A startup is launching a new smart scheduling platform designed for the stresses — and the busyness — of the remote work era.

Why it matters: With many workers still at home rather than concentrated in an office, even a quick conversation still often requires a dedicated time slot. Smarter calendar tools can help lighten some of the burden of managing our time.

Ford and its self-driving technology partner, Argo AI, plan to deploy robotaxis on the Lyft ride-hailing network later this year, as autonomous vehicles inch closer to reality.

Why it matters: The AV technology race has narrowed to a half-dozen major players, including Pittsburgh-based Argo, which is backed by Ford and Volkswagen. But it has long been unclear how any of them will turn AVs into a viable commercial service.

Businesses are building a new kind of assembly line — and this one is digital, staffed by software bots.

Why it matters: For all the hopes and fears around industrial robots, more progress is being made in the realm of digital workers: Bots that can perform a growing number of often tedious and time-consuming tasks in an increasingly online business world.

A startup called Compology is using high-tech cameras in dumpsters and AI analytics to help companies and cities better manage their waste streams.

Why it matters: Trash — unlike electricity or water — isn't easy for cities to meter, "which contributes to the inefficiency around waste management," says Jason Gates, Compology's CEO.

Discord, a San Francisco-based chat platform valued by VCs at $7 billion, agreed to buy Sentropy, a Palo Alto-based provider of AI software for detecting and removing online harassment.

Why it matters: Because engaging with others online shouldn't include an entrance fee of harassment and abuse. Discord once was known as a place where such misdeeds proliferated, but it cracked down after Charlottesville, and this deal reflects its continued efforts around user safety.

The Bay Area-based startup Primer is offering natural language processing (NLP) models for businesses that can rapidly read and analyze written text of all kinds.

Why it matters: NLP — machine-learning agents that comprehend and even write text — is one of the most exciting areas of AI research, and the new product points to a future when text-crunching AI will be available as a service, accelerating the technology's adoption.

With no spectators allowed at the Tokyo Olympics, robots might be the only ones on hand to witness the athletic feats at this year's Summer Games.

Why it matters: Organizers had billed the 2020 Olympics as "the most innovative ever," with plans to deploy teams of robots to assist and dazzle visiting athletes and fans.

A startup has developed an AI tool that can copyedit written text with an eye toward specific corporate style and potentially offensive language.

Why it matters: The shift to distributed work means employees are spending more time communicating internally and externally in writing, even as norms for what's acceptable in workplace speech keep evolving.

A new ride-hailing service in Las Vegas is targeting people who are curious about autonomous vehicles but aren't yet ready to climb into the back seat and let a robot drive.

Why it matters: Electric AVs promise to make urban transportation safer, more affordable and more accessible, potentially easing congestion and cutting carbon emissions.

Motorized wheelchairs promise greater freedom for people with mobility challenges, and now, with technologies inspired by nascent self-driving cars, they're getting smarter — and safer.

Why it matters: A specialized wheelchair can cost as much as a Tesla but has none of its modern technology, putting vulnerable users at risk for collisions and other accidents, like tipping over a curb.

What's happening: A startup formed by two brothers with a personal motivation developed LUCI, a software and hardware platform that introduces smart technology for power wheelchair users.

• The "smart frame" kit includes multiple sensors — cameras, radar and ultrasonic — along with an ARM processor that acts as the chair's "brain."
• LUCI can detect pets or a crawling baby, for instance, and automatically stop the chair. It can also stop for uneven pavement or dangerous drop-offs.
• With built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections, users can link their chair to an at-home assistant like Alexa, and also communicate with caregivers.
• "We’re turning the wheelchair into the edge device, or command module, for these folks," said Jered Dean, LUCI co-founder and chief technology officer.

The backstory: Jered and his brother Barry Dean set out to help Barry's 19-year-old daughter, Katherine, who was born with cerebral palsy and has used a wheelchair her entire life.

• Their hack of Katherine's chair led to a realization that there is no commercially available smart tech for custom wheelchairs.
• They figured they could adapt off-the-shelf technology from robotics companies or self-driving cars but found it didn't translate well to wheelchairs.
• "There are no maps or street signs [as for cars] or geotags [as for robots] in a warehouse," Jered told me. "Everywhere you go in a week, that’s where a wheelchair has to go and it has to work."
• The pair ended up inventing their own radar and ultrasonic sensors, applying for 19 patents, 10 of which have already been issued.

The bottom line: A motorized wheelchair can cost anywhere from $30,000 to $90,000. For an additional $8,445, LUCI makes it smarter.