Xiaomi Unveils CyberOne — Humanoid Robot Exploring Frontiers of Connected Living

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Beijing, CHINA – CyberOne, Xiaomi's first humanoid robot, debuted at the company's new product launch event in Beijing on August 11, alongside other innovative products.

As the newest member of Xiaomi's Cyber series, joining last year's quadruped robot Cyberdog, CyberOne is fitted with advanced arms and legs, supports bipedal-motion posture balancing, and reaches a peak torque of up to 300Nm. Also demonstrated was the ability to detect human emotion, advanced vision capabilities, and functionality allowing it to create three-dimensional virtual reconstructions of the real world, alongside a host of other advanced technologies.

New self-developed breakthroughs in Xiaomi Technology Ecosphere

"CyberOne's AI and mechanical capabilities are all self-developed by Xiaomi Robotics Lab. We have invested heavily in R&D spanning various areas, including software, hardware, and algorithms innovation," says Lei Jun, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi Group.

"With AI at its core and a full-size humanoid frame as its vessel, this is an exploration of possibilities of Xiaomi's future technological ecosystem and a new breakthrough for the company."

CyberOne is a humanoid robot measuring 177cm in height and 52kg by weight, with an arm span of 168cm. Compared to a quadruped robot, this humanoid robot is more mechanically complex, requiring more powerful motors, more degrees of freedom, and complex humanoid biped control algorithms. CyberOne supports up to 21 degrees of freedom in motion and achieves a real-time response speed of 0.5ms for each degree of freedom, which allows it to fully simulate human movements.

A robot's motion performance is dependent on the performance of each joint motor. The technological requirement for building such motors is extremely high as it is necessary to generate more kinetic energy without increasing the size of components. In order to ensure the flexibility of CyberOne's upper limbs, Xiaomi has developed a high-efficiency motor weighing only 500g with a rated output torque of up to 30Nm for the upper limb joint motor. The hip joint motor is similarly capable of an instantaneous peak torque of up to 300Nm. Thanks to the self-developed humanoid bipedal control algorithm, CyberOne's walking posture has been programmed to be both natural and stable. On top of that, CyberOne is capable of holding up to 1.5kg in weight with a single hand and programming by demonstration. Altogether, CyberOne is a humanoid robot with well-developed coordination and exceptional motion capabilities.

Humanoid robots rely on vision to process their surroundings. Equipped with a self-developed Mi-Sense depth vision module and combined with an AI interaction algorithm, CyberOne is capable of perceiving 3D space, as well as recognizing individuals, gestures, and expressions, allowing it to not only see but to process its environment. In order to communicate with the world, CyberOne is equipped with a self-developed MiAI environment semantics recognition engine and a MiAI vocal emotion identification engine, enabling it to recognize 85 types of environmental sounds and 45 classifications of human emotion. CyberOne is able to detect happiness, and even comfort the user in times of sadness. All of these features are integrated into CyberOne's processing units, which are paired with a curved OLED module to display real-time interactive information.

Keep exploring, and bring robots into people's lives

Robotics is considered the "crown jewel of manufacturing" with humanoid robots being the ultimate goal for many across the industry. Compared with industrial robots that are valued for their specialized mechanical capabilities, the main challenge in building humanoid robots is to perfectly simulate human processes of perception, cognition, decision-making, and execution under various scenarios. Interestingly, a large number of new technologies that have emerged in the process of trying to solve this challenge have already been serving the general public in positive ways.

The development of CyberOne is a symbol of Xiaomi's dedication to incubate a technological ecosystem centered in a single point, and connect it with the world in ways never seen before. Spanning from smartphones, wearable devices and smart homes, to smart manufacturing, smart electric vehicle and bionic robots, Xiaomi has been constantly exploring and extending its innovations in various scenarios so as to better connect people and the world, eventually building an ever-evolving Xiaomi Technology Ecosphere.

Lei Jun notes that humanoid bionic robots require the highest degree of technical integration and present the largest challenge in the field of intelligent robotics. Xiaomi is making its first steps in the field, and CyberOne is constantly adding new capabilities. "We think that intelligent robots will definitely be a part of people's lives in the future," said Lei Jun.

CyberOne's research and development process combined cutting-edge technologies from a variety of sectors, including bionic perception and cognition, biomechatronics, artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing, and visual navigation. These technological breakthroughs are also expected to give birth to more application scenarios in other fields, such as industrial robots with improved mechanical performance, companion robots with emotion recognition, and public service robots powered by big data and cloud computing. CyberOne's technology will also be applied to more and more Xiaomi products in the future.

RPA Tech: Empowering Workforce, Automating the Future

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Robots have been around for years, working side by side with humans in ways never imagined before. They make lives easier as they serve as tools that complement how people live, work, and play. They also help in performing simple, repetitive tasks faster and more precise, making them the perfect “assistants.” 

In modern workplaces, there is the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology, a term that is heard more and more. For some IT professionals, RPA does not require further explanation. But others need a bit of help. What is it, really? 

  

RPA works just like “virtual assistant,” aimed at automating business processes. By using this technology, businesses can configure software or “robots” to capture and interpret applications for processing a transaction, manipulating data, triggering responses, and communicating with other digital systems to emulate the way people work, without disrupting the business. 

  

RPA is not yet ‘deep learning’ like Artificial Intelligence (AI), solving global problems with automated algorithms, but if you can teach it, then you can use it to automate processes. It is most helpful in cutting costs, increasing efficiency, accelerating speed-to-market, and achieving compliance. 

  

By automating repetitive, rule-based tasks, businesses can optimize their business operations—for instance, running operational costs, monitoring working queues, updating system records, creating incident logs, and enabling business improvements.  

  

Perhaps, less obvious is RPA’s positive impact on employee satisfaction. Free from the burden of mundane, repetitive processes, employees have more time for interaction, innovation, and delivering better value to the company and customers.  

  

With the onset of RPA, more “virtual assistants” will appear at the office. What do they exactly do? Here are some of RPA’s applications, as listed by Fujitsu Philippines, Inc., one of the country’s leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) system integrators:  

  

Faster and error-free Order Processing. 

Manual processing of orders leaves a business open to processing errors, fulfillment delays, and lack of visibility, which drain resources and hinders customer service. It may even hurt your reputation.  

  

With RPA, it can help streamline the process as it automatically checks the price, verifies it against the sales order, and posts them directly on your enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform or any back-office applications. 

  

Stress-free Financial Closing. 

RPA can also help ease and reduce error risk of the painstaking process of opening hundreds of excel files and manually reconciling data for financial closing.  

  

Remote Workflow Automation. 

With just an email or thru a portal, you can command Fujitsu’s RPA to execute tasks, anytime and anywhere. RPA reduces the need for a laptop with higher specs and the consumption of electricity and internet data. It also asks for the next steps to proceed. 

  

Fujitsu Philippines has been helping local organizations across various industries in automating their business processes through its RPA solution offerings. With its local knowledge that comes from its nearly five decades of operations in the country, the company has gained rich experience and best practices in executing pilot projects and scaling-up across the enterprise. 

  

Aside from the benefits that organizations can get from RPA, Fujitsu also ensures that the integration of solutions is unobtrusive with legacy systems, as well as accurate and consistent 24X7. They also work with their clients on upskilling employees with automation or partner with them to co-create their automation journey. Fujitsu also provides strong support through their local and regional teams.  

To know more about Fujitsu Philippines Inc., visit the website at http://www.fujitsu.com/ph.  

Experience Iron Man MK50 Robot by Ubtech and available through Quantum Mobile Gears (QMG)

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The awesome power of Iron Man's armor is now in your hands as the Iron Man MK50 Robot is now in the Philippines through Quantum Mobile Gears (QMG).

Built by UBTECH Robotics, a global leader in intelligent humanoid robotics and Al technologies, and officially licensed by Marvel Entertainment, the Iron Man MK50 Robot combines advanced robotics with augmented reality to give you a superhero experience worthy of Tony Stark himself.

"We at Quantum Mobile Gears is very much thrilled to have partnered with UBTECH to bring the Iron Man MK50 Robot here in the Philippines. This partnership will surely bring excitement to the Filipino market - both casual and hardcore fans alike, shares Kester Sy, president, QMG. "The Iron Man MK50 provides and immersive, entertaining, and customizable experience that will bring the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to life."

The Iron Man MK50 Robot is your portal into the events after Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War and leading up to Marvel's Avengers: Endgame, which has hit theaters worldwide last April 26.  Get in on the action through your Iron Man MK50 robot's ability to control its movements lights, and sounds using a mobile device; complete augmented reality missions; customize the robot's face with your own and cod original, custom action sequences to personalize your own robot.

Coming with a retail price tag of Php16,990, get to enjoy the following features with your very own Iron Man MK50 robot:

-  A dynamic augmented reality (AR) experience through a free companion app for iOS and Android that lets you play as Tony Stark and suit up in the iconic MK50 armor to practice your battie skills. Build your arsenal of nanotech weaponry, then battle against enemy drones inspired by Iron Man's iconic villains, like the Chitauri and Ebony Maw. 

-    "I am Iron Man!" Use your mobile device to upload your own photo and custom audio to your Iron Man MK50 Robot's face display. Friends (and enemies) will be blown away when the retractable faceplate opens to reveal you as the hero underneath Iron Man's armor. 

-   Mobile Command Protocol puts you in control of the Iron Man MK50 Robot's motors, lights, and sound, with the ability to select specific phrases from a recognizable Tony Stark voice. 

-   Iron Guard Protocol offers custom patrol capabilities, utilizing cutting edge light sensor technology to detect enemy invaders and respond with audio and light reactions. 

-   Custom Protocol allows you to build one-of-a-kind moves for the Iron Man MK50 Robot using block-based programming. The visual drag-and-drop programming editor lets you create simple custom Iron Man scripts without requiring any programming knowledge while giving you the full Super Hero power of Iron Man's MK50 technclogy  

Priced at PHP 16,990, the Iron Man MK50 Robot by UBTECH is distributed by Quantum Mobile Gears in the Philippines and can be purchased from Marvel Official stores in Shopee and Lazada, Big Boys Toy Store, Secret Fresh, Filbar’s and Switch.

For more details on the iron Man MK5O Robot, be sure to wisit the following:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ironmantoyrobotph

Instagram:  @ironmon_toyrobotph

New Epson Robot Force Sensors Enable Automation of Difficult Tasks

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- Allow robots to automatically modulate force -

Seiko Epson Corporation has announced the development of its S250 series of high-precision force sensors. The S250 series, which was rolled out worldwide from early June, will be available as an option for the company’s six-axis and SCARA robots. 

Employing Epson’s proprietary piezoelectric quartz sensing technology, the new force sensors are durable and sensitive, allowing them to accurately and consistently sense minimal amounts of force in six directions. This will allow customers to automate complex manufacturing tasks and will improve productivity. Epson also provides robot operation commands with the sensor, allowing customers to easily introduce the system.

Many manufacturers are turning to robots as skilled workers are lessening and aging populations are affecting companies in the world’s leading economies, and the trend to reshoring continues worldwide. 

Epson’s innovative new force sensors answer these needs and are a significant step forward in achieving the company’s mission of using robots to improve the way products are manufactured. The S250 series enables robots to feel force as limited as 0.1 N, allowing the robots to automate complex tasks such as precisely assembling delicate components. 

The sensors can also be used on tasks that formerly relied on human sensory perception such as polishing and deburring, freeing people from repetitive manual work. 

“The new force sensors are a significant development for Epson and for the manufacturing industry in general,” said Yoneharu Fukushima, COO of Epson’s Robotics Solutions Operations Division. 

“As a company dedicated to manufacturing innovation, the new sensors help to expand the applications for robots, and bring us a step further towards achieving our goal of creating a world in which robots support people in a wide variety of situations.”

“There is strong demand for industrial robotics and their applications within the Southeast Asia region, with robotics spending looking to double in Asia Pacific by 2019, according to IDC. The new force sensors will meet the demands of customers within Southeast Asia, to improve their productivity through automation of complex and intricate tasks. At Epson, we are committed to bringing new innovations to our customers to help them achieve their business goals,” said Ng Ngee Khiang, Regional General Manager, Epson Robotics Division.

The robots with new force sensors will be available from June within Southeast Asia, in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.