The Bot Brief

- Victor Hugo

 

 

 

 

Most of the components of the Bot Index were clustered around the mean with only two stocks that were in negative territory. The Bot Index gained a bit over 2% while the S & P 500 rose a mere seventy-five basis points. Lower rates favored the high-tech industry as Accuray Inc., Google and NIO Inc. were the leading gainers.

 

Accuray Inc. was the best performer with a 7.49% increase. The stock has been a significant underperformer since early August when the stock was trading at $4.20. The current price is $2.87. There was no news to account for the upswing last week. Dead cat bounce perhaps?

 

Google and NIO Inc. were the only other gainers of noteworthy with increases of 6.63% and 5.51% respectively.

 

The two down stocks in the thirty-stock index were Apple, off 2.06% and 3D Systems, off 3.12%.

 

 

 

Several months ago, the Bot Brief reported on the introduction of a new robot by Elon Musk. With much fanfare but little action, Mr. Musk brought his humanoid robot on stage during one of his shareholder meetings. Unfortunately, the skill set of Optimus was extremely limited and his appearance on stage was brief, However, this week, the company unveiled Optimus Gen 2 which has made marked improvement in its capabilities, speed, skill and physicality. Designed to be an assist for humans in the fields of healthcare, manufacturing, construction and services, Optimus 2 could potentially become a “part of our society and economy, as they can perform tasks that are dangerous, dull or difficult for humans. Already, another humanoid robot KIME is replacing bartenders in the food service industry. With enhanced productivity, greater safety from human-to-human germ passage and higher quality and exacting proportions, KIME is another example of robots that are designed to mimic human functions. This quality makes the transition into a human-to-robot interaction more adaptable.