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In Episode 193 of The Robotic Report Podcast, co-hosts Mike Oitzman and Eugene Demaitre interview Angus Pacala, co-founder and CEO of Ouster Lidar. On this dialog, Pacala discusses the developments in lidar know-how, notably the introduction of Ouster’s new 3D zone monitoring function.

Angus Pacala, co-founder and CEO of Ouster Lidar

He explains the advantages of 3D lidar over conventional 2D lidar methods, emphasizing security and adaptability in industrial purposes. The dialogue additionally covers the evolution of Ouster’s {hardware}, the significance of software-defined capabilities, and development potential in numerous markets, together with humanoid robotics.

Pacala highlights the challenges of price discount and the necessity for innovation to remain aggressive within the quickly evolving panorama of lidar know-how. His 10-year-old firm claims to be the biggest Western provider of lidar for robotics.

Present timeline

• 5:38 – Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the week’s information
• 23:00 – Mike and Gene interview Angus Pacala, CEO and co-founder of Ouster Lidar

Information of the week

Locus Robotics passes 5B picks as warehouse automation adoption accelerates

Locus Robotics this week celebrated its newest milestone, asserting that it has surpassed 5 billion items picked with its autonomous cell robots (AMRs) throughout its international buyer deployments. The firm stated it achieved this report simply 24 weeks after reaching its 4 billionth decide in October 2024.

Locus famous that its earlier pick-rate data illustrate its exponential development:

Starship Applied sciences makes 8M autonomous deliveries

Starship Applied sciences stated its methods have accomplished greater than 8 million autonomous deliveries and traversed over 10 million miles globally.

By comparability Zipline stated it has used drones to ship 1.45 million orders throughout seven international locations, together with the U.S., Ghana, and Japan, primarily in healthcare and e-commerce. Waymo, which received the 2025 RBR50 Robotic of the 12 months, introduced in late 2024 that it had surpassed 5 million driverless journeys to this point.

Sturdy.AI expands Carter robotic capabilities, provides traders

Sturdy.AI stated its collaborative cell robotic can serve a number of capabilities. The software-defined platform can deal with point-to-point transport, assist achievement choosing, and even be a cell sorting wall, in response to the corporate.

Final yr, DHL Provide Chain partnered with Sturdy.AI to deploy Carter throughout a number of areas. After a current deployment in Las Vegas, Carter improved choosing productiveness by greater than 60% from Day 1.

AV information: Helm.ai and Pony.ai each replace software program

Pony.ai unveils Seventh-gen self-driving platform and plans for mass manufacturing this yr

Dr. James Peng, co-founder and CEO of Pony.ai stated: “2025 marks the inaugural yr of Pony.ai’s mass-produced robotaxis.”

The corporate stated steady design optimization has diminished the full bill-of-materials (BOM) prices by 70%. This additionally got here with an 80% lower in autonomous driving computation (ADC) and a 68% reduce in solid-state lidar, in every case in contrast with its predecessor.

Helm.ai launches AV software program for up SAE L4 autonomous driving

Helm.ai develops synthetic intelligence software program for superior driver-assist methods (ADAS), autonomous autos (AVs), and robotics. The corporate affords full-stack, real-time AI methods, together with end-to-end autonomous methods, plus improvement and validation instruments powered by its Deep Instructing methodology and generative AI.

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From despair to post-traumatic stress dysfunction, psychedelic medication mixed with remedy may ease signs. As soon as a counterculture outcast, these medication are present process a renaissance in medication for his or her skill to quickly alter the mind’s networks and enhance psychological well being.

However they don’t solely work on the mind.

A examine in Nature this week discovered that psilocybin, the lively ingredient in magic mushrooms, and MDMA, generally often known as ecstasy, alter the immune system to scale back worry in mice.

“Our examine underscores how psychedelics can do extra than simply change notion; they will help dial down irritation and reset brain-immune interactions,” stated examine creator Michael Wheeler at Brigham and Girls’s Hospital in a press launch. “This might reshape how we take into consideration remedy for inflammatory problems and situations like nervousness and despair.”

Stress impacts the complete physique. After analyzing a number of mind cell varieties and the spleen—which produces immune cells—the group discovered a fragile, fear-controlling chemical stability between two kinds of mind cells and a sort of immune cell. Stress tipped the stability towards nervousness. Psychedelics acted on the immune cells to revive the stability.

“These mind cells talk with immune cells…[that] are outdoors the mind in blood vessels,” wrote Yun Chen and Marco Colonna on the Washington College Faculty of Drugs, who weren’t concerned within the work. “This discovery may result in revolutionary methods for treating persistent stress.”

Mind on Fireplace

Despair, persistent stress, and the immune system are intricately linked. Adjustments within the mind ship body-wide alerts that elevate cortisone ranges and end in a relentless state of fight-or-flight.

The mind additionally spews out a chemical soup that triggers irritation and kinds neurotoxins.

These situations lower serotonin, the “blissful” molecule depleted in despair, that psychedelic medication similar to psilocybin and MDMA amp up. This has led to medical trials investigating whether or not they may reverse signs below steerage and with remedy.

Neurons aren’t the one mind cells concerned in cognition and feelings. Astrocytes additionally play a job. These star-shaped cells don’t generate electrical alerts like neurons and are sometimes dubbed “supporting cells.” However they’re fairly the chatterboxes and talk with neurons—and alter their exercise—in addition to different cells utilizing particular molecular alerts.

Prior research have discovered some astrocytes collaborate with neurons to retailer emotional reminiscences. Others disrupt fearful reminiscences. This means “astrocytes instantly regulate fear-associated reminiscence,” wrote Chen and Colonna.

As well as, immune cells talk with the mind throughout stress.

Scientists have found this signaling can affect despair and different psychological well being situations. A examine within the 90s, for instance, discovered folks with despair have altered monocyte counts—a sort of white blood cell normally identified for preventing off infections or cleansing up lifeless cells—suggesting that monocytes might someway play a job within the dysfunction.

A Golden Triangle

The brand new examine extra rigorously teased aside the mobile roles in stress-caused worry. The researchers first sequestered a bunch of mice inside a tube for six hours a day. Mice like small areas, however additionally they prefer to roam free. After 18 days, the rodents had been stressed.

Challenged with two fear-related exams, they confirmed way more indicators of worry than friends who had lounged for the complete length. One check, for instance, induced the mouse-equivalent of a worry of heights. In comparison with mice within the management group, the pressured mice’s cortisone ranges spiked a lot larger, together with larger ranges of myriad different inflammatory molecules within the blood.

As a result of astrocytes, the supporting mind cells, may play a job on this response, the group seemed for gene adjustments in stressed-out mice in comparison with their happy-go-lucky friends. A singular inhabitants of cells primarily based within the amygdala—an almond-shaped area deep within the mind that processes worry, stress, and different feelings—stood out.

The researchers subsequent created gene-edited mice with decrease ranges of an anti-inflammatory protein (EGFR) in astrocytes. In comparison with their friends, these mice had extra extreme mind irritation after stress, showcasing the function astrocytes play in mind well being. The group discovered related leads to donated mind tissue from folks with both despair or these with out the situation. Just like the gene-edited mice, EGFR ranges had been decrease in astrocytes in folks with despair.

The group additionally discovered a small variety of monocytes grouped across the mind’s outer wrapping, or meninges. Monocytes transfer from the spleen to the meninges throughout stress. As soon as there, the immune cells pumped out inflammatory molecules, which the astrocytes acquired and handed on as an “emergency” sign to neurons, boosting the worry response.

The three-part connection is a “hanging discovery,” wrote Chen and Colonna.

Right here Is My Thoughts

Lack of serotonin, a chemical within the mind, influences each stress and immune cell well being. Two psychedelic medication, psilocybin and MDMA, can improve serotonin ranges.

Within the subsequent check, the group gave stressed-out mice a dose of psilocybin or MDMA that roughly corresponded to doses utilized in folks in medical trials. The mice didn’t present apparent indicators of being “excessive” similar to neck twitching. After the dose, their monocytes not raged in the direction of the mind’s outer shell. The meninges additionally pumped out fewer inflammatory molecules. When challenged with the identical worry exams, the mice had been far much less scared even after stress. Their astrocyte and neuron operate reverted practically to regular.

“Collectively, our outcomes spotlight the therapeutic potential of focusing on immune mechanisms in neuropsychiatric problems,” wrote the authors.

Earlier research have mapped the roles of astrocytes, neurons, and the immune system individually. Though the brand new examine integrates these findings right into a “unified framework,” wrote Chen and Colonna, there’s way more to discover.

The mind’s personal immune cells, microglia, are concerned in irritation and Alzheimer’s illness. How they take part on this neuroimmune communication stays a thriller. And does this three-way crosstalk additionally regulate short-term stress, similar to multitasking whereas making dinner?

Maybe extra importantly, the outcomes present that psychedelics don’t simply have an effect on the thoughts—additionally they tinker with the immune system.  

 “We’re not saying that psychedelics are a cure-all for inflammatory ailments or every other well being situation,” Wheeler stated. “However we do see proof that psychedelics have some tissue-specific advantages and that studying extra about them may open up completely new prospects for therapies.”

In 2025, knowledge privateness is not a distinct segment concern delegated to authorized groups and IT departments. It’s a boardroom-level precedence, instantly tied to belief, status, and long-term viability. In accordance with Statista, 75% of the world’s inhabitants is now lined underneath fashionable privateness rules. For multinational companies—and even U.S.-based corporations serving prospects in a number of states—this implies compliance shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all proposition. As a substitute, companies should develop a versatile, scalable privateness framework that adapts to a mosaic of legal guidelines and evolving definitions of non-public knowledge.

With main U.S. privateness legal guidelines handed in 2024 now coming into enforcement phases, and with worldwide and cross-jurisdictional frameworks tightening, the stress on companies to behave responsibly and transparently has by no means been better. Organizations should acknowledge a stark new actuality: knowledge stewardship is buyer stewardship. Mishandling private knowledge would not simply end in fines—it erodes public belief in methods which can be tough to get better from.

The Increasing Regulatory Panorama

The legislative clock is ticking sooner than ever. In 2024 alone, a number of U.S. states—together with Florida, Washington, and New Hampshire—handed sweeping privateness legal guidelines that got here into drive this 12 months. Florida handed the Florida Digital Invoice of Rights, making use of to corporations with over $1 billion in income and giving shoppers rights to entry, delete, and decide out of information gross sales, particularly regarding biometric and geolocation knowledge. Washington enacted the My Well being My Information Act, which expands protections round shopper well being knowledge, requiring clear consent earlier than assortment and granting rights to delete and withdraw consent. New Hampshire launched its first complete privateness regulation, offering rights to entry, appropriate, delete, and decide out of the sale of non-public knowledge.

A few of these new legal guidelines align carefully with the California Shopper Privateness Act (CCPA) or the EU’s Basic Information Safety Regulation (GDPR), whereas others convey distinctive necessities round biometric knowledge, automated decision-making, or consent practices. Every regulation emphasizes stronger shopper management and transparency, with distinctive nuances round applicability and definitions, and mark a shift towards stricter, extra nuanced regulation throughout states.

Accordingly, corporations can not afford to think about knowledge privateness as merely a U.S. situation or simply about GDPR. In case your digital footprint crosses borders—and most companies’ footprints do—you could undertake a proactive, international method.

Constructing a Privateness-First Tradition

A privacy-forward technique begins with cultural change. It’s not nearly assembly minimal requirements—it’s about embedding privateness into the DNA of your group. This mindset begins with worker training and clear pointers for knowledge processing and storage, nevertheless it should even be strengthened by management. Firms that construct privateness into product improvement, advertising, buyer help, and HR capabilities stand out available in the market. Advancing technical safety capabilities and privateness administration rules in alignment with relevant requirements additional helps the safety of shopper knowledge.  They’re not simply checking containers—they’re constructing manufacturers that customers belief.

AI and Privateness: A Delicate Balancing Act

The results of poor knowledge governance may be extreme. In accordance with IBM, the worldwide common value of an information breach reached $4.88 million in 2024. Some of the harmful new blind spots? Synthetic intelligence.

Generative AI and different machine studying instruments exploded in reputation in 2024, and their adoption continues to speed up. However companies should proceed with warning. Whereas these instruments can drive effectivity and innovation, in addition they pose vital privateness dangers.

Information assortment practices in AI techniques have to be scrutinized fastidiously. To mitigate these dangers, organizations ought to distinguish between public AI and personal AI. Public AI fashions—these educated on open web knowledge—are inherently much less safe. As soon as data is entered, it’s usually inconceivable to know the place or the way it would possibly resurface.

Non-public AI, alternatively, may be configured with tight entry controls, educated on inside datasets, and built-in into safe environments. When completed accurately, this ensures that delicate knowledge by no means leaves the group’s perimeter. Limit using generative AI instruments to inside techniques and prohibit coming into confidential or private knowledge into public AI platforms. The coverage is easy: if it’s not secured, it’s not used.

Transparency as a Aggressive Benefit

Some of the efficient methods for corporations to distinguish themselves in 2025 is thru radical transparency. Which means clear, concise privateness insurance policies written in language that actual individuals can perceive, not legalese buried in a footer.

It additionally means offering customers with instruments to handle their very own knowledge. Whether or not by means of consent dashboards, opt-out hyperlinks, or knowledge deletion requests, companies ought to empower people to take management of their private data. That is particularly vital with regards to cellular apps, which regularly gather delicate knowledge like geolocation, contact lists, and pictures. Companies ought to reduce knowledge assortment to what’s important for performance—and be upfront about why and the way knowledge is used.

Greatest Practices for a New Period

To assist organizations navigate the advanced knowledge privateness setting in 2025, contemplate following these finest practices:

1. Conduct a complete knowledge stock: Know what knowledge you gather, the place it resides, and the way it flows all through your group and third-party techniques.
2. Undertake a privacy-by-design method: Construct privateness protections into each new product, workflow, and partnership from the beginning, fairly than retrofitting them later.
3. Know your regulatory obligations: Guarantee your compliance program accounts for native, state, nationwide, and worldwide rules related to your operations.
4. Constant worker coaching: Training and consciousness messaging should present easy-to-understand data and matter choice ought to evolve round rising dangers like AI misuse or phishing schemes that concentrate on data-rich environments.
5. Restrict knowledge retention: Holding onto private data indefinitely will increase danger. Set up and implement knowledge retention insurance policies that replicate your operational and authorized necessities.
6. Encrypt and anonymize: Use superior encryption and de-identification methods to guard delicate knowledge, particularly in analytics, testing, and AI mannequin coaching.
7. Audit third-party distributors: Guarantee your companions meet your privateness and safety requirements. Contractual agreements ought to embody knowledge dealing with expectations, breach notification protocols, and compliance obligations.

Belief Is the Final ROI

The underside line? In 2025, privateness isn’t only a authorized situation—it’s a model situation. Prospects, staff, and companions are all watching the way you deal with knowledge. By embracing transparency, respecting boundaries, and strengthening safety, corporations can flip compliance right into a aggressive edge. In a world the place knowledge is forex, the way in which you defend it displays your values. The businesses that may thrive in 2025 and past are people who deal with knowledge privateness not as a burden—however as a enterprise crucial.