Merlin completed the first flight of the next generation of the Merlin Pilot. The flight was also the first autonomous flight of a King Air C90, a workhorse of the global ISR fleet. The software version on board represents a step change.
Key points
First flight: next generation Merlin Pilot
First autonomous flight: King Air C90
Sources
Zoox robotaxi service expands to new cities
Zoox announced that its robotaxi service will soon debut in Austin and Miami. The company also expanded operations to San Francisco and Las Vegas and added many improvements to the app and robotaxi.
Key points
Debut: Austin and Miami (upcoming)
Expansion: San Francisco and Las Vegas (current)
Sources
InnovizSMART LiDAR offers 24/7 perimeter protection
InnovizSMART LiDAR is presented as a solution for perimeter protection. It claims to work continuously in total darkness, fog, and rain. The post contrasts it with traditional cameras that have blind spots in bad weather.
Key points
Traditional cameras leave blind spots, especially in bad weather.
InnovizSMART LiDAR provides 24/7 proactive perimeter protection in total darkness, fog, and rain.
Sources
Optimus Drone as First Responder announced
Optimus launches autonomously to give emergency teams a real‑time aerial view before they arrive. The aerial view helps teams assess the scene and direct resources. The post invites readers to explore Optimus as Drone as First Responder on the website.
Key points
Launches autonomously to give emergency teams a real‑time aerial view before they arrive.
Aerial view helps teams assess the scene and direct resources.
Sources
Google DeepMind FNV3 forecasts Isaias up to 11 days ahead
Google DeepMind's model FNV3 forecasted the #Isaias storm up to 11 days in advance. It detected a signal on September 23, locked the exact landfall location four days before it occurred, and predicted peak intensity three days before it happened.
Key points
Forecast horizon: up to 11 days in advance
Signal detection date: September 23
Landfall location locked: four days before event
Peak intensity nailed: three days before event
Sources
EgoHumanoid-V2 announced for human-to-humanoid whole-body skill transfer
EgoHumanoid-V2 is a framework that transfers coordinated whole-body loco‑manipulation skills from egocentric human data to humanoid robots. It uses a coarse‑to‑fine action alignment that combines kinematic reference correction with dynamics‑aware refinement. The system demonstrates zero‑shot skill transfer on four real‑world tasks and reports results using 200 human demonstrations.
Key points
Highlight: First egocentric human‑to‑humanoid skill transfer framework for coordinated whole‑body loco‑manipulation.
Highlight: Coarse‑to‑fine action alignment combines kinematic reference correction with dynamics‑aware refinement.
