Pilot

European Automaker to Test Drive Sanctuary AI’s Humanoid Robot

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Sanctuary AI announced that it will be delivering its humanoid robot to a Magna manufacturing facility. As is often the nature of these deals, the parties have not disclosed how many of Sanctuary AI’s robots will be deployed. The news follows similar deals announced by Figure and Apptronik, which are piloting their own humanoid systems with BMW and Mercedes, respectively. For its part, Magna invested in Sanctuary AI back in 2021 — right around the time Elon Musk announced plans to build a humanoid robot to work in Tesla factories. The company would later dub the system “Optimus.” Vancouver-based Sanctuary unveiled its own system, Phoenix, back in May of last year.

DoorDash Tests Drone Delivery Services in the United States

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DoorDash is expanding its partnership with Alphabet’s Wing to bring its drone delivery pilot to the U.S., the company announced on Thursday. DoorDash first launched its drone delivery pilot program in Australia in 2022, where it is now operating drone deliveries with over 60 merchants. Once they select the drone option, their order will be prepared and delivered via a Wing drone within 30 minutes. Most of Wendy’s items will qualify for drone delivery, but certain items be not be eligible if they exceed volume and weight restrictions. If the order contains more than what one drone can carry, DoorDash will deploy up to three drones to deliver the order.

“Apptronik Humanoid Robots Take Flight with Mercedes at the Helm”

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Pilot season has officially begun for the world of humanoid robotics. Last year, Amazon began testing Agility’s Digit robots in select fulfillment centers, while this January, Figure announced a deal with BMW. Now Apptronik is getting in on the action, courtesy of a partnership with Mercedes-Benz. Apptronik can demonstrate clear interest from a leading automotive name, while Mercedes signals to customers and shareholders alike that it’s looking to the future. Apptronik is a University of Austin spinout best known for its work on NASA’s Valkyrie humanoid robot.

Apple Pilots ‘Contingent Pricing’ to Retain App Store Developers in Anticipation of DMA Implementation

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In an effort to retain developers, Apple has begun its pilot tests of “contingent pricing,” a new way for them to market App Store subscriptions, TechCrunch has learned. That’s the case with the debut pilot test of contingent pricing that pairs up two apps: Structured and one sec. (An interesting choice for the pilot, given Apple and Meta’s ongoing beef over App Tracking Transparency, which Meta said harmed its business!) With contingent pricing, customers who subscribe to one of the apps can receive a discount if subscribing to the other. Apple says it helps the developers with the implementation of contingent pricing to make the redemption process “seamless” for customers purchasing through its App Store.

“Navier Announces Exciting Collaboration with Stripe: Bringing Electric Boat Commuting Options to Remote Employees”

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Electric boat startup Navier has landed the first official pilot program for its hydrofoiling watercraft, partnering with Stripe to bring passengers from San Francisco’s outskirts to the downtown area. Stripe will pay Navier to shuttle employees from Larkspur, where a number of them are concentrated, to its office near Oyster Point. But as a pilot program, the intent is not to operate at scale but to identify the means of and barriers to that scale. Other coastal cities with commute problems may take notice if the pilot program goes well. “We’re introducing a water shuttle service equipped with amenities that enhance on-the-go productivity, such as desks and Wi-Fi.

Play Store to expand availability of real-money games, thanks to Google

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Google announced today that the company plans to support more real-money games (RMG) on the Play Store this year by allowing more types of games in the category following local laws. Google started working on including real money gaming apps on the Play Store in 2021. Last year, it started a pilot in India to allow fantasy sports and Rummy apps on the local Play Store. In 2020, Google pulled Paytm’s app from the Play Store because the app included newly introduced fantasy sports elements. After that developers will be able to publish their real-money gaming apps on the Play Store beyond fantasy sports categories.

“Is the Stateside Visa Stamping Program Right for Me? Insights from Sophie.”

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Dear Sophie,I’m working in the U.S. on an H-1B visa, which I received in 2022. However, I don’t have an H-1B visa stamp in my passport because I changed my status from an F-1 student to H-1B professional while in the U.S. We have many clients who, like you, changed their status while in the U.S. and don’t have a visa foil — often called a visa stamp — in their passport. The pilot program has been substantially scaled back from last year’s initial reports to limit the required resources. At the time, reports indicated that the pilot program would enable both H-1B and L-1 visa holders to renew the visa stamp in their passport while remaining in the U.S.

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