In Pasadena, California, the world's first fully automated AI restaurant - CaliExpress - is set to open in the coming weeks. Located at 561 East Green Street near Madison Avenue, the restaurant is dedicated to driving innovation in the food service industry. CaliExpress collaborates with leading tech companies Miso Robotics and PopID, utilizing advanced automation and artificial intelligence technologies. The kitchen of CaliExpress is equipped with Miso R

San Francisco-based startup Physical Intelligence recently announced that it successfully raised $400 million, bringing its post-money valuation to $2.4 billion. This funding round attracted the attention of several prominent investors, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, OpenAI, Thrive Capital, and Lux Capital. According to a company spokesperson, Bond Capital also participated in this investment.

The world's largest technical professional organization, IEEE, recently released a research report titled 'Technology Impact Beyond 2025'. This report surveyed 355 technology leaders from Brazil, China, India, the UK, and the US to explore future technology development trends. The survey revealed that 58% of respondents believe that smart technologies will be the most influential technology area in 2025, marking its second consecutive year at the top. Following closely are cloud computing (26%) and robotics (24%). Other noteworthy fields include extended reality.

Kind Humanoid is a robotics startup based in Palo Alto, founded by Christoph Kostol, who has a background in Silicon Valley. The company's workspace is filled with various electronic components and fabrication tools, reflecting the spirit of DIY computing that has characterized Silicon Valley. The design of Kind Humanoid's robots is inspired by the surrealistic art style of Belgian painter René Magritte. The company's designer, Yves Béhar, stated that he hopes to convey a message through the design of the robots.

Recently, a study from the Swiss École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) made its debut at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Rotterdam. This research aims to explore how robotic hands can break existing limitations to grasp more objects. The research team noted that deep learning models significantly enhanced the dexterous manipulation capabilities of multi-fingered hands, but the grasping guided by contact information in cluttered environments has not yet been fully explored. To address this issue, the researchers designed an inspired hand that can bend backward to pick up various objects and detach itself to climb.

Today, Tencent Robotics X Lab announced its latest research achievement, the home environment robot 'Xiao Wu'. This robot aims to become an indispensable assistant in households, capable of walking and transporting objects in real environments, and even assisting the elderly. Xiao Wu's design overturns the traditional concept of robots by adopting a four-legged wheel-foot composite structure. This design allows for faster movement on flat surfaces while maintaining adaptability over uneven terrains. This flexibility enables Xiao Wu to operate in various environments such as homes and nursing homes.

Norwegian startup 1X Technologies recently announced significant advancements in developing AI-based world models for robots. Simply put, these models act as virtual testing grounds for robots, allowing them to test and improve in various scenarios without the need for real-world testing. 1X believes this is key to solving the 'robotics challenge' — how to reliably evaluate robots trained for multiple tasks in ever-changing environments.

Noted robotics expert David Hanson has joined WorkFar Robotics as Chief Executive Advisor, focusing on innovations in human-robot collaboration technology. WorkFar is dedicated to providing intelligent humanoid robot solutions for the warehousing and manufacturing industries, aimed at addressing labor shortages. Hanson, along with his team, developed the 'Syntro' synthetic robot, which combines artificial intelligence with remote human control technology to ensure safe operation in high-risk tasks. Additionally, Hanson plans to send his created robot 'Sophia' to Mars.

Amazon has announced the acquisition of a non-exclusive license from robotics startup Covariant and has absorbed approximately a quarter of its workforce, aiming to accelerate innovation in the automation field and enhance the safety and adaptability of robots. The founding team of Covariant will join Amazon's AI and robotics team, marking a further enhancement of Amazon's automation capabilities on top of the 750,000 robots already deployed in its logistics centers. Covariant will continue to support its existing customers and develop warehousing automation technology.

Amazon has announced the hiring of the core team from robotics startup Covariant, comprising about a quarter of its staff, and has signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement to use Covariant's robotic foundation models. This move represents Amazon's strategic positioning in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics, aiming to advance foundational research in AI and robotics technology and apply it to Amazon's existing robotic systems, providing greater practical value to customers. Through a 'reverse acquisition' strategy, Amazon gains new technologies while avoiding a direct acquisition of the startup.

LeRobot is an open-source project released by HuggingFace that provides a comprehensive guide aimed at simplifying the entry barriers for AI-driven robotics technology, supporting the open-source ecosystem in the robotics field. The guide is created by LeRobot co-founder Remi Cadene and targets a broad audience, aiming to popularize the application of AI in robotics and encourage innovation. Based on the open-source robotics kit Koch v1.1, the guide covers the entire process of assembling, configuring, and training AI-controlled robots, focusing on two 6-degree-of-freedom robotic arms.

The rapid development of artificial intelligence technology has made the AI industry a popular choice for recent graduates. Job seekers need not only professional skills but also practical experience through internships and volunteer projects, as well as personal portfolios and recommendation letters to enhance their competitiveness. In 2024, the AI industry offers numerous high-paying positions for recent graduates, including Robotics Engineer, Data Scientist, and Data Analyst, with salaries ranging from $100,000 to $160,000. The high salaries in the AI field are primarily driven by market demand, scarcity of specialized knowledge, and business needs.

He Xiaopeng, chairman of Xpeng Motors, recently showcased the company's latest advancements in robotics technology through a video. He announced that Xpeng Motors is no longer limited to development in the Internet sector, and its technology has been successfully applied to the real-world 'hand replacement' robots.

The 'Wolf Ranch' community in Georgetown, Texas, is utilizing the giant 3D printer Vulcan to construct homes, with over a quarter of the houses already sold. Developer ICON is collaborating with housing company Lennar to build 100 homes through this technology, with completion expected by summer. These 3D printed homes are priced between $450,000 and $600,000, utilizing hybrid materials for construction, with walls designed to be sturdy, energy-efficient, and resistant to extreme weather. The modern ranch-style design is provided by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group.

PepsiCo's Chief Operating Officer Greg Lyon recently stated that the changes the company has experienced in the past three years are greater than in the previous 31 years he has worked there. This shift is largely driven by a significant change in consumer shopping habits, particularly after the pandemic, with people increasingly leaning towards online purchases of food and beverages.

The MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has demonstrated an innovative method for training home robots by utilizing iPhone scans of users' home environments, uploading the data to a simulated environment for training. This method aims to address the limitations of traditional robot training in adapting to complex home layouts, lighting, and object placement. Through simulated training, robots can practice millions of times in a virtual world without any real-world loss, significantly enhancing their adaptability. The construction of the environmental database not only strengthens the robots' performance in known environments but also prepares them to face...

Simple AI-driven robots have the potential to revolutionize material flow in warehouses. Chris Walti, former head of Tesla's Optimus project, and Ahmad Baitalmal, a former Rivian executive, have co-founded Mytra, a startup focused on warehouse automation. Mytra aims to tackle the challenging issue of warehouse material flow through a simple, modular 3D robotic system.Walti stated, "We've taken a distinctly different approach, reducing the number of parts and shifting the focus from hardware to s