Author: Carter

Bin picking simulation with physical engine. Source: FANUC FANUC Corp. last week said it has strengthened the integration between its ROBOGUIDE simulation software and the NVIDIA Isaac Sim open robotic simulation reference framework. The company said it will enable intuitive operation within a “virtual factory” and help realize accurate, integrated digital twins. FANUC is using imitation learning and the NVIDIA GR00T foundation model to enable one of its robots to fold T-shirts. The company noted that its system uses the NVIDIA Jetson Thor platform. Editor’s note: FANUC is a 2026 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award winner for helping Wilson Bohannan increase…

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysIf your Kindle was made in 2012 or earlier, you can no longer access the Kindle Store or receive software updates.However, you can still read the books already saved on your device.Older Kindle e-readers and Fire tablets from 2012 or before cannot purchase, borrow, or download new content.Amazon has officially stopped providing software support for eight Kindle and Fire tablet models released before 2013. This means owners of these older devices can no longer buy new books from the Kindle Store or download updates. You will still be…

Organizations of all sizes are increasingly turning to AI agents and multi-agent frameworks to build dependable, scalable, and well-managed solutions. However, without deliberate oversight, the expenses tied to AI agents and large language models (LLMs) can escalate rapidly. In this article, we explore common challenges in agent planning and cost control, reframing them as operations research problems approached through a data science perspective. For a deeper dive into Agent Planning and Agentic AI, see my piece titled “How to Build Your Own Agentic AI System Using CrewAI.” What Does Optimization Mean in Operations Research? Operations research applies mathematical modeling and…

Gold is trading at $4,491, sitting below most of its short-term moving averages. Meanwhile, commercial hedgers are aggressively shorting near the top, while speculators continue adding long positions. This decline is taking place within a five-month falling channel that has been in place since January. On top of that, options positioning and tensions involving Iran and oil — which influence the dollar — are adding further complexity to the bearish outlook. Gold Falls Below Three Short-Term EMAs Within the Falling Channel Gold (XAU/USD) has been moving inside a descending channel since January. The metal bounced off the lower boundary on…

Identity has long been the load-bearing wall of cybersecurity. The logic was simple: verify the employee, secure the access. But as professionalized threat actors weaponize AI and sophisticated phishing kits, that wall is cracking. Identity is being forced to carry a structural burden it was never designed to support. While identity isn’t obsolete, in ecosystems defined by SaaS sprawl, BYOD, and hybrid work, a valid credential is no longer a guarantee of a safe connection. The real danger is not authentication failure, but whether the right signals are being verified. Without real-time device checks, a legitimate login could just as…

The General Services Administration is alerting Congress that federal office buildings are deteriorating badly, as the agency struggles with a multi-billion-dollar backlog of maintenance and repair work. GSA Administrator Edward Forst informed members of the Senate Appropriations Committee last week that half of GSA’s owned building portfolio is in “fair” or “poor” condition. “No private-sector landlord could survive this,” Forst told members of the financial services subcommittee. “We, as a tenant in 7,000 leased properties, would not tolerate this.” GSA faces a $50 billion backlog in maintenance and repair projects — more than double the agency’s previous highest estimate —…

Linus Torvalds and Dirk Hohndel at Open Source Summit North America 2026 sjvn/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysTorvalds appreciates AI, yet AI occasionally clashes with Torvalds. Linux’s creator believes programming jobs will persist.AI remains a double-edged sword in detecting and resolving security flaws.At the Linux Foundation’s Open Source Summit North America, Linus Torvalds discussed how modern AI tools are transforming kernel development, increasing contribution rates, and revealing new social and security challenges in the open-source community. However, he emphasized that “AI is a useful tool, but it’s just a tool” rather than a complete replacement…

Verobotics designed a lightweight, surface-adaptable façade robot to deliver genuine mobility — not just suspended access — for exterior cleaning and inspection tasks. | Source: Verobotics At NVIDIA’s Israel campus, façade cleaning turned into something much more meaningful than a simple upkeep task. What started as a hands-on answer to a widespread headache — grimy windows and hard-to-reach high-rise exteriors — grew into a real-world showcase of how AI-driven robotics can fundamentally transform the way buildings are monitored, maintained, and safeguarded over the long term. While every building owner instantly relates to the hassle and expense of façade cleaning, Verobotics’…

The second day of TechEx North America shifted toward a more in-depth, critical look at how AI is being used in businesses—though the overall tone remained hopeful. The AI and Big Data program kicked off by addressing what’s known as the “AI graveyard”: projects that show promise during testing but fail to deliver in real-world settings. Despite this somewhat gloomy label, several speakers and sessions focused on practical strategies that forward-looking companies can use to avoid ending up in that technological dead zone.Across various tracks on day two, the event dug deeper into the widespread challenges affecting AI rollouts. Sessions…

# Introduction Production data is often bound by strict privacy and compliance regulations. As a result, anonymizing this data is essential in nearly every real-world data science initiative that involves deploying a data-driven product, service, or solution. Mimesis is an open-source Python library known for its ability to quickly generate realistic synthetic data. It runs entirely on your local machine and offers a free, reliable solution for building data pipelines. This guide will walk you through how to use this library to anonymize sensitive production data, using a practical, step-by-step example that you can easily replicate in your IDE or…