Robotics
Vanessa James and Eric Radford, of Canada, compete in the pairs team free skate program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
EXPLAINER: Robots and Olympics — a potent photo combination

By Mallika Sen Feb. 17, 2022 04:22 AM EST

FILE - People look at a 145 inch Ultra Large UHD display in the LG booth at the CES tech show, on Jan. 8, 2020, in Las Vegas. CES, the annual gadget show that showcases the buzziest and brightest tech, looks different this year — less Vegas glitz, more internet efficiency. With no physical conference in Las Vegas due to the pandemic, 1,800 companies are instead taking to streaming video to show off new products and technology to 150,000 CES attendees across the globe. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
5 CES Trends to Watch

By Mae Anderson Jan. 12, 2021 05:17 PM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2019, file photo released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), shows melted fuel taken by a telescopic robot inside of the primary containment vessel of Unit 2 reactor at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in Okuma, northeast Japan. Japan’s government and the operator of a wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant said Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020 a removal of melted fuel will be postponed by about one year until late 2022 due to delayed development of a robotic arm in Britain amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Tokyo Electric Power Co. via AP, File)
Melted fuel removal at Fukushima delayed by pandemic

By Mari Yamaguchi Dec. 24, 2020 10:44 AM EST

In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, an ultraviolet light-emitting robot rolls in an inactive mode in front of check-in counters at Key West International Airport Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, in Key West, Fla. Key West is among first airports in the country to take delivery of the apparatus that is programmed to flood areas with UV light to kill COVID-19 and other viruses after initial area mapping. The UV light is so bright that the robot can only be used when people are not present. For the Key West airport, it will supplement other manual disinfecting techniques. (Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)
Virus-killing robots move from hospitals to public spaces

By David Fischer Dec. 23, 2020 04:39 PM EST

File-This March 20, 2020, file photo shows a parking lot full of Uber self-driving Volvos in Pittsburgh. Uber is selling off its autonomous vehicles development arm to Aurora as the ride-hailing company slims down after its revenues were pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic. Aurora will acquire the employees and technology behind Uber's Advanced Technologies Group in an equity transaction, the companies said Monday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Uber, hard-hit by pandemic, sells its robot-vehicle division

By Cathy Bussewitz And Michael Liedtke Dec. 07, 2020 04:05 PM EST

Kang Kuan, vice president of culinary at Chowbotics, holds a custom salad made by his company’s robotic salad-making kiosk at the company’s headquarters in Hayward, Calif., on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Prior to this year, Chowbotics had sold over 100 of its $35,000 robots, primarily to hospitals and colleges. But since the coronavirus hit, sales have jumped more than 60%, CEO Rick Wilmer said, with growing interest from grocery stores, senior living communities and even the U.S. Department of Defense. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Demand for robot cooks rises as kitchens combat COVID-19

By Dee-Ann Durbin And Terence Chea Jul. 14, 2020 05:00 AM EDT

FILE - In this May 24, 2018, file photo, a Boston Dynamics SpotMini robot walks through a conference room during a robotics summit in Boston. Boston Dynamics on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 started selling its four-legged Spot robots online for just under $75,000 each. The agile robots can walk, climb stairs and open doors. But people who buy them online must agree not to arm them or intentionally use them as weapons, among other conditions. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
Dog-like robots now on sale for $75,000, with conditions

By Matt O'brien Jun. 16, 2020 11:59 AM EDT

This photo provided by WHILL, Inc., shows the trial of the company's Autonomous Drive System at Haneda Airport in Tokyo in November, 2019. The autonomous mobility system, which works like a wheelchair without anyone pushing it, is scuttling around a Tokyo airport to help with social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic. (WHILL, Inc. via AP)
Personal mobility machine needs no help at Tokyo airport

By Yuri Kageyama Jun. 08, 2020 03:29 AM EDT

In this Wednesday, April 15, 2020, photo, Somaya Farooqi works with a team of five young girls is developing cheap ventilators from Toyota car spare parts to help the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in Herat, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghanistan faces the pandemic nearly empty-handed. It has only 400 ventilators for a population of more than 30 million. So far, it has reported just over 700 coronavirus cases, including 23 deaths, but the actual number is suspected to be much higher since test kits are in short supply. (AP Photo/Hamed Safarazi)
Ventilator from old car parts? Afghan girls pursue prototype

By Tameem Akhgar Apr. 19, 2020 01:23 AM EDT

FILE - In this Friday, March 20, 2020 file photo, customers wearing protective face masks to protect against the coronavirus, wait in line outside a Whole Foods supermarket on 6th Avenue, in New York. A pandemic forcing everyone to stay home could be the perfect moment for online grocery services. In practice, they've been struggling to keep up with a surge in orders, highlighting their limited ability to respond to an unprecedented onslaught of demand. After panic buying left store shelves stripped of staples like pasta, canned goods and toilet paper, many shoppers quickly found online grocery delivery slots almost impossible to come by, too. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Online grocery services struggle to meet spike in demand

By Kelvin Chan Apr. 07, 2020 08:51 AM EDT