News

Google Plans A Future Where Robots Think For Themselves

Google is helping robots better understand how to be helpful to humans, and the results are encouraging!

Published

3 years ago

August 19, 2022

google plans a future where robots think for themselves

Unknown to many of its fanbase, search giant Google has been developing its own semi-secret research laboratory for over a decade. The project is known as X Developments and focuses on exciting projects such as the recent Everyday Robots collaboration.

The project emphasizes the software side of robotics, aiming to make the technology helpful to humans by optimizing robots for tasks that include finding, fetching, and sorting items, as well as training bots to be awesome at ping-pong or catching racquetballs.

Google’s latest milestone is the “Pathways Language Model,” a software solution that gives the company’s robots a better understanding of the world, helping them respond more accurately and efficiently to human requests. So far, the robot workers at Google have been set to work on less-than-glamorous tasks such as trash sorting, with the aim that eventually, they will be able to take on tasks and teach themselves on the fly. Research into seemingly useless tasks like ping-pong might seem frivolous, but these operations require speed and precision, so they help engineers tune their robot sidekicks for future requirements.

google everyday robots throwing away trash

Google’s emphasis on robotic precision means that the company is unlikely to release a product for the general public any time soon. Their stance stands in sharp contrast to rival Amazon, which has already offered a product to market named Astro (albeit invite-only) — a $999 robot that seems to offer little more than basic Alexa functionality on wheels.

Also Read: Farfetch Aims To Bring Web3 To The World Of Fashion

“Google tries to be a company that provides access to information, helping people with tasks in their daily lives, you could imagine a ton of overlap between Google’s overarching mission and what we’re doing in terms of more concrete goals. I think we’re really at the level of providing capabilities, and trying to understand what capabilities we can provide,” says Vincent Vanhoucke, Google Research Robotics Lead.

Don’t expect to see a Google-themed robot appearing anytime soon, but keep an eye out for the latest developments from X Developments, as even the company’s homepage points to an exciting future for human / robot partnerships!

News

Stake Powers Instant Payouts With Checkout.com Pay To Card

The new feature lets investors in the UAE, KSA, and UK receive real estate returns in minutes — cutting withdrawal times to under 10 minutes.

Published

1 day ago

June 19, 2025

Nour Nasir

stake powers instant payouts with checkout.com pay to card

Stake, a leading digital real estate investment platform, has unveiled Pay to Card, a next-generation withdrawal feature built on Checkout.com’s global payment infrastructure. The integration enables investors to have dividends and returns credited directly to their bank cards — often within minutes — dramatically reducing the traditional multi-day payout process.

After a successful pilot in May involving over 200 users, some investors reported receiving their funds in under 10 minutes. Ricardo Brizido, CPTO and Co-Founder of Stake, emphasized the importance of speed and reliability: “With Pay to Card, we’re eliminating unnecessary delays and putting returns in our investors’ hands almost instantly. This feature was built to directly solve one of the most common pain points in real estate investing, and it’s already driving strong results”.

The feature launch coincides with rapid growth in real-time finance across the Middle East. Checkout.com’s “State of Digital Commerce in MENA 2025” report highlights a 388% year-on-year surge in Account Funding Transactions (AFTs) in the UAE, reflecting strong demand for immediate payout solutions. The same study recorded a 176% increase in total processing volume from 2023 to 2024 and noted that daily online transactions have jumped 320% since 2020.

Since its 2021 debut, Stake has facilitated over AED 1 billion in property transactions, advancing its mission to democratize real estate investment in high-growth markets. By integrating Pay to Card, Stake reinforces its commitment to customer-centric innovation and operational transparency.

Also Read: Binance Enters Syrian Market As Sanctions Lifted

Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager for MENA at Checkout.com, praised the collaboration: “Stake has always led with customer-first financial experiences. Together, we’re meeting the expectations of a region that is no longer just digital-first, but real-time-first. Pay to Card exemplifies how modern payment infrastructure can directly solve investor pain points”.

Pay to Card is now available to all Stake users in the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. By slashing withdrawal times from days to minutes, Stake and Checkout.com are setting a new standard for seamless, on-demand real estate investing.