# automation
Latest news and articles about automation
Total: 11 articles found
Chinese Institute Unveils Fully Automatic Transplanter for Substrate-Block Vegetable Seedlings, Promising Big Labor and Cost Savings
A team at the Nanjing Agricultural Mechanization Research Institute has developed a fully automatic transplanter for substrate-block vegetable seedlings that links five automated stages to reduce seedling damage and raise planting speed. The machine can be run by two people to cover about 8–10 mu per day, is claimed to be eight times faster than manual transplanting and to save more than 400 yuan per mu in costs.
Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4.6 Pushes AI From Chat To Desktop: Faster Web Automation, Better Defences — New Risks
Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 4.6, a model that can perform multi-step computer tasks like filling web forms and coordinating across browser tabs, and claims better resistance to prompt injection attacks. The upgrade accelerates practical automation while raising new security and governance challenges as AI agents gain control of interfaces.
Robots Steal the Show at China’s New Year Gala — Hype, Cash and a Long Road to Everyday Life
Humanoid robots took center stage at China’s Spring Festival Gala, drawing mass attention and investor interest. The spectacle highlights real progress in robotics but also underscores the gap between theatrical demonstrations and practical, affordable deployments for everyday life.
China’s Yushu CEO Says “Embodied Intelligence” Is Just Beginning — And Could Dwarf the Mobile Internet
Yushu Technology CEO Wang Xingxing says embodied intelligence — AI embodied in robots and edge devices — is in its early platform phase but could surpass the mobile internet in scale and economic impact. Scaling will depend on industrial innovation in hardware, safety standards and supply chains rather than software breakthroughs alone.
Xiaomi’s Lei Jun Boasts a Robot-Run Car Factory and Rooftop Solar — A Sign of Tech Firms Industrializing Hardware
Lei Jun says Xiaomi’s car plant uses roughly 600–700 robots to achieve fully automated assembly and inspection, and runs on photovoltaic panels installed across its roof. The statements mark Xiaomi’s push to vertically integrate high-tech manufacturing and position itself as a serious contender in the electric vehicle sector, though practical limits and risks remain.
Chinese Menswear Group Denies Buying Robots from Jack Technology, Quelling Market Rumours
Baoxinio issued a concise investor statement denying that it has purchased robots from Jack Technology, pushing back against circulating market rumours. The clarification illustrates how automation hype and social-media chatter can prompt listed firms to make rapid disclosures to steady investor sentiment. The denial does not preclude future automation projects; it mainly aims to correct the public record and limit speculative market moves.
Musk Says Tesla’s Next-Gen Optimus Will Be Made in Texas as Production Scales Up
Elon Musk announced that Tesla’s Optimus 4 humanoid robot will be produced in Texas with a substantial increase in output. The declaration signals a push from prototypes toward scaled manufacturing, carrying significant supply‑chain, competitive and regulatory implications for the robotics industry and Tesla’s business mix.
Amazon to Cut Nearly 16,000 Jobs as it Tightens Its Belt and Repositions for AI Era
Amazon has announced nearly 16,000 job cuts as it seeks to curb costs and redeploy resources toward cloud, advertising and artificial-intelligence initiatives. The move reflects a broader industry shift from pandemic-era expansion to a focus on profitability and automation, with implications for employees, customers and competitors.
Appliance Champion Robam Bets on Robot Chefs as Core Business Stalls
Robam has proposed a RMB100 million investment in YouTe Zhichu, a commercial smart‑cooking robot company, aiming to pivot away from slowing range‑hood and gas‑stove sales. The move targets institutional kitchens and leverages YouTe's patent portfolio, but success hinges on sustained R&D, integration challenges and wider macro headwinds in China's appliance market.
Musk Hints Tesla Will Try Selling Humanoid Robot to Consumers by End of Next Year — But Timetables and Technical Hurdles Persist
At Davos, Elon Musk said Tesla may start selling its humanoid robot Optimus to consumers by the end of next year, while predicting more complex capabilities by the end of 2026. The remarks sharpen an ambitious timetable but leave open significant technical, production and regulatory questions; early deployments are likely to target controlled industrial settings before any mass consumer rollout.
Claude Code Upsets Software Labor Market: Micro‑apps for Everyone, “Cracked” Engineers for Startups
Anthropic’s Claude Code, powered by the Opus 4.5 model, is accelerating the creation of one‑off “micro‑apps” by non‑programmers while enabling a small cadre of AI‑augmented developers to deliver team‑level output alone. The result is simultaneous democratization of software creation at the edges and intensified concentration of value among elite “Cracked Engineers,” with significant implications for hiring, security and regulation.