TechCapsules

Mary Barra, GM’s CEO, reaffirmed that electric vehicles remain the company’s ultimate goal despite a slower-than‑expected transition. She highlighted the company’s current strategy of offering a broad mix of EVs and profitable internal‑combustion models while maintaining flexibility to adapt to shifting regulatory and market conditions. Barra emphasized agility, noting that GM will continue to make “no‑regret” decisions as the political and consumer landscape evolves. Investors have responded positively, with GM’s stock near an all‑time high and up [...]

A Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral on Thursday, carrying Crew 13—NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov—to the International Space Station for a human‑health research mission. The reusable booster separated after three minutes and landed back on Earth, while the upper stage delivered the Crew Dragon capsule into orbit. The four‑member crew will dock with the ISS around 7 p.m. EDT, marking NASA’s 13th long‑duration crew launch via SpaceX since 2020. [...]

Boston Dynamics introduced a new four‑finger hand for its Atlas humanoid robot, featuring 13 degrees of freedom, including a four‑DOF opposable thumb. The design incorporates direct actuation and dense tactile pressure sensors across fingertips and palm. It enables Atlas to perform complex manipulation tasks—such as in‑hand reorientation, pinch and tripodal grasps, slip recovery, and operating tools like drills, grinders, nail guns, and welding torches—while maintaining strength comparable to its previous seven‑DOF hand. Boston Dynamics opted for four [...]

At RoboBusiness 2026 in Santa Clara, Eli Lilly’s senior principal robotics engineer Faraz Yousuf and Purdue University assistant professor Anastasia Ostrowski will present “Human‑Robot Interaction: Bridging Academia and Industry.” They will share results from field studies conducted with manufacturing and warehouse operators using live automated guided vehicles (AGVs). The talk will cover participants’ perceptions of robots on the production floor and a repeatable partnership playbook. The session is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. PT on the event’s first day. [...]

GitLab disclosed a critical vulnerability (CVE‑2026‑90970) in its AI Gateway that could allow a logged‑in user with Duo Agent Platform access to execute arbitrary commands on self‑hosted gateways under specific conditions. The flaw, rated 9.9/10, affects gateway versions 18.1.6 through 19.1 and is fixed in 19.2.4, 19.3.2, and 19.4.1. GitLab urged immediate updates for self‑managed customers, while GitLab.com, Dedicated, and hosted‑gateway users are unaffected. The issue stems from a prompt‑template escape in custom flows.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 offers a $75 Expo+ Pass to the first 100 laid‑off tech workers, available until October 13 or until the quota is filled. The pass grants entry to the event’s Expo Hall, where over 10,000 founders, investors, and tech leaders gather, and access to more than 300 startups. Attendees can use the TechCrunch Events app for AI‑powered matchmaking, schedule one‑on‑one meetings, and attend breakout sessions. The offer excludes industry stages and roundtables, which require a [...]

EPB Quantum’s Quantum in Business conference in Chattanooga drew over 450 business leaders, researchers, and public officials to showcase commercial quantum applications. The event highlighted collaborations with IonQ, Synopsys, Numana, Nokia Canada, Crypto4A, evolutionQ, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and NVIDIA, demonstrating real‑world use cases that improve performance, security, and competitiveness. EPB and IonQ launched CQ Connect, a webinar series guiding companies through quantum computing and networking solutions across industries such as biotech, finance, and manufacturing.

SpaceX launched a classified NROL‑97 payload on a midnight Falcon Heavy flight from Launch Complex 39A, marking the first NRO mission on the heavy‑lift vehicle and the first under the 2025 Phase 3 Lane 2 contract. The rocket’s two side boosters landed at Cape Canaveral’s LZ‑1 and LZ‑2 within eight minutes, completing the quickest turnaround between Falcon Heavy missions. The event also capped the first day SpaceX landed four boosters, including a Crew‑13 booster, in a single day. [...]