The company behind Pornhub and other popular pornographic sites broke Canadian privacy law by allowing intimate images to be shared on its websites without the direct knowledge or consent of everyone depicted, the federal privacy commissioner has ruled. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s (OPC) investigation into Aylo (formerly MindGeek), one of the world’s largest […]

Interacting with animals seems to provide emotional support to young people with a serious illness, even when the contact is via letters and not face to face

Senator-elect Jim Justice's office has clarified reports that his famous pooch Babydog was banned from the Senate floor, saying Justice never intended to bring the dog onto the floor.

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!

The office of the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a federal watchdog agency, revealed in its regular report that China has held more than 200 meetings with Taliban terrorists since their return to power, Afghanistan's Tolo News reported this weekend.

The post U.S. Watchdog Report: China Holds More Meetings with Taliban than Any Other Country appeared first on Breitbart.

Set in a near future where an unknown disease has ravaged American society, the story follows a civilian pilot living a solitary life on an abandoned Colorado airbase with his dog and a tough ex-Marine

Protect your dog from ticks with these easy steps for safe removal and prevention. Learn how to spot, remove, and keep ticks at bay.

Many parents opt for more expensive baby milk, equating higher costs with better quality, the watchdog found.

National Dog Bite Prevention Week is May 18-24. Any dog can bite, regardless of breed. Be a responsible pet owner.

Shouldn�t dinner always look like this? Crazy dog videos reach total furry freakout level when you mix dry and wet dog food. Try it tonight, and capture your own pup�s #MixMania! Obsess over more canine craziness and pick up some droolworthy dog food recipes at mixmania.dog.

Learn more about the 2016 PetSafe� Bark for Your Park� grant-giving program in this video.

Four-legged robot dogs learned to perform new tricks by practising in a virtual platform that mimics real-world obstacles – a possible shortcut for training robots faster and more accurately

Studio based in Osaka, Tokyo to focus on AAA action games

It wants commitments on prices and 5G if the creation of the UK's biggest mobile network is to go ahead.

Vet Aquadent FR3SH, a medlinkpomegranate/medlink extract water additive, limits the formation of plaque and tartar in dogs' teeth, ultimately helping

As temperatures rise, an easy and smart way to protect dogs from heat-related problems has been discovered, providing a quicker and more effective method to prevent overheating in hot weather.

Actress Riddhi Dogra, who will be soon seen in the upcoming movie 'The Sabarmati Report', has said that her character of a journalist in the film represents a system.

The war in Ukraine has shown that warfare changes by the day. It’s also clear that the tech used to make war today is costly: While larger countries can afford legions of tanks, helicopters, and precision-strike systems, smaller nations find themselves scrambling for cheaper ways to defend themselves. Origin, a new defense tech startup out of […]

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1. Vivek Ramaswamy’s special message to Elon Musk after Donald Trump's 'DOGE' announcement  Hindustan Times
2. Trump’s 'Manhattan Project' of government reform: Musk and Ramaswamy to lead efficiency crusade  The Times of India
3. Donald Trump picks Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)  The Hindu
4. Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead DOGE to clean up US bureaucracy: Trump  India Today
5. Vivek Ramaswamy trends on Google after Trump nominates him to lead efficiency department  The Indian Express

Meerut Dog Murder: এসএসপি ভিপিন টাডাকে জানানো হয়। তিনি সঙ্গে সঙ্গে তদন্তের নির্দেশ দেন। যদিও পরবর্তীকালে ওই সংস্থার চাপেই একটি এফআইআর দায়ের করে পুলিস। এসএসপি টাডা জানান, 'ভারতীয় ন্যায় সংহিতার ৩২৫ নম্বর ধারায় এফআইআর রজু করা হয়েছ।' কিন্তু এখনও পর্যন্ত গ্রেফতার হয়নি কেউ। 

Elon Musk, alongside Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the 'Department of Government Efficiency' in the Donald Trump-led US government.

Animals don't just love you unconditionally; they also benefit you psychologically, emotionally and physically. Being a pet parent can provide a sense of purpose and fulfilment and lessen loneliness [1]. The chances are very high that your dear pet will beg

[s.l.] : Mohr Siebeck GmbH & Co. KG, 2023.

Durham : Duke University Press, [2023]

[s.l.] : Amsterdam University Press, 2023.

[s.l.] : Mohr Siebeck GmbH & Co. KG, 2023.

LaRochelle, David, author

Applegate, Katherine, author

Gail Miller Bisher, best known as the voice of the Westminster Kennel Club, sits down with WIRED to talk about every single dog breed recognized by the American Kennel Club. Gail goes over the seven major groups of dogs (hound, toy, sporting, non-sporting, herding, working, and terrier) and what makes each and every dog breed so special and unique.

Gail Miller Bisher, best known as the voice of the Westminster Kennel Club, is back to talk about every single dog breed recognized by the American Kennel Club. Gail goes over the seven major groups of dogs (hound, toy, sporting, non-sporting, herding, working, and terrier) and what makes each and every dog breed so special and unique.

Dogs are our companions, but they're also living proof of artificial selection. Dogs have coevolved and adapted to live in a human world. Dr. Sarah Byosiere, a dog cognition researcher, walks through canine behaviors that demonstrate our coevolution with dogs.

Canine friends of Bombay House are the only denizens who can walk in without an access card”

Says the escalating situation “can no longer be ignored,” advocates bilateral dialogue to solve the K-tangle

National Bureau of Economic Research

National Bureau of Economic Research

National Bureau of Economic Research