CHRONICLING THE ROBOT INDUSTRY
SINCE 2011 © ROBOT RABBI
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
My throat is sore from touting New York’s tech prowess, which I realize has been for naught. Almost as quickly as the balloons from the Mayor’s celebration lost their air did Amazon announce it was leaving the Big Apple. The blow to our local venture community is like a sucker … Read More
At the new Alibaba restaurant, Robot.he, in Shanghai the human hostesses have been relegated to smiling and pointing at touch screens. The hard work of interacting with guests and serving dinner is done by mobile phones and mobile robots that look oddly similar to Amazon’s warehouse rovers. Cao Haitao of Robot.he … Read More
Last year, Intel partnered with Lady Gaga on the Super Bowl Halftime Show to showcase its latest aerial technology called “Shooting Star.” Intel did a reprise performance of its Shooting Star technology for Singapore’s 52nd birthday this past week. Instead of fireworks, the tech-savvy country celebrated its National Day Parade … Read More
At the SxSw Interactive Conference in Austin this week, Former Vice President Joe Biden challenged all innovators to think BIGGER. Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Task Force , established last January, brings together 20 government agencies and more than 70 private-sector companies with one aim – “eliminate cancer as we know it.” Even the most unorthodox medical collaborators … Read More
One click, and the next day it’s at my door courtesy of Amazon Robotics. Since acquiring, Kiva Systems in 2012 for $775 million, the retailer has led the way for automated fulfillment centers. Logistics represents a $30 billion market opportunity in the next few years as technologists look to conquer indoor autonomous … Read More
On March 28, 1931, a small subsidiary of Boeing, United Air Lines, announced that it completed the first transcontinental passenger flight in 27 hours. This ushered in the golden age of commercial American aviation, which lasted over 40 years. Autonomous aviation was birthed in 1849 by an Austrian attack on Italy with unmanned … Read More
A couple of years ago, I had coffee with the Heather Knight, author of the infamous paper, “How Humans Respond To Robots.“ When we met in 2014, we begun our discussion with “in the future…” people will rely on robots for everyday tasks. However, today the future is yesterday and social … Read More
Already with the demise of the Great Pumpkin, comes the rise of tinsel and lights. Jiggle bells today translates to the hum of trucks delivering good tidings. While e-commerce continues to outpace brick & mortar, it also creates major financial problems with free shipping promos and last mile deliveries. Last year alone, the US Postal Service lost $5 … Read More
While Jeff Bezos has yet to grow a white beard, or gain 300 lbs, Amazon is the closest we will get to Santa’s workshop. The Northpole might not be as functional as the 80 worldwide fulfillment centers that this merry-man has under his belt. The 100,000 plus employees are being … Read More
