The IIoT is bringing about record automation robotics sales, with China and the U.S. scooping up robots. Is this good or bad for industry? You think robots are pretty cool, don’t you? What if you knew that automated robots were poised to take as many as 97% of industrial jobs over the next decade? Would you still think they were cool? You’d think they were even cooler then? Well, yeah, you’re probably right.

Scientists from around the world are meeting at the CSIRO in Hobart to talk about new ways they can use robots that are measuring the ocean. The team has placed almost 4000 robots called Argo floats all over the world’s oceans.

In 2015, ad agency McCann Japan’s creative planner Shun Matsuzaka set himself a task he called the “creative genome project”: he wanted to create the world’s first AI creative director, capable of directing a TV commercial. And last week, Matsuzaka showed off his creation at the UK advertiser trade body ISBA’s annual conference in London.

The founder of Donatos Pizza is investing in the development of a 3-D printer that can build pizzas with dough, sauce and cheese. The Columbus Dispatch reports Columbus startup BeeHex has raised $1 million to fund the development of a commercial prototype of its Chef 3D machine.

In thisOct. 21, 2016 photo, Chinese students work on the Ares, a humanoid bipedal robot designed by them with fundings from a Shanghai investment company, displayed during the World Robot Conference in Beijing. China’s industry minister has defended a manufacturing development plan and rejected complaints foreign makers of electric cars and other goods might be pressured to hand over technology or forced out of promising markets.

A self-driving car company founded by Google is presenting new evidence to support its allegations that a former manager stole technology that Uber bought to help build robot-powered vehicles for its ride-hailing service. Waymo, a project hatched by Google, wove its tale of deceit in sworn statements filed Friday in a San Francisco federal court.

Police officers broke through a window to rescue a baby who had been left alone in a vehicle in frigid temperatures on Tuesday. Police are encouraging anyone who sees a child left alone in a vehicle to call 911 and if that takes too long, call AMA Roadside Assistance at 1-800-222-4357.

Arpeggio is an impressive self-driven robotic player piano system developed by Nick Morris of Majestic Pianoworks . This robot performs at a virtuoso level and it actually does so while sitting at the piano, just like a human does.

One of Australia’s big shopping centre chains is considering introducing robotic cleaners, with trials underway at DFO Homebush in Sydney. The chunky robot, which is roughly 50 centimetres tall, is a hands-free system with 11 sensors, giving the robot a 360-degree view which allows it to “operate and clean autonomously”.

Recently, a spate of stories have appeared in the media speculating that advances in technology, specifically robotics and artificial intelligence, will inevitably lead to widespread job losses as workers are replaced by machines. Naturally, many commentators have suggested policy solutions to address this issue.

As part of his first Budget, Philip Hammond announced plans to “enhance the UK’s position as a world leader in science and innovation” by allocating A 270 million to support research into “biotech, robotic systems and driverless vehicles”. The Chancellor also confirmed A 16m will be used to create a hub for running trials into 5G connectivity, while A 200m will be invested to fund local projects to test ways of accelerating the roll-out of full-fibre broadband across the UK.

“Proposition 103 will stop insurance companies and robot car and truck manufacturers from shifting the blame, and the cost, onto consumers when the robot car’s hardware and software fail,” said Lost in the hyperbole over driverless vehicles is an objective analysis of the impact of fully self-driving cars, which will comprise only a modest portion of all vehicles on the roads for decades to come, the group said. “That period will feature complex, potentially dangerous interactions between people , computer-driven cars and buses, remote-controlled drone vehicles, and so-called “intelligent” public streets and freeways that are supposed to help them all navigate safely.”

An aging population and its negative implications for the global economy has been a worry among economists for some time now. A shrinking working-age population, coupled with longer life spans and retirements, means there will be fewer working people around to carry the burden of supporting a larger non-working population.

It’s often by listening for the vibrations in the muck that one can pick up on the big moral conflicts looming ahead. And this one’s a doozy, involving nothing less than the next industrial revolution.

It’s often by listening for the vibrations in the muck that one can pick up on the big moral conflicts looming ahead. And this one’s a doozy, involving nothing less than the next industrial revolution.