Things continue to look bleak for the original robot vacuum maker. iRobot’s third-quarter results, released last week, show that revenue is down and “well below our internal expectations due to continuing market headwinds, ongoing production delays, and unforeseen shipping disruptions,” said Gary Cohen, iRobot CEO, in a press release. This meant they had to spend […]
Robot vacuums are amazing machines, but they can also be a pain in the arse. In my home, testing a new robot vacuum often means digging it out from under my living room couch or unhooking it from the legs of my lounger. Then there’s being woken at 3AM by a cheery “resuming cleaning,” getting […]
The most striking moment of Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday wasn’t when Elon Musk won a impossible-sounding pay package worth nearly $1 trillion. That was a foregone conclusion, given Musk’s popularity with retail shareholders and his ability to vote his own extensive holdings. To me, the more illuminating moment was when the gathered crowd of […]
Tesla shareholders voted Thursday to approve Elon Musk’s staggering new pay package, in a move aimed at retaining the controversial CEO’s leadership during a time of great upheaval for the automaker. Over 75 percent of shares voted in favor of the proposal. The vote gives Musk enormous sway over his electric vehicle company, as well […]
Of all the companies that could have launched a robot vacuum in 2025, I didn’t have DJI in the running – but here we are. The drone and camera manufacturer released the DJI Romo robovac in Europe today, following its China debut this summer. The Romo is a combo robot vacuum and mop with a […]
Right now, there are robots stocking convenience store shelves in Japan. We haven’t embraced that tech here in America yet, but it’s hard to imagine 7-11 or Walmart won’t at least experiment with it soon. Walmart gave up on its shelf-scanning robots in 2020, but machine vision and AI have improved a lot in the […]
Two years after US-based Neato Robotics closed up shop in 2023, its robot vacuum cleaners have reached the end of the road (or rather, hallway). Users are receiving emails notifying them that their Neato robovacs will no longer have access to cloud services, meaning they can’t be controlled through the robots’ MyNeato app anymore. In […]
On Thursday, Nike announced Project Amplify, “the world’s first powered footwear system,” which it says isn’t intended for pros—in fact, quite the opposite. Much like e-bikes provide pedal assistance, Project Amplify uses a lightweight robotics system to boost running and walking speed. “The first-generation product, created alongside robotics partner Dephy, isn’t designed for competitive, faster […]
Well, that’s not very subtle. In an earnings call last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he needs more control over Tesla, as well as a pay package that could be worth nearly $1 trillion, in exchange for building a “robot army.” Otherwise, he could get ousted as CEO, and then, well, who would control […]
A New York Times report on Tuesday cited internal Amazon documents touting how its shift into automation could help it sell more products without hiring more people, but today the company has issued a PR blast about robotics and delivery tech that is much sunnier. Along with a tease of AI-connected augmented reality smart glasses […]