Robotics Special: World's first AI soccer match⚽

Welcome back, Superhuman. In just a few months, we’ve gone from robot boxing duels to 3-on-3 soccer matches. I can only imagine how weird it must have felt to be a referee or head coach at Beijing’s first AI soccer tournament last week. Even cheering from the sidelines sounds like a surreal experience.

WHAT’S NEXT

The most important news and breakthroughs in robotics this week

1. Amazon’s warehouse robots set to outnumber human workers: The world’s second-largest private employer just deployed its millionth robot — nearly matching the number of humans who currently work in Amazon facilities. The e-commerce giant also announced a new foundation model that will boost its fleet’s efficiency by 10%. All told, around 75% of Amazon’s global deliveries now rely on robots in some capacity.

2. Robots face off in world’s first AI soccer tournament: Soccer fans in Beijing just cheered on teams of AI-powered humanoid robots as they wobbled, tumbled, and (occasionally) scored in a first-of-its-kind tournament. Competing university students trained the three-bot squads to navigate the field, track the ball, and fire off shots. Plenty of spills and collisions kept the crowd entertained, while several robots even needed to get hauled out on stretchers.

3. Stealthy startup lands $105M for its universal robotics model: While physical labor reportedly accounts for $30-40T of global GDP, robots help automate only about 5% of that system. A new startup called Genesis AI wants to close that gap by “bringing human-level intelligence into the physical world.” With backing from Eric Schmidt and VC giant Khosla Ventures, Genesis plans to create a universal, open-source model that’s compatible with just about any robot using a unique combo of synthetic and real-world data.

ROBOTS IN ACTION

How robots are transforming the world around us

🖋 Made to Last: At least two tattoo parlors in the US have started experimenting with an AI-powered device called Blackdot that can tattoo both human-made and AI-generated designs with a lighter touch than humans. The machine relies on computer vision to translate images into a series of tiny dots that are about as thin as a human hair, then uses lasers to help apply those designs to the skin.

🦾 Helping Hand: Carnegie Mellon researchers have built what they say is the first noninvasive interface that lets patients use their minds to control robotic hands, down to individual fingers. The breakthrough could help people with paralysis perform complicated, dexterous tasks like typing on a keyboard without needing to undergo surgery. Click here to watch the interface in action.

🕹️ Remote Control: Japan’s H2L just unveiled a pod-like device that lets you control a humanoid robot from afar with subtle muscle movements. The sci-fi-inspired capsule even sends real-time haptic feedback, giving you the illusion that you’re actually inside the robot itself. The pod could accelerate remote work, letting humans perform intense physical tasks from miles away. You can see what it looks like here.

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Everything else you need to know this week

Here are the biggest developments in the robotics space that you should know about:

• MIT researchers have developed a new imaging technique that uses wireless signals to detect 3D objects hidden from view.

• Chinese firm Robotera unveiled a humanoid robot called Q5 that features 44 degrees of freedom as well as the ability to react up to 10 times per second.

• Swiss researchers have developed a new vision system that lets robots “see” their surroundings while cutting energy usage by up to 90%.

• California-based startup Tacta Systems raised $75M to boost robots’ spatial awareness through a unique “smart nervous system.”

• Billionaire investor Vinod Khosla predicted that the field of robotics will have its own “ChatGPT moment” within the next two to three years.

• Carnegie Mellon researchers designed a new system called SonicBoom that lets robots navigate crowded environments by listening to their surroundings.

ROBOT OF THE WEEK

A robot that caught our eye this week

Imagine a miniaturized version of the Las Vegas Sphere, but it’s your personal AI assistant.

The OBBOTO Glowbot uses advanced motion sensing and AI to serve as your personal desktop companion. It can act as a natural alarm clock, a night-time noise machine, a real-time weather forecaster, a mindfulness coach, and more. Plus, it offers a wide variety of personalized backgrounds and themes, or you can create your own.

You can check it out here.

ROBO REEL

Watch: A mysterious cowboy robot is roaming the streets of Austin

This isn’t his first rodeo.

Residents in Austin, Texas are scratching their heads at a 4-foot robot seen running through the streets of the city while wearing a cowboy hat and chain. The $16k G1 robot calls himself “Jake the Rizzbot,” and takes every chance he can get to complement curious onlookers with Gen-Z slang (“You got that clean drip locked down!”). Local news outlets are still trying to figure out who’s operating Jake behind-the-scenes.

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Until next time,

Zain and the Superhuman AI team