Galactic Droid Daily Newscast. RA-9 opening signal.

At the top of the brief: NORD expands compact NORDAC VFD family to 200 hp; Kraken Technology raises Series B funding for autonomous vessels; New York school district halts plan to use humanoid robot amid backlash.

Our top story today: NORD expands compact NORDAC VFD family to 200 hp. NORD Drivesystems said its NORDAC PRO VFDs are adaptable to individual application requirements across industries. The post NORD expands compact NORDAC VFD family to 200 hp appeared first on The Robot Report .

In our next story: Kraken Technology raises Series B funding for autonomous vessels. Kraken Technology plans to use its funding to continue developing uncrewed surface vessels and localizing manufacturing around the world. The post Kraken Technology raises Series B funding for autonomous vessels appeared first on The Robot Report .

Elsewhere in the sector: New York school district halts plan to use humanoid robot amid backlash. Salamanca City Central says it is pausing project with Realbotix as it addresses concerns including data privacy A New York school district has walked back plans to introduce a humanoid robot at its high school after the proposal sparked backlash from educators and community members. The Salamanca City Central school district announced on 24 July in a social media post that its pilot project with Toronto-based tech company Realbotix had been put on hold “while we work through enhanced student data privacy...

Turning now to another development: AI underwater robots can now track diver stress via exhaled bubbles. University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind AI system that allows underwater companion robots to monitor a diver's health in real time simply by "watching" their exhaled bubbles.

Also on the grid: Magmotor makes motors for a changing world for 150+ years. Magmotor has been providing motors for demanding use cases for decades and offers custom systems for robotics. The post Magmotor makes motors for a changing world for 150+ years appeared first on The Robot Report .

In operations news: Optical Tech Would Update a Robot’s AI on the Fly. Atop a lab bench, Cornell Tech postdoctoral researcher Yifan He positions the lens of an optical receiver almost a meter away from an LED emitting a beam of red light. The computer monitor attached to the receiver takes a beat to refresh, then displays an array of squares that resemble a QR code. When you hold your phone camera up to a QR code, light strikes the image sensor as only a first step to revealing the data hidden behind the black and white matrix. The receiver here is doing something different...

Looking next at deployment signals: Photos: First look at J&J’s Ottava surgical robot. Johnson & Johnson MedTech unveiled its long-awaited Ottava surgical robot after winning FDA de novo authorization. It’s the world’s first table-integrated, soft-tissue robotics system. The robot-in-table design is meant to save space in the operating room, with J&J saying its novel architecture takes up 30-50% less space than boom-and-cart systems. “Ottava’s robotic arms are built directly… The post Photos: First look at J&J’s Ottava surgical robot appeared first on The Robot Report .

Finally today: ‘Really inappropriate’: teachers decry plan for humanoid robot in New York high school. Robot from company that acquired sex doll maker to be introduced in school with large Native American population A humanoid robot is being introduced as part of a pilot program, along with an AI teaching assistant, at Salamanca high school in Salamanca, New York, located on the Allegany territory of the Seneca nation. Teachers have criticized the program, deeming it “inappropriate” and claiming it dehumanizes the profession with the introduction of human-like robots. Some local Native American residents have...

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