Cleaning robot maker Ecovacs is launching three new Deebot vacuum / mop models. The company says the Deebot N10 Plus, T9+ and T10 Omni “have 3x the suction power of most robotic vac mops” while bringing some premium features from the $1,549 X1 Omni to (somewhat) lower price points. The three cleaning machines are available in the US starting today.

The Deebot T10 Omni is the most expensive of the three new models at $1,300. However, it tries to justify its price with a four-stage cleaning system that has 5,000Pa suction power. It also includes a dual-spinning mop that can rotate up to 180 times per minute. In addition, it has a built-in voice assistant, Yiko, that can recognize your voice and respond in real time. That could be a handy option if you don’t have third-party Alexa or Google Assistant devices, which all three machines also support.

The T10 Omni also includes an auto-cleaning station with two four-liter water tanks, hot-air drying to prevent bacteria buildup and a three-liter auto-emptying dustbin that “holds up to 75 days of dirt and debris.” Finally, it has a 5,200mAh battery that helps it clean for an estimated 150 minutes. The T10 Omni is an Amazon exclusive at launch.

Ecovacs

The $800 Deebot T9+ is a step down with 3,000Pa suction power. It includes a 3D imaging system (with a “70mm to 350mm level of accuracy”) and LiDAR floor mapping. Additionally, it allows for simultaneous vacuuming and mopping, 480 times-per-minute oscillating, and quick-scrub and deep-scrub cleaning options so that you can customize its power to the size of the mess. The T9+ also includes a 2.5-liter auto-empty station and a built-in air freshener to make your room smell better as it cleans. The vacuum’s battery has a 5,200mAh capacity with up to 175 minutes of runtime. It’s available at Amazon and Best Buy starting today.

Ecovacs describes the $650 Deebot N10 Plus as a more affordable choice for apartments and smaller homes. It has 3,800Pa suction power and can vacuum, sweep and mop simultaneously using LiDAR for guidance. In addition, it has a 240mL water tank for mopping and a 2.5-liter auto-emptying station that uses a sealed dust bag to hold months of dirt. Finally, it includes a 5,200mAh battery that keeps it running for an estimated 200 minutes. The Deebot N10 Plus is available online only starting today, but Ecovacs says additional retailers will stock it soon.

LG announced pricing and availability today for its sleek 2023 Gram Style laptops announced at CES. The Windows-running ultra-portables are available now, ranging from $1,499 to $1,999.

The 14-inch LG Gram Style costs $1,499 for 512GB storage and 16GB memory; you’ll pay $1,799 to make it a 1TB SSD and 32GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the larger 16-inch variant costs $1,799 for 1TB and 16GB RAM, while $1,999 will stick with 1TB but move up to 32GB RAM. In addition, LG is currently offering a deal that will get you a 32GB memory model for the price of a 16GB one (with the same screen size) if you order from LG’s website between now and April 16th.

We were intrigued by LG’s stylish new notebook during our CES demo. Its lid and keyboard deck are made with iridescent Gorilla Glass 3 (with a nano-magnesium alloy base). It has a vanishing trackpad that visually and tactilely blends into the keyboard base when you aren’t using it. They’re light, too: Even the larger model weighs a mere 2.7 lbs (Engadget’s Cherlynn Low had no problem doing a bunch of bicep curls with it). However, we were less sure about its build quality, as the 16-inch model yielded a bit during our lifting tests on the CES floor — and we've run into build-quality issues with past LG Gram models.

The LG Gram Style has a 3,200 x 2,000 OLED with a 120HZ refresh rate for the 16-inch model and a 2,880 x 1,800 OLED at 90Hz for the 14-inch variant. It runs on Intel’s latest 13-generation Core processors.

Agility Robotics announced an updated version today of its bipedal Digits warehouse robot. Designed to take on repetitive or injury-risking tasks, the new version adds a head (with LED animated eyes) and hands, and it can handle a wider variety of demanding workloads than its predecessor.

The new Digits robot can “reach higher, carry more, last longer, charge faster and convey intent” better than the previous model. In addition, it’s better at manipulating its surroundings, and it has keener perception and is better at human-robot interactions. The machine is 5’9” tall and weighs around 140 lbs, including newly designed “end effectors” (hands) that help it reach high or low spaces and pick up or place plastic totes or other objects found in shipping warehouses.

“Warehouse work includes many process-automated, repetitive tasks that all too often lead to injury and high turnover, leaving costly gaps in the workforce that snarl supply chains,” explains the company in a press release. “While automation can help fill those gaps, existing automation solutions are typically single purpose, meaning companies have to onboard and maintain dozens of different solutions for different tasks, or they require expensive customization to the workspace.” The idea is that a humanoid robot can best replicate the tasks typically assigned to humans.

Agility Robotics

Although automation can spare human workers from the most grueling activities, it isn’t always that tidy: Machines are as likely to erase human jobs altogether. Moreover, with wealth disparity already astronomically high, the robot arrives as the world’s largest corporations have been laying off thousands of employees; it’s hard not to view these machines with as much cynicism as awe.

Agility Robotics will perform fully autonomous live demos of Digits at ProMat Chicago this week (March 20th to 23rd). The company is also opening applications for spots in its Agility Partner Program (APP), which will be the only place to purchase them initially. Pricing has yet to be announced, and the first units are expected to ship to APP participants in early 2024. The company is aiming for 2025 for general availability.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, have developed a flexible 3D bioprinter that can layer organic material directly onto organs or tissue. Unlike other bioprinting approaches, this system would only be minimally invasive, perhaps helping to avoid major surgeries or the removal of organs. It sounds like the future — at least in theory — but the research team warns it’s still five to seven years away from human testing.

The printer, dubbed F3DB, has a soft robotic arm that can assemble biomaterials with living cells onto damaged internal organs or tissues. Its snake-like flexible body would enter the body through the mouth or anus, with a pilot / surgeon guiding it toward the injured area using hand gestures. In addition, it has jets that can spray water onto the target area, and its printing nozzle can double as an electric scalpel. The team hopes its multifunctional approach could someday be an all-in-one tool (incising, cleaning and printing) for minimally invasive operations.

The F3DB’s robotic arm uses three soft-fabric-bellow actuators using a hydraulic system composed of “DC-motor-driven syringes that pump water to the actuators,” as summarized by IEEE Spectrum. Its arm and flexible printing head can each move in three degrees of freedom (DOFs), similar to desktop 3D printers. In addition, it includes a flexible miniature camera to let the operator view the task in real time.

The research team ran its first lab tests on the device using non-biomaterials: chocolate and liquid silicone. They later tested it on a pig’s kidney before finally moving onto biomaterials printed onto a glass surface in an artificial colon. “We saw the cells grow every day and increase by four times on day seven, the last day of the experiment,” said Thanh Nho Do, co-leader of the team and Senior Lecturer at UNSW’s Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering. “The results show the F3DB has strong potential to be developed into an all-in-one endoscopic tool for endoscopic submucosal dissection procedures.”

The team believes the device is brimming with potential, but further testing will be necessary to bring it into the real world. The next steps would include studying its use on animals and, eventually, humans; Do believes that’s about five to seven years away. But, according to Ibrahim Ozbolat, professor of engineering science and mechanics at Pennsylvania State University, “commercialization can only be a matter of time.”

Rivian is issuing a recall for airbag-related issues for the second time in the last few weeks. The EV automaker is notifying affected owners of the R1S SUV (2022-23) about potentially faulty side-curtain airbags.

The recall says one or more of the models’ side-curtain airbags (left or right side) may not have been properly fastened. A report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says the affected models were manufactured at the company’s Normal, IL plant between October 28th, 2022 and January 21st, 2023. Rivian began contacting customers on March 2nd to schedule an inspection and secure them properly. In addition, the company says it will reimburse any owners who already paid for the repair elsewhere.

Although the latest recall only affects 30 vehicles, it’s the second time the automaker has issued an airbag-related recall in less than a month. A March 1st one was much broader, affecting over 12,000 R1T pickups and R1S SUVs (2022) over an airbag deployment issue. In that case, a supplier’s faulty seatbelt sensors, which prevented the front passenger airbags from deploying, were the culprit. However, the vast majority in that group won’t likely have the flaw, as Rivian estimated only one percent of the recalled vehicles were affected.

Although the recalls won’t likely hurt Rivian’s finances significantly, it still isn’t a great look for the young automaker — especially when it recently laid off six percent of its workforce for the second time in less than a year.

Disney is pushing out new Tron merchandise despite the 13 years since the last movie (not to mention the four decades since the original). Although another sequel — this one with Jared Leto — may be in the works, the toys coincide with the Disney World opening of Tron Lightcycle / Run, the high-speed ride that debuted at Shanghai Disneyland in 2016. The action figures are customized using the park’s Tron Identity Program to display your scanned face on an LCD hidden behind the figure’s visor.

The Tron Identity Program will digitize visitors’ facial features, including six lines of recorded dialogue. The LCD on the resulting figure will show your scanned face, and pressing a button on the chest will play back your recorded lines. Your custom identity is stored on a memory card that you can swap into other Tron toys that Disney hopes you’ll buy.

Custom action figures are about as old as modern 3D printing, but the holographic approach has the advantage of much quicker turnaround times. Since it doesn’t require plastic molding, Disney World visitors can have their toy in hand in around 16 minutes. By comparison, Hasbro’s Selfie Series can take 45 to 60 days to ship to you, although you don’t have to visit Florida to get one of those.

If you have a Disney World trip planned, you can reserve a time with the Tron Identity Program beginning on March 21st. A custom figure will cost $90, which is $30 more than Hasbro’s (non-LCD, non-Florida) custom figures.

YouTube TV is getting another price hike, from $65 to $73. The company says new members will see the updated pricing starting today while existing subscribers will pay more beginning April 18th. 

It’s the latest in a long line of YouTube TV price hikes. Before the latest increase, it had last raised them by $15 in June 2020. The service started at a mere $35 in 2017 and has ballooned incrementally as cord-cutting television has evolved from a scrappy disruptor to oh my god this costs $73 every single month.

A message sent this morning to YouTube TV subscribers reads, “As content costs have risen and we continue to invest in the quality of our service, we are updating our price to keep bringing you the best possible service.” In addition, the email notes that the service has dropped the cost of its 4K Plus add-on from $20 to $10 per month. The message also guides users to cancel their subscriptions if the new monthly fee pushes pricing out of their comfort zone.

Baseball fans may be especially peeved with the new price, as YouTube TV dropped MLB Network from its lineup last month after failing to reach a new agreement. Although the company kept the door open to eventually restoring the service, that has yet to materialize over six weeks later.

Tinder announced this week that its users can now add relationship types and pronouns to their profiles. For example, you can specify whether you’re seeking monogamous or non-monogamous relationships (or are still figuring it out) and list your preferred gender pronouns. Both new features are borrowed from Hinge, owned by the same parent company, which added the same profile options last year.

Tinder’s new relationship-type options, spurred by growing interest in less traditional dating approaches, include monogamy, ethical non-monogamy, open relationship, polyamory and “open to exploring.” The company cites a study of 4,000 18-to-25-year-olds showing that 41 percent are open to or seeking non-monogamous connections. Among those, open relationships (36 percent) and hierarchical polyamory (26 percent) are the most popular choices. Perhaps just as critical, a survey indicated that 73 percent of young singles of any gender say they want someone who is clear about what they want. Most people don’t want to waste time with partners who have incompatible intentions.

Likewise, Tinder’s addition of pronouns can be tied to a poll revealing that 33 percent of young adults say their sexuality has become more fluid in the last three years, while 29 percent say their gender identity is more fluid. Additionally, it says the LGBTQIA+ community is the platform’s fastest-growing demographic. Thanks to these revelations, Tinder now lets you select up to four pronouns out of more than 15 options to show on your profile.

This follows the app’s addition of relationship goals, launched in December. That option lets users clarify whether they want short-term, long-term or an uncertain combination. The company says 40 percent of its users who specify their intent say they’re looking for a long-term relationship, while 13 percent claim they only want a short-term connection. If nothing else, it highlights how Tinder has expanded its brand from its early reputation as a “hookup app.”

The new features follow a dismal Q1 forecast for Tinder’s parent company Match Group after the app sparked the company’s first quarterly revenue decline. The options also align with Tinder’s recent marketing campaign, “It Starts with a Swipe,” which paints the app as a fluid experience that may just as easily lead to casual flings or more committed connections.

Sling TV is preparing for March Madness with several new features that make it easier to keep tabs on the tournament. It’s adding picture-in-picture viewing on desktop browsers, a new iOS widget and enhanced sports scores.

Picture-in-picture lets you watch NCAA Tournament games in the corner of your screen without minimizing whatever you’re supposed to be focused on at work. Sling calls the feature “Side View,” and you can activate it by clicking a button labeled, “Browse your computer while watching video” in the top-right corner of the Sling player in desktop browsers. You can then move the resulting pop-out window around the screen, and it will remain on top of any other active apps or web pages.

Sling also added an iOS widget displaying a custom channel list. For example, you can create a widget showing only the channels broadcasting March Madness (ESPN for the women’s tournament; TBS, TNT and truTV for men’s), providing a home screen shortcut to the action. It’s available in two-row and four-row sizes, and you can create widget stacks with different channel collections for each.

Sling

Finally, Sling has updated its in-app guide. During the tournament, the Sling TV app will display a dedicated March Madness row with live scores and game times, letting you quickly glance for nail-biters you don’t want to miss. (However, Sling adds the caveat that the feature “may not be available on all devices.”)

Watching games on Sling requires a Sling Orange (including both men’s and women’s tournaments) or Sling Blue (men’s only) subscription. Although you may see sign-up perks for first-time customers, the standard cost is $40 per month for each package after a price hike last year.

MIT engineers have designed a walking lunar robot cleverly inspired by the animal kingdom. The “mix-and-match” system is made of worm-like robotic limbs astronauts could configure into various “species” of robots resembling spiders, elephants, goats and oxen. The team won the Best Paper Award last week at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Aerospace Conference.

WORMS (Walking Oligomeric Robotic Mobility System) is one team’s vision of a future where astronauts living on a moon base delegate activities to robotic minions. However, to avoid “a zoo of machines” with various robots for every task imaginable, the modular WORMS would allow astronauts to swap out limbs, bases and appendages for the task at hand. For example, they could snap together a spider bot to crawl inside hazardous lava tubes to drill for frozen water or assemble an elephant-like pack robot to haul heavy equipment. They could even make a goat / ox combination to transport solar panels. And when they finish the task, they can disassemble it and return it to storage until it’s needed for something else.

The system includes a worm-like appendage, which can snap together with a chassis through a twist-and-lock mechanism. Wok-shaped “shoes” can then snap onto the appendage’s other end. Finally, a small tool allows astronauts to release the block’s spring-loaded pins when it’s time to disassemble. The team has already developed a six-legged prototype, about the size of a go-cart, using software that coordinates multiple worm limbs. They’ve successfully demonstrated assembly, disassembly and navigation in a recent field test.

“Astronauts could go into the shed, pick the WORMS they need, along with the right shoes, body, sensors and tools, and they could snap everything together, then disassemble it to make a new one,” said George Lordos, Ph.D. candidate and graduate instructor at MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. “The design is flexible, sustainable and cost-effective.”

MIT

The team spawned the idea in 2022 as their answer to NASA’s Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge, an annual competition for university students to conjure innovative ideas. In that year’s edition, NASA challenged students to develop robots to move across extreme terrain without wheels. The MIT team focused on a lunar robot that could navigate the moon’s South Pole, which some suspect could include frozen water — essential for astronauts’ long-term survival — but also complex terrain with thick dust, rocky slopes and lava tubes.

As the students brainstormed solutions, they drew inspiration from the animal kingdom. “As we were thinking of these animal inspirations, we realized that one of the simplest animals, the worm, makes similar movements as an arm, or a leg, or a backbone, or a tail,” says deputy team leader and AeroAstro graduate student Michael Brown. “And then the lightbulb went off: We could build all these animal-inspired robots using worm-like appendages.”

Although each WORMS appendage weighs about 20 pounds on Earth, they would be only about three pounds in the moon’s atmosphere, making it easy for astronauts to assemble, disassemble and reassemble them like a high-tech Lego set. The team is already working on a second-generation model with longer and slightly heavier appendages, with an eye on heavy-equipment hauling bots.

“There are many buzz words that are used to describe effective systems for future space exploration: modular, reconfigurable, adaptable, flexible, cross-cutting, et cetera,” said Kevin Kempton, an engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center and judge of the 2022 BIG Idea Challenge. “The MIT WORMS concept incorporates all these qualities and more.”