Tech

Boston Dynamics is selling it’s most recent robot

After testing its flagship robot Atlas for years, a new iteration is finally making its debut. Boston Dynamics has laid the previous version of Atlas (that you’ve definitely seen) to rest, but in its place, is an all new version. This time, though, the robotics company plans to sell it.

Bipedal robots are all the rage

If you’ve been keeping up with our newsletter (click here if you haven’t), you’d know this isn’t the most surprising news of the year.

The announcement comes as companies have increasingly dumped money into the development of humanoid robots (bipedal ones, not the industrial robots that resemble giant arms).

• Notable investors in one company, Figure AI, who develop bipedal robots, include Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Microsoft, Nvidia, and other tech giants.

• Amazon, Tesla, BMW, and Mercedes even started testing prototypes in their facilities, showing the demand for such technology.

Why do so many companies want bipedal robots? The answer lies in production and manufacturing. They want to robotize their environments, and a bipedal robot would allow them to utilize efficient robot technology without redesigning their warehouses for industrial robots.

Essentially, a bipedal robot can navigate the spaces they have already built and do things the typical industrial robots can’t. It’s a win/win… if they can find the right robot to work for them.

That being said, these companies must’ve just struck gold with Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas model.

What can Atlas 2.0 do?

Old Atlas had a large range of capabilities, but its new, all electric, commercially available version is designed for “real world applications,” and to “expand human potential.”

• This new Atlas will be able to lift things that are too cumbersome for most humans (and the first, hydraulic iteration of Atlas).

• It also does… uhm… whatever this is. If that won’t visit you in your dreams, I’m not sure what will.

The original Atlas was initially created for search and rescue missions, but the company now envisions the bot carrying strangely shaped, heavy items around a warehouse faster than a human can. Not as cool as I thought, to be honest.

So, when will they start working? Boston Dynamics said it will start testing the new Atlas in its parent company Hyundai’s factories in 2025. And, unlike the last Atlas, this one will become commercially available. Boston Dynamics claims the bot will be sold to other manufacturers within the next few years.

International

Dubai pelted with record rainfall, city flooded

Years worth of rain in a day rendered some of the city, and areas outside of it, underwater. Dubai is one of the worlds drier cities, and after getting hit with the heaviest thunderstorm its ever recorded, theories emerged on how the record rainfall was caused.

In case you didn’t hear…

Rain clouds unloaded over half a foot of rain on Dubai (which is two years worth of rain), from Monday night to Tuesday night last week. The arid city doesn’t have the critical infrastructure (like storm drains and green spaces) to absorb the storm, so it resulted in flooded roads, buildings, homes, and airport tarmacs. Schools and businesses across the nation were shut down.

• At least one person in the UAE was killed along with 18 people in its neighboring country, Oman.

Even after the rain stopped, delays and cancellations at Dubai International Airport (the second busiest in the world) continued through the week.

Is weather manipulation to blame?

After the flooding, theories emerged that cloud seeding, which is when planes spray salt particles into rain clouds to give water vapor more to latch on to in order to produce more rain, was to blame for the ensuing stom.

• The UAE has used cloud seeding to help reduce water shortages, and over 1,000 hours of seeding occur annually in the country.

In addition, early reports by Bloomberg stated that a UAE meteorology official said the country worsened the flood by seeding the approaching clouds in the days before the record rainfall.

• However, the UAE denied this, telling CNBC they had not seeded any clouds but had flew seeding planes in the air. CNBC couldn’t confirm their statement.

Experts say that if the clouds were seeded it only would’ve boosted rainfall by 20% or 25%, and is unlikely it caused the massive storm.

Google fires employees after multi-city protests

The tech goliath fired nearly 30 employees after company wide protests emerged. On Wednesday, Google fired 28 people who participated in protests against the company’s cloud-computing contract with the Israeli government, highlighting how the war in Gaza continues to affect some workplaces.

What’s the contract?

The cloud-computing contract, Project Nimbus, is a $1.2 billion deal from 2021 in which Google and Amazon provide the Israeli government with cloud computing and AI services, according to Bloomberg.

The protest was staged a day before the Israeli government gave the green light on a half-decade proposal in which they would switch to cloud services under Project Nimbus and expand their digital presence.

• Israel’s Defense Ministry and military were listed in a government statement as partners in Project Nimbus, along with other government offices, per Bloomberg.

What about the protests?

On Tuesday, dozens of Google employees staged in sit-ins, one inside Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s office in Sunnyvale, California, and one at Google’s NYC headquarters.

The fired employees that protested inside the workplace “took over office spaces, defaced our property and physically impeded the work of other Googlers,” Vice President for Global Security Chris Rackow said. Police arrested nine Google employees for trespassing.

The day after the protests, Google fired 28 employees after it concluded its internal investigations. The company said the protests violated its code of conduct in an internal memo that was seen by Bloomberg.

Firings have happened before: The tech giant has long been known to have a culture of open discussion and criticism toward company policies, but past incidents have blurred that image:

• In a 2018 company-wide global walkout, employees claimed Google mishandled sexual harassment in the workplace.

• Four other workers said they were fired unjustly for protesting, but Google claimed they were fired for leaking confidential documents.

Tensions have already been high: Last month, a Google Cloud engineer got fired for interrupting a keynote by Google’s managing director of Israel business.

Despite the firings, Google is struggling to find a way to handle internal strife regarding the conflict in the Middle East. According to Bloomberg, internal Google forums have shown employees arguing over the conflict, with heated threads being shut down by moderators.

Grab Bag

Drug shortages hit record highs

Prescription drugs are becoming increasingly scarce, having some worried when their next fill will be. From common prescriptions like Adderall and Ozempic to cancer treatments, a record 323 drugs were in short supply during the first quarter of 2024, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) reported recently.

The ASHP said the current shortage is the most since they began tracking the metric in 2001, and the number of active medications not in supply has broken a decade long high.

Medication shortages are not a small hurdle, and have been reported in large numbers since 2021. Doctors don’t have the correct medication to give to patients and are being forced to write alternative prescriptions, many of which are inferior to the first treatment.

Why is there a shortage?

Experts have cited a few problems regarding the record shortage in medication:

• Skyrocketing demand can lead to scarcities for drugs like Adderall, which is increasingly being prescribed through telehealth, along with the uber popular weight-loss drug Ozempic.

• US regulations incentivize the producers of generic drugs to compete on price, reducing the motivation for pharma companies to produce them.

• Injectables like Ozempic are made through a heavily regulated, logistically complex process that can fall through the cracks pretty easily.

There might be a solution: The Biden administration announced a $5 billion plan this month to help keep prescriptions ready and available for those who need them. Under the plan, private hospitals that work with reliable drug manufacturers would be rewarded with a cash bonus, and those who don’t would receive penalties.

• The ASHP criticized the proposed penalties, saying hospitals that don’t have no choice but to comply with certain manufacturers would consistently lose money.

Certain stipulations in the plan have left lawmakers at a standstill, and until they agree to pass the plan (or a revised version), the shortage will remain in effect.

Reviews for this new AI wearable aren’t great

Recent reviews of Humane’s new AI pin have marinated and it’s about time they’ve surfaced. The Hindenburg of wearable tech, which was supposed to “replace your smartphone,” has gotten torn apart by reviewers. Doesn’t sound revolutionary to me.

First off, let’s tell you about it:

The pin has a $699 price tag and requires a $24 a month for a T-Mobile cellular plan through Humane.

• The pin uses a built-in camera and microphone to take in information to feed to the AI and spit out an appropriate response.

• Unlike smartphones, you won’t be downloading any apps on the Ai Pin. The device is run by the AI-powered operating system Cosmos.

• The device has a laser projection system to display certain features, like the time, messages, or other information onto your hand.

Despite the cutting edge features, those who have tried it don’t think too fondly about it.

Now, for the reviews

Apparently, the device has a tendency to overheat, an inability to provide reliable answers to voice prompts, and sunlight reportedly makes it extremely difficult to read the information it projects onto your hand.

Numerous reviewers were disappointed with the camera:

• Inverse claimed the photo quality was similar to an iPhone 4, while Engadget said it was worse than a Nokia E7 from 2012.

• Most critics felt compelled to mention that its response time is too slow.

• The only music app it supports is Tidal, which costs another $11 per month.

Reviewers likened the product to a prototype and said its Vision feature that analyzes your surroundings felt undeveloped. Humane has said it will roll out software updates to address some issues, and The Verge expects the Pin to improve along with the state of AI.

Fast Facts

Wrong Words: Here are 10 common words you’re most likely mispronouncing. If you don’t think choice and Seuss (as in Dr. Seuss) rhyme… you should take a look.

Treasure Trash: According to Reworld, a company that fishes coins out of garbage for profit, around $68 million worth of change gets thrown away each year.

Handbag Healthy: A study by consultancy Asterès for LVMH found that handbags account for 4% of all of French exports last year, which equates to about $25 billion worth of goods.

Delta Dubai: Dubai’s airport was ranked first in international travel last year (and second overall), seeing a 31% increase in air traffic from 2022 to 2023 with 87 million flyers going through the airport. 

Concussion Check: The FDA approved rapid concussion blood tests that could be used on the sidelines of NFL games.