Recently I’ve been producing (for my own amusement) example Curta calculations. One motivation was arguing if a proposed solution method for Dudeney’s digits problem was something that could in fact have been easily executed in 1924. This got me thinking, is there an actual difference between calculation and computation? In […]

Having an AI on your team can increase performance, provide expertise, and improve your experience

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion. European Robotics Forum: 25–27 March 2025, STUTTGART, GERMANY RoboSoft 2025: 23–26 April 2025, LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND ICUAS 2025: 14–17 May 2025, CHARLOTTE, NC ICRA 2025: 19–23 May 2025, ATLANTA, GA London Humanoids Summit: 29–30 May 2025, LONDON IEEE RCAR 2025: 1–6 June 2025, TOYAMA, JAPAN 2025 Energy Drone & Robotics Summit: 16–18 June 2025, HOUSTON, TX RSS 2025: 21–25 June 2025, LOS ANGELES ETH Robotics Summer School: 21–27 June 2025, GENEVA IAS 2025: 30 June–4 July 2025, GENOA, ITALY ICRES 2025: 3–4 July 2025, PORTO, PORTUGAL IEEE World Haptics: 8–11 July 2025, SUWON, KOREA IFAC Symposium on Robotics: 15–18 July 2025, PARIS RoboCup 2025: 15–21 July 2025, BAHIA, BRAZIL Enjoy today’s videos! Every time you see a humanoid demo in a warehouse or factory, ask yourself: Would a “superhumanoid” like this actually be a better answer? [ Dexterity ] The only reason that this is the second video in Video Friday this week, and not the first, is because you’ve almost certainly already seen it. This is a collaboration between the Robotics and AI Institute and Boston Dynamics, and RAI has its own video, which is slightly different: - YouTube [ Boston Dynamics ] via [ RAI ] Well this just looks a little bit like magic. [ University of Pennsylvania Sung Robotics Lab ] After hours of dance battles with professional choreographers (yes, real human dancers!), PM01 now nails every iconic move from Kung Fu Hustle. [ EngineAI ] Sanctuary AI has demonstrated industry-leading sim-to-real transfer of learned dexterous manipulation policies for our unique, high degree-of-freedom, high strength, and high speed hydraulic hands. [ Sanctuary AI ] This video is “introducing BotQ, Figure’s new high-volume manufacturing facility for humanoid robots,” but I just see some injection molding and finishing of a few plastic parts. [ Figure ] DEEP Robotics recently showcased its “One-Touch Navigation” feature, enhancing the intelligent control experience of its robotic dog. This feature offers two modes: map-based point selection and navigation and video-based point navigation, designed for open terrains and confined spaces respectively. By simply typing on a tablet screen or selecting a point in the video feed, the robotic dog can autonomously navigate to the target point, automatically planning its path and intelligently avoiding obstacles, significantly improving traversal efficiency. What’s in the bags, though? [ Deep Robotics ] This hurts my knees to watch, in a few different ways. [ Unitree ] Why the recent obsession with two legs when instead robots could have six? So much cuter! [ Jizai ] via [ RobotStart ] The world must know: who killed Mini-Duck? [ Pollen ] Seven hours of Digit robots at work at ProMat. And there are two more days of these livestreams if you need more! [ Agility ]

Machine learning for software engineers 3-21-25

March 21, 2025.