News tagged ‘Robot’
Top 10 Stories of the Week
It is Sunday today, so I guess it's time to talk about the most popular posts of the last couple of days. Let's not waste time and start discussing interesting stories right now.
Most of the articles this week deal with the next-generation iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, iOS jailbreak and the latest versions of iOS 9, OS X El Capitan and tvOS.
Foxconn Replaces More Than Half of Workers with Robots
According to the latest report from South China Morning Post, Apple’s key supplier Foxconn has replaced more than a half of its workers with modern robots over the course of last couple of years. As noted by the reporters, since the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the factory has reduced the number of employees from about 110,000 to nearly 50,000.
'Several Hundred' Employees Working on Apple-Branded Electric Car
According to what numerous sources write, Apple is currently working on its own electric vehicle. Yesterday I told you about the reports shared by the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times journalists, which suggested that the guys from Cupertino may be thinking about a self-driving vehicle. As it turns out, there’s indeed a project called “Titan”, which involves “several hundred” of Apple’s employees and which is aimed at creating a fully-electric car.
Apple Makes Foxconn Improve Its Robots for Assembling iPhones
According to the latest report from a Chinese website Jiemian, Foxconn robots, which were designed to assemble Apple's iPhones, are currently not precise enough to cope with that task. However, this doesn't mean that they won't ever be used in the production of the smartphones. They can substitute human workers after Foxconn solves the problems Apple found.
Robots Will Assist Human Workers at Foxconn
Earlier this week I told you that Foxconn executives are planning to replace several thousands of workers with robots. Looks like I was mistaken as according to a new report from Asia, Foxconn’s so-called Foxbots will only assist assembly line workers. While this is a massive step forward, it is still too early to talk about the fundamental changes in the iPhone manufacturing process.
iPhone 6 Will Be Assembled by Robots?
According to what Foxconn CEO Terry Gou said on a shareholder meeting earlier today, the company will be using robots to assemble iPhone 6. Using the machines instead of workers will allow to make the assembling process more efficient and may even lower the price of the upcoming handset.
Apple's iPhones to Be Manufactured by Google Robots?
Apple’s iPhones may be soon manufactured by Google robots. According to what The Wall Street Journal writes, the search giant is currently working with Foxconn on automating assembly lines at its factories. Foxconn chairman “expressed excitement over new automation technologies”, so looks like both companies will soon become close business partners.
Apple makes a video to celebrate Mac anniversary
Apple is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Mac. According to recode, part of the show is a two-minute video that will be presented live on apple.com.
Its biggest anniversary project was one done in secret. The company spent the actual day of the anniversary — January 24 — making a short movie. Filmed in 10 countries on five continents (over 36 hours, given the time differences), the movie focuses on all of the things people are doing with Apple products. It was filmed entirely on iPhones and edited over the past week — on Macs of course …
Foxconn to Build Manufacturing Facility in the USA
Apple’s main supplier - Foxconn - is currently thinking on building a new manufacturing facility in the United States. The new plant, according to the latest rumors, will be built in Pennsylvania very soon.
Apple Buys an Israeli Firm that Created the Kinect's 3D Sensor
Latest rumors prove that Apple wants to buy an Israeli company called PrimeSense, which once worked on a camera technology now used in XBox 360’s Kinect sensor. The sum of acquisition, according to Calcalist, is $280 million. Moreover, the insiders claim that both sides have nearly reached an agreement.
Apple Is Facing Patent Infringement Lawsuit Over Siri In China
iOS version of Xiaoi (center and right) and Android version of Xiaoi (left)
As Shanghai Daily
An Inside Look at Apple's Genius Training Manual
Gizmodo managed to obtain a complete copy of manual for Apples’s Genius training program. The manual describes the two-week training new Geniuses go through, along with detailed information on how to handle customer service issues, how to empathize with customers to build a relationship, recognizing body language and other cues to help understand each customer's emotions and guide the interaction to a resolution.
iPhone 4S First Impressions Focus on Speed Improvements
Yesterday during the expected media event Apple announced the new iPhone 4S, an upgrade to the existing iPhone 4 with improved A5 processor, new 8 MP camera with better optics, faster download speed on 3G, Bluetooth 4.0, and more. Media members who attended Apple's iPhone 4S event had the opportunity to spend some time with the new hardware following the presentation, and immediately started posting their first impressions about the iPhone 4S.
Engadget highlights the improved internal specifications of the new iPhone 4S, noting that it is faster than the previous model, with faster navigating between pages and opening the camera application. Engadget was also able to test the new voice assistant, Siri:
The most impressive part was the demo of Siri, the new assistant that lets you do just about anything you can do on your phone — but with your voice. We tried to psych it out with a bunch of random requests... Siri never faltered, never missed a beat… There’s nothing better to say than that. We even sent ourselves a few text messages, which Siri transcribed to a T. Of course, the lady on the other end still sounds eerily robotic, but we’re hoping for smoother responses from the alien within in a future update.
Jim Dalrymple at The Loop covers the differences in antenna design:
The current model has three bands — one on each side on the bottom, and one on the top. The iPhone 4S has four bands — two on the top and two on the bottom. The bands are where Apple houses the antennas for the device. The Wi-Fi, wireless and Bluetooth technologies use these areas. It’s not clear at this point if Apple moved any antennas or what they added the extra band.
Live from Apple's "Back to the Mac" event (constantly updating)
iPhone 5 to Be Made of Liquid Metal, à la T-1000 from Terminator 2?
Do you remember the robot called T-1000 Skynet made of liquid metal in the film Terminator 2? It seems that Steve Jobs decided to create devices of next generation using Liquidmetal Technologies, a California company from which Apple has recently acquired the exclusive rights for creation of liquid metal alloy products.
One of the best and most distinctive factors in all Apple products is how this company produces its own devices, the quality of production, as well as the materials used, which, undoubtedly, have first-class quality.
Now that Apple has the exclusive rights to create products of the liquid metal, we can assume that it has no plans to create a robot for the next Terminator movie, but probably will use it for such devices as iMac, iPad and iPhone of the next generation in order to be one step ahead of its competitors.