How Nuro plans to spend Softbank’s $940 million

Autonomous delivery startup Nuro is bursting with ideas since SoftBank invested nearly $1 billion in February, new filings reveal. A recent patent application details how its R1 self-driving vehicle could carry smaller robots to cross lawns or climb stairs to drop off packages. The company has even taken the step of trademarking the name “Fido” […]

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Gates-backed Lumotive upends lidar conventions using metamaterials

Pretty much every self-driving car on the road, not to mention many a robot and drone, uses lidar to sense its surroundings. But useful as lidar is, it also involves physical compromises that limit its capabilities. Lumotive is a new company with funding from Bill Gates and Intellectual Ventures that uses metamaterials to exceed those limits, perhaps setting a new standard for the industry.

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Tech regulation in Europe will only get tougher

European governments have been bringing the hammer down on tech in recent months, slapping record fines and stiff regulations on the largest imports out of Silicon Valley. Despite pleas from the world’s leading companies and Europe’s eroding trust in government, European citizens’ staunch support for regulation of new technologies points to an operating environment that […]

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Aurora’s Sterling Anderson, Uber ATG’s Raquel Urtasun to discuss self-driving cars and AI at TC Sessions

We’re just weeks away from our TC Sessions: Robotics + AI event at UC Berkeley on April 18. Some of the best and brightest minds are joining us for the day-long event, including Marc Raibert, Colin Angle, Melonee Wise and Anthony Levandowski . Last week, we added to the list of marquee guests and announced a panel with roboticist Ken Goldberg, […]

View More Aurora’s Sterling Anderson, Uber ATG’s Raquel Urtasun to discuss self-driving cars and AI at TC Sessions

How Amazon and Walmart are putting robots to work behind the scenes

Extra Crunch offers members the opportunity to tune into conference calls led and moderated by the TechCrunch writers you read every day. This week Brian Heater, fresh off a trip to Pittsburgh to visit a handful of robotics companies, led a discussion about the current state of robotics and how startups are integrating the machines […]

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Discount student tickets still available for TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2019

Here’s a shout-out to students fascinated by the world of robots and artificial intelligence. There’s a limited supply of discounted tickets left for TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics + AI, a one-day conference that takes place at UC Berkeley on April 18. Apply now to reserve your $45 student ticket, and spend a full day learning from […]

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UK’s Automata raises $7.4M for its lightweight industrial ‘desktop’ robot

Manufacturing has been one of the biggest and earliest adopters of robotics innovations in the last several years, but with that early movement has also come entrenchment: the industry is rife with expensive, oversized machines that often run on proprietary operating systems, making them hard to upgrade and use in consort with other robots. Now […]

View More UK’s Automata raises $7.4M for its lightweight industrial ‘desktop’ robot

Trump’s views about ‘crazy’ self-driving cars are at odds with his DOT

President Donald Trump is an automated-vehicle skeptic, a point of view that lies in stark contrast with agencies within his own administration, including the U.S. Department of Transportation . According to a recent scoop by Axios, Trump has privately said he thinks the autonomous-vehicle revolution is “crazy.” Trump’s point of view isn’t exactly surprising. His […]

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These are the robots that help you get your Amazon packages on time

Months before the hard-fought battle for its second global headquarters in Queens, Amazon planted a massive, 855,000-square-foot flag in Staten Island. The $100 million JFK8 fulfillment center opened last fall, after an “on the spot” hiring spree, aimed at employing an eventual 2,250 people. The new factory smell still permeated the air when we visited […]

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Last day to save $100 on TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2019

Like all good things must, early-bird pricing for tickets to TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics + AI comes to an end today. This is your last chance to save $100 on our day-long gathering of the greatest minds, makers and investors in the robotics and AI communities. Procrastination has a price. Buy your $249 ticket today or […]

View More Last day to save $100 on TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2019