The Robotics Roundup is a weekly newspost going over some of the most exciting developments in robotics over the past week.
In today’s edition we have:
- Retrotechtacular: The Original Robot Arm
- Amazon and iRobot receive second request from FTC about planned merger
- Elon Musk faces skeptics as Tesla gets ready to unveil ‘Optimus’ robot
- Hydrogels Pave The Way For The Future Of Soft Robotics
- Can robots have morals? Robots’ decisions on forced medication evoke doubts
Retrotechtacular: The Original Robot Arm
Hackaday shares a cool retrospective of the world’s first industrial robot arm, as well as a look back at a 60s version of the home of the future.
Amazon and iRobot receive second request from FTC about planned merger
Amazon’s acquisition of home robotics company iRobot hit a large snag last week, as the FTC has issued a second request to review the deal and investigate the possible anticompetitive aspects. This additional review period is expected to add a significant delay before the deal can finally be closed, as well as reintroducing the possibility of the FTC blocking the deal.
Elon Musk faces skeptics as Tesla gets ready to unveil ‘Optimus’ robot
The upcoming reveal of Tesla’s Optimus robot has gathered attention from all corners of the robotics space. Musk’s grand claims about the capabilities of the humanoid platform, as well as it’s planned deployment in Tesla’s automotive factories seem overambitious, so the upcoming reveal may be Tesla’s last chance to prove that these claims aren’t completely baseless.
Hydrogels Pave The Way For The Future Of Soft Robotics
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering have developed an open source fiber extruder optimized to generate reinforcement lattice for hydrogel robots. In the past, a major roadblock to the development of hydrogel robotics was the fragility of the material. Now, using these reinforcement fibers brings a significant increase in the durability of hydrogel based robots.
Can robots have morals? Robots’ decisions on forced medication evoke doubts
The University of Helsinki recently concluded a study regarding people’s perceptions of the moral qualities of decisions made by healthcare robots. This subject has been underexplored so far, but as the medical field moves to include more automation it will continue to grow in importance.