🤖 Robots on your feet!
Quantumics Weekly - Edition 14
Happy Sunday!
Welcome to the fourteenth edition of the Quantumics Weekly Roundup. This week, we’re taking a deep dive into Stanford’s new robotic mobility boots, and taking a look at Netflix’s new, cheaper ad tier. We’ll also explore the latest news and information in data and AI, business and tech.
Let’s go! 👇
Robot boots? 🥾
From iRobot’s Roomba Vacuum, to Elon’s Optimus, robots seem to be all the buzz these days. Some of the most exciting robotics breakthroughs are happening in the exoskeleton space. Any robot has the potential to effect change, but this is one of the categories where such changes can be immediately felt — specifically, it’s about improving the lives of people with limited mobility.
Engineers at Stanford University have created a boot-like robotic exoskeleton that can increase walking speed and reduce walking effort in the real world outside of the lab. The team’s research was published in Nature.
The principle behind the boot is similar to what drives a number of these systems. Rather than attempting to walk for the wearer, it provides assistance, lowering some of the resistance and friction that come with mobility impairments. Where the lab says their approach differs, however, is in the machine learning models it uses to “personalise” the push it gives to the calf muscle.
If you like numbers, the boot allows people to walk 9% faster, and use 17% less energy per distance travelled. The energy savings and speed boost provided is equivalent to taking off a 30-pound backpack according to the team.
The boot is the culmination of around 20 years of research at the lab, and now the team is working to commercialise the project, with plans to bring it to market in “the next few years.” They’re also developing variations on the hardware to help improve balance and reduce joint pain.
Cheaper Netflix! 📺
Netflix has had a tough year. With stock prices plunging in response to its loss of over 1 million subscribers in North America earlier this year, the company has introduced a new, ad supported, cheaper plan to entice customers back.
The streaming giant announced earlier this week that its new Basic with Ads tier is slated to launch on November 3rd, 2022, for $6.99 in the US, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, and the UK. In exchange for making you watch an average of four to five minutes of ads per hour, Basic with Ads will give subscribers access to a large swath of Netflix’s programming. Not the platform’s full catalog, though.
The team say they are still working on fixing a small selection of television shows and movies that will not be available to Basic with Ads subscribers due to licensing restrictions.
News Bites 📰
Another rollercoaster week for UK politics concluded with Liz Truss sacking Kwasi Kwarteng, (former) Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Apple (tech giant and now part-time bank?) that it’s adding a new high-yield savings account to Apple Card.
Meta has announced the Quest Pro, a $1,499, metaverse ready, mixed reality headset that hosts an open lens design allowing users to see the physical world around them in their peripheral vision.
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That’s everything for now, catch you next week!
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