Hardware Podcasts

Headlines | Robot Ban, AI-Designed Viruses, Perfect Pringles

Go/No-Go · 4 Sept 2026 · 24m

AI in practice: one real use of AI described

What this episode covers

Hosts John Brunner and Taylor Zanowski discuss recent regulatory and technological headlines, starting with the FCC's ban on foreign-made humanoid robots and power inverters, specifically impacting Chinese manufacturer Unitree, and the revocation of approvals for Odyssey Robot, a front company for DJI drones. They then examine the biosecurity implications of AI-designed bacteriophages developed by Stanford and Arc Institute, comparing the regulatory landscape to the 2018 Farm Bill. Finally, they analyze Kellanova and Siemens' four-year, $5 million project to perfect Pringles manufacturing in Poland using digital twins and AI, which improved line performance and reduced waste.

AI in practice

Where this conversation describes AI being used to build or deliver a product. Part of the AI in practice tracker.

ManufacturingSiemens10% increase in line performance, 13% reduction in waste, 7% energy reduction

Kellanova and Siemens built a digital twin of Pringles dough that continuously retuned recipes based on incoming material shifts to improve output and reduce waste.

“they had, um, sensors, lasers, cameras, feeding temperatures, humidity, protein, reading all into an AI model, um, plus a digital twin of the dough that continuously retunes the recipes as an incoming potato material shifts.”

Speaker 2 · Hear it at 18:18

Most relevant to

large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Lumafield, DJI, Odyssey Robot, Unitree, Siemens, Kellanova, Skydio, One X Robotics, Arc Institute, Stanford, SpaceX, NVIDIA, Galaview Tech
Products
Pringles, Ruffles, Doritos, Cheetos

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