There are serious concerns about the Lethal Autonomous Weapons to be developed in the future.
The short film “SlaughterBots” describes a possibility for killer drones in the future
Sophia the Humanoid Robot
Sophia is Hanson Robotics’ latest and most advanced robot to date and a cultural icon. She has become a media darling, appearing on major media outlets around the world, igniting the interest of people regardless of age, gender, and culture, even gracing the cover of one of the top fashion magazines. Her press coverage has a potential reach of over ten billion readers in 2017.
Sophia is a highly sought-after speaker in business and showed her prowess and great potential across many industries. She has met face-to-face with key decision makers in banking, insurance, auto manufacturing, property development, media, and entertainment. In addition, she has appeared onstage as a panel member and presenter in high-level conferences, covering how robotics and artificial intelligence will become a prevalent part of people’s lives.
Leaps Small Buildings in a Single Bound- SandFlea
Sand Flea drives like an RC car on flat terrain, but jumps 10 m into the air to overcome obstacles.
Sand Flea is a small robot with 4 wheels and a mighty jumping leg. It drives like an RC car on flat terrain, but can jump 10 m into the air to jump over obstacles. That is high enough to jump over a compound wall, onto the roof of a house, up a set of stairs or into a second story window.
The robot uses its wheels as gyros to stay level during flight so the operator gets a clear view from the on-board camera and to ensure a smooth 4-wheel landing. Sand Flea can jump about 25 times on one charge. Boston Dynamics developed Sand Flea with funding from the US Army’s Rapid Equipping Force (REF), DARPA and Sandia National Laboratory.
SandFlea is currently out of production.
Humanoid Robots will Fill Public Service Positions Throughout the World
As time goes by, we will be seeing highly intelligent Humanoid Robots and Autonomous Machines filling public service positions throughout the world, operating under rules to keep humans safe, and in the future, be taught to protect and even save lives, improving our overall quality of life, or maybe not, because it all depends how we program them. Despite limited resources, including semiconductors, AI, and financial difficulties, our limitless desire for robotics will force us to investigate the possibilities of designing human-like robots for all areas, from farming to service industries, medical, health and research, education, entertainment, and combat. With the help of robots and creative minds, we will discover more as we move forward.
With open-source codes developed by human programmers or robots, you can teach your robot higher-level tasks, including anything from karate to doing the dishes to teaching it how to sing or dance. Wi-Fi will also affect their remote access; firewalls and antivirus apps will be available to protect your precious robot from unwanted remote breaches.
Today’s only challenge with advanced Humanoid Robotics is determining how strongly we can design them for pre-recorded or instant responses. Can they fully decode human speech and surrounding sounds with their voice recognition, regardless of all accents, to understand human perception and cognition? Maybe not yet. How can we help them to understand anger or calmness? A physical punch on a robot or the stress level in our voice and body language, for example, has to be translated into a form for them to recognize with codes and sensors. Robots are currently and will in the future be taught to protect and even save lives, improving our overall quality of life. They will be walking on the ground, swimming in the oceans, and flying with a combination of available drones. It is a phenomenon, an important one, not to miss out on.
The World’s Most Dynamic Humanoid Robot
The World’s Most Dynamic Humanoid.
Atlas uses balance and whole-body skills to achieve two-handed mobile manipulation.
Atlas is the latest in a line of advanced humanoid robots we are developing. Atlas’ control system coordinates motions of the arms, torso and legs to achieve whole-body mobile manipulation, greatly expanding its reach and workspace. Atlas’ ability to balance while performing tasks allows it to work in a large volume while occupying only a small footprint.
The Atlas hardware takes advantage of 3D printing to save weight and space, resulting in a remarkable compact robot with high strength-to-weight ratio and a dramatically large workspace. Stereo vision, range sensing and other sensors give Atlas the ability to manipulate objects in its environment and to travel on rough terrain. Atlas keeps its balance when jostled or pushed and can get up if it tips over.
By Boston Dynamics
A nimble Robot that handles objects, climbs stairs, and will operate in offices, homes and outdoors
A nimble robot that handles objects, climbs stairs, and will operate in offices, homes and outdoors.
SpotMini is a small four-legged robot that comfortably fits in an office or home. It weighs 25 kg (30 kg if you include the arm). SpotMini is all-electric and can go for about 90 minutes on a charge, depending on what it is doing. SpotMini is the quietest robot we have built.
SpotMini inherits all of the mobility of its bigger brother, Spot, while adding the ability to pick up and handle objects using its 5 degree-of-freedom arm and beefed up perception sensors. The sensor suite includes stereo cameras, depth cameras, an IMU, and position/force sensors in the limbs. These sensors help with navigation and mobile manipulation.
By Boston Dynamics
A Robot with Legged Squad Support Systems
A Robot with Legged Squad Support Systems
LS3 was funded by DARPA and the US Marine Corps. Boston Dynamics assembled an extraordinary team to develop the LS3, including engineers and scientists from Boston Dynamics, Carnegie Mellon, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Bell Helicopter, AAI Corporation, and Woodward HRT.
LS3 was designed to go anywhere Marines and soldiers go on foot, helping carry their load. LS3 carries 182 kg of gear and enough fuel for a 32 km mission lasting 24 hours. (In one test on flat terrain LS3 carried over 500 kg of payload.) LS3 automatically follows its leader using computer vision, so it does not need a dedicated driver. It also travels to designated locations using terrain sensing, obstacle avoidance and GPS.
A Robot Takes a Kicking and Keeps on Ticking
Spot is a four-legged robot designed for indoor and outdoor operation. It has been the breeding ground for a new approach to dynamic robot control that brings true autonomy within reach.
Spot is electrically powered and hydraulically actuated. It senses its rough-terrain environment using LIDAR and stereo vision in conjunction with a suite of on-board sensors to maintain balance and negotiate rough terrain. It carries a 23 kg payload and operates for 45 minutes on a battery charge.
By Boston Dynamics
A Robot with Legs and Wheels, the best of Both Worlds
Handle can pick up heavy loads while occupying a small footprint, allowing it to maneuver in tight spaces. All of Handle’s joints are coordinated to deliver high-performance mobile manipulation.
Handle is a robot that combines the rough-terrain capability of legs with the efficiency of wheels. It uses many of the same principles for dynamics, balance, and mobile manipulation found in the quadruped and biped robots we build, but with only 10 actuated joints, it is significantly less complex. Wheels are fast and efficient on flat surfaces while legs can go almost anywhere: by combining wheels and legs, Handle has the best of both worlds.
By Boston Dynamics
How the World Buys Online
PayPal’s survey examined the online and cross-border shopping habits of over 23,200 consumers in 29 countries to uncover opportunities and best practices for merchants who want to grow their international business.
Insights about international buyers
PayPal and Ipsos research provides insight into where consumers are buying from, what’s important to them and how they pay for goods and services.*
Bought in the USA: #1
The US is still the #1 destination for all cross-border shoppers (25% purchased from US-based websites in the past 12 months).
China On the Rise
32% of Chinese respondents shopped cross-border in 2015, vs. 26% in 2014 and this has increased in 2017.
The Top Drivers and Barriers
1. Mobile Matters More than Ever.
Mobile commerce is a key driver of global online shopping: 47% of online shoppers made a purchase via smartphone in the last year …and still growing: Mobile commerce accounted for a reported 16% of consumer online spend in the last 12 months; estimated to grow to 19.4% in the next 12 months.
2. Invest in SEO
SEO has a big influence on online cross-border shoppers. Top methods cited for finding international websites: “I go directly to websites I have used in the past” (58%) “I go directly to websites I know the web address for” (40%) “When I search for particular brands or products on a search engine, sometimes this leads me to foreign sites” (38%).
3. Keep Shipping Top of Mind
Shipping cost is the top reason for cart abandonment among cross-border shoppers: 43% of those who abandon a purchase cite “shipping/postage charges were too high” Almost half of shoppers (47%) say delivery costs deter them from making international purchases more often 50% of shoppers say free shipping would make them more likely to buy cross-border; 38% cite free return shipping as a potential driver.
Whether you’re new to selling internationally or a pro, it pays to have a plan in place. We’ve outlined easy ways to consider when planning for international growth. More here.
The top reasons that consumers are buying cross-border online:
Better prices (76%)
Access to items not available in my country (65%)
I can discover new and interesting products (59%)
Websites in this country have more variety/availability of different products and styles (52%)
Shipping is more affordable (50%)
The most popular destinations for cross-border shoppers to buy from online:
China (21%)
USA (17%)
UK (13%)
Germany (7%)
Japan (4%)
The top barriers to cross-border shopping among those consumers who shop cross-border include:
Delivery shipping costs (43%)
Concern that they may not receive the item (35%)
Return shipping costs (34%)
Having to pay customs duties/fees and/or taxes (33%)
Too much to handle!
Expand your international sales with the help of Oz Robotics
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* Starting from January 1st 2018, there will be a monthly subscription fee for new suppliers/vendors partners and resellers.
The global sales opportunity with Oz Robotics
Globalization and internet adoption are creating opportunities for small businesses to reach new customers abroad, but studies shows that individual website owners going through hard times to maintain their sites with fast changing technology, online security breaches with fraudulent purchases and overall marketing.