Weekly Piece of Future #94
From Brain Implants to Robotic Arms and Autonomous Learning
Hey there, fellow future-addicts!
Welcome to this week's edition of Rushing Robotics! This week, we’re diving into mind-blowing breakthroughs across AI, biotech, and robotics that are reshaping the world as we know it. From brain implants enabling robotic arm control to groundbreaking advances in sustainable energy, the possibilities are endless.
🤯 Mind-Blowing
Neuralink has launched a new feasibility study to combine brain implants with robotic arms, offering a glimpse into the future of assistive technology. Meanwhile, UC Berkeley’s RoVi-Aug framework is revolutionizing robot learning by allowing machines to independently share skills—no human intervention needed! South Korea continues to lead in robot adoption, while Japan’s FAST fusion project inches closer to limitless energy. In data storage, diamond-based systems could preserve information for millions of years.
🔊 Industry Insights & Updates
Huawei’s AI chips are powering China’s next-gen surgical tools, and Collaborative Robotics has unveiled Proxie, an adaptable mobile robot for material handling. Researchers are also developing hydrovoltaic cells to generate electricity from water—no sunlight required. Plus, Rice University’s quantum-inspired thermal emitter is bringing new efficiency to energy systems.
🧬 BioTech
NYU Langone Health made history with the first fully robotic double lung transplant, and Australian researchers developed a gold-based drug that’s more effective than chemotherapy. Meanwhile, a DNA nanomachine, the “NanoGripper,” shows promise for detecting and blocking viruses, including COVID-19.
💡 Products/Tools of the Week
Lovable is simplifying app development with AI-powered tools, while Boltic.io is making data workflows easier with its no-code ETL platform. CypherScribe lets you build full-stack documentation apps in seconds, and Rantir offers AI-driven analytics and automation tools to boost business efficiency.
🎥 Video Section
This week’s video highlights include humanoid robots, Stanford’s robotics center, and the HECTOR V2 robot in extreme desert conditions.
The future is incredibly exciting, filled with opportunities we are only beginning to understand. As technology advances, it promises to unlock new possibilities that will change the world for the better—don’t miss what’s coming next! Stay hungry, stay futurish!
🤯 Mind-Blowing
Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company Neuralink has received approval to begin a new feasibility study focused on combining its brain implant technology with a robotic arm. In a post on X, Neuralink confirmed the study’s launch, which aims to expand the capabilities of the N1 implant by enabling participants to control an “investigational assistive robotic arm” via a brain-computer interface (BCI). The company described this development as a critical step toward restoring both digital and physical autonomy for individuals who need it most. Neuralink also announced that participants in its ongoing PRIME study would have the opportunity to join the new CONVOY feasibility study.
Engineers have unveiled RoVi-Aug, a cutting-edge framework that enables robots to independently share skills across multiple models. This system removes human involvement in robotic learning, offering a streamlined approach to training. Tests indicate that RoVi-Aug processes advanced datasets to allow immediate functionality for new robots, regardless of camera perspectives or design differences. Unlike previous systems, it bypasses additional steps during test time, adapts policies with ease, and supports tasks involving multiple robots. These features improve the efficiency of skill sharing and increase success rates by up to 30%. According to UC Berkeley researchers, this approach represents a pivotal advancement in creating robots that are more autonomous and adaptable. They suggest it might be the first framework enabling skill transfer without human intervention.
Almost 10% of South Korea's workforce is now composed of robots, as the country leads the world with 1,012 robots per 10,000 employees, topping the global list. Singapore follows closely behind with 770 robots per 10,000 employees. Despite its smaller size and a low number of employees in manufacturing, Singapore has been able to achieve a high robot density with a relatively smaller operational stock. Over the last seven years, the use of robots in factories worldwide has more than doubled, with South Korea at the top. According to a report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China has also surpassed both Germany and Japan in robot adoption in 2023. South Korea, as the main adopter of industrial robots, has increased its robot usage by 5% each year since 2018, with 1,012 robots per 10,000 employees.
Japan has embarked on the FAST fusion project, targeting the realization of limitless energy by the 2030s. The Fusion by Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (FAST) initiative is set to demonstrate an integrated fusion system combining energy conversion, fuel management, and electricity generation technologies. A tokamak configuration was chosen for its proven scalability and extensive data support. The project will incorporate high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coils and a low aspect ratio tokamak to achieve high-pressure plasma in a compact design. This approach minimizes device size, reducing both production time and costs compared to conventional large-scale tokamaks. FAST is the first global effort to both extract fusion energy and tackle plasma sustainment alongside engineering challenges, aiming for a major breakthrough in fusion energy generation by 2030.
Renowned for their strength and elegance, diamonds are being reimagined as a revolutionary material for ultra-long-term data storage. A recent study proposes that diamond storage systems could hold vast amounts of information for millions of years. Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China have broken records, achieving a storage density of 1.85 terabytes per cubic centimeter in diamond-based technology. What sets this system apart is its extraordinary durability. The researchers assert that their innovative diamond storage medium can preserve critical data for millions of years. Their approach encodes information within the atomic structure of diamonds, utilizing fluorescent vacancy centers as robust and efficient storage units. This method delivers an exceptional storage density of 14.8 terabits per cubic centimeter, an ultrafast write time of 200 femtoseconds, and maintenance-free durability lasting for millions of years.
🔊 Industry Insights & Updates
Huawei’s AI chips are set to power China’s next-generation surgical technology for medical applications. The Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), established in Hong Kong by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 2019, unveiled its latest AI model, Cares Copilot 2.0, on Friday. This advanced model is designed to assist surgeons with tasks such as surgical planning, drafting diagnostic reports, and retrieving similar case files. Building on its earlier version launched in March, Cares Copilot 2.0 was trained on Huawei’s Ascend 910B AI chip, which the company claims rivals the performance of Nvidia’s A100. CAIR Executive Director Liu Hongbin stated that Huawei’s chips “essentially meet” the lab’s research needs, underscoring their suitability for this cutting-edge application.
Collaborative Robotics (Cobot), founded by the team responsible for scaling Amazon Robotics to over 500,000 units, has introduced Proxie, a cutting-edge mobile robot. Proxie is designed to address complex material handling tasks with its high adaptability and sleek, functional design. According to Cobot, Proxie is "the most intelligent robot available on the market today," created to tackle current material movement challenges and improve over time as AI technology evolves. Equipped with two arms, four wheels, and a touchscreen with sensors at eye level, Proxie resembles a mobile hatstand. Its primary function is to move trolleys loaded with items in diverse environments, including offices, airports, hospitals, and factories.
A novel hydrovoltaic cell, developed by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), is capable of continuously generating electricity with minimal water and without the need for sunlight. This unique feature enables the device to be deployed in remote locations, under harsh environmental conditions, and at night when solar-powered generators are unable to operate. As the demand for cleaner energy sources continues to rise, scientists are exploring innovative solutions to meet energy needs without the carbon emissions associated with fossil fuels. Hydrovoltaic cells generate electricity by utilizing energy derived from the interaction of water with surfaces. Traditional hydrovoltaic cells, like photovoltaic ones, rely on sunlight to function and have been constrained by factors such as sunlight availability and environmental conditions.
Researchers at Rice University have developed a quantum-inspired thermal emitter that can convert heat into electricity with an impressive 60% efficiency. This breakthrough could significantly advance the development of thermal energy systems (TES). The thermal emitter works by absorbing heat, heating up, and emitting electromagnetic radiation, which is then captured by a photovoltaic (PV) cell to generate power. By harnessing quantum effects, the resonators control photon emission at the quantum level, ensuring only the most efficient photons for the PV cells, thus boosting the overall efficiency of the system.
🧬 BioTech
New York University (NYU) Langone Health achieved a groundbreaking medical milestone by performing the world’s first fully robotic double lung transplant. The procedure, carried out on a 57-year-old woman with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), used the da Vinci Xi robotic system. Small incisions between the ribs enabled the robot to remove and transplant the lungs with incredible precision. A key aspect of this surgery was the use of a robot trained through imitation learning, replicating complex procedures by analyzing videos of experienced surgeons. This breakthrough highlights the potential of autonomous robotic surgery and the future of minimally invasive care. Researchers from Stanford and Johns Hopkins Universities trained the robot in essential tasks such as suturing and needle handling, achieving human-like skill without the need for extensive programming.
A pioneering gold-based drug has been found to slow cancer tumor growth by an astonishing 82%, while also outperforming chemotherapy in targeting cancer cells. Gold’s unique stability and inertness make it ideal for medical innovations. This breakthrough comes from researchers at RMIT University in Australia in collaboration with Indian institutions, who have developed a compound capable of selectively attacking cancer cells with superior efficiency. The findings, published in the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, reveal that the drug is 27 times more effective against cervical cancer cells than cisplatin, a common chemotherapy agent. Additionally, lab tests indicate it is 3.5 times more effective against prostate cancer and 7.5 times more effective against fibrosarcoma, highlighting its potential as a versatile cancer treatment.
Researchers have created an advanced DNA nanomachine called the "NanoGripper," which can detect and block viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. This innovative device is made from a single strand of DNA and features a hand-like structure with a palm and four flexible, bendable fingers. These fingers can be functionalized with DNA or aptamers to specifically recognize and bind to targets, such as virus particles or nanoparticles. In laboratory tests, the NanoGripper successfully detected SARS-CoV-2 in human saliva, showing a level of sensitivity similar to that of PCR tests. Additionally, the NanoGripper has demonstrated the ability to block viral entry into cells, suggesting its potential for both virus detection and inhibition, paving the way for new diagnostic and therapeutic tools in the fight against infections.
💡Products/tools of the week
Transform how you build web applications with Lovable, an AI-powered tool that makes development faster and more accessible. It uses natural language for UI generation, supports seamless full-stack integration, and provides advanced features like custom knowledge integration and real-time editing. Whether for developers, non-technical users, or collaborative teams, Lovable reduces complexity and maximizes productivity, enabling high-quality app development without requiring extensive coding skills.
Boltic.io is a cloud-based no-code ETL and data integration platform designed to simplify complex data workflows. It enables users to effortlessly connect, transform, and load data from various sources, automate tasks, generate APIs, and monitor processes in real-time. Suitable for organizations of any size or technical expertise, Boltic.io helps streamline data management, boost efficiency, maintain data accuracy, and foster team collaboration, ultimately saving time and supporting smarter, data-driven decisions.
CypherScribe is a revolutionary no-code platform that lets users build full-stack documentation apps in as little as 18 seconds. With seamless data source integration, customizable branding options like logos, themes, and subdomains, and support for rich content formats such as code blocks, tables, and media, it caters to diverse documentation needs. Its powerful editor supports Markdown and custom blocks for creating precise, interactive documents, while an integrated AI bot enhances user experience. Server-rendered pages further simplify the process, enabling teams to streamline documentation without relying on developers or designers.
Empower your business with Rantir, a feature-rich platform for AI-driven data analytics, automation, and hybrid cloud solutions. From advanced data visualization and workflow automation to user authentication and no-code AI app development, Rantir simplifies complex processes. Companies can leverage its tools to improve decision-making, secure their data, and deploy AI capabilities seamlessly, making it a valuable ally in achieving operational excellence and staying competitive.
