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The Rise and Fall of 3M’s Floppy Disk

Cars That Think

Floppies have had a surprisingly long life—in January 2024, Japan announced it will no longer require floppy-disk copies of government submissions. Even though the consumer business had huge growth potential, 3M had little experience with a low-cost, low-profit-margin model. based on Pfluemer’s magnetic-tape invention.

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Video Friday: Acrobot Error

Cars That Think

Eurobot Open 2024 : 8–11 May 2024, LA ROCHE-SUR-YON, FRANCE ICRA 2024 : 13–17 May 2024, YOKOHAMA, JAPAN Enjoy today’s videos! You had me at “wormlike, limbless robots.” [ GitHub ] via [ Georgia Tech ] Filmed in July 2017, this video shows us using Atlas to put out a “fire” on our loading dock. Acrobotics ] Thanks, Elizabeth!

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Video Friday: Turkey Sandwich

Cars That Think

Sanctuary ] Ayato Kanada, an assistant professor at Kyushu University in Japan, wrote in to share "the world's simplest omnidirectional mobile robot." Engineers at Georgia Tech are the first to study the mechanics of springtails, which leap in the water to avoid predators. Georgia Tech ] Thanks, Jason!

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