waste and high carbon emissions. Still, there are more environmentally friendly ways of producing PCBs, including additive manufacturing processes that use inkjet and laser printing, while fully biodegradable PCBs are also on the horizon. To get its slice of $90 billion PCB manufacturing pie, Tokyo-based startup Elephantech has developed an eco-friendly PCB called P-Flex, using inkjet printing-based electronic circuit manufacturing technology which it says reduces carbon emissions by 77% and water consumption by 95% compared to conventional processes. The main change Elephantech ushers in to the PCB process is that while electronic circuits are typically made through so-called “subtractive” manufacturing which involves layering an entire surface with metal before dissolving the areas that aren’t necessary, with Elephantech’s “pure additive” process, it only puts metals in place where they are needed to begin with. Nothing is subsequently removed (i.e. wasted). The company also says that its nanoparticle inkjet technology helps cut costs by 32%, through removing a number of procedures from the manufacturing process. To meet its mission “to create a sustainable world through resource-and energy-efficient manufacturing technologies,” Elephantech has secured 2.15 billion yen (~$15 million) in funding, at a 12.3 billion yen ($88 million) valuation, a company spokesperson told ZebethMedia. The new capital, which brings its total raised to approximately 7 billion yen ($50 million) since its inception in 2014, will help the startup scale its business from R&D and its current production volume, which is focused on its domestic market, to target customers globally. Regular circuit Elephantech started the mass production of its PCBs two years ago in its Nagoya facility, and while it is currently focused on single-sided flexible substrates, it plans to produce multi-layered and rigid PCBs, which constitute different layers, including a copper layer, substrate layer and silkscreen layer. The company said that its inkjet printing technology can also be used in other sectors such as healthcare, optics, and textiles. In August, the startup announced a dye removal technology called neochromato, co-developed with Japanese textile chemical company Nicca Chemical. The neochromato process supports removing print from polyester fabrics without using water, and putting new print on the textiles to reuse the material with a different design before recycling to reduce apparel waste. The outfit said the process could reduce about 48% of CO2 emissions when clothes are recycled with a different pattern compared to chemical recycling, which reduces about 20% of the carbon emissions. A number of fledgling startups are working to address and optimize different aspects of the PCB design process, including a company called Celus, which recently raised $25.6 million for a platform that automates circuit board design. Then there’s Luminovo, which secured $11 million to reduce waste in PCB manufacturing by bringing together the entire material and production costing process. So it’s clear that there is a growing impetus to optimize and improve on a technology that powers just about every electronic contraption there is, from smartphones to microwave ovens. Combined with growing environmental concerns and the role that electronics plays in that, Elephantech is perhaps in a strong position to gain traction in global markets, and its latest cash injection will go some way toward helping. Elephantech’s funding round included investments from Anri V Investment, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Nose, Shizuoka Capital, Eiwa Corporation, Nanobank, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Kenbishi Sake Brewing, D&I Investment, Epson, Sumimoto, East Ventures and Beyond Next Ventures.

Gravitics raises $20M to make the essential units for living and working in space • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 17, 2022Posted in gravitics, Hardware, Space, space station, Startups, type one venturesNo Comments

The space industry is on the cusp of a revolution. The cost of launch, which has dramatically decreased over the past five years, will continue to drop as heavy-lift rockets like SpaceX’s Starship and Relativity’s Terran R become operational. Parallel to these developments, multiple private companies have introduced plans to build commercial space stations for science, manufacturing and even tourism. If space stations are the next phase of business in orbit, they’re going to need standard parts — and Gravitics aims to be the one making them. The startup is headed by space industry veteran Colin Doughan, who surveyed these currents and saw a gap in the market. Doughan’s career spans a nearly 20-year tenure at Lockheed Martin, where he worked as a senior finance manager dealing with large satellite constellations for government customers. He also co-founded Altius Space Machines, which was eventually purchased by Voyager Space in 2019. Private station operators “are going to need an easy LEGO brick to build in space,” he told ZebethMedia in a recent interview: versatile, modular hardware to let humanity build in space at scale. Gravitics, which emerged from stealth today following the announcement of a $20 million seed round, is calling the building block “StarMax.” (Doughan also refers to it as an SUV — a “Space Utility Vehicle.”) Notably, StarMax modules are huge: the model listed on the company’s website has a diameter of nearly 8 meters and an internal usable volume of 400 cubic meters, nearly half that of the International Space Station. Gravitics wants to position these modules as the essential base unit for living and working in space. The initiative has caught investor attention in a major way, as the seed round illustrates — further proof that space station and in-space habitat plays are getting hotter. The funding was led by Type One Ventures, with additional participation from Tim Draper from Draper Associates, FJ Labs, The Venture Collective, Helios Capital, Chicago-based Giant Step Capital, Gaingels, Spectre, Manhattan West and Mana Ventures. From an investor standpoint, Type One founding partner and Gravitics board member Tarek Waked said his firm noticed multiple underlying trends that support the company’s vision of the future. “We’re betting on launch costs coming down. We’re betting on Starship revolutionizing the industry,” he said. It’s not just Starship’s cargo capacity that excites the Gravitics team. It’s the potential for the rocket to send up many more humans into space — people who, at present, would have nowhere to stay. “There’s no infrastructure for those people to go [to], and even if we built that infrastructure today, there’s no modular or cost-effective way to get that much infrastructure up to orbit,” Waked said. “And that’s where I think Gravitics plays.” StarMax at scale. Image Credits: Gravitics Supplying the stations of the future The specific play that Gravitics is making is emphatically not as a space station operator. Blue Origin and Sierra Space’s Orbital Reef, Voyager and Lockheed’s Starlab, and a third project headed by Northrop Grumman have already received major funding from NASA under the agency’s Commercial low Earth orbit Destinations (CLD) program. Rather than compete with these companies, Gravitics wants to be their core supplier. Doughan said he anticipates a glut of demand for the product in the second half of the decade, as operators commence their initial build out. Beyond that, Gravitics is aiming to fulfill the ongoing needs of these stations once they are operational, plus meeting organic demand that the company is betting will emerge as costs for launching cargo and crew drop. StarMax will have power and propulsion onboard for delivery and docking (and indeed, the company landed Virgin Orbit’s former senior director of propulsion, Scott Macklin, as its director of engineering). “What we’re guessing is going to happen is that station demand is going to grow,” Doughan said. “They’re going to need scalability over time.” A rendering of an office on StarMax. Image Credits: Gravitics What the economy in low Earth orbit will ultimately look like is anyone’s guess, however, and from the outside it seems that StarMax’s emphasis on scalability in the design (the module has docking ports on either end) is also a hedge against the space industry’s notoriously uncertain timelines. But it also makes sense from a market perspective: Gravitics is prepared to sell the StarMax module to entities that may want to use it in a free-flyer capacity, or an operator that wants flexibility on offering short-term stays or long-term attachments to the stations; but StarMaxes can also be daisy-chained to form even larger in-space platforms as more and more people spend time in space. (opens in a new window) “Of or pertaining to gravity” For all the talk of Starship, the company isn’t putting all its eggs in that one, Musk-y basket. The suite of StarMax modules under development are being designed to be compatible on other next-gen launch vehicles, like United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan and Blue Origin’s New Glenn. While Gravitics is staying tight-lipped on how much a single StarMax might cost, Doughan said it would be competitive with a recent deal between Axiom Space and Thales Alenia for two station modules, a contract valued at €110 million ($108 million), or $54 million each. The company recently opened a 42,000-square-foot facility just north of Seattle where it has already begun constructing prototypes and preparing for early module pressure tests early next year. Gravitics is also in talks with development groups in Florida about building a larger production and integration facility right next to their customer base at Kennedy Space Center. In addition to these physical spaces, the company will also use the funds from this seed round to continue growing its team. It has already attracted notable talent, like the aforementioned Macklin and Bill Tandy, former mission architect and chief engineer for Orbital Reef. The pressure tests in the first quarter of next year are the initial step toward testing a StarMax in orbit, though Doughan declined to offer any details on that timeline. But it’s

Tatum is building a robot arm to help people with deafblindness communicate • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 16, 2022Posted in accessibility, Hardware, robotics, Robotics & AI, Tatum RoboticsNo Comments

Precise numbers on deafblindness are difficult to calculate. For that reason, figures tend to be all over the place. For the sake of writing an intro to this story, we’re going to cite this study from the World Federation of the DeafBlind that puts the number of severe cases at 0.2% globally and 0.8% of the U.S. Whatever the actual figure, it’s safe to say that people living with a combination of hearing and sight loss is a profoundly underserved community. They form the foundation of the work being done by the small robotics firm, Tatum (Tactile ASL Translational User Mechanism). I met with the team at MassRobotics during a trip to Boston last week. The company’s 3D-printed robotic hand sat in the middle of the conference room table as we spoke about Tatum’s origins. The whole thing started life in summer 2020 as part of founder Samantha Johnson’s master’s thesis for Northeastern University. The 3D-printed prototype can spell out words with American Sign Language, offering people with deafblindness a window to the outside world. From the user’s end, it operates similarly to tactile fingerspelling. They place the hand over the back of the robot, feeling its movements to read as its spells. When no one is around who can sign, there can be a tremendous sense of isolation for people with deafblindness, as they’re neither able to watch or listen to the news and are otherwise cut off from remote communication. In this age of teleconferencing, it’s easy to lose track of precisely how difficult that loss of connection can be. Image Credits: Tatum Robotics “Over the past two years, we began developing initial prototypes and conducted preliminary validations with DB users,” the company notes on its site. “During this time, the COVID pandemic forced social distancing, causing increased isolation and lack of access to important news updates due to intensified shortage of crucial interpreting services. Due to the overwhelming encouragement from DB individuals, advocates, and paraprofessionals, in 2021, Tatum Robotics was founded to develop an assistive technology to aid the DB community.” Tatum continues to iterate on its project, through testing with the deafblind community. The goal to build something akin to an Alexa for people with the condition, using the hand to read a book or get plugged into the news in a way that might have otherwise been completely inaccessible. In addition to working with organizations like the Perkins School for the Blind, Tatum is simultaneously working on a pair of hardware projects. Per the company: The team is currently working on two projects. The first is a low-cost robotic anthropomorphic hand that will fingerspell tactile sign language. We hope to validate this device in real-time settings with DB individuals soon to confirm the design changes and evaluate ease-of use. Simultaneously, progress is ongoing to develop a safe, compliant robotic arm so that the system can sign more complex words and phrases. The systems will work together to create a humanoid device that can sign tactile sign languages. Image Credits: Tatum Robotics Linguistics: In an effort to sign accurately and repeatably, the team is looking to logically parse through tactile American Sign Language (ASL), Pidgin Signed English (PSE) and Signed Exact English (SEE). Although research has been conducted in this field, we aim to be the first to develop an algorithm to understand the complexities and fluidity of t-ASL without the need for user confirmation of translations or pre-programmed responses. Support has been growing among organizations for the deafblind. It’s a community that has long been underserved by these sorts of hardware projects. There are currently an estimated 150 million people with the condition globally. It’s not exactly the sort of total addressable market that gets return-focused investors excited — but for those living with the condition, this manner of technology could be life changing.

This robotic dog can walk over just about any terrain • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 16, 2022Posted in carnegie mellon university, Hardware, Robotics & AI, uc-berkeleyNo Comments

Quadruped robot developers like Boston Dynamics have taken great pains to develop systems capable of traversing all manner of terrain. For the right price, you can pick up a robotic dog that can take a kick, get back up and get back on its way. A team comprised of researchers at Carnegie Mellon and UC Berkeley have developed their own system for teaching these sorts of robots to make their way over tough ground. The list includes stairs, curbs and uneven and slippery terrain. Rather than relying on the more standardized method of using cameras to map the world in front of them, the team trained the roots using simulators: four thousand virtual clones were sent on their way across all manner of different terrain. Image Credits: CMU The researchers say the method allowed them to effectively reproduce six years of walking experience in a single 24-hour period. The data collected in the simulations was then fed into a neural network and loaded on the robot. With the on-board learning, the system can react to its environment in real time and adjust its legs accordingly. The team claims that the system can bring down the cost of robots substantially. “This system uses vision and feedback from the body directly as input to output commands to the robot’s motors,” researcher Ananye Agarwal said in a post tied to the research. “This technique allows the system to be very robust in the real world. If it slips on stairs, it can recover. It can go into unknown environments and adapt.” Assistant professor Deepak Pathak says the system works in similar ways to real animals like cats. “Four-legged animals have a memory that enables their hind legs to track the front legs. Our system works in a similar fashion.” In additional to being able to climb stairs nearly its own height, the system is also able to operate in the dark, though the vision system is still required for improved performance.

Amazon hardware head confirms layoffs in memo • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 16, 2022Posted in Amazon, dave limp, devices, Hardware, LayoffsNo Comments

Update: Spokesperson Kelly Nantel tells ZebethMedia, “As part of our annual operating planning review process, we always look at each of our businesses and what we believe we should change. As we’ve gone through this, given the current macro-economic environment (as well as several years of rapid hiring), some teams are making adjustments, which in some cases means certain roles are no longer necessary. We don’t take these decisions lightly, and we are working to support any employees who may be affected.” While Amazon has yet to confirm the size or scoop of its most recent round of layoffs, the company today posted the text of a letter from Senior Vice President of Devices & Services, Dave Limp, that sheds light on the situation. The note, which was initially sent to the company’s Devices and Services org, confirms a “consolidation” of teams within the division. “After a deep set of reviews, we recently decided to consolidate some teams and programs. One of the consequences of these decisions is that some roles will no longer be required,” Limp writes. “It pains me to have to deliver this news as we know we will lose talented Amazonians from the Devices & Services org as a result. I am incredibly proud of the team we have built and to see even one valued team member leave is never an outcome any of us want.” The memo is a confirmation of earlier reports that the company begun to inform employees yesterday. Amazon reportedly gave employees two months to find another role inside the company or accept severance. Limp adds that all impacted employees in that org were notified of the decision yesterday. “In cases where employees cannot find a new role within the company,” the executive writes, “we will support the transition with a package that includes a separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support.” The moves follow a report earlier this week that puts the company-wide figure at 10,000 – amounting to roughly 3% of the overall corporate headcount. Devices were an easy target for corporate belt tightening, given reports that they’ve been losing $5 billion in annual revenue for Amazon. Human Resources, retail and the cloud gaming platform, Luna, are also said to be targets. “While I know this news is tough to digest,” Limp writes, “I do want to emphasize that the Devices & Services organization remains an important area of investment for Amazon, and we will continue to invent on behalf of our customers.”

Amazon begins layoffs as economic woes mount • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 16, 2022Posted in Amazon, Hardware, layoff, LayoffsNo Comments

This week, Amazon began the process of cutting jobs across the company. Managers have begun informing employees that they have two months to find another role inside the company or accept severance, according to reports. Numerous employees have acknowledged that they were impacted by the moves via services like LinkedIn. Other reports, meanwhile, cite frustrations among the workforce that the company has not sent any companywide notifications to acknowledge the size and scope of the cuts. We’ve reached out to Amazon for comment. The news follows weeks of rumors around accelerating belt tightening led by CEO Andy Jassy. Following reports that the company was eyeing its devices division in particular, word arrived earlier this week that the company plans to lay off 10,000 – comprising roughly 3% of its corporate workforce. The figure would mark the largest “workforce reduction” ever undertaken by the e-commerce and cloud computing giant in its nearly 30-year history. Retail and human resources are also said to be impacted, along with the company’s cloud gaming service, Luna. The cuts come less than two months after Google pulled the plug on its competing service, Stadia. Last week, a spokesperson for the company told ZebethMedia, We remain excited about the future of our larger businesses, as well as newer initiatives like Prime Video, Alexa, Grocery, Kuiper, Zoox, and Healthcare. Our senior leadership team regularly reviews our investment outlook and financial performance, including as part of our annual operating plan review, which occurs in the fall each year. As part of this year’s review, we’re of course taking into account the current macro-environment and considering opportunities to optimize costs. The statement acknowledged what’s amounted to major financial headwinds for everyone from the smallest early-stage startup to the largest multinational corporation. Amazon’s devices division, which includes Echo Products, Fire Tablets and its Alexa business, was a prime candidate for the chopping block, given that it’s reportedly been operating at a $5 billion a year revenue loss. It’s been a long tail strategy to broader acceptance of its smart assistant, Alexa, but Jassy appears to be taking an especially close look at those divisions that require a lot of runaway. The company’s last mile delivery robot Scout was among the recent casualties in a broader consolidation of its robotics division. Amazon’s far from the only major tech corporation to make big cuts as it braces for economic headwinds. Last week, Meta laid off 11,000 — around 13% of the company’s entire workforce. Under the guidance of new CEO Elon Musk, Twitter has also begun laying off what could amount to thousands, while Salesforce and Stripe have grappled with their own restructuring. In addition to broader macro concerns, Amazon’s revenue has also begun to return to Earth following pandemic-fueled surges in online shopping.