Hello Betamax, During a trip to Hong Kong last year, I met a robotics firm founder who railed hard against humanoid robots. He believed the industrial robots in use already work, so there's no need to make something that looks like us and has the same defects. It was a compelling point for me, as was his argument that humanoid robots look more than a little unsettling. Eric Guo, founder of AI² Robotics, doesn't quite share that distaste for humanoids. Legs have their place, he says, just not indoors. But the logic underneath is the same: A robot needs to work like a human - not look like one. Today's first featured story, written by my colleague Scott, looks at the Chinese startup betting wheels beat legs and winning contracts against US rivals twice its size to prove it. What about those familiar fears that these robots are coming to take your jobs? Guo argues that his machines are built to perform tasks that nobody wants, like staffing retirement homes and hauling cargo through warehouses at 3 a.m. Also today, we take a look at Quobly, a European quantum computing startup that just raised US$134 million and is planting its first Asian flag in Singapore. Read on to find out why. Peter Cowan, engagement editor |
