2023: The Year of Tombot – The Robo Dog

Hands down, the robot story of 2022 was the San Francisco Police Department’s decision, and subsequent retraction, to order a fleet of killer robots. The highly-debated proposal tried to set nerves at ease by stating: “Robots will only be used as a deadly force option when the risk of loss … Read More

Solving Supplychain Woes With Robot-Enabled Humans

The Pandemic has propelled e-commerce to stratospheric heights with sales skyrocketing over 30% in 2020, and close to 40% in 2021. Globally, online shopping jumped to nearly $30 trillion led by Alibaba and Amazon. This consumer behavior shift has accelerated the adoption of warehouse automation technologies with packaging systems estimated … Read More

BCI Startups Compete To Augment Human Disabilities With Unmanned Systems

The ultimate purpose of robotics is to improve the human condition. As organic species, our bodies are vulnerable to damage and disrepair. In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on the “Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics,” the entry on “care robots” highlights its societal benefits over countering dystopian fears: “One reason why … Read More

The Impact of AI-Enabled Smart Cities

I’m the type of traveler that explores new cities by getting lost, to the chagrin of Google and Apple maps. As more urban centers become connected with AI, resulting in an increasing number of pedestrians looking down, few are left to discover hidden haberdasheries and coffee houses. This was the … Read More

Kognition: Reopening America With Intelligence In The Built Environment

As America celebrated this week its 245th year of Independence, New York City is beginning to show signs of liberation from the past year of Covid captivity. Even my landmark office skyscraper, The Empire State Building, recently loosened its pandemic mask and social distancing restrictions. Unfortunately, the bustling of Midtown … Read More

Robotic Startup Now Cuisine Takes On Ghost Kitchens And Drone Deliveries

The robotics industry is at an inflection point where the baton is being passed from the scientists to the practitioners. In historical terms, we are witnessing the Edisons of the world harness the innovations of the likes of Faraday to create life changing businesses and wealth. Automation has moved from … Read More

Robot Stomachs: Powering Machines With Garbage And Pee

The Seinfeld idiom, “worlds are colliding,” is probably the best description of work in the age of Corona. Pre-pandemic, it was easy to departmentalize one’s professional life from one’s home existence. Clearly, my dishpan hands have hindered my writing schedule. Thank goodness for the robots in my life, scrubbing and … Read More

REEST: Revolutionizing The Global Food System With Robot Harvested Shrooms

The first presidential debate of 2020 is already known as a debacle for public discourse. Unfortunately after 200,000+ deaths from Covid-19, America is as divided in grief as it was in prosperity. Already in New York we are seeing a spike in cases as Springtime memories fade. Few still immediately … Read More

Expper Technologies: Smiling Robots Alleviate Human Anxieties

The great lyric poet Billy Idol once sung “Eyes without a face, got no human grace, you’re eyes without a face.” This profound statement has been ringing loudly during this period of social distancing and masked encounters. As I professed on several webinars to understand the mechanics of reopening with … Read More

Contact Tracing, Machines, And Civil Liberties

Already five regions within New York State have reopened for business, ushering in a new reality of “test, isolate, and trace.” The United States estimates it will hire close to 300,000 people to become contact tracers, identifying potential spreaders of the virus. Governor Cuomo has appointed former New York City … Read More