European Union energy ministers failed to agree on how to overhaul the bloc’s electricity market, with disagreement over

Amazon is testing whether humanoid robots that walk around with glowing eyes could help staff its warehouses. The company has in recent years added a host of new technologies as part of its Amazon Robotics arm, primarily using it in its warehouses, including arms and small carts that are able to help pack orders. It now has 750,000 robots working alongside employees, it said. This week it unveiled more of hose robots, including a system named Sequoia that helps pack its itinerary at those warehouses. But the most dramatic new robot was a system named Digit that is now being tested for Amazon’s operations. Amazon calls Digit a “mobile manipulator solution”, and pointed to the fact that they are able to move around and grasp items in ways that other robots aren’t. It does so in an uncannily human form, with glowing eyes in the front of its head and arms and legs that allow it to walk around. The system was built by Agility Robotics, which has a partnership with Amazon. It is 175cm tall, can work for 16 hours out of a day and has the ability to perceive people and crouch and squat, for instance. “Its size and shape are well suited for buildings that are designed for humans, and we believe that there is a big opportunity to scale a mobile manipulator solution, such as Digit, which can work collaboratively with employees,” Amazon said in an announcement. “Our initial use for this technology will be to help employees with tote recycling, a highly repetitive process of picking up and moving empty totes once inventory has been completely picked out of them.” Tye Brady, chief technologist at Amazon Robotics, said that he was more interested in how the humanoid form could allow for new kinds of mobility, such as using legs to walk over varied terrain, rather than having it mimic the look of humans. He also suggested that if the robot’s shape came to be a barrier to adoption then Amazon “can change that”. The robot is still in testing for now, in an attempt to understand how it might be used, and is not deployed in any of Amazon's normal operations. It may never actually be used, it suggested, if the project finds that such robots are not helpful. Amazon also committed to ensure “robotics are collaborative and support employees”. In an apparent attempt to allay concerns about the robots taking jobs and leaving its staff redundant, it pointed to the growth in new jobs that has come even as its investment in robotics has increased, and said that there were 700 new job categories that didn’t exist before that expansion. “From the hardware to the artificial intelligence embedded in our robotics, we are passionate about technology that makes the work experience of our employees safer, easier, and less repetitive,” Amazon committed. It said that the extra time saved with robots would allow employees to “take a step back” and evaluate how orders were being fulfilled, for instance. Amazon is just one of a range of companies looking at humanoid robots for logistical work. Tesla, for instance, has a system called “Optimus” which Elon Musk has suggested could eventually become its biggest business, but which is yet to actually be rolled out. Read More Amazon to start dropping packages into people’s gardens using drones in the UK Tesla’s profits dip as Musk goes on rant about staff working from home Facebook has stopped working

Fortnite Chapter 5 leaks reveal a Racing Mode is coming to Fortnite with new maps, modes, and a Battle Pass. Plus, wall running could make its debut in Fortnite.

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One small step for an intrepid crew of 24th century space explorers could be a giant leap — or flop — for Microsoft when the Xbox-maker launches its long-awaited video game Starfield

President Joe Biden said extreme heat is costing the US $100 billion a year and linked it directly

As if changing Twitter's name to X wasn't enough, Elon Musk is now raising eyebrows with his plans to make the app dark mode-only. "It is better in every way,” the Tesla and SpaceX chief tweeted, confirming it would be bidding farewell to the iconic blue and white theme. Linda Yaccarino, who recently became CEO, has expressed that the app will move away from its short-form nature, and become a 'global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities'. However, users are already in mourning before the transition has begun. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

xQc has built a reputation for failing to show up to events after making a commitment

A tweet by Ozzy Osbourne showing him gaming on a Sony PlayStation VR2 has been banned for failing to mention that it was an ad. The tweet from Osbourne’s account in February read: “Did this spot with @PlayStation team. We had a lot of fun. Their new VR2 is really amazing.” The tweet included a video which began with a blue screen displaying the PlayStation logo before cutting to Osbourne in a living room taking a virtual reality headset and controllers out of a blue PlayStation box as his wife Sharon Osbourne told him that they needed to pack boxes and catch a flight to England. Osbourne replied that he wanted to play on his PlayStation and was shown swearing at dinosaurs via a VR headset and controllers before the video ended with the text: “Play has no limits,” followed by the PlayStation logo. We considered the wording, including the use of the word spot to refer to the video, was not sufficient to clearly indicate to consumers that the tweet was part of a commercial relationship between Sony and Ozzy Osbourne Advertising Standards Authority Sony, which responded to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on both their and Osbourne’s behalf, said their agreement gave Osbourne’s management company final approval over the video’s script. The tech giant confirmed that Osbourne was contracted to post a tweet sharing the video as part of the agreement, with Sony specifying only that Osbourne must share the video in a way which clearly disclosed that he had worked with Sony. Addressing the tweet itself, Sony believed that the word “spot” in the text “Did this spot with the @PlayStation team” would be clearly understood by Twitter users to refer to an ad. They also believed that the placement of the wording at the beginning of the tweet meant it was sufficiently prominent for consumers to understand the commercial nature of the video before they watched it. The ASA said consumers should be made aware that a post was an ad before they engaged with it. The watchdog said: “We acknowledged the positioning of that wording in the tweet was both prominent and visible before the video started playing. “However, we considered the wording, including the use of the word spot to refer to the video, was not sufficient to clearly indicate to consumers that the tweet was part of a commercial relationship between Sony and Ozzy Osbourne and that the tweet was therefore an ad.” It added: “Because the ad did not make clear its commercial intent upfront, we considered it was not obviously identifiable as a marketing communication and concluded that it breached the Code.” It ruled that the ad must not appear again in the form complained about. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live No evidence to suggest Facebook not good for wellbeing, Oxford scientists say Harry and Meghan ring young online innovators after funding awards James Bulger’s mother condemns ‘disgusting’ AI clips on TikTok of murdered son

BEIJING China's President Xi Jinping has called for speeding up efforts to make breakthroughs in core technologies, state

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 2, 2023--