\nLife after logistics<\/br>
\n2023-06-22 21:45:23<\/br><\/p>\n
You\u2019ll have to forgive<\/span> me, as this is going to be one of those in-between Actuator weeks. I finally took a couple of days off last week after working through the last few weekends, and today I\u2019ve been rewarded with a throbbing migraine. Isn\u2019t the human body magical? Either way, it\u2019s an exciting week for those of you who like their robotics newsletter short and to the point.<\/p>\n First thing I need to address is that video game controller. I\u2019m a person on the internet. I wholly understand why others on the internet latched on to the modified Logitech G F710 Wireless Gamepad. OceanGate Expeditions was charging passengers $250,000 a head for a ride to see the Titanic. That\u2019s roughly 6,250 F710s.<\/p>\n A lot of folks reading about the tragedy zeroed in on that little tidbit. Surely, they speculated, a company careless enough to entrust human lives to a Bluetooth PC game controller was just setting itself up for failure. If you\u2019re looking for a quick way to meme-dunk on a tragedy, you go with the controller.<\/p>\n No doubt everyone reading this knows better. As of this writing, it\u2019s too early to point the finger at one thing. For now, I\u2019d say Mark Harris\u2019 piece on OceanGate<\/a> is a great place to look if you\u2019re attempting to unpack what went wrong here. Quoting:<\/p>\n David Lochridge was terminated in January 2018 after presenting a scathing quality control report on the vessel to OceanGate\u2019s senior management, including founder and CEO Stockton Rush, who is on board the missing vessel.<\/p>\n According to a court filing by Lochridge, the preamble to his report read: \u201cNow is the time to properly address items that may pose a safety risk to personnel. Verbal communication of the key items I have addressed in my attached document have been dismissed on several occasions, so I feel now I must make this report so there is an official record in place.\u201d<\/p>\n The report detailed \u201cnumerous issues that posed serious safety concerns,\u201d according to the filing. These included Lochridge\u2019s worry that \u201cvisible flaws\u201d in the carbon fiber supplied to OceanGate raised the risk of small flaws expanding into larger tears during \u201cpressure cycling.\u201d These are the huge pressure changes that the submersible would experience as it made its way to and from the deep ocean floor. He noted that a previously tested scale model of the hull had \u201cprevalent flaws.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Logitech<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Now, again, I would certainly wait for official reports before feeling confident enough to declare anything online. I\u2019m also not rushing to dunk on anyone involved in this bit of human tragedy. What I can say is finger pointing at the use of a gaming controller seems misguided. If you\u2019ve spent time in and around robots, you understand this.<\/p>\n I have very vivid memories of visiting military-backed robotics firms more than a decade or so ago and being genuinely surprised to see wildly expensive systems programmed to work with Xbox and PlayStation controllers. Over the years, these systems have only become more common. These gaming accessories are familiar \u2014 most people coming up through the military or entering the robotics world have used them for extended periods over the course of their lives. They also work \u2014 decades of gaming development have seen to that.<\/p>\n In 2018, USA Today reported with some surprise that the USS Colorado, the Navy\u2019s 377-foot sub, was utilizing Xbox controllers. It noted at the time:<\/p>\n The Colorado is the first attack submarine where sailors use an Xbox controller to maneuver the photonics masts, which replaced periscopes, [Colorado commanding officer Cmdr. Reed] Koepp said. Other submarines have joysticks. Using commercial off-the-shelf technology saves money, and young sailors report to the submarine knowing how to use it, Koepp said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Given the high-profile nature of this story, coupled with people focusing on the controller, I ultimately wonder whether companies and organizations will begin to back away from this longstanding practice. My guess is no \u2014 certainly not once the underlying causes are made clear. In the meantime, however, there are much bigger things to worry about in terms of the submarine story.<\/p>\n The second thing I wanted to discuss is also a plug. For the first time ever, TechCrunch is hosting a Hardware Stage at Disrupt. Hardware has always occupied a strange space on our site. We\u2019ve never been a gadget blog \u2014 there are plenty of those (I\u2019ve worked at a number myself). Instead, we\u2019ve looked for unique ways to cover the category that fit with our broader mission.<\/p>\n For me, that\u2019s meant two things. The first one is easy: hardware startups. It\u2019s a great opportunity to see what\u2019s just over the horizon for consumer electronics. The second one is ever evolving. It\u2019s generally deeper tech and not consumer focused. It\u2019s sometimes space, sometimes transportation and, more often than not, robotics.<\/p>\n Seeing as how I\u2019m in charge of putting together the stage this year, that\u2019s ultimately going to mean a lot of robots. We\u2019ve got a few panels lined up that I\u2019m excited to tell you about. Today, however, we\u2019re starting with just one. This is probably something you\u2019ve seen me write about quite a bit over the last few years. Manufacturing led the first major wave of automation, and now we\u2019re in the midst of a logistics revolution. So, what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n There are a lot of intriguing answers to the question, but for me, it keeps coming back to three major categories: healthcare, agtech and construction. All three are currently reeling from labor shortages, and they\u2019re all relatively recession-proof in the sense that they\u2019re, you know, necessary for life. And from where I sit, none seem anywhere near as far along as they should be.<\/p>\n If some venture capitalist firm was foolish enough to entrust me with their money, these are the three areas I would most heavily invest in at the moment (with food being another recession-proof necessity and therefore a close fourth). This is precisely why I\u2019m excited that this is the first Disrupt panel I\u2019m able to tell you about<\/a>.<\/p>\n Single-topic panels are important, of course, but given Disrupt\u2019s more general audience (versus one of our TC Sessions: Robotics events), I figured it would be fascinating for our audience to hear from leaders in a broader range of topics, discussing the future of robotics more broadly. And we couldn\u2019t have asked for a better trio \u2014 Claire Delaunay, Tessa Lau and Andrea Thomaz. All three are super-smart veterans of TC events.<\/p>\n You likely know Claire Delaunay from her time at Nvidia\u2019s very successful robotics push. These days, she\u2019s investing in and involved with agtech firm Farm-ng as an advisory board member. Tessa Lau is the founder and CEO of robotic construction firm Dusty Robotics, and Andrea Thomaz is the co-founder and CEO of Diligent Robotics, whose Moxi robot you\u2019ve probably seen if you\u2019ve (unfortunately) been to a hospital recently.<\/p>\n Disrupt is being held in San Francisco September 19\u201321. More panels coming soon.<\/strong> Save up to $600 when you buy your pass now through August 11, and save 15% on top of that with promo code ACTUATOR. <\/b>Learn more<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> TechCrunch<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Speaking of conferences, there will be no re:Mars this year. We kind of sensed this one coming, given the complete radio silence, coupled with major cost-cutting at Amazon. The company confirmed the lack of conference in a statement to TechCrunch:<\/p>\n AWS hosts hundreds of thousands of customers and partners every year at hundreds of events around the world. These events provide an invaluable opportunity to connect with our customers. Their time is precious and we take seriously the responsibility to make each event valuable for every attendee, whether that\u2019s through developing new skills, identifying new solutions that will transform an organization, or building new connections that can advance a career. We consulted with customers and the community as always, and for 2023, decided to incorporate re:MARS topics \u2014 machine learning, automation, robotics, and space \u2014 into a well-funded lineup of existing AWS events.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n All of the cloud stuff aside, I really enjoyed re:Mars last year and was hoping to go back \u2014 even if it meant Las Vegas in the summer. The event has been a nice showcase for Amazon Robotics\u2019 industrial systems, as well as innovations from a range of startups aligned with the company to varying degrees. Last year also saw some expansion into its home robotics play on the heels of the Astro announcement.<\/p>\n I had an interesting conversation with Ken Washington at last year\u2019s event, though the automotive veteran has since moved on from his role as the head of Amazon\u2019s consumer robotics play. Earlier this month, he was named<\/a> the CTO of medical technology firm Medtronic.<\/p>\n \u201cThis new leadership role will help Medtronic to harness the innovative spirit of our founders and ensure we are capitalizing on our scientific and technological knowledge to invent, innovate and disrupt the healthcare technology market of the future,\u201d said\u202fthe company\u2019s CEO, Geoff Martha. \u201cDr. Washington will help Medtronic expand use of our technology platforms across our portfolio \u2014 including robotics, sensors, implantables and AI \u2014 improving our returns on investments in innovation and expanding our technological competitive advantage to drive durable growth.\u201d<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Brian Heater<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Some happier news for Amazon\u2019s consumer robotics play. There\u2019s finally been some movement on the iRobot deal after months of radio silence. We knew regulators were going to slow things down considerably due to legitimate privacy and potential antitrust concerns \u2014 and they\u2019ve certainly delivered. The initial announcement of the deal celebrates its first birthday in August, and things have been slow going since.<\/p>\n There are a lot of governmental bodies with lots of concerns, but two months after announcing that it would be looking at the deal, the U.K.\u2019s Competition and Markets Authority has given it the go ahead<\/a>, stating that it \u201cwould not lead to competition concerns in the U.K.\u201d The FTC and the European Commission are both looking at the deal, with the latter planning to announce a decision next month.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> KaraKuri<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This week, Karakuri announced that it\u2019s calling it quits. The food robotics startup cited an inability to raise in its decision to close up shop.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s with a very heavy heart that I have to report that our journey at Karakuri is coming to an end,\u201d founder and CEO Barney Wragg said in a LinkedIn post<\/a>. \u201cFor the past five years, we\u2019ve developed and deployed robotics for the QSR industry. We\u2019ve survived many challenges, including the pandemic and our bank going bust [on] us, but sadly we\u2019ve been unable to find the funding we need to move to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike Butcher seemed suitably impressed<\/a> when he checked out the company\u2019s tech in December 2020, noting, \u201cLast week I witnessed for myself how a new kind of robot really could \u2014 as sci-fi has been telling us for many years \u2014 create and serve us food.\u201d There\u2019s still a huge future in food robots, of course, but much like Zume\u2019s recent closure, promising startups can\u2019t always stick the landing. That\u2019s a truism across all industries. Good on Wragg for including a list of now-former employees looking for gigs. Check out that post if you\u2019re hiring.<\/p>\n This week, Estonian Uber competitor Bolt announced<\/a> a last-mile robotic delivery partnership with Starship Technologies. The partnership is still very early stages, with a pilot program set for Tallinn, Estonia.<\/p>\n \u201cBolt and Starship share very similar goals of promoting sustainability in local transport. In our case, we offer a convenient and on-demand autonomous delivery service, perfectly aligning with the mission of making cities more eco-friendly,\u201d Starship CEO Alastair Westgarth said in a release.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> DeepMind<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And following on the tail of Google\u2019s Barkour<\/a> project is DeepMind\u2019s RoboCat<\/a>, whose name arrives courtesy of the Gato AI model. \u201cThe project is designed to adapt AI problem solving to real world robotic systems,\u201d research scientist Alex Lee tells TechCrunch. \u201cProvided with a limited number of demonstrations for a new task, RoboCat can be fine-tuned to the new tasks and in turn self-generate more data to improve even further.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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