The “simplest” hip-actuated bipedal robot consisting of only two rigid bodies and containing only one actuator, exhibiting open-loop stable walking, self-starting, and left and right steering. Credit: arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2308.08401 A small team of mechanical engineers at Carnegie Mellon University, working with a colleague from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has designed and built what they describe as the simplest walking robot ever. They have written a paper describing the ideas they used to build the robot and the factors that have led to its simplicity and have posted it on the arXiv preprint server. Over the past several…
Author: Bernie
95 Building a company is hard. And achieving success is even harder. So it’s no surprise that a lot has been written about the decision to start a company and how to run it. But what about when it’s time to leave? I spent five years as Co-Founder and CEO at my company, Radix Health, and two years ago we merged with a larger, private-equity backed competitor. I recently made the decision to leave the combined company and the decision was not an easy one. I came up with a framework to think through the decision and want to share…
What just happened? Generative AI can potentially disrupt the global data center market, but Europe is facing a different issue right now. Demand for data center capacity in the Old Continent is at its highest, with a wave of requests coming through that were somewhat delayed in recent years. According to a recent report from real estate and investment management service provider Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), the first half of 2023 saw the single busiest two quarters for data center investments in Europe on record. Tier I European markets, which include Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin (FLAP-D), have experienced…
HP Draongfly Pro Chromebook specs: Display size: 14 inches | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Resolution: 2560 x 1600 | Touchscreen: Yes | RAM: 16GB| GPU: Intel Iris X Graphics | CPU: Intel Core i5-1235U | Storage: 256GB SSD | Battery life: Up to 11 hours and 30 minutesChromebooks have come a long way since the early years of prioritizing value above all else. That’s not to say that the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook doesn’t pack a lot of value; it’s just built differently than any other Google-powered laptop we’ve tested to date…in a good way. Instead of focusing on compromises, HP partnered with Google…
Every weekend, indie devs show off current work on Twitter’s #screenshotsaturday tag. And every Monday, I bring you a selection of these snaps and clips. This week, my eye has been caught by car combat, some pretty walks, a physics-defying cat, a squishy mech, and so much more. Come admire these attractive and interesting indie games!
The Oppo A38 appeared last week, and today, the device silently debuted on the company website in the United Arab Emirates. Just like the leak predicted, the phone comes with a 50 MP main camera and a basic LTE-only chipset despite the fact UAE has 5G in all major city areas across the country. The Oppo A38 has a 6.56” LCD with HD+ resolution, up to 90 Hz refresh rate, and a 90 Hz touch sampling rate as well. There is also a waterdrop notch for the selfie camera that has a 5 MP sensor behind. There are two cameras…
The ALBACOPTER—a cross between a multicopter and a glider. Credit: Fraunhofer IVI Urban air mobility (UAM) does more than just open up new potential in terms of transporting goods: if some of urban traffic goes airborne, this will also offer completely new approaches when it comes to sustainable mobility solutions. In the Fraunhofer ALBACOPTER Lighthouse Project, six Fraunhofer institutes are addressing the technical and social issues associated with UAM. Led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI, researchers have developed an aircraft that glides in a particularly efficient way—taking inspiration from the albatross. This device and other…
Construction-vehicle company Caterpillar’s venture arm joined the round. Vancouver-based Novarc Technologies, which specializes in automated welding equipment using artificial intelligence (AI), announced it has raised $20 million USD in all-equity Series A funding. Caterpillar Venture Capital, a subsidiary of the United States (US)-based construction vehicle company Caterpillar, and Export Development Canada (EDC) joined the round led by Graham Partners, which had announced its initial investment in the round in September 2022. Soroush Karimzadeh, CEO of Novarc Technologies, said in a statement that Caterpillar’s “extensive industry expertise and global presence” align perfectly with the company’s goals. The Series A closed in…
Apple “got close” to releasing an all-new 14-inch iPad model this year, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports. In his most recent “Power On” newsletter, Gurman said that Apple has been exploring the concept of an even larger iPad since 2021 and almost released a 14-inch model, in what would have been the biggest iPad to date, this year. Now, there is apparently no such product in Apple’s imminent product pipeline. One complication was apparently the transition to OLED displays in the iPad lineup, which could invoke considerably higher costs on larger tablet displays. As previously rumored, the first iPad Pro models…
If you’ve been following the onslaught of gadget news out of Berlin this week, you’ve no doubt heard Qi2 pop up more than once. Notably, Anker and Mophie have both announced products that adopt the standard. So, [Seinfeld voice] what’s the deal with Qi2? Should you care and can the sequel ever truly be better than the original? To answer the last two questions first, probably and definitely. Qi is more than a simple upgrade to the ubiquitous wireless charging standard. You’re likely well-acquainted with Qi gen one, which — believe it or not — has been kicking around since…