Tech
How Tesla, Google and Others Are Making Robots More Like Us
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It wasn’t that long ago that putting a robot in your home meant plugging in a Roomba and letting it roam around your floors like a little dust-busting sentry.
But now, thanks to lightning-fast developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning, robots are becoming smarter and far more human. And if the futurists of the world have their way, your next robot helper could be a humanoid that wanders your home on two legs.
In 2022, we saw huge leaps forward in the world of robotics. At Tesla’s 2022 AI Day, the company revealed the first two working prototypes of its so-called Tesla Bot: a walking humanoid called Optimus, built with off-the-shelf parts, and a second, more-advanced version of Optimus that the company wants to put into production.
Optimus is built around Tesla’s self-driving AI, but instead of being designed to navigate roads and understand traffic lights, the AI has been altered to negotiate the rest of the world and detect everyday objects and humans. Speaking at AI Day, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the robot was designed to be the kind of in-home helper you might one day buy as a gift for your parents.
“Optimus is designed to be an extremely capable robot made in very high volume — probably, ultimately, millions of units,” Musk said. “And it’s expected to cost much less than a car.”
It isn’t just Tesla putting its AI into a physical form. Google is also reshaping the world of robotics by giving its advanced machine learning brain a robot body. In 2022, Google put its AI technology, called Palm Say-Can, into robots built by Everyday Robots (a company formed out of Google’s X initiative). Instead of being programmed with commands like, “If this, then that,” the robot brain uses machine learning to understand vague instructions like, “I’m hungry,” and then it works out the steps to solve the problem.
Google and Tesla might not be the companies that come to mind when you think of helper robots. But these tech giants are the face of a new frontier in robot design: ultra-intelligent droids designed to seamlessly navigate our world and interact with the humans in it.
In this week’s episode of What the Future, we take a close look at the way robotics is shifting, and the companies that are trying to push robots further into our lives, blurring the lines between human and machine. From Optimus to “self-healing” slime robots, and all the weird and wonderful robots in between, check out the video above to see the robots to watch in the year ahead.
Tech
Meta Expands VR Operating System to Third-Party Hardware Makers – MacRumors
Facebook parent company Meta today announced the upcoming expansion of Meta Horizon OS, a virtual and augmented reality operating system that will be available to third-party hardware manufacturers that want to design their own headsets.
Right now, Meta sells the Quest line of headsets, but the company wants to provide the software for third-party VR and AR products in the future, much like Microsoft offers Windows for all manner of third-party PCs.
Meta Horizon OS is the mixed reality operating system that Meta created for its own Quest headsets, and it has support for eye, face, hand, and body tracking along with passthrough, spatial anchors, scene understanding, and other features. There is a “social layer” that will allow the identities, avatars, and friends of users to move between virtual spaces on different devices.
According to Meta, multiple companies are working on devices that will use Meta Horizon OS. ASUS ROG is developing a performance gaming headset and Lenovo is working on mixed reality devices for productivity, learning, and entertainment. Meta says that it is also creating a limited edition version of Meta Quest in partnership with Xbox.
With the expansion of Meta Horizon OS to third-party hardware manufacturers, Meta is making it easier for any developer to ship VR software on the platform by removing barriers between the Horizon Store and App Lab.
By creating an operating system that can be used by other hardware manufacturers, Meta is inserting itself into the growing AR/VR ecosystem and creating opportunities for it to outpace Apple in mixed reality development. Apple launched the Vision Pro headset earlier this year, but software is lacking given the high price and limited distribution of the device.
According to a report from earlier today, interest in the Vision Pro is already waning at Apple’s retail locations with fewer people requesting demos.
Tech
Brian's Randoms from Sea Otter 2024 – Pinkbike.com
There have been more launches in the past two weeks than any other two-week period I can remember since I started sweeping floors at Freedom Bike Shop back in 2001. Yes, that means I’m very old. It also means that after several years of delayed product releases, some brands have finally cleared out enough inventory to share what they’ve been working on.
The Pinkbike team came down to Sea Otter this year with mixed expectations, and there were definitely some weird vibes. Everyone is concerned for the remaining Kona employees, and more than one brand expressed that their plan is to #surviveto2025. But overall we loved catching up with everyone, the weather was great, and somehow there was even more gear to cover. The industry might be going through a tough time, but ultimately riding bikes is still ridiculously fun and bike tech is as interesting as ever.
And on that note, here are a few of the random things that caught my eye during the show.
OutsideBrendan works smarter not harder, and dog Bubbie(?) is awesome.
I mistakenly thought it was a garage project kind of thing, but it’s a real brand with a promo video and everything.
And with that, it’s time to face my expense report. Until next year, Sea Otter!
Tech
We tried these three beauty products this week. Here are our thoughts – Vancouver Sun
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
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Skin Caviar Eye Lift Serum
They say: A luxury serum that firms, smooths and lifts the eye area. The dual-chamber product features the Swiss skin-care brand’s Cellular Complex to ‘restore youthfulness to the eye contour,’ along with a blend of caviar components.
We say: Our tester applied one pump of this serum to the eye area daily. Gently dabbed onto skin, the serum gave an instant boost of hydration. The liquid-serum formula was lightweight and non-sticky, providing an easy base for any additional skin-care or makeup products. With use, our tester reported fine lines and firmness were noticeably improved.
Article content
$760 | Holt Renfrew, holtrenfrew.com
Marc Anthony
Strictly Curls Curl Envy Leave-In Conditioner
They say: A leave-in hair conditioner formulated for curly hair. Boasting strand-smoothing ingredients such as avocado oil, Vitamin E and shea butter, the spray can be used on course, fine, thick or thin curls to promote softness, fight frizz and lock in hydration.
We say: Our tester spritzed this conditioner on her ultra-curly, frizz prone coif. The spray format makes application easy and mess-free. Used both as a de-tangler on freshly washed hair and as a curl pick-me-up in between washes, she found it left curls looking formed, smooth and not stiff.
$12.97 | Mass retailers, walmart.ca
Ghlee
Lip Balm
They say: A nourishing lip balm that features antioxidant-rich ghee, along with mango seed butter and Vitamin E to hydrate lips. Available in Original, Rose, Chai, Mango-Papaya and Mint.
We say: This lip balm gives a dose of smoothing hydration with one swipe. Our tester loved the rose iteration, which boasted the scent of a fresh bloom. It’s the kind of balm you keep reaching for in your bag, she reports.
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