Putting together flat-pack furniture can be arduous and frustrating. So why not let robots do it instead? A pair of robot arms can now assemble an IKEA chair in just a few minutes, and without arguing too. The setup consists of two industrial robot arms with grippers and force sensors, all watched over by a 3D camera. To start things off, parts of an IKEA STEFAN chair are jumbled up and dumped in front of the arms.

Scientists have demonstrated two robots using human-like dexterity to construct an Ikea chair.

And just like that, humanity draws one step closer to the singularity, the moment when the machines grow so advanced that humans become obsolete: A robot has learned to autonomously assemble an Ikea chair without throwing anything or cursing the family dog. Researchers report today in Science Robotics that they've used entirely off-the-shelf parts--two industrial robot arms with force sensors and a 3-D camera--to piece together one of those Stefan Ikea chairs we all had in college before it collapsed after two months of use. From planning to execution, it only took 20 minutes, compared to the human average of a lifetime of misery. It may all seem trivial, but this is in fact a big deal for robots, which struggle mightily to manipulate objects in a world built for human hands. To start, the researchers give the pair of robot arms some basic instructions--like those cartoony illustrations, but in code.

The two companies say they have been partners for years, and Amazon products such as Kindle e-readers have long been sold in Best Buy stores. But the new partnership brings potential benefits for both companies as sales of so-called smart TVs continue to climb. It provides Best Buy with access to Amazon's online customers for the first time, while broadening Amazon's potential audience for products that feature its Alexa voice assistant. Amazon, which has been expanding its physical footprint through its own stores, has deepened its reach into consumers' homes in recent years, starting with Kindles and more recently with its line of Echo home speakers, which star Alexa. "What's new in this partnership is the depths of the physical integration between the software and the hardware," Mr. Joly said.

There could be so much more to a cashier-less checkout experience -- and for so much less than what Amazon is spending to do it at its bespoke Amazon Go convenience and grocery stores. That's not to say Amazon Go is a bad system; it just won't work for every merchant. As Amazon Go has demonstrated, walking out the door to pay may be the ultimate in terms of a seamless checkout experience. Customers at the eCommerce giant's brick-and-mortar mini-mart simply go around the store adding the items they need to their shopping cart, then leave the store -- triggering an invisible payment to initiate using their Amazon account. One of the main problems with Amazon's technology, however, is that creating the experience requires heavy investments in hardware that not every retailer can afford to make.

Amazon Prime is considered one of the most successful loyalty programs in retail history. While many believe the success of Amazon Prime revolves around free shipping, it is really the removal of friction and focus on experience that sets it apart. Banking can learn from Amazon Prime. There is no denying the explosive growth and competitive impact of Amazon to the retail industry. For their retail business, the foundation of this success is named Amazon Prime.

Matthew is PCMag's UK-based editor and news reporter. Prior to joining the team, he spent 14 years writing and editing content on our sister site Geek.com and has covered most areas of technology, but is especially passionate about games tech. Matthew holds a BSc degree in Computer Science from... See Full Bio

It'll be Earth Day this weekend, and--while you should be mindful of our big blue marble every day--it's still the perfect time to do a little homework and figure out how to dispose of your old TV properly. Whether you've recently replaced your old LED TV with a newer set or have just had a boxy CRT gathering dust in your basement for years, there are much better ways to recycle or pass on these complex devices that have brought you hours of comfort and joy than dumping them unceremoniously on the sidewalk. Here are some options to consider before (or, hopefully, entirely in lieu of) simply throwing your old TV in the trash or on the curb. I save CRTs (tube TVs) from sidewalks all the time, and I've never once brought one home or to Reviewed's office and found that it didn't work. It's a little baffling that someone would take a perfectly functional TV and just toss it out, but it happens.

Over the last few years machine learning has become embedded in a wide variety of day-to-day business, nonprofit, and government operations. As the popularity of machine learning increased, a cottage industry of high-quality literature that taught applied machine learning to practitioners developed. This literature has been highly successful in training an entire generation of data scientists and machine learning engineers. This literature also approached the topic of machine learning from the perspective of providing a learning resource to teach an individual what machine learning is and how it works. However, while fruitful, this approach left out a different perspective on the topic: the nuts and bolts of doing machine learning day to day.

The 2017 holiday shopping season trended better for online U.S. retailers with an estimated 16.6 percent jump in e-commerce sales compared to the same period last year. With a successful holiday season behind them and consumer confidence up, retailers are starting 2018 optimistic. But what can retailers learn from this past holiday season? When we talk to our customers, the biggest challenge in this new era of retailing is just keeping up with customer expectations. Bringing new, differentiated experiences to market is a monumental task.