robots and AI help humans exist in future cities at the venice architecture biennale 2025
At the Arsenale of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 , robots and AI exist for and with humans, a glimpse at everyday life in future cities. These humanoids and robotics at the international exhibition , which runs until November 23rd, display their growing role in reshaping how structures and wearables are designed, built, and used, both on Earth and in space. They support human exploration and survival out of Earth, form part of construction tasks, and bear systems that allow them to adapt to the environment and collaborate with humans to perform different tasks. Take the BioSuit by Dava Newman and Guillermo Trotti. It's a 3D textile framework built with computational design and fiber integration, tailored to everyone's body dimensions. It has wearable sensors and actuators, thermal protection, radiation shielding, and active materials for compression.
The suit is designed to support astronaut activity on the Moon and Mars. It even comes with real-time mission planning and metabolic monitoring to combine astronaut data with environmental inputs and guide the astronauts with their exploration. Positioned next to this suit at the Arsenale, visitors see the Lunar Ark by IVAAIU City. Another application of robotics in space development, it depicts a data center on the Moon using robotic systems. The goal is to mitigate risks related to climate change on Earth by storing critical data off-planet. The robots come in by assembling the archive infrastructure and carry out the system updates using optical laser communication. For the exhibition, the design team places a robot arm on top of Boston Dynamics' robot dog, Spot.
BioSuit by Dava Newman and Guillermo Trotti | image © designboom Machines 'help' humans, not replace them
Robots and AI only take up a part of the Arsenale at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, but it's enough to announce and remind people of their growing presence in people's lives and the architecture industry. Bjarke Ingels Group, Laurian Ghinitolu, and Arata Mori, for example, present an installation where traditional Bhutanese woodworking is helped by a robotic arm. This six-meter, diamond-shaped wooden beam is partially carved by a human and partially by a robot using AI. The case isn't to show that robots will replace humans. Instead, the installation demonstrates how we can fire up the robots for help, shouldering some of our workload.
There's another pair of robots and AI at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 that exhibits how machines and humans can work together. That's CO-POIESIS by Philip F. Yuan and Bin He. Here, the duo built a temporary pavilion for the two robots, made from salvaged timber and with robotic fabrication. The large structure hosts two wired robots with sensors: the one at the front plays the steelpan drum, while the one behind dances. Outside the installation, there's another steelpan drum that visitors play. Once they do, the robot hits the same drum that the visitors strike, and soon enough, the second robot begins to dance.
Lunar Ark by IVAAIU City | image courtesy of IVAAIU City Humanoids can gain self-awareness over time
Can robots and AI gain self-awareness? During the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, the installation Am I A Strange Loop? by Takashi Ikegami and Luc Steels attempts to answer the question. It features a humanoid robot called Alter3. It doesn't have skin around its body, but the machine has a face and two hands, sculpted from clay-like material. The design team installs systems for perception, motion control, memory, and language processing. Read More Paint by Blēo among six new products on Dezeen Showroom
This means that Alter3 can converse with visitors and move its hands and head as it talks using language models. There's also Machine Mosaic by Daniela Rus, demonstrating the use of a humanoid robot in bricklaying and mosaic assembly. It has a computer vision system that enables the robot to sense and interpret its surroundings. Because of this, it can translate what it sees into action, mimicking it even. During the exhibition, the robot repeatedly assembles and dismantles components, showing how robotics can perform structured building tasks.
the installation significantly depicts a data center on the Moon using robotic systems | image © designboom
The experiment looks into robotic self-awareness. Researchers believe can develop when feedback loops connect a robot's outputs to its inputs, creating a recursive cycle. These robots and AI at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 still mirror the already growing sphere of the machinery in space, architecture, Earth, and human lives.
Whether helping astronaut performance, constructing lunar facilities, assisting with craftsmanship, or testing theories of consciousness, robotics, and the people behind them, try to expand the boundaries of design, construction, and space exploration. These machines take on more functions in both land and extraterrestrial environments, and the international exhibition, which runs until November 23rd, 2025, spotlights the relationship between human activity and robotic support that's becoming interdependent.
Ancient Future: Bridging Bhutan's Tradition and Innovation by Bjarke Ingels Group, Laurian Ghinitolu, and Arata Mori | image courtesy of BIG
traditional Bhutanese woodworking evidently helped by a robotic arm | image © designboom
CO-POIESIS by Philip F. Yuan and Bin He | image © designboom
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
a day ago
- Forbes
Lynk & Co 08 Test Driven: Can Super Hybrids Win In European Market?
The Lynk & Co is one of the first "Super Hybrids" to break out of China into the European market. There's a new automotive trend coming out of China. Although the country leads the world in pure battery electric vehicle (BEV) adoption, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) have been growing fast too since the beginning of 2024. These are not the compromised cars of ten years ago, however. China is calling them 'super hybrids', and the first to arrive in Europe is the Lynk & Co 08. The big difference with super hybrids is the size of the battery they use, giving them a much larger electric range. The first plug-in hybrids offered under 30 miles of real electric range – only enough for short local urban trips. For all other kinds of journey, these cars are effectively just hybrids with pointlessly heavy batteries. There was also some evidence that they were being purchased as company cars for emissions-based tax credits and never plugged in and charged at all. For so little EV range, there wasn't much incentive to do so. Super hybrids are different. These have much larger batteries and can effectively function as battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) for all but the longest journeys. Their growing popularity in China is probably because the place is vast, and so are the cities. A super hybrid can be an EV in even a huge conurbation like Shanghai or Beijing. But China can be very rural outside its cities, and charging availability unreliable, so having fossil fuel as an alternative makes sense. Super hybrids have much larger batteries than previous PHEVs. In the Lynk & Co 08's case, a 39.6 kWh battery is included, delivering 120 miles of WLTP range. That's more than the first generation of Nissan Leaf BEV and not far off the second generation. The average European driver covers just 21 miles a day, so the 08's battery could last most of a week's regular journeys. Lynk & Co is part of Chinese giant Geely, alongside Volvo, Polestar, Zeekr and Lotus, so the technology was available in China first. The 08 was launched over there about two years ago, although the European version has some tweaks compared to the Chinese one, including stiffer suspension. 'An electric car doesn't work yet for some people,' says David Green, VP Strategy, Products and Offers, Lynk & Co. 'You don't buy the car for 98% of the year. You buy the car for 100% and in that case, people feel an EV won't work for them. Maybe the house in Italy doesn't have charging, or you're a businessperson that does long journeys, stops at night and can't charge there. These reasons create a space for a long-range PHEV. It's an electric car, but with no boundary. You can do the trip down to your small apartment in Italy that has no charger. The future will probably be fully electric. But there are some steps in the way.' The Lynk & Co 08 offers a premium interior experience. 'The 08 was launched in China almost two years ago,' says Nicolas Lopez Appelgren, CEO Europe, Lynk & Co. 'Ever since, we have gotten a lot of questions from media, but also from customers asking when the 08 would come to Europe. None of the other vehicles that we haven't brought to Europe has been asked for as much as the 08. Another reason is that electrification in Europe has clearly not gone as quickly as everybody thought five years ago. OEM after OEM has had to back down from their commitments of 100% electrified by a certain date, realizing it will take a longer time. This makes us believe that the 08 is the perfect segue into electrification. We believe very much that electrification will come, but the big question is exactly when. In the meantime, we believe that this is a very good product that will attract a lot of customers.' However, there's another reason for the increased interest in hybrids from Chinese companies. Chinese BEVs imported into Europe are subject to a tariff of up to 45.3%. However, Chinese PHEVs only receive a 10% tax, making the opportunities for profit far greater. The Lynk & Co 08 is a bit more than just a regular PHEV with a bigger battery, though. It has a new system from Horse Powertrain that has been specifically designed as a hybrid. 'It has one internal combustion engine (ICE) and two electric motors,' says Green. The ICE has a 1.5-liter capacity and is turbocharged. 'The first electric motor mainly charges up the battery. The second electric motor is mainly driving the wheels. You can blend and merge these. Then the combustion engine is mainly charging up the battery along with regeneration, but in certain circumstances, it can drive the wheels as well.' These motors work through a Dedicated Hybrid Transmission with three gears. Green claims the way the three different motors work together means the ICE can run at 43.3% maximum thermal efficiency, which means even when running on combustion the fuel usage should be frugal. On its own, the ICE delivers a decent if not incredible 51.4mpg (42.8mpg with US gallon). But most of the time you will have some battery available to increase that. The lynk & Co 08 drives like a BEV. During my test drive of the 08, it was a smooth experience like a BEV. This is also a quick car, capable of hitting 62mph in just 4.6 seconds. The three motors combine to deliver up to 585hp. It has 905Nm of torque, giving it the immediate response of a BEV and mostly drives like one. You also can barely tell if the ICE kicks in, it's so quiet – unlike the serial hybrid system of the Nissan e-POWER drivetrain. However, weighing in at 2,544kg, the 08 makes its mass known in corners, so this is more of an effortless highway and A-road cruiser than a sports SUV you can chuck around bends with abandon. You could, in theory, drive it entirely on electric power and never use any fossil fuel at all, although in that case you'd be better off with a BEV. However, while the Lynk & Co 08 does offer DC charging, this only operates at a maximum of 85kW, meaning it takes 28 minutes to go from 30% to 80% capacity. If you're taking a break somewhere with public charging that works out cheaper than fossil fuel, you might as well plug in. But the point is you don't have to worry about this, which appeals to some people. Lynk & Co's first two cars were smaller than the 08. The original 01 was another PHEV, but with a more conventional system than the 08. It has subsequently been updated to have the purpose-built Horse Powertrain system. The 02 (called the Z20 in China) is a BEV using the same architecture as the Zeekr X, Smart #1, and Volvo EX30. The 08 is a larger SUV aimed at a more grown-up family, with a comfortable amount of space in the rear for adult passengers and plenty of luggage space. There's 545 liters with the rear seats up, and 1,277 liters with them dropped forward. Talking about Lynk & Co's strategy going forward, Appelgren says: 'We believe very much in long-range plug-in hybrids. We have an electric vehicle (the 02). Let's see when we bring out the next one, but for now, we believe PHEVs will be very appealing. It is a step change from where PHEVs were a couple of years ago, which was literally a combustion engine that you coupled with an electric motor, a battery and a cord. The 08 car is developed from scratch to be a PHEV. It has a very useful range. Five to ten years ago, I thought PHEVs would be dead by now, because they were only a step into electrification. But the way they are now developing with the longer range built bespoke to be a PHEV with DC charging, they are more relevant than ever.' Unfortunately, there are no plans to bring the Lynk & Co 900 to Europe yet. That would be big departure for the 'funky and youthful' image Lynk & Co has cultivated in Europe so far. The 08 already signals a change towards a different customer. 'The D-segment SUV market is predominantly populated by premium brands,' says Appelgren. 'There are a few mainstream models in there, like the Kia Sorrento and Hyundai Santa Fe, but it's otherwise predominantly premium marques. Having an offer in that segment with the features the 08 has will help us to be established as a more premium brand in Europe. When we launched Lynk & Co with the 01, we were very heavily relying on subscription. The 08 will give us more maturity. It's a serious contender in a very serious and competitive segment.' Lynk & Co has another PHEV SUV available in China – the 900, which is strongly channeling Range Rover vibes, offering immense performance, comfort and luxury. I drove it in China and was very impressed by the power delivery, ride and interior quality. But we won't be seeing that in Europe anytime soon. 'The 900 is very nice, but it's 5.25m long,' says Appelgren. 'When cars get to five meters in Europe, it's difficult, and then adding 25 centimeters to that is very difficult. So there is no plan to bring that to Europe right now. We are a company that listens to customers, so we don't say no forever, but right now, I don't see that we can. If we would bring it, it would be an extreme niche product in Europe.' Lynk & Co reckons the 08 could be the product that breaks the brand into the mainstream. Lynk & Co is planning to enter the UK market, too. However, unlike other Geely brands it has no right-hand drive models yet. So the timeframe is not set, and this expansion will depend on whether the 08 fulfils its expectations. Priced at EUR 52,995 ($60,000) for the Core version and EUR 56,995 ($65,000) for the More version I drove, it's very reasonable for the performance, economy and equipment level on offer. 'The Lynk & Co 08 has a big chance to be our real breakthrough,' says Appelgren. 'We have good brand awareness in several markets, but with this product we will make a real difference. A lot of people will learn about the brand through the 08. The retail partners we have across Europe are thrilled about it and have high expectations on sales volumes. They believe that this will attract people that weren't acquainted with us before. The aim is for 6,000 sales in Europe in 2025, and next year, for now, we have 12,000 in the plan. Retailers think we might sell more. Supply won't be an issue. In China, they sell 10,000 of these a month.' There were over 79,000 Lynk & Co 08 cars sold in China in 2024. 'This will be the car that will put us clearly on the map.'
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business Insider
DBS Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Q Technology (Group) Co (1478)
DBS analyst Jim Hin Kwong Au maintained a Buy rating on Q Technology (Group) Co (1478 – Research Report) today. The company's shares opened today at HK$6.59. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Hin Kwong Au covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as BYD Electronic (International) Co, Apple, and Sunny Optical Technology (Group) Co. According to TipRanks, Hin Kwong Au has an average return of 8.7% and a 52.59% success rate on recommended stocks. Currently, the analyst consensus on Q Technology (Group) Co is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of HK$9.25. The company has a one-year high of HK$9.26 and a one-year low of HK$3.37. Currently, Q Technology (Group) Co has an average volume of 6.6M.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Too scared to shop? Why retail is a prime target for criminals
Harrods, Co-op, Marks & Spencer (M&S) and now Adidas have all experienced damaging cyber attacks in recent weeks, which have sent shock waves through the retail industry. M&S alone has warned of a £300 million ($405 million) hit on profits. The attack, which began over the Easter weekend, also wiped more than £750 million ($1 billion) off its market capitalization. On 30th April, the Co-op also fell victim, reporting a few days later that hackers had accessed a 'significant' amount of customer data. Then on 2nd May, Harrods also experienced a cyber attack, although in this instance, they managed to prevent any malicious intrusion. 101 Co-op Group rank on the Fortune 500 Europe In the M&S incident, third-party service provider Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has reportedly launched an internal investigation to determine whether it was the gateway by which the hackers gained access. It all points to a vulnerability amongst retail businesses, despite the fact that the threat from cyber attacks has existed for many years. But why are retail businesses being targeted? 252 Marks & Spencer rank on the Fortune 500 Europe 'Retailers are prime targets for cybercriminals due to the vast amounts of personal, financial, and other sensitive data they manage. For malicious actors, access to this data is like gold dust: highly valuable and potentially extremely lucrative' Marc Rivero, Lead Security Researcher in the Global Research & Analysis Team at Kaspersky, told Fortune. On 27th May, Adidas became the latest victim of a cyber attack when it reported that, similar to M&S, hackers had accessed customer data through a third-party service provider. In the case of M&S, according to Vaibhav Chechani, a Mumbai-based analyst at brokerage Nirmal Bang, if the attack did originate from the Indian company, 'it will definitely impact their brand image'. TCS also works as a 'strategic partner' to Co-op. 'Retailers are prime targets for cybercriminals due to the vast amounts of personal, financial, and other sensitive data they manage…' Marc Rivero, Lead Security Researcher in the Global Research & Analysis Team, Kaspersky Rivero commented, 'As seen in the M&S attack, social engineering allows attackers to bypass sophisticated cybersecurity measures by exploiting human error. These 'human hacking' tactics manipulate users into clicking malicious links, disclosing sensitive information, or granting access to restricted systems'. 'Simply put, data opens doors. It enables fraud, fuels targeted phishing campaigns, and can even be leveraged to infiltrate other businesses within the supply chain. This makes retailers not just lucrative targets, but also strategically valuable within the broader digital ecosystem'. M&S CEO Stuart Machin confirmed this, blaming the attack on 'human error' rather than a weakness in its cybersecurity measures and added that, 'it is a moment in time, and we are now focused on recovery, with the aim of exiting this period a much stronger business. There is no change to our strategy and our longer-term plans to reshape M&S for growth, and if anything, the incident allows us to accelerate the pace of change as we draw a line and move on'. Despite this optimistic outlook, Retail Technology Magazine publisher and retail expert, Miya Knights, believes that other retailers could also be targeted, believing that those most vulnerable would be 'those that have a sizable business with large tier one scale turnover across many channels'. Speaking to Fortune, she added, 'Cybersecurity has been a basic requirement for as long as retailers have deployed IT and transacted online. But, just as e-commerce has become a major growth driver, safeguarding the digital systems they now rely on must become as core to their business as it is for financial services companies.' This should be the wake-up call that the retail industry needed in order to treat these threats in the same way as financial services institutions. Actions to combat the threat appear to be happening within the industry, with one prominent retail CTO saying that he is collaborating with several other retailers, including some direct competitors, to mitigate the risk of future cyber attacks. M&S CEO Stuart Machin [blamed] the attack on 'human error' rather than a weakness in its cybersecurity measures… According to Rivero, the retail sector is under mounting pressure from cyber groups persistently probing for vulnerabilities to access large volumes of data. He said that, 'Retailers must regularly reassess their cybersecurity strategies and continue to invest in robust defense mechanisms'. 'Retailers must adopt a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity, acknowledging that no single measure can provide complete protection. This approach should begin with staff education. Training employees to recognize phishing attempts and suspicious behavior is critical, with human error remaining one of the most common entry points for attackers', he continued. However, it's not all the responsibility of retailers, Rivero believes that to feel more secure, consumers should take a proactive approach to their digital safety. Regularly update passwords, enable multi-factor authentication where possible, remain cautious of suspicious messages or emails, and monitor financial activity closely, 'reporting any unusual behavior immediately', adding that, 'a cautious, informed approach remains the best line of defense'. His advice to retailers using third-party service providers: 'Adopt a proactive approach: regularly conducting thorough risk assessments of all vendors, enforcing strict access controls, and requiring regular security audits. Ongoing employee training is also essential – not just for non-IT staff, but also for IT teams, who are frequently targeted by social engineering tactics'. And as he puts it, 'In a landscape where cybercriminals exploit every weak link, resilience must extend beyond the organization itself to encompass the entire supply chain and all vendors'. This story was originally featured on
