Latest news with #Digit
Axios
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Axios
Why robots need fences
AI-driven creatures — whether they're autonomous vehicles, delivery bots or humanoid robots — aren't ready to be unleashed freely into the wild. That's why robotaxis today only operate in certain neighborhoods and humanoids are being tested inside factory cages where they can't hurt anyone. Why it matters: Unlike chatbots, which can learn to talk simply by scraping information from the internet, AI robots are expected to move fluidly through unstructured environments, communicate with people, manipulate things and make reasoned decisions. That's a far bigger challenge that requires tons more training data and real-world experience. The big picture: Tesla CEO Elon Musk is among the most bullish about how generative AI will reshape autonomy and robotics. He envisions 1 million driverless Teslas by the end of 2026 and 1 million Optimus humanoids doing useful work by the end of the decade. Tesla is working on a generalized solution for self-driving cars: Instead of coding step-by-step instructions for every street in every city based on high-definition maps, it's using AI to teach cars how to drive virtually anywhere. The approach, dubbed AV 2.0, is seen by many as a more efficient — and less expensive — way to develop self-driving vehicles. Yes, but: It all depends on whether there's sufficient training data available. While Musk once scoffed at competitors like Waymo for operating in geofenced areas, he now acknowledges that Tesla's own robotaxi service, coming soon, will need limits. "When we deploy the cars in Austin, we are actually going to play not to the entire Austin region, but only the parts of Austin that we consider to be the safest. So we will geofence it," he told CNBC last week. "So it's not going to take intersections, unless we are highly confident it's going to do well with that intersection or it'll just take a route around that intersection," he said. Eventually, says Musk, Tesla will be smart enough to begin scaling to other cities more rapidly. "These things happen slowly but then all at once," he told CNBC. The same is true for humanoids. Manufacturers are already experimenting with robots that look like humans to sort widgets, lift boxes, or carry parts. But until it's safe for them to interact with human workers, those experiments must occur inside cages, explains Melonee Wise, chief product officer at Agility Robotics, maker of a humanoid robot called Digit. The bottom line: Whether it's a million robotaxis, or a million human bots, they need time — and fences — to learn.
Axios
4 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Robot industry split over that humanoid look
Advanced robots don't necessarily need to look like C3PO from Star Wars or George Jetson's maid Rosie, despite all the hype over humanoids from Wall Street and Big Tech. In fact, some of the biggest skeptics about human-shaped robots come from within the robotics industry itself. Why it matters: Robots are meant to take over dirty, dangerous and dull tasks — not to replace humans, who are still the most sophisticated machines of all. The big picture: Morgan Stanley believes there's a $4.7 trillion market for humanoids like Tesla's Optimus over the next 25 years — most of them in industrial settings, but also as companions or housekeepers for the wealthy. Yes, but: The most productive — and profitable — bots are the ones that can do single tasks cheaply and efficiently. "If you look at where robots are really bringing value in a manufacturing environment, it is combining industrial or collaborative robots with mobility," ABB Managing Director Ali Raja tells Axios. "I don't see that there are any real practical applications where humanoids are bringing in a lot of value." What they're saying:"The reason we have two legs is because whether Darwin or God or whoever made us, we have to figure out how to traverse an infinite number of things," like climbing a mountain or riding a bike, explains Michael Cicco, president and CEO of Fanuc America Corporation. "When you get into the factory, even if it's a million things, it's still a finite number of things that you need to do." Human-shaped robots are over-engineered solutions to most factory chores that could be better solved by putting a robot arm on a wheeled base, he said. The other side: " The thing about humanoids is not that it's a human factor. It's that it's more dynamically stable," counters Melonee Wise, chief product officer at Agility Robotics, which is developing a humanoid robot called Digit. When humans grab something heavy, they can shift their weight for better balance. The same is true for a humanoid, she said. Using a robotic arm on a mobile base to pick up something heavy, "it's like I'm a little teapot and you become very unstable," she said, bending at the waist.
India Today
5 days ago
- India Today
Vivo T4 Ultra tipped to launch in June, key specs and features leaked
The fourth addition to Vivo's T4 series, dubbed the Vivo T4 Ultra, is expected to launch in June, if a new leak is to be believed. According to tipster Yogesh Brar on X (formerly Twitter), with inputs from Digit, the Vivo T4 Ultra, successor to last year's T3 Ultra, is expected to launch in the early part of June. Considering the phone does launch as per the leaked information, it will be arriving three months earlier than its predecessor, which launched in India last year in September. Source: Yogesh Brar/ X (formerly Twitter) advertisementThe leak details some of the key specs and features of the Vivo T4 Ultra. It looks like the phone is set to receive a bunch of upgrades across the board. For instance, the screen is said to be a 120Hz pOLED panel, with a slight reduction in size compared to last year's model — from 6.78 inches to 6.67 inches. Could we expect to see an even slimmer design on the T4 Ultra, since pOLED panels use a plastic substrate instead of glass, making it lighter and thinner, and leading to a slimmer phone design? Also, how does this affect the battery? Will we see the same-sized battery on the T4 Ultra as the T3 Ultra, i.e., a 5,500mAh unit, or could we see a higher-capacity silicon-carbon battery instead? Only time will tell. However, the leak suggests the charging speeds are going to get a slight bump from 80W on the T3 Ultra to 90W on the T4 leaked specs include the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 series chipset. Considering the T3 Ultra launched with the Dimensity 9200+ chip, the Vivo T4 Ultra could be powered by either the Dimensity 9300+ or the Dimensity 9300 chipset. For those who don't know, the Dimensity 9300+ chipset is an enhanced version of the Dimensity 9300 chip — the same SoC that powered the Vivo X100 Pro in India. In terms of camera specs, the primary camera is said to be a 50-megapixel Sony IMX921 sensor, carried over from the T3 Ultra. However, the biggest change — if the leak turns out to be true — may come in the form of a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens. Apart from this, the phone is expected to run Funtouch OS 15 based on Android 15, out of the now, June is not far away, and so, we'll get to know more about the Vivo T4 Ultra in the coming days. If the T3 Ultra is anything to go by, expect the T4 Ultra to launch at a sub-Rs 30,000 price point.
Tatler Asia
19-05-2025
- Business
- Tatler Asia
Dark factories: How automation robotics is powering global manufacturing
All of the advantages of dark factories Above Digit is the world's first commercially deployed humanoid robot that is designed to work on the factory floor (Photo: Agility Robotics) Dark factories offer significant advantages over traditional facilities. Most notably, they can run 24/7 without shifts or breaks, enabling uninterrupted production—even on weekends and holidays. With machines handling repetitive and hazardous tasks, worker safety is also greatly enhanced. While the upfront investment in automation technology is considerable, dark factories reduce long-term costs. Robots don't require salaries or benefits—only routine maintenance. Their consistency, speed, and ability to scale production quickly makes them an attractive option for future-focused manufacturers. Above The ANYmal by ANYbotics is a four-legged autonomous robot designed for industrial inspection (Photo: ANYbotics) Dark factories can be located in areas that may be unsuitable or unsafe for human workers, offering greater flexibility in site selection and lowering the need for costly safety measures. They're also more sustainable: designed for energy efficiency, these facilities emit fewer greenhouse gases and often rely on renewable energy sources. With repetitive tasks handled by machines, the human workforce shifts to high-value roles in innovation, quality control, research, and problem-solving—rethinking the nature of manufacturing work. Dark factories around the world Above Industrial robots for palletizing food products like bread and toast at a bakery in Germany (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, KUKA AG) The dark factory system has been deployed by leading companies in various industries. The factories have been built in several locations around the world. Siemens operates a dark factory for its electronic manufacturing division located in Amberg, Germany. The factory manufactures more than 1,200 different products and has a 99.99% quality rate. FANUC, which manufactures industrial robots and factory automation equipment, has a dark factory in Japan. The factory makes robotic arms that are produced in a fully automated facility which can operate independently for 30 days straight. In the Netherlands, Philips operates a dark factory that makes electric razors. The factory uses robots manufactured by Adept Technology. In terms of robots to humans ratio, the 128 robots outnumber the nine human quality assurance workers in the factory. Before it moved the bulk of its manufacturing to factories in Asia, Adidas pioneered the use of automated sneaker manufacturing facilities called Speedfactories in Germany and the USA from 2016 until 2020. The Speedfactory used robots and artificial intelligence to automate the production of shoes using 3D printing technology that eliminated the need for manual gluing and stitching. China flips the switch on automated manufacturing China has fully embraced the dark factory trend as part of its Made in China 2025 initiative, which aims to modernise its manufacturing sector through AI, robotics, and smart technologies. Tech giants such as Foxconn and BYD have launched heavily automated plants, while Xiaomi opened a factory in Beijing capable of producing 60 smartphones per minute—completely without human intervention. The brand's SU7 electric vehicle is also assembled in a robotic facility, with its own self-driving system used to roll off the production line autonomously. Above Xiaomi's SU7 electric vehicle is partially assembled by robots in its automated factory (Photo: Xiaomi) The future is (not yet) dark Despite their advantages, widespread adoption of dark factories faces significant hurdles. High costs, ethical concerns, environmental considerations, regulatory challenges, and fears over job displacement continue to slow the pace of global implementation. For now, dark factories remain a specialised yet rapidly evolving segment of the manufacturing landscape—illuminating a future where machines do the heavy lifting, and human workers take on more strategic, creative roles.
Business Insider
01-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Insider
Howard Lutnick says the 'great jobs of the future' will be fixing robots in factories
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick says those worried about job insecurity due to President Donald Trump's tariffs can rest assured that they — and generations of their children — will find work in factories. Trump has pushed his tariff policy as a means to reinvigorate manufacturing in the United States, which he says could, among other things, create more jobs. Nowadays, however, manufacturers often rely on automation to build their products. Many US companies, including automakers, plan to introduce humanoid robots to their factory floors. In 2020, Hyundai acquired robot maker Boston Dynamics for $1.1 billion. Boston Dynamics and Hyundai announced an additional $21 billion partnership this month, which includes the purchase of tens of thousands of robots. Hyundai uses Boston Dynamics' Spot robot dogs in factories and plans to deploy its Atlas humanoid robots in the future. Ford has also purchased Digit robots, the humanoid robot made by Agility Robotics. And Amazon has tested Digit in its fulfillment centers. One automation company, Formic, told Business Insider earlier this month that its customers increased their overall robot usage by 17% between January and February, likely to ramp up production ahead of the tariffs. So, what would these near-future human workers be doing in factories? Lutnick said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday that the United States should train people to be technicians for these automated machines. "It's time to train people not to do the jobs of the past, but to do the great jobs of the future," Lutnick said. "You know, this is the new model, where you work in these kind of plants for the rest of your life, and your kids work here, and your grandkids work here." In a separate CNBC interview on April 3, Lutnick said US factories are "going to see the greatest surge in training for what we call tradecraft — teaching people how to be robotics, mechanics, engineers, and electricians for high-tech factories." Lutnick reiterated this idea on Tuesday, saying that most auto parts plants are already "highly automated" and the thousands of people who work in them are "trained to take care of those robotic arms." When Lutnick was asked if robots would be taking most of the jobs in the scenario he described, he replied that "all these automated arms and stuff" still need human operators to fix them. "They all need a technician to fix them. All of these things, this is trade craft. This is high school educated, great jobs that start in the 80s and 90,000s," Lutnick said. "It is not like how they sort of joke online, you know, Americans working the sewing machine," he added.
