Category: Science
Earn Cash Pretending to Be Tesla’s Humanoid – Join the Ground Floor Revolution
In 2021, Elon Musk unveiled Tesla Bot, a prototype for a humanoid robot that would eventually go by the name Optimus. Famously, there was no actual robot present, but rather a person in a suit pretending to be one. Now you can join in the action, while getting paid up to $48 an hour.As spotted by Bu
Meet the soft robots that can amputate limbs and fuse with other robots
Roboticists at The Faboratory at Yale University have developed a way for soft robots to replicate some of the more unsettling things that animals and insects can accomplish — say, a reptile self-amputating a limb or ants building bridges by temporarily fusing their bodies.In one demo video, we see
Cruise founder Kyle Vogt is back with a robot startup
Kyle Vogt, the former founder and CEO of self-driving car company Cruise, has a new VC-backed robotics startup focused on household chores. Vogt announced Monday that the new startup, called the Bot Company, has raised $150 million from former GitHub CEO and investor Nat Friedman, Pioneer founder an
Amazon Hits 1 Million Robots and Debuts Revolutionary AI Model
After 13 years of deploying robots into its warehouses, Amazon reached a new milestone.The tech behemoth now has 1 million robots in its warehouses, the company announced Monday. This one millionth robot was recently delivered to an Amazon fulfillment facility in Japan.That figure puts Amazon on tra
Tera AI Unveils $7.8M Funding to Revolutionize Robot Visual Navigation
Robots are part of an exciting new frontier in tech, but heres the challenge: Robots rely on arrays of sensors, external signals like GPS and Wi-Fi, and customized software to navigate their environments. Further, robotics often involves expensive, ready-made hardware solutions that include built-in
Mercedes begins piloting Apptronik humanoid robots
Pilot season has officially begun for the world of humanoid robotics. Last year, Amazon began testing Agility’s Digit robots in select fulfillment centers, while this January, Figure announced a deal with BMW. Now Apptronik is getting in on the action, courtesy of a partnership with Mercedes-Benz.Ac
Bear Robotics, a robot waiter startup, just picked up $60M from LG
LG Electronics may no longer be a household name in smartphones, but it still sees a big future in gadgets like robots. Today, the company confirmed a $60 million investment in Bear Robotics, the California startup that makes artificial intelligence–powered server robots (autonomous tray towers on w
Electro‑hydraulic muscles enable robot legs to stay straight on uneven terrain
Researchers at ETH Zürich are very good at keeping robots standing upright. Back in 2022, the school’s robotics team taught the quadrupedal ANYmal robot how to hike up mountains without falling over. New research from the school, published in collaboration with the Stuttgart-based Max Planck Institu
Ex-Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt’s robotics startup secures an additional $150M investment
The Bot Company, the robotics startup founded by former Cruise co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt, has raised $150 million in a round led by Greenoaks, according to Reuters, citing unnamed sources. Vogt founded the startup with Paril Jain, who led the AI tech team at Tesla, and former Cruise software engi
SoftBank Pledges $500M to Propel Skild AI’s Robotics Frontier
SoftBank is negotiating a $500 million investment in Skild AI, a software company building a foundational model for robotics at a $4 billion valuation, Bloomberg and Financial Times reported.The 2-year-old company raised its previous funding round of $300 million at a $1.5 billion valuation last Jul
AI‑Powered Basketball Robot: Catch Every Shot with Precision
Like anything in life, the secret to becoming Steph Curry or Sabrina Ionescu is practice, practice, and more practice. You practice when it’s too hot, too cold, you’re tired, or you’re sick.Finding a willing one-on-one partner through all of that is, however, another question entirely. The good news
Swarmbotics Founders Fuel Unwavering Obsession with Robot Swarms, Prepared to Deploy Them on the Battlefield
Few truly autonomous systems are deployed on the battlefield, but one startup is looking to change that with robotic systems that use cooperative behavior to boost troops’ intelligence and tactical advantage. Those systems are called “swarms,” and theyre basically collections of autonomous robots th
DJI Flip: $439 Foldable Camera Drone That Captures Stunning Shots on the Go
Four short months after introducing the truly palm-size Neo, DJI is back with another pint-sized consumer drone. The Flip continues the drone giant’s interest in foldable form factors, with a quartet of propeller guards that essentially stack up, for maximum portability.The new Flip continues to blu
Boston Dynamics & TRI Unite to Infuse AI Brilliance into the Atlas Humanoid Robot
Boston Dynamics and Toyota Research Institute (TRI) Wednesday revealed plans to bring AI-based robotic intelligence to the electric Atlas humanoid robot. The collaboration will leverage the work that TRI has done around large behavior models (LBMs), which operate along similar lines as the more fami
Three Years In, Europe Seeks Ukraine’s Blueprint for Defense Innovation
Today marks three years since Russia’s illegal, unprovoked, and brutal invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian people have heroically fought the war with grit and determination, but they have also, against the odds, innovated on and off the battlefield.In addition to establishing a defense tech initiativ
Neura Unveils the 4NE-1: A New Era in Humanoid Robotics
German robotics manufacturer Neura this week released video of a humanoid robot, called 4NE-1, performing a variety of activities, like ironing and moving boxes. The promotional video arrives as Nvidia is showcasing a slew of new tools for humanoids at the Siggraph conference in Colorado.Neura is on
Disney Teams Up With Nvidia and DeepMind to Power Charming Robot Collection
Nvidia is collaborating with Disney Research and Google DeepMind to develop Newton, a physics engine to simulate robotic movements in real-world settings, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced at GTC 2025 on Tuesday.Disney will be among the first to use Newton to power its next-generation entertainment
Tiny Robot Cat Brings Instant Coffee Cooling
Yukai Engineering’s parade of weird animal robots at CES 2025 continues with Nékojita FuFu. The little cat mounts to the side of a mug or bowl, blowing air to help cool it off. The Tokyo-based firm says the robot combines a fan and “special algorithm” — or a “Fu-ing System” — to blow at random stren
OpenAI Rumors: Humanoid Robot on the Horizon!
OpenAI has recently explored building its own humanoid robot, according to The Information. The report cites “two people with direct knowledge” of those conversations. The ChatGPT maker has been involved in the space for some time now, by way of financial backing. It has thus far invested in Figure
Muscle tissue harvested from mice cells move ‘biohybrid’ robots
Sometimes nature provides the best blueprints for building effective robots. It also can provide the best material. Billions of years of natural selection has built some pretty impressive machinery, so you can’t really blame engineers for borrowing a bit of inspiration from the world around them. In
MIT robotics pioneer Rodney Brooks thinks people are vastly overestimating generative AI
When Rodney Brooks talks about robotics and artificial intelligence, you should listen. Currently the Panasonic Professor of Robotics Emeritus at MIT, he also co-founded three key companies, including Rethink Robotics, iRobot and his current endeavor, Robust.ai. Brooks also ran the MIT Computer Scie
Amazon Prime Air Drones Take Off for UK Town
Amazon announced Monday it has picked the North England town of Darlington as the first site for its planned U.K. drone-delivery expansion.Amazon was expected to expand Prime Air to the U.K. and Italy in 2024. After missing that initial target, the company opted to not share a timeline for this late
Covariant is building ChatGPT for robots
Covariant this week announced the launch of RFM-1 (Robotics Foundation Model 1). Peter Chen, the co-founder and CEO of the UC Berkeley artificial intelligence spinout tells TechCrunch the platform, “is basically a large language model (LLM), but for robot language.”RFM-1 is the result of, among othe
Discover 2025’s Event Highlights
For two decades, TechCrunch has provided a front row view to the future of technology, shaping conversations that matter and spotlighting the next big things before they break — both on the page and in person at our world-renowned events. This year, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary, were launchi
1X aims to pilot humanoid robots in hundreds of homes by 2025
Norwegian robotics startup 1X plans to start early tests of its humanoid robot, Neo Gamma, in a few hundred to a few thousand homes by the end of 2025, according to the companys CEO, Bernt Børnich.Neo Gamma is going into homes this year, Børnich told TechCrunch in an interview at Nvidia GTC 2025. We
Hugging Face Opens Pre‑Orders for Reachy Mini Desktop Robots
Hugging Face is ready for developers to start tinkering and testing its latest robotics release.The AI development platform announced Wednesday that its now accepting orders for its Reachy Mini desktop robots. The company initially unveiled the prototypes of these devices back in May, alongside a la
Elon Musk Announces 2026 Launch for Optimus—See How Other Humanoid Robots Stack Up
Ahead of Tuesday’s earnings, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the carmaker will begin selling its Optimus humanoid robot in 2026. In fact, Optimus has already started performing tasks autonomously, like handling batteries, in one of Teslas facilities, according to its earnings report.“Tesla will h
Beagle Unveils Versatile Long-Range Drone for Multiple Applications
When there are damages to energy infrastructure, such as electricity pylons or gas pipelines, expensive helicopters are frequently used to inspect them. Drones have begun to replace some of those inspections, but the flight-time for these can be limited. Now a new company has produced a drone with a
Apple Set to Launch a $2,000 Vision Headset Next Year
Apple’s Vision Pro hasn’t exactly reshaped the market, but the company isn’t giving up on headsets that combine the digital and real worlds.A new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that Apple’s next big mixed reality release could come as early as next year, with the launch of a Vision headset
OpenAI\’s Fresh Job Listings Point to Bold Robotics Vision
OpenAI disbanded its robotics department. Then, it brought it back. Now, through a social media post from its hardware director and newly published job descriptions, OpenAI is revealing more about its plans for the revived team.In a post on X on Friday, Caitlin Kalinowski, who joined OpenAI to lead
Meet Mirumi – A Pocket‑Sized Robot That Perfectly Fits on Your Purse, Premiering at CES 2025
Yukai Engineering is no stranger to cute but somewhat odd little robots. And at CES 2025, they revealed Mirumi, a robot thats made to delight bystanders by turning its head to greet them. The robot has a few different modes to choose from, between a comfort mode in which it looks around after not be
This humanoid robot can drive cars — sort of
Is the key to autonomous cars that dont run over pedestrians and crash into telephone poles a humanoid robot behind the wheel? A group of researchers at the University of Tokyo think so, and they lay out their argument in a newly published technical paper this week.The researchers, one of whom consu
Apptronik’s Humanoid Robots Build Themselves, Leading the Self‑Assembly Revolution
Apptronik, an Austin-based maker of humanoid robots, on Tuesday announced a new pilot partnership with American supply chain/manufacturing stalwart, Jabil. The deal arrives two weeks after Apptronik announced a $350 million Series A financing round aimed at scaling up production of its Apollo robot.
Nvidia’s CES 2025 Keynote Revealed – Watch Live Now
Nvidia will no doubt have the biggest CES 2025. After all, the company has pretty much the biggest everything nowadays. The chip giant is sporting a $3.4+ trillion market cap, due largely to its foundational position in the ongoing AI boom. Companies like OpenAI and Meta have purchased Nvidia proces
Nvidia enlists humanoid robotics’ biggest names for new AI platform, GR00T
It’s tough to argue with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang when he notes, “Building foundation models for general humanoid robots is one of the most exciting problems to solve in AI today.” The humanoid form factor is one of the most hotly contested topics in the world of robotics at the moment, raising ventu
MIT Soft Robot Revolutionizes Grocery Packing
The first self-checkout system was installed in 1986 in a Kroger grocery store just outside of Atlanta. It took several decades, but the technology has finally proliferated across the U.S. Given the automated direction grocery stores are heading, it seems that robotic bagging can’t be too far behind
Google DeepMind Unveils a Rookie Table Tennis Robot
Sports have long served as an important test for robots. The best-known example of the phenomenon may be the annual RoboCup soccer competition, which dates back to the mid-1990s. Table tennis has played a key role in benchmarking robot arms since a decade prior. The sport requires speed, responsiven
Amazon’s Tye Brady Reveals the Future of Robotic Warehouses
For the last several years, the Delivering the Future event has showcased the latest technologies powering Amazon operations. Seattles 2023 event showcased updates to the company’s pharmacy offerings and drone deliveries.This year in Nashville, Amazon discussed AI updates to its shopping experiences
JPMorgan unveils mind‑blowing quantum computer with Microsoft and Nvidia
A drab, vinyl-floored, windowless office building just north of Denver houses one of the wonders of the computer industry. It\’s home to several wonders, actually: a data center where two commercial quantum computers are operating for paying customers including JPMorgan, and a third prototype under c
Phila’s Youth Justice Program Turns 100% of Recidivists Into Returners—Jail’s Costly, Ineffective Alternative Revealed!
Janelle Harvey was running errands in Philadelphia in March 2021 — the busy sort that come with being a new mother. Her 1-year-old daughter was waiting for her at home, and she was anxious to get back. As she descended onto the SEPTA pub
Mark Zuckerberg\’s metaverse dreams are fading
About a year ago, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg couldn\’t stop talking about the metaverse, saying it was no less than the future of his entire company. He renamed the company in honor of these ambitions. Today, it\’s a relative blip when he speaks publicly.
Google’s elite AI minds have jumped ship—see where they’re now.
Editor\’s note: This story was originally published on March 23, 2023 and most recently updated on July 13, 2023 to reflect recent developments. Google has found itself in a defensive position as it faces questions over whether it\’s lost
Dog‑inspired Rivr Robots Team Up With Veho Vans for 100‑Yard Parcel Delivery in Austin
Most delivery automation stops at the curb. But for Veho and Zurich-based robotics startup Rivr, the real challenge — and opportunity — lies in those final 100 yards from van to doorstep.In a pilot program launching Tuesday in Austin, Rivr’s four-wheeled, stair-climbing delivery robot, which CEO and
Neuralink Pioneer Embeds Video, Narrates Seamlessly via Brain Chip
The first nonverbal Neuralink patient to receive the chip implant is offering a glimpse into how he uses the technology — editing and narrating a YouTube video using signals from his brain. Brad Smith is the third person in the world to get a brain
Rerun Launches $17 M Seed to Supercharge Open‑Source AI Platform for Robots, Drones & Cars
As generative AI moves increasingly into the physical world through robotics, vehicles, and drones, the need to map cloud-based AIs to real-world environments can lead to a huge mismatch. Rerun, a Stockholm-based dev tools startup, which builds a data stack for this emergent kind of physical AI, has
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AI Innovators, seize your moment! Have insights that could inspire 1,200 AI founders, investors, and enthusiasts eager to advance the future of AI?Take center stage, influence the AI conversation, and exchange ideas at TechCrunch Sessions: AI on June 5 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall.We’re gatherin
9 breathtaking natural enigmas that stump scientists
Whether it\’s the cause of a flamingo-pink lake or the source of splotchy circles in the desert, nature holds countless secrets that scientists are still trying to figure out.While people have cited UFOs or legendary creatures to explain some aspects of these unusual sights, scientists have called on
Leaked audio reveals Googlers flooding leaders with strategy questions, probing if AI focus dominates
It was Google\’s TGIF (Thank God It\’s Friday) all-hands this week, where employees get to put their most burning question to CEO Sundar Pichai and other company leaders. Top of mind for employees was AI, including the company\’s recent showcase of generative AI products at its I/O developer conference
Protecting My Family from Toxic Microplastics: What I Learn and What I Do at Home
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tracey Woodruff, the director of the Program on Reproductive Health & the Environment at the University of California, San Francisco. She studies how microplastics and toxic chemicals impact fertility and child development. The below has been edi
OpenAI’s “red team” fed ChatGPT “murder, bombs, antisemitism” prompts—here’s the chatbot’s alarming replies.
OpenAI recently unveiled GPT-4, the latest sophisticated language model to power ChatGPT that it says can hold longer conversations, reason better, and write code. GPT-4 demonstrated an improved ability to handle prompts of a more insidi
ChatGPT & Generative AI Global Tour: Maturity, Opportunities, and Hurdles Across Key Regions
ChatGPT has received a lot of press since its November 2022 launch. But while interest in the tool is high almost everywhere, its use is not yet universal.
Musk’s Mars mission faces fresh setback as Starship rockets erupt again.
SpaceX\’s flagship rockets keep blowing up. On Wednesday night, one of the Elon Musk-run space technology company\’s latest rockets erupted into an inferno on the launchpad.The explosion, which enveloped a portion of SpaceX\’s Starbase campus in Texas
ChatGPT and Generative AI: 2023’s Breakthrough Technology You Can’t Miss
ChatGPT brought generative AI into the limelight when it hit 1 million users in five days. But how valid is the buzz around ChatGPT? We unpack what you need to know: How does generative AI work? Who are the key players? Is ChatGPT ready for prime time? And most importantly: How will the technology c
19-Year-Old Wins $100,000 for Corn Husk Drug Breakthrough
When Adam Kovalčík flew to Ohio for an international science competition, he did not expect to come home with $100,000. The 19-year-old from Dulovce, Slovakia won that sum on Friday, though, because he developed a faster and cheaper way to make an e
Amp Robotics Raises $91M to Scale Up Robot-Powered Recycling Facilities
Recycling today kind of sucks. People are generally confused about what can be recycled and where. As a result, only about 32% of eligible waste actually gets recycled.It would be a lot easier if people could dump everything into one bin and let the waste-management companies deal with it, but that’
Gropyus Launches Robot Initiative to Rapidly Rebuild Ukraine
Growing up in a pioneering public housing project in Vienna, serial entrepreneur Markus Fuhrmann understood what could constitute good, family housing. And when his Ukrainian wife’s home country was brutally invaded by Russia, he knew he was on the right track with his latest endeavor — a constructi
ChatGPT and Generative AI in Insurance: Reality, Hype, Next Steps, and How to Prepare
ChatGPT, a conversational AI model built by OpenAI, is the most talked-about technology of 2023. And it has piqued the interest of insurance industry leaders. But where exactly will ChatGPT, and generative AI broadly, have the greatest impact? And what are its most and least promising use cases?
Google pushes staff to pilot AI chatbot that codes at lightning speed to outpace ChatGPT
Google is asking staff to test new coding features for its chatbot, Bard, as it prepares to make the features publicly available, according to an internal email sent Friday. The company told staff on Friday that they could test out new f
Unlock a $70 million space ticket: Axiom CEO reveals the ultimate astronaut experience
Tickets to space aren\’t cheap — but Axiom Space is a company pricing its offerings at the decidedly high end of the industry. Its tickets, which cost roughly $70 million, are steep compared to other human spaceflight options offered by space tourism
Google’s Bard AI Now Live in the US & UK – Unlock Chat Wonder
Google\’s answer to ChatGPT is finally being released to the public. The company said that it will grant access to its artificial intelligence chatbot, known as Bard, in the US and UK starting Tuesday. Google says that you can
Teenager unveils budget‑friendly, high‑performance drone, earning $23,000 from the Department of Defense.
Cooper Taylor is only 17 years old, but he\’s already trying to revolutionize the drone industry. Taylor has spent the past year optimizing a type of drone that\’s being used more and more in agriculture, disaster relief, wildlife conservation, search
13 Unbelievable Inventions: A Photo Journey Through the Museum of Failure
The exhibitions consisted of inventions from the past 400 years. There were creations on display from as far back as the 1600s and as recent as 2022.
26 shocking hurricane photo gallery that rocked the US
Hurricane season is here.As people in hurricane-prone states like Florida and Louisiana start to prepare to face whatever storm might come their way between June 1 and November 30, there are lessons they can learn from storms past, including what to pack in a go-bag and how best to protect their hom
ICON Cuts 25% of Staff as $2B Valuation Takes a Toll
ICON Technologies Inc., which builds homes using 3D printing, is laying off 114 people, according to a WARN letter filed with the Texas Workforce Commission.A spokesperson for the company confirmed the news to TechCrunch, providing a statement that ICON had “recently made a difficult decision to re-
Global Generative AI Evolution: Maturity, Market Momentum, And Regional Hurdles
ChatGPT has received a lot of press since its November 2022 launch. But while interest in the tool is high almost everywhere, its use is not yet universal.
Record-breaking heat reaches every state
Americans are feeling the heat as temperatures climb across the country.In January, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported that 2024 was the hottest year on record, and 2025 is shaping up to be a scorcher too. Amid this week\’s heat wav
Generative AI Powers Search: Revolutionizing the Digital Ad Format
Microsoft and Google are racing to develop the best AI-assisted search experience, leaving advertisers on the precipice of major disruption in the largest and most mature digital advertising channel. But the only certainty is that disruption is coming, and quickly. Everything else—even the fate of t
Nvidia Product Names Trace Legends—Grace Hopper, David Blackwell and Others
Nvidia takes some inspiration from history when it comes to naming its AI chips.There are chips named for Grace Hopper, David Blackwell, Vera Rubin. While their nomenclature may be overshadowed by other features like their computing power or speed a
A Pool‑Cleaning Company’s Robot Turtle Revolutionizes Water Quality Monitoring
Beatbot makes robotic pool cleaners. In fact, the company is showing off a new one with a docking station this week at CES 2025. What really caught our eye on the show floor, however, is RoboTurtle, because, well, it’s a robot that looks like a turtle.The turtle, sadly, seems to very much be in the
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son Says AI Investments Will Let His Company Rule the World
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son praised artificial intelligence during the company\’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, saying the firm would \”rule the world\” and win the latest generative-AI race thanks to its heavy investment in startups and its majority stake in the UK chip designer Arm.
ARX Unveils Cutting-Edge, Firestick-Style Platform to Drive Military Trucks into Autonomy
A startup with founders who previously served in the German military has created a product akin to an Amazon Firestick for legacy defense equipment, complete with a software stack. ARX Robotics claims its system can turn old equipment into AI-driven devices, such as autonomous-driving trucks. Back i
Aerodome is sending drones to the scene of the crime
If you’ve spent any time in Los Angeles, you’re no doubt aware that police helicopters are a permanent fixture in the skies above. The LAPD has been monitoring the City of Angels since the mid-1990s. But in recent years, LA and other metropolitan areas have been increasingly turning to drones as a s
Teen‑invented, salt‑powered fridge cuts hospitals\’ power bills, 200 on order
Three teenagers designed a mini refrigerator that cools itself with salt and doesn\’t require an outlet. They\’re bringing it to hospitals to help transport medical supplies to rural areas without electricity. Dhruv Chaudhary, Mithran Ladhania, and Mr
Grab the cheapest seats for Disrupt 2025—secure your spot now!
Missed the 2-for-1 deal for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025? No problem! Super Early Bird prices are still available, with savings of up to $1,130 on individual tickets and up to 30% on group passes. These savings are only good until the end of this month.Celebrate 20 years of TechCrunch Disrupt from Octobe
Soviet Spacecraft Set to Return to Earth Next Week
A Soviet spacecraft that stalled on its way to Venus is about to fall back to Earth, space-debris trackers say, and nobody knows where it might land. Trackers think the object that\’s rapidly losing altitude in Earth\’s orbit is the Venus entry capsul
ChatGPT and Generative AI: Our 2023 Guide to the Technology Everyone’s Talking About
ChatGPT brought generative AI into the limelight when it hit 1 million users in five days. But how valid is the buzz around ChatGPT? We unpack what you need to know: How does generative AI work? Who are the key players? Is ChatGPT ready for prime time? And most importantly: How will the technology c
2024 Startup Battlefield Top 20 Finalists – Spotlight on MDC
Revolutionizing surgery with a novel robotic system that provides physicians direct access inside MRI scanners.Subscribe for more on YouTube: https://tcrn.ch/youtubeFollow TechCrunch on Instagram: http://tcrn.ch/instagramTikTok: https://tcrn.ch/tiktokX: tcrn.ch/xThreads: https://tcrn.ch/threadsFaceb
Tesla’s Optimus Bots Took Charge—Humans Still Steered During the ‘We, Robot’ Event
During Tesla’s “We, Robot” event last week, which TechCrunch covered late into the night, sources on the ground sent me a handful of videos of the automaker’s Optimus humanoid robots walking around the party, dancing, mixing drinks, and talking to guests. Most, if not all, of those who attended the
ChatGPT, Generative AI, and the Future of Insurance: From Reality to Action
ChatGPT, a conversational AI model built by OpenAI, is the most talked-about technology of 2023. And it has piqued the interest of insurance industry leaders. But where exactly will ChatGPT, and generative AI broadly, have the greatest impact? And what are its most and least promising use cases?
AI learns animal chatter, could let humans talk to critters
There are scientists out there who are using AI to understand the sounds dolphins make, and it could have some world-changing impacts. \”I like to think that we will be able to talk to animals at some point,\” Drew Purves, the nature lead at Google De
OpenAI admits GPT-4 may be worse on some tasks after users complained the model is 'lazier' and 'dumber'
OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, said that GPT-4\’s performance may be worse on some tasks as users have complained that the model is \”lazier\” and \”dumber\” compared to previous iterations. \”While the majority of metrics have impr
13 U.S. coastal cities sinking beneath the waves
Cities are sinking across the US, some at a few fractions of a millimeter each year, while others lose up to six millimeters a year.This phenomenon, called subsidence, is a \”slow-moving yet widespread hazard,\” said Manoochehr Shirzaei, a geophysicist at Virginia Tech who co-authored a study publishe
Ulysses Deploys Robots to Revive Seagrass Ecosystems
Seagrass punches above its weight. The marine plant only occupies 0.1% of the ocean floor but can be credited with supporting marine ecosystems of plants and fish, filtering ocean water, and capturing quite a bit of carbon. Seagrass is also being destroyed, due to climate change and other factors, w
First Ever Footage of Baby Colossal Squid Captured After 100 Year Search
The colossal squid, a mysterious creature lurking in the Antarctic abyss, has finally made a cameo, a cohort of scientists say. You may have heard of the giant squid, which is famous from mariners\’ legends and for its epic battles with sperm whales.
Agility Robotics lays off some staff amid commercialization focus
Agility Robotics on Thursday confirmed that it has laid off a “small number” of employees. The well-funded Oregon-based firm says the job loss is part of a company-wide focus on commercialization efforts.“As part of Agility’s ongoing efforts to structure the company for success, we have parted ways
Amazon Unveils Warehouse Robot with Touch Sensitivity
Amazon says that it has developed a new warehouse robot, Vulcan, that can feel some of the items it touches.The two-armed Vulcan, which can maneuver goods inside the storage compartments Amazon has in its warehouses, usesforce sensors to help it know when it makes contact with an object. One arm rea
Robots Charge into a Half-Marathon, One Step at a Time
It looks like humanoid robots have a long way to go before catching up with human runners.Beijing’s E-Town tech hub hosted what it described as the world’s first humanoid half-marathon on Saturday, with 21 humanoid robots competing alongside thousands of humans.Bloomberg reports that the winning rob
Applied Carbon’s Farm Bot Turns Plant Waste Into CO2‑Reducing Biochar.
It’s incredibly easy to dump carbon into the atmosphere and accelerate climate change. It’s a lot harder to take it out. Startups are experimenting with massive industrial systems to draw the pollutant out of the air, with facilities costing hundreds of millions of dollars to construct.That has some
Shrinking U.S. Metropolises Sink, Study Warns Buildings Tilt and Infrastructure Falters
The ground is slowly sinking or deforming beneath all the biggest cities in the US, according to new satellite analysis. If cities don\’t do something about this land-sinking phenomenon, called subsidence, it could damage buildings and infrastructure
ChatGPT and Generative AI in Insurance: Reality, Hype, Future, and How to Prepare
ChatGPT, a conversational AI model built by OpenAI, is the most talked-about technology of 2023. And it has piqued the interest of insurance industry leaders. But where exactly will ChatGPT, and generative AI broadly, have the greatest impact? And what are its most and least promising use cases?
AI Developers Will Earn Six‑Figure Salaries—Discover How Much You Can Make.
Tech companies are being pressured by investors to cut costs in response to a sluggish advertising market and slowing growth rates after massive hiring sprees. However, one area where tech companies are investing is artificial intelligence.
BedJet Black Friday Deal: 35% off the Night Sweats Solution
The BedJet is an ingenious invention designed to keep you comfortable in bed. The BedJet\’s blower sends hot or cool air, depending on your preference, through a hose that is connected to the provided comforter. The comforter, which is more like a dual-layer flat sheet, fills with air that keeps you
Sub‑Millimeter Robots Morph and Zip Through with Electric Zaps
Cornell University researchers this week unveiled tiny “metasheet” robots capable of transforming into pre-determined shapes and crawling around when electricity is applied. Along with biological organisms, the robots were inspired by kirigami, a variation of origami wherein objects are cut in addit
The Trinity Test: Green Glass to a 1,000‑mile Fallout
At approximately 5:30 a.m. on July 16, 1945, the world\’s first atomic bomb exploded in the New Mexican desert. It was bright, hot, and loud. Scientists and military personnel crouched nearby in bunkers. Less than 20 miles away, residents awoke to a
Google contractors lack time to verify AI chatbot answers, forced to guess
Google has tasked some of its large contract workforce with helping to evaluate the quality of responses produced by its AI-powered chatbot, and contractors say they\’re often not given enough time to rate the responses\’ accuracy. The com
ChatGPT & Generative AI: The Future of Content Marketing—Truth, Hype, and How to Stay Ahead
AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E2 can provide marketers with creative ideas, save them time, and even generate imagery and video for content. But they also present risks such as inaccuracies, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.
NASA veterans warn political pressure and slashed funding are stalling humanity\’s future missions
A group of 287 current and former NASA employees said federal funding cuts will have dire consequences for NASA and the country as a whole. In a Monday letter titled the \”Voyager Declaration,\” addressed to NASA\’s interim administrator and US transpo
Generative AI in Content Marketing: Reality vs Hype, Next Steps, and Preparation
AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E2 can provide marketers with creative ideas, save them time, and even generate imagery and video for content. But they also present risks such as inaccuracies, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.
Amazon retires its Astro for Business security robot after only 7 months
Amazon has decided to discontinue its Astro for Business device, a security robot for small- and medium-sized businesses, just seven months after launch. In an email sent to customers and employees on Wednesday, provided to TechCrunch, the reason for putting Astro for Business on the shelf is simple
Revolutionizing Workplace Safety: AI’s Blueprint for Safer Humanoid Robots
Safety is often overlooked in the rush to bring humanoid robots to the workplace. As high-profile corporations ranging from retailers like Amazon to carmakers such as Mercedes and BMW have announced humanoid pilots for factories and warehouses, conversations around worker safety are regularly buried
Waabi’s GenAI promises to do so much more than power self-driving trucks
For the last two decades, Raquel Urtasun, founder and CEO of autonomous trucking startup Waabi, has been developing AI systems that can reason as a human would.The AI pioneer had previously served as the chief scientist at Uber ATG before launching Waabi in 2021. Waabi launched with an “AI-first app
Starship Strikes Major Setback on Its 3rd Consecutive Flight, Fueling Musk’s Mishap
Elon Musk\’s most ambitious project spun out of control before his eyes once again. SpaceX\’s Starship mega-rocket launched from its Texas facility on Tuesday evening to make an ill-fated third attempt at a huge milestone: releasing its first payload
Boston Dynamics settles patent dispute with Ghost, the military robotics firm.
Roughly two and a half years after their patent battle began, Boston Dynamics and Ghost Robotics have settled the dispute on reasonably amicable terms. The robotics firms on Wednesday issued a joint release announcing the end of the dispute.“We are pleased to resolve this dispute on mutually advanta
Apple Rumors: Hundreds of Engineers Build Robot Arm Linked to iPad
Apple is reportedly shifting into the world of home robots after the wheels came off its electric car. According to a new report from Bloomberg, a team of several hundred is working on its potential first product: a robotic arm with an “iPad-like” display attached. The home product would take a page
Tesla Suing Ex-Optimus Engineer Over Alleged Trade Secret Theft
Tesla sued a former engineer for allegedly stealing trade secrets from its humanoid robotics program, Optimus, and using them to launch a rival startup.The lawsuit, which was filed on Wednesday and originally reported on by Bloomberg, accuses Zhongjie Jay Li of stealing trade secrets regarding Tesla
32 vintage photos show what Los Angeles looked like before US pollution controls
For much of its history, the city of stars could have been called the city of smog.Los Angeles experienced years of thick air pollution due to a ballooning population, unregulated industry, a booming car industry, and its natural geography. In 1943,
Pentagon Declares New Jersey Drone Mystery as Domestic, Not Foreign
In a press briefing on Wednesday, the Pentagon said it has no evidence that the mysterious drones that have been flying over New Jersey and other parts of the northeast U.S. in recent weeks were coming from a foreign entity, nor were they U.S. military drones. The comments come a day after a U.S. Co
70‑Year Meteorite Miracle: Alabama Woman’s Astonishing Nap‑Nap Legend, Ann Hodges Revealed.
Ann Hodges never intended to be famous, but in 1954 she found herself thrust into the national spotlight when her afternoon nap was interrupted by a falling meteorite.The Alabama woman has the distinction of being the first documented case of a person being struck by a meteorite. She survived with a
Teen Innovators Aim to Remove Plastic from Shipping Boxes, Pitching Amazon and Home Depot
Three teenage boys in New York City have invented a clever packaging material that they hope will replace toxic plastics and make plastic-free shipping a reality. Zhi Han (Anthony) Yao, Flint Mueller, and James Clare are planning to pursue a patent
ChatGPT & Generative AI: 2023\’s Hot Tech Unpacked
ChatGPT brought generative AI into the limelight when it hit 1 million users in five days. But how valid is the buzz around ChatGPT? We unpack what you need to know: How does generative AI work? Who are the key players? Is ChatGPT ready for prime time? And most importantly: How will the technology c
A Century Ago, the Government Hired Young Men to Build America’s Forests, Trails, and Parks – FDR’s Tree Army Revealed in Photos.
In 1933, the Ohio River spilled over, flooding Louisville, Kentucky.Franklin Roosevelt blamed soil erosion and forests lost to the timber industry, which were among the reasons conservation was one of the new president\’s top priorities. Within month
ChatGPT and Generative AI Worldwide: Maturity, Opportunities, and Key Hurdles in Key Regions
ChatGPT has received a lot of press since its November 2022 launch. But while interest in the tool is high almost everywhere, its use is not yet universal.
Musk Pulls Back Plan to Dismantle SpaceX Dragon After Trump’s Business Attack
Elon Musk\’s feud with President Donald Trump has officially reached orbit. Musk said in a post on X Thursday that SpaceX \”will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately\” in light of Trump\’s statement that floated canceling the billiona
Europe Must Show Tenacity to Send Its First Rover to the Moon
Europe likely just suffered a setback in its attempt to reach another milestone in the commercial race to use lunar resources. Tenacious, which was set to become the first European-made rover to land on the moon, was aboard a lander that lost contact during its landing attempt.Mission controllers ha
Brightpick Revolutionizes Storage with 20‑Foot Reach Robot
Brightpick, a maker of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), on Tuesday announced a lofty addition to its current line. The appropriately named Giraffe system is notable for its large, retractable platform capable of reaching up to 20 feet (6 meters) in height to pick items from warehouse shelves. It’s a
Saildrone's first aluminum Surveyor autonomous vessel splashes down for Navy testing
Ocean intelligence company Saildrone has just put the first of a new generation of Surveyor autonomous vessels in the water: an aluminum version that the Navy is keen to take advantage of. But dont worry they arent putting guns on them.Founder and CEO Richard Jenkins told TechCrunch that the demand
80 Years Ago U.S. Dropped Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima – Haunting 1945 Photos Reveal Day’s Night
On August 6, 1945, a 10-foot-long uranium bomb that weighed 9,788 pounds called \”Little Boy\” was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.The explosion wiped out 5 square miles of the city, including 62,000 buildings. Up to 80,000 people were killed instantly.
Apple\’s Vision Pro: The Mac\’s Next Evolution, Tech\’s Elite Proclaims
Stratechery founder Ben Thompson, a noted technology analyst, believes that Apple\’s new AR/VR headset is not just a new computing platform in its own right, but might also be a valuable accessory to the company\’s desktop computers. Unvei
Anthropic CEO Unveils Claude, a Chatbot Claiming to Outshine ChatGPT in Conversational Skills
While working at OpenAI, Dario Amodei spent nearly five years helping to develop the language model powering ChatGPT. He\’s been up to a lot since then. In 2021, Amodei launched the artificial-intelligence company Anthropic. He\’s develope
15 alien‑like creatures lurking beneath the ocean\’s depths
Ghosts, goblins, spiders, and wolves don\’t just show up in fairytales. Some deep-sea creatures are named after frightening or mythical creatures thanks to their eerie appearances.However, strange snouts, enormous eyes, and sharp teeth all help these animals survive the cold, dark depths of the ocean
Google employees test Big Bard, a smarter chatbot that takes on ChatGPT
Google has asked staff to test and improve its internal chatbot, Bard, before it\’s launched to the public, but many employees are already playing with a superior version. Googlers built \”Big Bard,\” as the company refers to it internally,
ChatGPT and Generative AI Revolutionizing Search: The Digital Ad Format Set for Transformative Breakthrough
Microsoft and Google are racing to develop the best AI-assisted search experience, leaving advertisers on the precipice of major disruption in the largest and most mature digital advertising channel. But the only certainty is that disruption is coming, and quickly. Everything else—even the fate of t
Insuring the Future: ChatGPT, Generative AI, Reality, Hype, Next Steps, and Your Prep
ChatGPT, a conversational AI model built by OpenAI, is the most talked-about technology of 2023. And it has piqued the interest of insurance industry leaders. But where exactly will ChatGPT, and generative AI broadly, have the greatest impact? And what are its most and least promising use cases?
Amazon ends California drone deliveries
Amazon confirmed it is ending Prime Air drone delivery operations in Lockeford, California. The Central California town of 3,500 was the company’s second U.S. drone delivery site, after College Station, Texas. Operations were announced in June 2022.The retail giant is not offering details around the
Google Launches Gemini: A New AI Model for On‑Robot Local Deployment
Google DeepMind on Tuesday released a new language model called Gemini Robotics On-Device that can run tasks locally on robots without requiring an internet connection. Building on the companys previous Gemini Robotics model that was released in March, Gemini Robotics On-Device can control a robots
Quadbot Conquers Rungs, Climbing Ladders with Unprecedented Skill
The proliferation of robots like Boston Dynamics’ Spot has showcased the versatility of quadrupeds. These systems have thrived at walking up stairs, traversing small obstacles, and navigating uneven terrain. Ladders, however, still present a big issue — especially given how ever present they are in
Google CEO Sundar Pichai is excited about Apple's Vision Pro, says efficiency drive will continue
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says he\’s excited about the potential of technology like Apple\’s Vision Pro to create more immersive computing experiences. Although he hasn\’t tried the $3,499 headset yet, Pichai added that Google has \”always felt computing will evolve beyond the black rectangles,\” referrin
Apollo Pushes Boundaries: Apptronik\’s Humanoid Robot Makes a Grand Entrance at CES 2025
CES 2025 has been a mixed bag for humanoid robots. The form factor had a watershed moment, as images of the top players flanked Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during his Monday keynote.Of these, Agility’s Digit also showed up alongside a miniature conveyer belt at a closed-access Nvidia booth. It was a nic
Airdog’s Founders Return with a High‑Precision Drone for Modern Warfare
The war in Ukraine has shown that warfare changes by the day. Its also clear that the tech used to make war today is costly: While larger countries can afford legions of tanks, helicopters, and precision-strike systems, smaller nations find themselves scrambling for cheaper ways to defend themselves
Hair‑Thin Batteries Propel Tiny Robots to New Heights
The biggest limitation of tiny robots is, naturally, their size. The smaller the robot, the more difficult it is to develop components. Among the key challenges is finding a power source. Some systems utilize clever workarounds, like these cell-sized bots, which use a photodiode to access the minute
Toyota’s Woven City Now Open—Startups, Are You Ready?
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda revealed Monday at CES 2025 his vision for a living laboratory chock-full of startups and technology. His message: Woven City — a prototype city on a 175-acre site at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan — is open for business and searching for inventors.Today, I say to
Reflex Robotics’ wheeled humanoid is here to grab you a snack
Agility’s Digit wasn’t the only humanoid holding court at Modex in Atlanta this week. On the opposite end of the Georgia World Congress Center, Reflex Robotics, a younger and smaller startup, was drawing its own crowd. The booth was centered on a single demo running throughout the week. Passersby re
ChatGPT and Generative AI for Social Media Marketing: Reality, Hype, What's Next, and How to Prepare
Many social media marketers are already experimenting with generative AI tools. However, these fascinating new tools aren\’t the solution for every marketing scenario.
Jared Isaacman: Billionaire CEO and SpaceX Astronaut in the Musk‑Trump Showdown
Jared Isaacman isn\’t just a billionaire CEO. He\’s also a SpaceX astronaut and financier — and now he\’s been dragged into the ongoing feud between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump.In December, Trump announced he was nominating Isaacman to be the new NASA Administrator, but rescinded the nominatio
ChatGPT and Generative AIGuide to 2023’s Must‑Talk Technology
ChatGPT brought generative AI into the limelight when it hit 1 million users in five days. But how valid is the buzz around ChatGPT? We unpack what you need to know: How does generative AI work? Who are the key players? Is ChatGPT ready for prime time? And most importantly: How will the technology c
Serve Robotics Raises $80M to Accelerate Sidewalk Delivery Robot Expansion
Nvidia and Uber-backed Serve Robotics has raised $80 million via a direct offering of 4.2 million shares of common stock. The fresh cash will help the company extend its runway through 2026 and scale its fleet from the 100 robots on the streets of Los Angeles today to the 2,000 Serve hopes to deploy
Generative AI Worldwide: Maturity, Opportunities, and Challenges Across Key Regions
ChatGPT has received a lot of press since its November 2022 launch. But while interest in the tool is high almost everywhere, its use is not yet universal.
Meta\’s ex-Orion hardware chief to join OpenAI
The former head of Metas augmented reality glasses efforts announced on Monday she is joining OpenAI to lead robotics and consumer hardware, according to a post on LinkedIn. OpenAI confirmed to TechCrunch that Caitlin Kalinowski will be joining the startup.Kalinowski is a hardware executive who bega
CMU is developing low-flying drones to map wildfires
A harsh truth: As bad as North American wildfires have grown over the past several years, things are only going to get worse. Climate change continues to accelerate the issue, putting people, property, nature and animals at risk.Drones have been a fixture in the fight for over a decade now, and the
Old photos reveal how U.S. cities looked before EPA fought water and air pollution
Don\’t let the soft, sepia tones fool you — the United States used to be dangerously polluted.Before President Richard Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, the environment and its well-being was not a federal priority. Federal a
Googlers unleash anger over layoffs on new Bard AI chatbot
Google has historically fostered a culture of open discussion and dissent, and that\’s been exemplified no better than in the way employees are testing its Bard chatbot. Last week, CEO Sundar Pichai sent a companywide email asking employe
Blue Origin’s new crew: entrepreneurs, founders, plus Katy Perry and Lauren Sánchez heading for space.
Jeff Bezos\’sBlue Originhas announced the crew for its next space mission, which includes business leaders, space enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs. It\’s a very different lineup from the crew on the previous mission, which included Katy Perry and Lauren
Robot delivery firm Kiwibot buys Taipei chipmaker, citing US/China tensions
Bay Area/Colombia-based delivery robotics firm Kiwibot this week announced that it has acquired Auto Mobility Solutions. The Taipei firm produces chips specifically for the world of robotics and autonomous driving. Details of the transaction have not been disclosed. Kiwi founder and CEO Felipe Cháve
Free‑Going Robot Hand: Detaches, Crawls, and Captures Objects
Research videos aren’t known for their narrative arcs. Occasionally, however, you see one that keeps getting better the longer you watch. “Beyond Manual Dexterity” is one such video. It wows you in the first few seconds with a highly dexterous robotic gripper, and then things start to go off the rai
Former Alphabet X spin‑out Mineral teams up with John Deere to innovate farming tech
Earlier this year, reports surfaced that Alphabet had closed the book on its ag tech robotics spinout, Mineral. The news arrived amid larger money crunches at Google’s parent. Citing a crowded market and profit concerns, Mineral ceased operation and pivoted to technology licensing.This month, Minera
Breaking the Big News: NASA’s Plan to Reveal Alien Life
NASA is not announcing the existence of extraterrestrial life. The James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible sign of it, though.On Wednesday, a peer-reviewed study reported new observations of a possibly ocean-covered planet called K2-18 b,
Waymo Receives Almost 600 Parking Tickets in San Francisco Last Year
Waymo now has more than 300 driverless vehicles zipping passengers around San Francisco, but while they follow traffic laws, parking is another matter entirely. According to city records cited by The Washington Post, these rolling robots racked up 589 citations totaling $65,065 in fines last year fo
Uber, Nvidia-backed Serve Robotics hits public markets with $40M splash
Serve Robotics, the Uber and Nvidia-backed sidewalk robot delivery company, debuted publicly on the stock exchange Thursday, making it the latest startup to choose going public via a reverse merger as an alternative path to capital needed to fund growth.The company, which spun out of Ubers acquisiti
Claim Your Spot: Showcase Your Innovation at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
Time is running out to secure your exhibit table at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, taking place October 27-29, at Moscone West in San Francisco. This is your chance to get your startup in front of 10,000+ startup pioneers, VC leaders, and tech enthusiasts.Learn more and grab your table here before your co
Apple’s electric car loss could be home robotics’ gain
For every tech success story, there are countless projects that slam headlong into the brick wall of reality. Apple’s electric vehicle ambitions are one of the most recent and, frankly, best examples of a project failing in spite of seeming to have everything going for it.The jury is still out on
Meet Boston Dynamics’ Electric Atlas: The Push‑Up Pro
Until today, we’ve seen exactly 40 seconds of Boston Dynamics’ new electric Atlas in action. The Hyundai-owned robotics stalwart is very much still in the early stages of commercializing the biped for factory floors. For now, however, it’s doing the thing Boston Dynamics does second best after build
AI Revolution in Insurance: Reality, Hype, Next Steps, and How to Prepare
ChatGPT, a conversational AI model built by OpenAI, is the most talked-about technology of 2023. And it has piqued the interest of insurance industry leaders. But where exactly will ChatGPT, and generative AI broadly, have the greatest impact? And what are its most and least promising use cases?
14 of the US’s most important archaeological sites
The US is less than 250 years old, but some of its most important archaeological sites are older than the Viking seafarers, the Roman Empire, and the pyramids.Many help tell the story of how the first humans came to North America. It\’s still a mystery exactly how and when people arrived, though it\’s
ChatGPT & Generative AI in Social Media Marketing: Reality, Hype, What’s Next, and Preparation
Many social media marketers are already experimenting with generative AI tools. However, these fascinating new tools aren\’t the solution for every marketing scenario.
Nvidia Presents Mega: A Cutting‑Edge Fleet Manager Revolutionizing Warehouse Robotics
Nvidia continues its expansion into robotics software with Mega, an Omniverse Blueprint designed specifically for robotic fleet management at scale. The offering, announced at CES Monday, specifically targets warehouses, a space that saw massive robotics adoption during the pandemic. Even so, most s
Google launches its Bard chatbot in Europe with a heap of new features as the AI arms race heats up
Google has announced its Bard AI chatbot is now available in more countries and territories, including Europe and Brazil. The latest expansion makes Bard available in \”most of the world\” and in the most widely spoken languages, the compa
Google’s AI leaders top 15 as it races to beat Microsoft
Google is on the counteroffensive as the company attempts to reassert its dominance in artificial intelligence. Central to those efforts is the company\’s AI division, led by Jeff Dean, Google\’s senior vice president of research and AI. A
Amazon Snags Covariant Founders, Accelerating Its AI Robotics Drive
Amazon announced Friday evening that it has hired Covariants founders — Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, and Rocky Duan — along with “about a quarter” of the startups employees. Its also signed a non-exclusive license to use Covariant’s robotic foundation models.Earlier this year, Chen told TechCrunch tha
Google launches Skip robotics formerly Smarty Pants
For several years, a team inside Google\’s moonshot factory, X, have been working on an exoskeleton to help the elderly and immobile walk independently. That project, formerly known as \”Smarty Pants\” and now named \”Skip,\” is in the proces
GitHub Copilot Cuts Coding Time by 10%—Startup VP Hails ChatGPT‑Like Tool
While ChatGPT has spurred a lot of excitement around generative AI, the conversational chatbot is not the only technology to come from OpenAI. The Microsoft-backed company has developed a slew of generative-AI products, including one cal
Discover Titanic’s final moments with the most vivid wreck images yet
One of the most memorable scenes from James Cameron\’s 1997 movie \”Titanic\” showed the ship breaking in half — a dramatic moment that matched some survivors\’ stories of the early hours of April 15, 1912.But it might not be accurate. \”They\’re contradi
Shoeless House: Microplastics & Toxic Chemicals Transforming My Family
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tracey Woodruff, the director of the Program on Reproductive Health & the Environment at the University of California, San Francisco. She studies how microplastics and toxic chemicals impact fertility and child development. The below has been edi
Tech Weapons We Need To Combat Global Warming
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Exported electricity worth nearly Rs 2 billion to Europe
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry\’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic…
How Science Failed to Unlock The Mysteries of the Human Brain
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry\’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic…
NASA Sets Coverage for Two Spacewalks Outside Space Station
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry\’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic…
Atlas Performs a Hot‑Dog Trick for the Camera
Automation skeptics ask: Why humanoids? There are many benefits and drawbacks of the robotics form factor, but Boston Dynamics’ latest electric Atlas video showcases one of the most underdiscussed factors: costumes.Why build a humanoid robot? the company rhetorically posits. Because the world is des
Inside the loss of Google\’s chatbot pioneer: A former researcher reveals the fallout
Google hesitated for years to release a chatbot out of fear of the repercussions should it say something wrong, according to Noam Shazeer, a former Google Brain engineer and a key figure in the development of its large language-AI technology.
SpaceX Rival CEO Claims Customers Choose His Company for Its Calm Even-Keel Edge
As Elon Musk and President Donald Trump continue to butt heads, the CEO of Rocket Lab said that public and private sector customers alike are drawn to his company\’s stability. \”It\’s fair to say that folks, both government and commercial, come to us
Elon Musk propels Twitter’s AI revolution with a massive GPU arsenal
Elon Musk is said to be moving forward with an artificial-intelligence project within Twitter, despite recently signing an open letter calling for an industrywide halt to any AI training for several months. The Tesla billionaire, who acq
Understanding humanoid robots
Robots made their stage debut the day after New Year’s 1921. More than half-a-century before the world caught its first glimpse of George Lucas’ droids, a small army of silvery humanoids took to the stages of the First Czechoslovak Republic. They were, for all intents and purposes, humanoids: two ar
Pioneering Silicon Valley Visionaries Turning to Psychedelics for Innovation
Some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley have dabbled in psychedelics.The psychedelic movement isn\’t limited to the most successful tech moguls in Silicon Valley. A rising number of entrepreneurs and executives are turning to psychedelics like LSD, ayahuasca, and MDMA to find inspiration in their
Confronting Figure\’s New Humanoid Robot
Much has changed in the 16 months since I last set foot in Figure’s Sunnyvale headquarters. For one thing, there’s signage on the outside of what was an otherwise non-descript Silicon Valley office building in an equally non-descript Silicon Valley office park. For another, there’s no longer an empt
ChatGPT & AI Wave for Social Media Marketing: Truth, Buzz, Future, and Your Playbook
Many social media marketers are already experimenting with generative AI tools. However, these fascinating new tools aren\’t the solution for every marketing scenario.
New York City in Vintage Photos Before EPA Banned Pollution
If you\’ve ever spent time in New York City, you\’ll be familiar with the black trash bags that form mountains on its sidewalks.The city\’s government last year advocated for a \”trash revolution\” that aimed to switch those trash bags with wheeled trash cans. And while Mayor Eric Adams unveiling the tra
OpenMind A New Android OS for Humanoid Robots
Many companies are focused on building robots, or the hardware components to help them move, grip objects, or interact with the world around them. Silicon Valley-based OpenMind is focused under the hood.OpenMind is building a software layer, OM1, for humanoid robots that acts as an operating system.
Photos capture Mount St. Helens eruption, the worst U.S. volcanic disaster, 45 years ago.
On May 18, 1980, Don Swanson placed a frenzied call to his wife to let her know that he was OK.\”That\’s nice,\” she said, unconcerned. She had no idea her geologist husband had spent the morning in a plane flying by an erupting volcano.At 8:32 a.m. Pa
Norway’s 1X Crafts the Next‑Gen Humanoid Home Assistant
Norwegian robotics firm 1X unveiled its latest home robot, Neo Gamma, on Friday. The humanoid system will succeed Neo Beta, which debuted in August. Like its predecessors, the Neo Gamma is a prototype designed for testing in the home environment. Images of the robot show it performing a number of ho
Toxic‑Chemistry Doctor Skips Paper Receipts—Here’s the Real Reason
Plastics and the chemicals they carry are everywhere, from our air, water, and blood to the products we use every day. Researchers like Dr. Leonardo Trasande know the unexpected places where these chemicals sneak into our lives, like the receipts yo