Kids are particularly terrible for robots. At least, that's what researchers in Japan discovered when they let a robot roam around a shopping center in Osaka in 2015. A group of kids antagonized the robot, forcing the researchers to program an algorithm that would give the bot the agency to evade abuse. That's just one example of challenging social interactions between humans and robots, and one that technologists have almost certainly considered when building and designing delivery bots. Including the folks at Amazon: This week, the e-commerce behemoth dropped a web page for Scout, its new delivery robot.

For the first time this year, the United States has sent two warships through the strategic Taiwan Strait, according to the Taiwanese government. The move risks further heightening tensions with China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has not ruled out the use of force to bring the self-ruled island under its control. It is also likely to be viewed in Taiwan as a sign of support from US President Donald Trump's administration amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing. Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement late on Thursday the US ships were moving in a northerly direction and that their voyage was in accordance with regulations. It added that Taiwan closely monitored the operation to "ensure the security of the seas and regional stability".

Road safety is an issue that does not receive anywhere near the attention it deserves – and it really is one of our great opportunities to save lives around the world," Michael Bloomberg, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Disease and Injuries. The Global Status Report on Road Safety of 2018 states that road traffic accidents claim more than 1.35 million lives each year: globally. Furthermore, road traffic crashes are now the leading cause of death for individuals between the ages of 5 and 29. Blocked or shut down roadways are an inconvenience for both drivers and officials, but on-scene road traffic crash reconstruction is a necessary requirement. Investigators need to reveal evidence and discover why and how a crash occurred, particularly when personal injury, death, or property damage is involved. Distracted drivers who fail to yield to the slowed down or stopped traffic provide the perfect breeding ground for secondary crashes.

File photo - An unmanned 11-meter rigid-hull inflatable boat from Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock operates autonomously during an Office of Naval Research-sponsored demonstration of swarmboat technology on the James River in Newport News, Va.(U.S. Navy photo by John F. Williams/Released) The U.S. Navy will launch a swarm of interconnected small attack drone boats on mock-combat missions to refine command and control technology and prepare its "Ghost Fleet" of autonomous, yet networked surface craft for war. Developed by the Office of Naval Research and Naval Sea Systems Command, "Ghost Fleet" represents a Navy strategy to surveil, counter, overwhelm and attack enemies in a coordinated fashion - all while keeping sailors on host ships at safer distances. The small boats, many of them called Unmanned Surface Vessels, are designed to conduct ISR missions, find and destroy mines and launch a range of attacks including electronic warfare and even mounted guns. The concept is to use advanced computer algorithms bringing new levels of autonomy to surface warfare, enabling ships to coordinate information exchange, operate in tandem without colliding and launch combined assaults. "Ghost Fleet is really helping us in the Command and Control and coms arena. The demonstration will allow us to learn lessons about integrated payloads with USVs," Capt.

Amazon's drone delivery service may be missing in action but the company has not given up on its dream of robots delivering parcels. It is launching Amazon Scout, a service employing six squat six-wheeled delivery robots, across Snohomish County, Washington, just north of its Seattle HQ. "These devices were created by Amazon, are the size of a small cooler and roll along sidewalks at a walking pace," the head of the Scout project, Sean Scott, wrote in a blogpost. "The devices will autonomously follow their delivery route but will initially be accompanied by an Amazon employee. "We developed Amazon Scout at our research and development lab in Seattle, ensuring the devices can safely and efficiently navigate around pets, pedestrians and anything else in their path." In 2013 Amazon's boss, Jeff Bezos, launched Amazon Prime Air and announced an intention to begin offering flying deliveries direct to the home within five years.

The latest gee-whiz project from Amazon is the Scout robot, a cooler-sized automated delivery device that rolls along sidewalks to transport shipments to your home. Amazon's planes, drones, delivery trucks and relationship with the U.S. Postal Service apparently are not all-inclusive enough to handle the online retailing giant's logistical challenges. Enter Scout, an electric-powered delivery robot. Amazon has begun testing six of the cooler-sized, six-wheeled robots in a neighborhood in Snohomish County, Washington, about 60 miles northeast of Amazon's Seattle headquarters. Initially, the Scout robots will operate Monday through Friday during the daytime.

Amazon has launched a new robot delivery service in the US using a six wheeled machine that is "the size of a small cooler". The Amazon Scout uses self-driving technology to navigate through neighbourhoods to deliver packages to Amazon Prime customers, though its initial roll out is limited. The first deliveries are taking place in Snohomish County, just to the north of Amazon's headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Deliveries will be limited to daylight hours between Monday and Friday amd only six of the Scout delivery robots will be deployed at first. Each will also be accompanied by an Amazon employee to ensure they can safely navigate around any pedestrians or pets it might come across.

Boeing is testing its air taxi, Elon Musk is making more promises about Teslas and there's a Chinese phone that has zero ports -- not even a speaker grille. If you want live TV, however, you're paying more than before.Hulu cuts the price of its basic service to $6 per month Passive aggression is the source of most price cuts, right? In a not-so-subtle dig at Netflix's recent price hikes, Hulu is becoming more affordable... at least on its basic tier where the service will cut the price from $8 to $6 per month as of February 26th. The ad-free tier will still cost $12 per month, but if you want the Hulu Live TV bundle, you'll be paying $5 more per month ($45) for the privilege of watching shows as they premiere. Hulu's rivals don't end at Netflix, however: YouTube TV just launched nationwide coverage, and it starts at $40 per month.

The mobile vending machine that PepsiCo recently launched at University of the Pacific has caused excitement among college students craving for a quick refreshment, but the U.S. food giant suggested that this is only the tip of the iceberg of when it comes to providing food service using artificial intelligence. The self-driving robots, named as Snackbot, were developed through a partnership between PepsiCo and the Bay Area-based Robby Technologies. At the moment, they deliver snacks and beverages from PepsiCo's better-for-you portfolio Hello Goodness, which includes Smartfood Delight, Baked Lay's, SunChips, Pure Leaf Iced Tea, bubly, LIFEWTR and Starbucks Cold Brew. The Hello Goodness range was launched in 2015, and it has been boosting PepsiCo's e-commerce and vending businesses. The company previously conducted a Hello Goodness store test on Amazon back in 2017, and it showed its healthy snacking portfolio performed nearly 45% better than the sales from other similar campaigns and return on investment for advertising.

Amazon is launching a new self-driving delivery device called Scout, and it's adorable. Scout is the size of a "small cooler" and can roll along sidewalks, delivering packages safely to a customer's doorstep. The device is currently operating in Snohomish County, Washington, the company announced Wednesday. "The devices will autonomously follow their delivery route but will initially be accompanied by an Amazon employee," Amazon said in a statement. "We developed Amazon Scout at our research and development lab in Seattle, ensuring the devices can safely and efficiently navigate around pets, pedestrians and anything else in their path."