Active Club’s Newsletter brings you the latest news and trends in manufacturing, robotics, and cutting-edge technology.
🗞️ This Week in Robotics
Hugging Face releases a 3D-printed robotic arm starting at $100
Hugging Face, the AI platform developer, has announced the launch of the SO-101, a 3D-printable robotic arm programmable for pick-and-place and basic household tasks.
Like its predecessor, the SO-100, SO-101 was co-developed with The Robot Studio. Improvements include reduced assembly time, low-friction motors for higher payload capacity, and reinforcement learning that lets it autonomously learn to grasp and place Lego blocks.
Kits start at $100; fully assembled units, including import duties, can cost up to $500. Hugging Face says it will further strengthen its robotics business by integrating technology from its recent acquisition of French startup Pollen Robotics.
💰 Funding
IXI raises $36.5M from Amazon and others to bring autofocus to prescription glasses
IXI has emerged from stealth and closed a $36.5 million Series A round led by Amazon Alexa Fund and other investors. The company is commercializing autofocus eyeglasses that combine liquid-crystal lenses (for presbyopia and farsightedness) with eye-tracking technology.
🧰 Resource & Tools
Everything we announced at our first-ever LlamaCon
At its inaugural LlamaCon, Meta unveiled a standalone AI app powered by the latest Llama 4 and launched the Llama API for developers. The app features a Discover feed for sharing prompts, voice chat, and personalized responses through integration with Facebook and Instagram.
NotebookLM Audio Overviews are now available in over 50 languages
Google has expanded NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews to more than 50 languages, including Japanese. Users can choose any output language to automatically generate podcast-style summaries.
⚡️ Quick Links
Waymo and Toyota Outline Strategic Partnership to Advance Autonomous Driving Deployment
Toyota’s mobility and software arm, Woven by Toyota, will join forces with Waymo to merge Waymo’s advanced self-driving system with Toyota’s vehicle engineering, aiming to enhance autonomous driving technology for production cars.
Stay tuned for the next issue!
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