Category: Tech news

 Robots are great at doing things they’ve been shown how to do, but when presented with a novel problem, such as an unfamiliar shape that needs to be gripped, they tend to choke. AI is helping there in the form of systems like Dex-Net, which uses deep learning to let a robotic arm improvise an effective grip for objects it’s never seen before. Read More

 At the Formula E Paris ePrix over the weekend, the driverless Roborace navigated a lap of the 1.9 km course all by itself — all 14 turns. Read More

 KidPass, a monthly membership program that gives parents access to a variety of kid-friendly activities across their city, has raised $5.1 million in Series A funding, the startup reported this week. Currently live in New York, the new funds will allow the service to expand to new markets including L.A., San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Chicago. The round was… Read More

 The on-demand food business is tough, especially if you’re trying to handle all elements of the experience, like sourcing the food, cooking the food and delivering it. It’s a lot. That said, Sprig, the startup that makes and delivers its own food, is shutting down today. Read More

 The UK Prime Minister is using the annual G7 summit of seven of the world’s major industrialized democracies to push for more to be done about online extremism, including co-ordinating on ways to force social media platforms to be more pro-active about removing and reporting extremist content to authorities. Read More

DJI releases its $499 consumer drone, Unity raises $400 million, SurveyMonkey adds Serena Williams to its board of directors and SoftBank has a $4 billion stake in Nvidia. All this on Crunch Report. Read More

 Have you ever taken a class at SoulCycle? Or better yet, Flywheel? Spinning has turned out to be a big business and there’s one brand that’s been gaining traction in the at-home fitness space. Peloton’s $2000 bikes have developed a cult following, mainly because of its live-streamed classes, which are offered as an added subscription and can be displayed on the bike screen.… Read More

 Sony’s mammoth 13-inch Digital Paper tablet, essentially a huge Kindle you can write on, is still a pretty rare sight, but I’ve always had a soft spot for it. So I’m glad the company is doubling down on this unique device type and making some significant improvements with a new model. Read More

 The problem with tiny robots, if there can really be said to be one, is that you can’t put enough stuff on them. Cameras and motors don’t shrink down very well, meaning if you want your robot to grab something, you’d better come up with a new way to see it and hold onto it. And that’s just what Finnish researchers have done with this bio-inspired, super-small gripper! Read More

 Bulletin, the startup that describes itself as “WeWork for retail space,” is announcing that it has raised $2.2 million in seed funding. The idea is to give businesses — particularly online brands — access to brick-and-mortar retail space without the cost or commitment of a traditional lease. Read More

 Mercedes-Benz announced the price of its new electric 2017 Smart Fortwo: $23,800 for the hard-top coupe and $28,000 for the cabrio with a sliding canvas roof. The new coupe’s price is $1,200 less than the outgoing model, but the cabrio’s price is exactly the same. Besides the price, there are some practical improvements for the new Fortwo EV. Read More

Twitter launched a version of its service on Apple TV and other media player platforms last fall in order to deliver its live video content to the big screen. Today, the company is updating its Apple TV app with a couple of new features, including support for Periscope’s Global Map and the ability to watch live 360 degree videos. The company notes that, with this launch, Twitter is… Read More

 You can hear the champagne corks popping here in Seattle as Boeing is awarded the contract to make DARPA’s cool experimental spaceplane. The XS-1, as it’s called, would allow for relatively cheap and simple trips to space for launching and testing satellites and all that sort of thing. Read More

 International tourism to the U.S. is down, according to Foursquare location data. Using data from 13 million users (who have opted in to always-on location trails), Foursquare can examine who walks in and out of 93 million public places across the globe. According to the firm, the U.S. market share of international tourism started to drop in October 2016, falling by 6 percent year-over-year.… Read More

 Imzy, the kinder, gentler online community platform, will be shutting down on June 23rd. Company co-founder Dan McComas made the announcement in a blog post today, stating his apologies and explaining to the community Imzy just couldn’t find its place in the market. Read More