Ready For Tomorrow #72

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Welcome to this week’s Ready for Tomorrow.
From baby-carrier robot controllers to mushroom-picking AI and NASA’s lunar wheel challenge – robotics is everywhere. Whether it’s keeping shelves full, harvesting delicate crops, or cleaning solar panels without water, these machines are showing us how clever engineering and smart software change the game.

CHILD – The Baby Carrier Robot Controller You Didn’t Know You Needed

Have you ever wondered what if we put a robot controller in a baby carrier?

One of those for kids?

We don’t have to test it ourselves, because the scientists at KIMLAB already did.

And that is how CHILD – Controller for Humanoid Imitation and Live Demonstration – was born.

You strap it on, move your arms… and the humanoid right next to you faithfully copies your every move. It looks just like wearing a baby, except this “little one” is not a child but a remote control for a robot.

The inspiration? Part everyday parenting – teaching your baby movements while in the carrier – and part that scene from The Mandalorian where Grogu controls IG‑11. The result is an adorable and at the same time very natural-to-use controller.

The only problem might be the name. Imagine someone starts banging on the controller because it froze… and then the newspaper headlines read: “Man beats CHILD at work”. Yeah, awkward. Maybe they will have to add “robot” or “controller” in the name to avoid scandals.

Here’s how I see it – if CHILD hits the market, I am getting one for the office. Who wouldn’t want to carry around a robo-baby?

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Tally – The Quiet Store Worker That Never Complains

HomeBase USA is testing the Tally robot from Simbe Robotics. Tally is the quiet type – you won’t chat with it about the weather, but it’s a master at keeping store shelves in order. In Texas and Wyoming, it is already cruising around, scanning shelves, counting, analyzing… and never complaining about back pain.

It looks like a tall, narrow column on wheels, with several cameras stacked vertically so it can see the shelves from the very bottom to the very top. No arms, no face, zero emotions. But you can tell it is here to work, not to socialize.

How does it work? Several times a day, the robot goes down the aisles, takes photos of shelves, and checks if everything is in the right place, if prices are correct, and if customers won’t find surprises like a “shelf full of air”. Normally, a team would need about 30 hours a week to do such checks – Tally does it automatically, freeing people to do something that actually requires a human.

The results? Up to 98% product availability on shelves, 90% pricing accuracy, and over 50 hours of human labor saved… every week. On top of that, Simbe claims a fifteenfold ROI and around a two percent increase in margins. Sounds like something every manager would love to put in a report.

For me, this is an example of a truly good robot deployment. A robot doesn’t always have to be crazy advanced, with 200 degrees of freedom and a Morgan Freeman voice. Sometimes, all it takes is a few cameras, good software, and a smart application in a specific process to deliver real benefits.

The $29M Robot That Picks Mushrooms Without Squashing Them

4AG Robotics from British Columbia has just secured 29 million dollars to speed up the rollout of their mushroom-picking robots.

Why only now? Because mushroom picking is a nightmare for automation – they grow in clusters, quickly change shape, are as delicate as the dream of a raise, and grow in a damp, dark environment. Only now have AI vision, precision suction grippers, and advanced mechanical movement made it possible for a robot to actually pick, trim, and pack mushrooms without crushing them into puree.

Manual picking costs are massive – they can account for 30–50% of total production costs. And mushrooms have to be harvested daily because they grow at a pace that any Instagram influencer with new followers would envy. The result? Tons of repetitive, hard, and unrewarding work.

The 4AG robot can be integrated into standard Dutch-rack infrastructure, so farms do not need a full rebuild. It works 24/7, cuts costs, improves quality, and even delivers real-time data.

This is exactly the case where technology matures at the perfect moment. For years, companies have struggled to find people willing to work in mushroom picking. It is hard labor, in damp and cold conditions, on your knees – so fewer and fewer people want to do it.

We are entering a time when “going mushroom picking” will no longer be a summer job option for students. No more holiday mushroom picking just to come back to campus and roll in an A3 Audi “breaking in the engine”. Now, if you want to buy your first Audi, you will need another plan – because mushrooms are going robotic.

NASA’s ‘Reinvent the Wheel’ Lunar Rover Challenge

NASA is launching the global Rock and Roll with NASA Challenge. The mission? Reinvent the wheel – this time for lunar rovers.

Scientists, engineers, students, and hobbyists are invited to take part. The task is to create a lightweight, durable, and flexible wheel that can handle the extreme conditions of the Moon’s southern hemisphere. Prototypes will be tested on the MicroChariot platform, NASA’s experimental rover.

Classic rubber wheels are useless on the Moon. Extreme temperatures, glass-like regolith dust, and radiation destroy them in no time. That is why solutions based on flexible structures, nitinol springs, metal meshes, or chain‑mail‑like pneumatics are needed – designs that keep their shape and durability even in space.

NASA is accelerating this work because, under the LTV – Lunar Terrain Vehicle – program, they plan to send the first crewed rover since Apollo during the Artemis V mission around 2030. Giants like Goodyear, Michelin, and Venturi Astrolab are already working on wheels of the future.

This shows that breakthrough technologies are not always about rocket engines or advanced electronics. Sometimes it’s about something as basic as a wheel – but designed to survive in a place where every mistake costs billions. It is the perfect example that even in space, smart engineering combined with material durability wins.

Here’s the link to the challenge: https://www.herox.com/NASARockandRoll

Nextracker Bets on AI and Robotics to Maximize Solar Power

Nextracker – a giant in solar tracker technology – is creating a new AI and robotics division. Solar trackers are mechanical systems that rotate and tilt photovoltaic panels so they stay as close as possible to perpendicular to sunlight throughout the day. This allows an installation to “follow” the sun, generating 15–25% more energy compared to fixed-mounted panels.

For AI and robotics development, Nextracker has allocated over 40 million dollars. As part of the investment, they acquired three companies: OnSight Technology, SenseHawk IP, and Amir Robotics. OnSight makes inspection robots that can detect panel anomalies and fire risks before they become serious problems. SenseHawk specializes in 3D mapping of solar farms using drones, and Amir Robotics makes water-free panel-cleaning robots.

Leading the new division is Dr Francesco Borrelli – the company’s first-ever Chief AI & Robotics Officer. He knows exactly how to connect data from sensors, robots, and AI systems so they work toward a common result.

For Nextracker, this is a step toward full control over millions of solar sensors and trackers operating in 40 countries. Such an ecosystem could detect faults, schedule repairs, optimize panel performance, and ultimately extend uptime.

This is an example of robotics close to the ground – literally. No sci‑fi visions, just practical applications that deliver measurable results: fewer failures, longer uptime, and better ROI.

That’s it for today’s ride through the world of robotics.
Take care, enjoy your week, and see you in the next Ready for Tomorrow!