133. Robots Building Robots, Amazon’s Health Care Push, Tesla’s FSD Beta Available Now
Summary: Researchers are building robots that can build themselves | Tech Crunch (00:52) MIT researchers are working on a project to develop robots that effectively self-assemble.Team admits this technology is “years away” Work so far has shown positive results At the system’s center are voxels, which carry power and data that can be shared between pieces. The pieces form the foundation of the robot by grabbing and attaching additional voxels before moving across the grid for further assembly.Currently working on building stronger connectors to keep the voxels together. States in their paper:“Our approach challenges the convention that larger constructions need larger machines to build them, and could be applied in areas that today either require substantial capital investments for fixed infrastructure or are altogether unfeasible.” The team suggests that using the robots to determine the optimal build could save on a lot of time spent prototyping.“While there has been increasing interest in 3-D-printed houses, today those require printing machinery as large or larger than the house being built. Again, the potential for such structures to instead be assembled by swarms of tiny robots could provide benefits. And the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is also interested in the work for the possibility of building structures for coastal protection against erosion and sea level rise.” A game-changing new hybrid EV battery recharges in only 72 seconds | Interesting Engineering (06:03) Swiss startup Morand, has developed new battery technology that could see electric vehicle (EV) batteries charge in less time than it takes to fill an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle at a gas station. Called eTechnology The new technology, which can charge electric cars in only 72 seconds, is a hybrid system that uses technology from traditional batteries and ultracapacitors.ULTRACAPACITORS deliver quick bursts of energy during peak power demands, then quickly store energy and capture excess power that is otherwise lost. The startup says that, during testing, a prototype of its eTechnology solution was able to recharge at up to 900 A/360 kW:80 percent in just 72 seconds, 98 percent in 120 seconds, and 100 percent in 2.5 minutes. The company also states that Geo Technology performed independent testing. Morand says it has tested its eTechnology prototype over more than 50,000 cycles and claims the technology shows potential for retaining power over far more charge/discharge cycles than a traditional lithium-ion battery. The company is looking to bring the technology to market, no word on the exact date.It will likely be more expensive than lithium-ion battery technology, to begin with. Morand aims to scale production to lower the cost of its potentially game-changing hybrid technology. Amazon makes a new push into health care | The Economist (13:05) Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, highlighted a big opportunity for the company moving forwards.Health care Many tech firms are already diving into this health marketApple tracks wellbeing through the iPhone Microsoft offers cloud-computing services to health firms Alphabet sells wearable devices and is pumping money into biotech research Amazon is taking a different route with Amazon Clinic, an online service operating in 32 states that offers virtual health care for over 20 conditions from acne to allergies.Described as a virtual storefront that connects users with third-party health providers. The launch follows the $3.9bn takeover, announced in July, of One Medical, a primary care provider that offers telehealth services online and runs bricks-and-mortar clinics Neil Linsday, formerly responsible for Prime, has said health care “is high on the list of experiences that need reinvention”. This is the latest move the complement previous moves Amazon has made into this space:2021: Amazon Web Services launched specific cloud services for health care 2020: Launched Halo band, w
