dances Archives - usatoday24

Amazon was already using robots like crazy. Now you have a 42-inch humanoid robot that dances and picks up toys from the floor

March 27, 2026 by usatoday24

Amazon has been using robots in its logistics centers for years, but although these robots have demonstrated a brutal automation capacity for certain processes, they were “limited” to moving boxes and managing orders. Last week this technology giant took another step in this area: acquired the company Fauna Roboticsa New York startup developing a humanoid home robot called Sprout. Now the question is: what will Amazon do with it? Hello, Sprout.. The Fauna robot has a very different profile from the industrial robots that until now dominated Amazon’s logistics centers. It is not designed for factories, but for living rooms and kitchens. The startup describes it as a housework assistant. If the children don’t clean up the room, he will do it. Sprout is able to pick up toys from the floor, bring food from the pantry, and interact with children and pets. It works when you call it by name, it recognizes faces, it creates a memory over time and it has an interchangeable battery with an autonomy of about three hours. Its current price: $50,000, and its “heart” is NVIDIA’s Jetson Orin robotics platform. From Astro to Sprout. In September 2021, Amazon presented AStro, a home robot that I wanted to be more than just an Alexa on wheels. That model hardly caught on and in fact raised certain suspicions about the threat posed to privacy. The difference with Sprout is that this robot has limbs and instead of “rolling” it walks. It also has social interaction capabilities that Astro did not have. Alexa+, candidate to be part of Sprout. Amazon has been trying to boost its ecosystem with AI solutions for a long time, and its latest attempt is Alexa+an intelligent assistant whose deployment is being especially gradual. Months after its launch, it is still available on a limited basis in some company products such as your Echo speakers or your Echo Show smart displays. The question is whether this new assistant will be an integral part of Sprout. An increasingly lively race. The acquisition of Fauna makes Amazon the latest major protagonist in a race in which more and more large technology companies are involved. Tesla has Optimus, for example, while others like Figure AI or Boston Dynamics are aiming high. Apple, Meta and Google have expressed interest in this field, although none have presented specific projects and they are all rumors. A decade ago everyone wanted to have smart speakers. Now everyone wants to have humanoid robots, but there is a problem. China. Although Western companies are advancing, those that are clearly leading the way in this market are Chinese humanoid robots. The Asian giant manufactures 90% of the world’s humanoid robotsand the spectacular demonstrations that we have seen in recent months seem make clear that their progress is really promising. Unknowns. At the moment Amazon does not seem to be clear about the marketing of these robots. Fauna will maintain its name and apparently some independence. Its 50 employees will join Amazon, but Amazon will not use Sprout for its logistics operations and has not confirmed whether it will be sold to end users. It seems more of a bet on the technology of Fauna and his team, and a more defensive move. If humanoid robots end up taking off, Amazon has a good starting point here. Image | Wildlife Robotics In Xataka | We have been living with robots for years that beat us at chess. Now we have robots that beat us at tennis

the Honor Robot Phone dances to your music as well as takes photos of you

March 2, 2026 by usatoday24

Over the years I have seen innovations that passed through mobile phones in a flash. The motorized cameras They were one of them: they became popular between 2018 and 2020 and then disappeared from the market as if they had not existed. Until Honor has arrived with his Robot Phonea phone that maximizes the bet of the original motorized cameras. The brand brought its latest innovations to Barcelona, although the presentation had a bitter taste. The foldable Honor V6 It will still take a few months to arrive and the robotic mobile does not even have a date. Its state is experimental, it cannot be touched. It does allow you to invoke the camera using gestures. A gimbal tied to a smartphone Vivo has been including its gimbal mechanism in the X family for years, a three-axis stabilizer that simulates the stabilization accessory. But Honor’s bet is radically different, since the Robot Phone includes a authentic gimbal. And orchestrated with AI. The idea behind the phone is to offer automated photo and video taking without us having to worry about keeping the person in focus or following them. The Robot Phone can do all that without the need for extra accessories: the rear camera deploys when commanded. Either from the phone settings or by gestures: The front camera must recognize the palm of the hand, like the photo application does to take a selfie without touching the phone. Once the detection is made, an icon appears on the screen to notify you. At that moment you have to turn your hand so that the robot camera comes out. The robotic arm is activated by coming out of its rear socket and facing the user. The process between detection and the moment the camera is active takes about ten seconds. It’s not fast, it still needs some polishing. The gimbal of the robot camera consists of three axes with motors developed by Honor itself. The brand assures that they are the smallest in the world and that it has achieved reduce its size by 70% with respect to similar engines. The result of including this motorization is a very small, versatile and, according to Honor, very robust accessory. They use the experience and materials they already use in the hinges of the V-foldings. More than a camera Instantly attention-grabbing, you don’t expect a robotic arm to come out from behind a phone. That surprise ends up leading to empathy: Honor highlights the robot’s ability to interact with the user. For example, you can follow the rhythm of music by moving your head up and down. Or emphasize the conversation when we interact with the AI. Honor proposes different use cases for the phone. It is a camera that follows the action, that avoids shaking and that can pan without moving the mobile. In addition, it is capable of becoming a co-worker thanks to AI: it can become a work co-pilot. All thanks to Honor AI already Gemini. No specifications at the moment As a proof of concept, we still don’t know much more about its technical sheet other than that it has a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 as a processor and a 200 megapixel sensor for the robotic camera. The mobile has a solid construction (probably aluminum), straight edges and a screen that will not be far from 6.7 inches. It will be a premium range with all the law. It is a risky concept and I don’t quite see its more practical side, but the curious one. For video recording I think it’s an excellent idea, also for those who want to record everything: the Robot Phone can identify the environment and react to what it sees. AI action tracking is one of its best capabilities. It is still somewhat clumsy in practice, it is difficult to interact with the camera and You can see that the software is a bit green: The robotic camera did not always appear when making the hand gesture. And you had to close the capture application to try again. Live stuff. The return of motorized cameras under the protection of AI I remember having tested many mobile phones with cameras that were hidden in the phone to ensure that the entire screen surface was usable. He OPPO N3 He was one of the first, Asus Zenfone 6 It is another of the models that brings back the most memories: it allowed you to follow people taking advantage of the movement of the camera. The Honor Robot Phone has gone much further. It is a mobile phone that is unlike any other, at least for now. It offers different solutions to all those who use the phone to record video. And embrace the great presence that AI is having in all technological devices. Because, if robots are one step away from get to our housesthe advance could well be the Robot Phone. If the cell phone one day comes to make my bed, I’ll sign it. Images | Ivan Linares In Xataka | Best Honor phones in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and six recommended models

A laptop that follows me, revolves, goes up, down and dances is the last thing I expected to see in Ifa. Not only have I seen it, I’ve tried it

September 5, 2025 by usatoday24

If something has each and every one of the portable of this world is that they do not move. It would be strange, I say paranormal research, that a laptop moved. We can tip the screen up or down, but if we move the screen it does not follow us. If we get up, the screen does not get up. If we sat, the screen does not turn down alone. But what if he did? What if our laptop could follow us, so that we moved where we move, the screen always looks towards us? That is the question that has been asked from Lenovo. The answer? A multidirectional intelligent support of the most curious. Inside the dock there is an engine that rotates the base and elevates and inclines the portable | Image: Xataka Lenovo Smart Motion Concept. This device, Iteration of the views last yearIt is not a laptop, but a support. One motorized and with the ability to put the laptop in virtually any position, follow us in real time and place the device always in the perfect position. It does, of course, integrating with the components of the computer so that everything works as a single device. What is this about? This support is connected to the laptop and integrates with the camera, microphones and speakers to, according to Lenovo, offer automatic facial tracking, voice control and Ergonomic health. This detects our face and follows us in real time rotating to the sides, climbing, going down and bowing up or down depending on our movement. In addition, the support detects gestures, such as a click of fingers or the movement of the hands, to do actions. Image | Xataka So that? The idea is simple. There are times that we need to have visibility of the computer being in motion. Let’s think about making a presentation to customers, for example, or being constantly framed. With this support, Lenovo gets precisely that. In addition, it is a device that fulfills a double function: not only moves the laptop, but can help us have the screen in the correct position and height at all times, which will obviously have an additional keyboard and mouse connected to the laptop. And in that sense … The Chinese firm has not neglected anything. The rotating support is, at the same time, a Dock of USB-A ports (two), Ethernet, HDMI, Displayport (two) and USB-C. The ports better than to miss. The support zone is also a dissipator to prevent the laptop from hot, something that can happen since the support increases the tdp of the laptop between five and ten watts. Below has a dissipator to avoid temperature increases | Image: Xataka At the base it has a good handful of connections to replace those that the laptop may not have | Image: Xataka Although this accessory has a character, say, professional, the truth is that it could make sense for those users who telework. I use a desktop with a monitor hung by an arm, which allows the monitor to always height and position. However, when I work with a laptop I always miss having the screen above. These types of accessories solve that problem that, in another context, would solve putting the laptop on a pile of books or an Ikea support. And how does it work? Quite well. At first I tried it with many people around, which made the camera go crazy and change the face that continued constantly. Later I had the opportunity to put the glove more calmly and the thing was very different. The support followed me without any problem if I moved to the sides, if it bent to me and even if I put on tiptoe. Image | Xataka The internal support of the support is really fast on the Y axis, but something slow on the X axis. If we get out of the camera’s field of vision, the system stops. It does not seem to be able to anticipate the trajectory that we will follow, something that would be useful. This engine is also heard. It has that classic “ñiiii” mechanical when turning, which even more evidenced its conceptual nature. And what to dance? As if it were a stress test, the software has a dance mode that makes the support move in all directions. He will not win any award, but serves to check the robustness of the device. It is, speaking in silver, quite large and apparently heavy, it is not intended for us to take it there. The counterpart, of course, is that it shows resistant and capable of moving portable portables. It would be necessary to see how it behaves with a heavier devices. Image | Xataka On its launch. Lenovo has stressed that the Lenovo Smart Motion Concept is that, a concept. It is not expected to be launched in the short or medium term. Moreover, we may never see it or, if we see it, we see it as part of another product. However, the idea seems to me the most interesting not only for the professional world, but for teleworkors who use a laptop and, rather than wanting a support that follows their heads in meetings, helps them maintain a good cervical posture. Images | Xataka In Xataka | 45 minutes with the Lenovo CEO. The Chinese giant has the obsession with leading the era of AI

Log In

Sign In

Forgot password?

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections