Augean Robotics: Mechanizing Food Production From Farm To Table

It spanned over 120 feet and took up a considerable area inside the already overpacked robotics section of the Las Vegas Convention Center, leaving many to wonder, ‘What on earth is a tractor doing at CES?’ Ever the since the acquisition of the artificial intelligence startup Blue River Technologies for … Read More

NASA Prepares The Nation For Flying Taxis?

Last month, the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash shocked the world. As families across the country paused to reflect on their own mortality, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) diligently dug through the rubble in search of clues. While the media awaits for the official NTSB report, what is … Read More

It Takes A Village To Deploy A Tactile Telerobot

Observing MLK Day, I followed in the footsteps of Katherine Johnson at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Her memory still looms large over the Mission Control room that launched Apollo 11’s successful lunar landing fifty years ago. This historic milestone could not have been achieved without the mathematical genius … Read More

CES 2020: A Smart City Oasis

Like the city that hosts the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) there is a lot of noise on the show floor. Sifting through the lights, sounds and people can be an arduous task even for the most experienced CES attendees. Hidden past the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center … Read More

The PropTech Report: An Open Frontier For Hardware Entrepreneurs

Two constants have guided my professional life: venture capital and real estate. Every year, I eagerly await to see which portfolio will produce greater returns. Today, in the  words of the great (fictional) New Yorker George Louis Costanza, “Worlds are colliding!”  Enertiv, a New York Angels investment, keeps growing with … Read More

Privacy Data Guidelines For Mechatronic Innovators

A harem of scantily-dressed women blazed across Tuesday’s New York Post cover proudly modeling the latest in affordable cell phone technology courtesy of Pablo Escobar’s brother, Roberto. The tabloid quipped that mobile apps today are more addicting than cocciaine. China (among other data junkies) is counting on this dependency to … Read More

The 5G Report Card, Building Today’s Smart IoT Ecosystem

The elephant in the room loomed large two weeks ago at the inaugural Internet of Things Consortium (IoTC) Summit in New York City. Almost every presentation began apologetically with the refrain, “In a 5G world…” practically challenging the industry’s rollout goals. At one point Brigitte Daniel-Corbin, IoT Strategist with Wilco … Read More

A 360 Degree View Of Incubating Mechatronics

Last month, private equity giant Blackstone Group announced the acquisition of Colony Capital for $5.9 billion, a deal that encompasses 60 million square feet of warehouse space across 465 facilities. Blackstone is reported to manage now over $250 billion worth of property worldwide, and the Colony purchase comes on the … Read More

Is China An AI Security Concern?

This past week, the Interior Department ordered the grounding of its drone fleet that was made in China or contained Chinese parts. This comes on the heels of similar actions taken by the Department of Homeland Security in May and the United States Army in 2017. While political pundits credit the … Read More

The DARPA SubT Challenge: A Robot Triathlon

One of the biggest urban legends growing up in New York City were rumors about alligators living in the sewers. This myth even inspired a popular children’s book called “The Great Escape: Or, The Sewer Story,” with illustrations of reptiles crawling out of apartment toilets. To this day, city dwellers … Read More