Chronicling Robots Since 2011
As we prepare for the busiest travel days of the year, it is time to reflect on how far transportation has progressed since the horse & buggy. This past week the number of cities testing autonomous taxis grew to include Boston, with MIT upstart nuTonomy. Equally important to the driverless ecosystem is enabling our most impaired citizens … Read more
On Monday, Uber launched its fleet of autonomous cars (Ford Fusions) in Pittsburgh, PA. The test represents Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick’s audacious vision to one day roll out an entire fleet of autonomous vehicles to replace the company’s roughly 1.5 million drivers and to ferry commuters, packages and food around urban centers. In the meantime, Uber is … Read more
In honor of my lunch this afternoon, I wanted to share a snapshot of the sushi chef (see video below). While these parlor trick robots do make tasty rice patties, they remind us of how early we are in the cycle of robotics. Windows 95 was the moment when personal computing became ubiquitous; in my opinion, it will … Read more
The Financial Times this week wrote a four-part series on “Robots: Friend or Foe?” The editors agree that the Robolution is now a matter of time, as we stand on a precipices of an automated world. While the cynics, and possibly Donald Trump as well, cry in panic at the loss of jobs, others see huge gains … Read more