"There is no force on earth more powerful than an idea whose time has come."   

– Victor Hugo

Bots in the News:

The Bot Index gained a mere 78 basis points last week in comparison with the S & P 500’s 1.54% gain. Strengths by Tesla and Immersion

Corp. were offset by weakness in the Asian companies, making for the rather benign performance of the Bot Index.

Immersion Corp. has been riding a crest of momentum following its strong earnings report a couple of weeks ago. The stock has gained more than 30% in the past month, recording double digit increases in each of the past two weeks. The stock rose 12.53% to lead the gainers within the Index last week.

Tesla and NIO Inc. both turned in strong performances, following up from their anemic results of the prior week. Tesla increased 5.34% while NIO gained 4.1%.

As noted above regarding lackluster performances by the Asian component of the Bot Index, OMRON Corp. was the weakest performer with an 8.73% decline. The newest addition to the Bot Index, FUJI Corp., didn’t contribute to the positive vibe of the Index by declining 4.09%.

Robot Wars:

The battle for dominance in the humanoid robotic industry is really heating up. The Bot Brief has featured Elon Musk’s Optimus and its progress to mimic human physical actions in past articles. Just this past month the Chinese have unveiled their own robotic creations that replicate humans in both physical and mental capabilities. The Chinese enterprise Unitree introduced its H1 robot geared for household applications. The sample showed its versatility in tactile capabilities and range of motion that were impressive. The robot stands about 4 feet tall, weights only 35 KG and has a battery life of up to 2 hours. Its most impressive capability is its speed. At this point it is the fastest of the bots with a 3.3 meters per second (7.4 mph) dash. Expecting to be retailed at $16,000 and is foldable in a packet about the size of a large suitcase, the versatile ‘being’ can provide a variety of household chores.