Waymo is fully open to driverless taxi services to the San Francisco public
On June 26, Waymo, a self-driving car company under Google's parent company Alphabet, announced that its driverless taxi service Waymo One in San Francisco is now fully open to the public. Since the beta opened, Waymo has provided driverless taxi service to nearly 300,000 San Francisco citizens, staff and visitors.
Source: Reuters
Microbot Medical和波士顿医院合作进行自由手术机器人试验
Microbot Medical, an American medical robotics company, has entered into a strategic partnership with a hospital in Boston to conduct clinical trials of cutting-edge surgical robots. The robot's design incorporates advanced robotic systems and intuitive control mechanisms with the aim of improving the precision and efficiency of surgeries while reducing patient recovery time. GlobalData, a UK-based data analytics and market research firm, predicts that the global market for robotic surgical systems and their accessories will reach $10 billion by the end of 2024 and is expected to grow to $15.8 billion by 2030. This market growth is expected to be driven by several factors, including the increasing demand for precision and minimally invasive surgeries in the geriatric population, the focus on value-based healthcare, and the development of more efficient and less invasive surgical robotic platforms due to technological advancements.
Source: American Medical Devices website
Nvidia wants to get involved in industrial robots
Recently, Nvidia held its 2024 annual shareholders' meeting, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Nvidia said that it has "transformed" from the past to focus on the game business to the data center business, and the company also hopes to open up new AI markets, such as industrial robots, and plans to cooperate with every computer manufacturer and cloud provider. Huang noted that the next wave of artificial intelligence will automate $50 trillion heavy industry, and that robot factories will coordinate robots to make robotic products, and Nvidia will benefit from that.
Source: American TechCrunch website
Pennsylvania State University develops new self-assembled, highly conductive materials
Recently, researchers at Penn State University combined liquid metal, the conductive polymer PEDOT:PSS, and hydrophilic polyurethane to develop a new 3D printing material that is soft, stretchable, and self-assembles into a conductive base layer and an insulating top layer. This innovation eliminates many of the shortcomings of traditional manufacturing methods, such as poor conductivity and high failure rates, and opens up new possibilities for development in areas such as soft robotics, skin-integrated electronics, and biomedical devices. Researchers are continuing to explore the use of this material in the field of assistive technology, especially wearables for people with disabilities.
Source: U.S. Technology Exploration website
U.S. companies collaborate to develop artificial intelligence flight technology
Merlin Labs, a U.S.-based provider of autonomous aircraft piloting solutions, announced the acquisition of artificial intelligence company EpiSci, and the two companies will collaborate to develop artificial intelligence flight technology. It is reported that Merlin Labs has signed a contract with the U.S. Air Force to install and test artificial intelligence flight systems for KC-135 tankers and C-130 transport aircraft, which is expected to reduce the number of crew members by half. EpiSci participated in the DARPA AI Fighter Pilot project, and its AI system performed well in the F-16 flight show of US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall. The partnership means Merlin Labs will be the first provider of AI-powered autonomous driving solutions capable of flying a wide range of missions. This indicates that the US Air Force will increasingly lean towards unmanned technology in the future.
Source: U.S. Defense One website