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Autonomous delivery vehicle company Avride has a fresh design and NVIDIA AI brains. The companys engineers have swapped out the old six-wheel configuration for a more efficient four-wheel chassis. It can make 180-degree turns almost instantly, effortlessly park on inclines and move faster without compromising safety. Avride has been working on autonomous delivery robots since 2019. It began as part of Russian tech company Yandexs autonomous driving wing. But the spun-off company divested its Russian assets after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and rebranded as Avride. Its now owned by the Netherlands-based Nebius Group (formerly Yandex N.V.), headquartered in Austin, TX and making deals with the likes of Uber. The companys latest delivery robot shakes up one of the few constants from previous iterations: They all had six wheels. The new four-wheel robo-buggy uses a groundbreaking chassis design that eliminates some of the rough spots from older generations. These included additional friction and tire wear caused by excessive braking required for turns, lower maneuverability and less precise trajectory execution. Avride says the new model dramatically improves on all of those counts. Avride The new vehicles wheels are mounted on movable arms attached to a pivoting axle. For turns, each wheel glides along a circular path stabilized by the central arm. This design allows the wheels to rotate both inward and outward, reducing friction during turns, the company wrote in its announcement blog post. Central to the new design is ditching the traditional front and rear axles for mechanically connected wheel pairs on each side. Avride says this enables simultaneous turning angle adjustment, leading to more precise positioning and maneuvers. Among the results of the fresh approach are almost instant 180-degree turns. Avride says this especially helps when navigating narrow sidewalks, where sudden adjustments could be necessary. Parking on slopes is also more energy efficient: It now sets its wheels in a cross pattern to park in place without careening downward. The tighter controls also let the company increase its maximum speed. This means faster deliveries for our customers, the company wrote. (And, presumably, more profit.) Avride Not only did the new generation of delivery bots get a new body, but it also got smarter. Powered by the NVIDIA Jetson Orin platform, essentially an AI brain for robots, the vehicles can now tap into neural networks as powerful as those in full-size autonomous cars. This lets them process vast amounts of sensor data like lidar inputs and camera feeds in real time. Finally, it wouldnt be a delivery buggy without a cargo compartment and that got an upgrade, too. The new model has a fully detachable storage section, allowing for modular swap-outs for different purposes. Avride says its standard cargo hold is big enough to hold several large pizzas and drinks or multiple grocery bags. It also adds a sliding lid that only provides access to the correct section, helping to avoid delivering orders to the wrong customers. Engineering and design nerds can read much more detail about the new robots in Avrides Medium post.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/avrides-next-gen-delivery-robot-ditches-two-wheels-and-adds-nvidia-ai-brains-171053813.html?src=rss
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Panic is holding another showcase for its Playdate portable console on October 31, and you can watch it via the companys YouTube page. Weve dropped a stream below for your convenience. The developer promises a focus on upcoming games for the diminutive yellow console, in addition to updates of released titles and a couple more surprises. The livestream starts at 1PM ET. Previous showcase events have lasted around 40 minutes, giving the company plenty of time to detail a whole slew of new crank-powered gems. The stream also heralds the beginning of the second-ever Playdate Catalog Sale, which will run from October 31 until November 14. Panic says that over 160 games will be on sale, including popular titles like Root Bear, P-Racing, Echo: The Oracle Scroll and Zero Zero: Perfect Stop. Some of these games will be available at their lowest prices ever. The previous sale was an absolute boon for those looking to winnow down their wish lists. Panic For the uninitiated, the Playdate is a retro-styled portable console that looks sort of like an OG Gameboy. Its bright yellow and features a hand-controlled crank thats used as a primary control input in many games. We love the thing and have called it an inspiration machine and the future of game development. There are hundreds of indie games available for the console, and many of them are quite good. The only bad news? The Playdate console itself is currently on back order. Shipments for new orders wont start going out until December, at the soonest.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/how-to-watch-the-latest-playdate-showcase-170055652.html?src=rss
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In a new video caught by TechCrunch, Boston Dynamics humanoid robot Atlas can be seen working autonomously in a demo space, sorting engine parts between numbered bins. The company claims that Atlas doesnt need to be controlled by humans to do work. According to the video description, Atlas uses machine learning to detect environmental changes and work around them. It also has a specialized grasping policy to help it maintain a firm hold on objects, continuously estimating the state of what its holding. After receiving some bin locations to move parts between, Atlas will get to work without prescribed movements, opting to perform tasks independently. In contrast, Teslas Optimus robots were said to receive human remote assistance despite autonomy claims. The Optimus robots were at a live event and, when asked, answered that they were being assisted. The video shows Atlas sorting and moving the engine parts to designated locations. It does well, transporting them without much awkwardness. After placing one part into a bin, the robot will repeat the process for other parts. Atlas has undergone plenty of changes since its 2013 reveal, including swapping from hydraulics to electric after almost 11 years of testing. The older Atlas and the current one are markedly different from each other. Take a look at the video below to see for yourself.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/boston-dynamics-atlas-robot-can-now-pick-car-parts-on-its-own-170052539.html?src=rss
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