Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion.

Humanoids 2024: 22–24 November 2024, NANCY, FRANCE

Enjoy today’s videos!

We’re hoping to get more on this from Boston Dynamics, but if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s electric Atlas doing something productive (and autonomous!).

And why not do it in a hot dog costume for Halloween, too?

[ Boston Dynamics ]

Ooh, this is exciting! Aldebaran is getting ready to release a seventh generation of NAO!

[ Aldebaran ]

Okay I found this actually somewhat scary, but Happy Halloween from ANYbotics!

[ ANYbotics ]

Happy Halloween from the Clearpath!

[ Clearpath Robotics Inc. ]

Another genuinely freaky Happy Halloween, from Boston Dynamics!

[ Boston Dynamics ]

This “urban opera” by Compagnie La Machine took place last weekend in Toulouse, featuring some truly enormous fantastical robots.

[ Compagnie La Machine ]

Thanks, Thomas!

Impressive dismount from Deep Robotics’ DR01.

[ Deep Robotics ]

Cobot juggling from Daniel Simu.

[ Daniel Simu ]

Adaptive-morphology multirotors exhibit superior versatility and task-specific performance compared to traditional multirotors owing to their functional morphological adaptability. However, a notable challenge lies in the contrasting requirements of locking each morphology for flight controllability and efficiency while permitting low-energy reconfiguration. A novel design approach is proposed for reconfigurable multirotors utilizing soft multistable composite laminate airframes.

[ Environmental Robotics Lab paper ]

This is a pitching demonstration of new Torobo. New Torobo is lighter than the older version, enabling faster motion such as throwing a ball. The new model will be available in Japan in March 2025 and overseas from October 2025 onward.

[ Tokyo Robotics ]

I’m not sure what makes this “the world’s best robotic hand for manipulation research,” but it seems solid enough.

[ Robot Era ]

And now, picking a micro cat.

[ RoCogMan Lab ]

When Arvato’s Louisville, Ky. staff wanted a robotics system that could unload freight with greater speed and safety, Boston Dynamics’ Stretch robot stood out. Stretch is a first of its kind mobile robot designed specifically to unload boxes from trailers and shipping containers, freeing up employees to focus on more meaningful tasks in the warehouse. Arvato acquired its first Stretch system this year and the robot’s impact was immediate.

[ Boston Dynamics ]

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera to capture the silhouette of Phobos, one of the two Martian moons, as it passed in front of the Sun on Sept. 30, 2024, the 1,285th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

[ NASA ]

Students from Howard University, Moorehouse College, and Berea College joined University of Michigan robotics students in online Robotics 102 courses for the fall ‘23 and winter ‘24 semesters. The class is part of the distributed teaching collaborative, a co-teaching initiative started in 2020 aimed at providing cutting edge robotics courses for students who would normally not have access to at their current university.

[ University of Michigan Robotics ]

Discover the groundbreaking projects and cutting-edge technology at the Robotics and Automation Summer School (RASS) hosted by Los Alamos National Laboratory. In this exclusive behind-the-scenes video, students from top universities work on advanced robotics in disciplines such as AI, automation, machine learning, and autonomous systems.

[ Los Alamos National Laboratory ]

This week’s Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute Seminar is from Princeton University’s Anirudha Majumdar, on “Robots That Know When They Don’t Know.”

Foundation models from machine learning have enabled rapid advances in perception, planning, and natural language understanding for robots. However, current systems lack any rigorous assurances when required to generalize to novel scenarios. For example, perception systems can fail to identify or localize unfamiliar objects, and large language model (LLM)-based planners can hallucinate outputs that lead to unsafe outcomes when executed by robots. How can we rigorously quantify the uncertainty of machine learning components such that robots know when they don’t know and can act accordingly?

[ Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute ]

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion.

Humanoids 2024: 22–24 November 2024, NANCY, FRANCE

Enjoy today’s videos!

Just when I thought quadrupeds couldn’t impress me anymore...

[ Unitree Robotics ]

Researchers at Meta FAIR are releasing several new research artifacts that advance robotics and support our goal of reaching advanced machine intelligence (AMI). These include Meta Sparsh, the first general-purpose encoder for vision-based tactile sensing that works across many tactile sensors and many tasks; Meta Digit 360, an artificial fingertip-based tactile sensor that delivers detailed touch data with human-level precision and touch-sensing; and Meta Digit Plexus, a standardized platform for robotic sensor connections and interactions that enables seamless data collection, control and analysis over a single cable.

[ Meta ]

The first bimanual Torso created at Clone includes an actuated elbow, cervical spine (neck), and anthropomorphic shoulders with the sternoclavicular, acromioclavicular, scapulothoracic and glenohumeral joints. The valve matrix fits compactly inside the ribcage. Bimanual manipulation training is in progress.

[ Clone Inc. ]

Equipped with a new behavior architecture, Nadia navigates and traverses many types of doors autonomously. Nadia also demonstrates robustness to failed grasps and door opening attempts by automatically retrying and continuing. We present the robot with pull and push doors, four types of opening mechanisms, and even spring-loaded door closers. A deep neural network and door plane estimator allow Nadia to identify and track the doors.

[ Paper preprint by authors from Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition ]

Thanks, Duncan!

In this study, we integrate the musculoskeletal humanoid Musashi with the wire-driven robot CubiX, capable of connecting to the environment, to form CubiXMusashi. This combination addresses the shortcomings of traditional musculoskeletal humanoids and enables movements beyond the capabilities of other humanoids. CubiXMusashi connects to the environment with wires and drives by winding them, successfully achieving movements such as pull-up, rising from a lying pose, and mid-air kicking, which are difficult for Musashi alone.

[ CubiXMusashi, JSK Robotics Laboratory, University of Tokyo ]

Thanks, Shintaro!

An old boardwalk seems like a nightmare for any robot with flat feet.

[ Agility Robotics ]

This paper presents a novel learning-based control framework that uses keyframing to incorporate high-level objectives in natural locomotion for legged robots. These high-level objectives are specified as a variable number of partial or complete pose targets that are spaced arbitrarily in time. Our proposed framework utilizes a multi-critic reinforcement learning algorithm to effectively handle the mixture of dense and sparse rewards. In the experiments, the multi-critic method significantly reduces the effort of hyperparameter tuning compared to the standard single-critic alternative. Moreover, the proposed transformer-based architecture enables robots to anticipate future goals, which results in quantitative improvements in their ability to reach their targets.

[ Disney Research paper ]

Human-like walking where that human is the stompiest human to ever human its way through Humanville.

[ Engineai ]

We present the first static-obstacle avoidance method for quadrotors using just an onboard, monocular event camera. Quadrotors are capable of fast and agile flight in cluttered environments when piloted manually, but vision-based autonomous flight in unknown environments is difficult in part due to the sensor limitations of traditional onboard cameras. Event cameras, however, promise nearly zero motion blur and high dynamic range, but produce a large volume of events under significant ego-motion and further lack a continuous-time sensor model in simulation, making direct sim-to-real transfer not possible.

[ Paper University of Pennsylvania and University of Zurich ]

Cross-embodiment imitation learning enables policies trained on specific embodiments to transfer across different robots, unlocking the potential for large-scale imitation learning that is both cost-effective and highly reusable. This paper presents LEGATO, a cross-embodiment imitation learning framework for visuomotor skill transfer across varied kinematic morphologies. We introduce a handheld gripper that unifies action and observation spaces, allowing tasks to be defined consistently across robots.

[ LEGATO ]

The 2024 Xi’an Marathon has kicked off! STAR1, the general-purpose humanoid robot from Robot Era, joins runners in this ancient yet modern city for an exciting start!

[ Robot Era ]

In robotics, there are valuable lessons for students and mentors alike. Watch how the CyberKnights, a FIRST robotics team champion sponsored by RTX, with the encouragement of their RTX mentor, faced challenges after a poor performance and scrapped its robot to build a new one in just nine days.

[ CyberKnights ]

In this special video, PAL Robotics takes you behind the scenes of our 20th-anniversary celebration, a memorable gathering with industry leaders and visionaries from across robotics and technology. From inspiring speeches to milestone highlights, the event was a testament to our journey and the incredible partnerships that have shaped our path.

[ PAL Robotics ]

Thanks, Rugilė!

Register of Copyrights sides with industry's "market harm" argument for rereleased games.

Here is a complete list of highlights on Prime Video this week

Subscribers will have to opt-in to a pricier ad-free plan.

ACON last week released a short video to highlight new evidence in the fight to end HIV by 2020. As part of the ENDING HIV platform, the [TREAT EARLY] campaign was ...

The post Video highlights new evidence to support treating HIV early appeared first on Star Observer.

Madden NFL has been around for almost 40 years (really) so it’s high time the gaming franchise got the documentary treatment. Prime Video has got you covered. The platform just announced that It’s in the Game: Madden NFL will stream on November 26, which is just ahead of Thanksgiving.

The four-part docuseries will explore “one of the biggest video games of all time” that “became a worldwide phenomenon, spanning generations.” The show will explore Madden’s “archaic 8-bit origins to its success as an annual must have.” Prime Video says EA Sports has given it access to the vaults, so there should be plenty of new footage for diehard fans.

As the story goes, EA founder Trip Hawkins approached commentator John Madden back in 1984 for his endorsement and expertise, but the game took four long years of development before coming out in 1988. This extended development time was allegedly due to Madden himself, who demanded a realistic football experience. I’m sure the documentary will get into all of that.

Formerly known as John Madden Football, the franchise became an annual event in 1990 and changed its name to Madden NFL in 1993. These games have sold over 130 million copies worldwide since 1988. The latest iteration, Madden NFL 25, released back in August to fairly middling reviews.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/a-tv-show-about-ea-sports-madden-games-hits-prime-video-on-november-26-194833398.html?src=rss

Signal users may be familiar with the problem of creating group chats just for a group call, but that’s about to become a thing of the past. You can now share a call link and let up to 50 people hop in, all in the span of a few seconds. The days of selecting contacts one by one are over.

Now, all you have to do is create a call link after going to the Calls tab and send it to whomever you want. The link is also reusable, which is convenient if you have fixed call times. Participants can raise their hands and send emojis. Hosts can set the room up so people must be approved before joining the conversation.

Based on Signal’s blog post, the new group call experience highly resembles Zoom. Those interested in privacy yet desire a conference call-like experience may find the new update helpful. Like Zoom, the desktop app offers more options.

Besides Zoom, these features will be familiar to frequent users of Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and some WhatsApp users. Raising hands is found on all three platforms as a non-verbal way to signal the speaker. WhatsApp does have a lower participant count of 32 people after an update in June. While there’s no raise hands function, doing certain gestures can send emojis for all to see. It’s worth noting that many apps with group call functionality are adopting similar features.

These new features are available on Android, iOS, Windows and macOS. If you don’t see them yet, we recommend updating your Signal app.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/signal-makes-it-easier-to-start-group-video-calls-153519653.html?src=rss

Amazon is closing down Freevee, its free ad-supported video on demand service. This platform was home to original programming as well as more than 100 originals from the Prime Video roster. Freevee will be phased out over the coming weeks, and its content will become available as part of Prime Video. The ad-supported tier of Prime Video is included as part of Amazon's Prime membership for $15 a month.

"To deliver a simpler viewing experience for customers, we have decided to phase out Freevee branding," an Amazon spokesperson told Variety. "There will be no change to the content available for Prime members, and a vast offering of free streaming content will still be accessible for non-Prime members, including select originals from Amazon MGM Studios, a variety of licensed movies and series, and a broad library of FAST channels – all available on Prime Video."

The free viewing platform went through several rebrands since its original launch as IMDb Freedive in January 2019. It entered its final phase as Freevee in April 2022.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/amazon-sunsets-freevee-platform-for-ad-supported-streaming-video-000614080.html?src=rss

IF DOMINATING the streaming industry wasn’t enough, Netflix has just launched its very first video game, which features characters from its own shows.

Drug Channel Institute is pleased to announce The Drug Channels 2025 Video Webinar Series.

Join Dr. Adam J. Fein for three live video webinars during 2025. These live, interactive events will be broadcast via Zoom from the Drug Channels Video studio in beautiful downtown Philadelphia.

During these events, Dr. Fein will address the latest issues confronting the U.S. drug channel. Topics will be determined based on what’s happening—trends, policy changes, company announcements, and more. He’ll share DCI’s latest market data to help you stay on top of new developments. You will be able to use these events as both a capstone of your current learning and a touchpoint for the future.

The three events are scheduled for 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET on the following dates:

• April 4, 2025

• June 20, 2025

• December 12, 2025 (Drug Channels Outlook 2026)

For 2025, we are offering a Corporate Pricing option that will allow larger organizations to register hundreds of colleagues for one fixed price. Please contact Paula Fein (paula@drugchannels.net) for details.

Read on for full details on pricing, including substantial discounts for multiple sites.

P.S. If you're not familiar with our webinars, click here to watch brief excerpts from our video webinars.
Read more »

Adam J. Fein, Ph.D., president of Drug Channels Institute (DCI) and the author of Drug Channels, invites you to join him for DCI’s new live video webinar:

Friday, December 13, 2024,

from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET

This post describes the event and explains how to purchase a registration. (Or, just click here to order.) The webinar will be broadcast from the Drug Channels studio in beautiful downtown Philadelphia.

This event is part of The Drug Channels 2024 Video Webinar Series. (Please note that our December 2024 webinar is *not* included with next year’s 2025 Video Webinar Series.)

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

Join Dr. Fein as he helps you and your team get ready for 2025 by outlining key issues and uncertainties that will surely affect your planning. This event can be both a capstone of your annual learning and a touchpoint for the future. DCI’s Outlook webinars have proven to be reliable and informative guides to crucial aspects of the ever-evolving healthcare industry.

During the event, Dr. Fein will share his latest thinking and projections on a wide range of topics, including:

• Latest predictions for the Inflation Reduction Act

• Expectations for the Medicare Part D market in 2025 and beyond

• Update on 340B Drug Pricing Program’s controversies

• Impact of the new Trump administration and Congress on the drug channel

• Vertical integration and consolidation trends—and prospects for dis-integration and de-consolidation

• The state of biosimilar markets

• What’s next for PBMs’ private label products and GPOs

• Retail pharmacy’s future

• Prospects for direct-to-patient channels

• What’s ahead for discount cards and cash-pay pharmacies

• The outlook for state and federal legislation on PBMs and the drug channel

• Gross-to-net bubble developments

• And much more!

PLUS: During the webinar, Dr. Fein will give participants an opportunity to unmute themselves and ask live questions. The webinar will last at least 90 minutes to accommodate audience questions.

As always, Dr. Fein will clearly distinguish his opinions and interpretations from the objective facts and data. He will draw from exclusive information found in DCI's economic reports .

Read on for full details on pricing and registration.
Read more »

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Husband and father of three young children, Travis Roberts, was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. This is his story.

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