Maker Pro News: Multi-Tasking Robots, Making that Matters, the Amazon Apparatus, and More

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Maker Pro News: Multi-Tasking Robots, Making that Matters, the Amazon Apparatus, and More

Youโ€™re reading our weekly Maker Pro Newsletter, which focuses on the impact of makers in business and technology. Our coverage includes hardware startups, new products, incubators, and innovators, along with technology and market trends.ย Subscribe todayย and never miss a post.


โ€œIf a consumer startup exists, thereโ€™s a goodย chance Amazon is trying to kill it.โ€ โ€“ย Mashable reporter Patrick Kulp

Robot Arm AI Venture Wants to Get a Grip

The dexterous human hand is a miracle of biology, but even the best robot arms are still clumsy and prone to error. Startupย Embodied Intelligence, a spinoff from aย Berkeleyย (@UCBerkeley) lab and theย Elon Muskย (@elonmusk)-backedย OpenAIย (@OpenAI), wants to imbue next-generation robot arms with the type ofย subtle tactile intelligenceย that lets humans brush their teeth and wield tools.

More capable robot arms could be a game-changer from the factory floor to household automation โ€” and the maker pros at Embodied Intelligence believe that it could lead to a world in which nearly all rote, repetitive tasks will eventually be automated.

โ€œIf you go to trade shows, you will see robots doing lots of very fancy things, but itโ€™ll just be one thing,โ€ said CEOย Peter Chen, pictured above. โ€œWe want robots that can do a range of things.โ€

Makers Develop New Assistive Technologies

Atย Maker Faire Romeย (@MakerFaireRome), coming up Dec. 1โ€“3, one of theย major themesย will be assistive technologies that help people with disabilities navigate the world. Take theย EPTIMEย wearable, which monitors for signs of an epileptic seizure, orย Adamโ€™s Handย (@Adams_Hand_), a modular myoelectric hand prosthesis that moves all five fingers with just one actuator.

And in Boston, theย Inclusion Summitย will host aย 48-hour hackathonย in which participants will work to solve problems like making containers easier to open and computers easier to operate for people with disabilities.

Speaking of makers confronting problems in medicine and usability, donโ€™t miss the story of high school studentย Hannah Edge, who suffers from asthma andย developed a portable spirometerย to track her own respiratory health.

Startups Struggle with Amazon

Weย wrote last weekย about how hard it is for a hardware startup to go toe-to-toe withย Apple. A newย Mashableย reportย shows similar dynamicsย at online retailerย Amazon, which has aggressively moved against small device makers that sell on its platform.

The companyโ€™sย Amazon Keyย smart lock, for instance, whichย stole headlinesย in recent weeks with the promise that it could automatically let couriers into usersโ€™ homes, is in direct competition with existing solutions likeย August Home(@augustsmartlock).

โ€œIf a consumer startup exists, thereโ€™s a good chance Amazon is trying to kill it,โ€ wrote business reporterย Patrick Kulpย (@PatrickKulp).

How can maker pros set themselves apart when a tech giant moves into their space? Email us atย MakerPro@MakerMedia.com.

Maker Pro Cities: Shenzhen, China

Maker Faire Shenzhenย (@MakerFaireSZ), which took place this past weekend, was an extravaganza ofย creativity and small business acumen. And the showโ€™s theme this year โ€” โ€œGo pro!โ€ โ€” spoke to the cityโ€™s crucial role as an incubator for startup hardware products.

For example, theย Peruvian Universidad de Ingenierรญa y Tecnologรญaย (@UTECedu) held a design contest that challenged participants to design wearables for use in outer space. Aย Fashion Tech Workshopย showed off the future of maker textiles with instructorsย Zeng Li Leahย andย Luke Henderson. And speakers likeย Wenwen Xie, the co-founder of educational startupย MakerBeta, appeared at theย Maker Forumย to discuss the role of Shenzhen in the international making and manufacturing economies.

Elsewhere on the Maker Pro Web

Disrupt Berlinย willย focus on hardwareย this year โ€” why itโ€™s hard, and also on demystifying the problems it can pose for startups. โ€œItโ€™s our hope that, through these panels and fireside chats, founders, devs, and investors walk away from the conference a bit more comfortable venturing into the world of hardware,โ€ wroteย TechCrunchย Managing Editorย Matt Burnsย (@mjburnsy)ย of the event.

Make:ย correspondentย Chiara Cecchiniย (@ClaireCecchini)ย reported this weekย onย Moabiย (@MoabiMaps), a nonprofit that uses technology to map logging and mining infrastructure in order to quantify and fight deforestation across the world.

Venture capitalistย Jeremy Conradย (@nomadicnerd) isย stepping downย fromย Lemnosย (@lemnoslabs), the firm he co-founded, to launch a new robotics company with a formerย Appleย engineer. “There’s no better time to start a robotics company,” Conrad toldย Axios.

MakerBotย (@makerbot) released aย new book, pictured above, for educators who want to use a 3D printer to its fullest potential in an educational setting. Even better, the book is available as a free download.

For an inspiring story about how artists can mix a maker aesthetic within existing environments, look no further thanย this accountย of makerย Martin Hertigย (@m_hertig), who was contracted by German venueย Jugendkulturhaus Dynamoย to build a touch piano on one of its backstage walls.

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DC Denison is the co-editor of The Maker Pro Newsletter, which covers the intersection of makers and business. That means hardware startups, new products, and market trends.

DC manages customer stories at Acquia, the digital experience company.

View more articles by DC Denison

Jon Christian is the co-editor of the Maker Pro Newsletter, which covers the intersection between makers and business. He's also written for the Boston Globe, WIRED and The Atlantic.

View more articles by Jon Christian
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