“The customer is always right, in matters of taste.”
– Harry Gordon Selfridge
1. Flow-Through Suppressors
For leaf blowers! Finally, I can talk about this technology without being labeled. This content (with video) is very adorable. Baby engineers solving a real problem. Maybe they'll save the hearing of some lawn care professionals. I would allege that one or all of the engineers may have been "inspired" by HuxWrx (formerly OSS) rifle cans. Coming soon to the Craftsman and DeWalt cordless ecosystems! I hope the suppressors are quick-detach.
2. Chippity China
China’s chip industry, led by SMIC, is striving for self-sufficiency in response to U.S. export controls. Aiming to eliminate reliance on American technology, SMIC is using more homegrown equipment despite lagging behind global leaders like TSMC and Samsung. This push for self-reliance is part of China’s broader strategy to decouple from U.S. tech, spurred by significant government investment and efforts to overcome technological bottlenecks.
3. Training Robots With AI
MIT researchers developed a technique using generative AI, specifically diffusion models, to combine diverse robotic datasets, improving the adaptability of multipurpose robots. They trained separate diffusion models on different datasets and combined these learned policies into a general one, enhancing task performance by 20%. This method, known as “policy composition,” allows robots to generalize across various tasks and environments, marking a significant advance in robotics.
4. Industrial Tech Trends 2024: Hannover Messe
Hannover Messe 2024 showcased the latest industrial tech trends, focusing on sustainability, AI, edge technologies, the increasing importance of modularity, ecosystem collaborations, and AI adoption. The event featured advanced edge solutions, sustainability data management, generative AI applications, and the growing use of GPUs in edge devices. Great, another excuse for oppressive demand for graphics cards. Please excuse my broke gamer tears, but if you’re a GPU scalper, Silky Johnson has some words for you.
5. Robot Roadmap Reccomendations
The 2024 U.S. robotics roadmap highlights the need for improved federal coordination in robotics development. While nations like China, Germany, and Japan have centralized industrial policies, the United States, despite fostering innovation, suffers from fragmented efforts among academia, government, and industry. Key issues include mixed federal support in the past, the impact of AI on robotics, strategic investment, workforce retraining, and a coordinated national strategy to boost competitiveness in robotics.
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