David Reger, founder and CEO of Munich-based Neura Robotics, is building humanoid robots — and a reputation with a touch of déjà vu. In the German press, he’s sometimes dubbed the “Young Elon Musk.”  It’s a nickname Reger embraces, despite all of the controversy surrounding the world’s richest man. “For me, it’s a positive, not a negative,” he told TNW in an interview. “I respect how Musk builds companies, how successful he is, how fearless he is to drive things further.” Musk’s politics, Reger continues, aren’t the focus of his admiration. “I’m just thinking about technological advancement and how to move that further and faster, and I admire Musk for that.” Like Musk, Reger has speed on his mind. Founded in 2019, Neura has quickly grown into one of Europe’s best-funded robotics startups, with over 600 employees. It’s already commercialised multiple robots, including a robotic arm for manufacturing and a load-carrying robot. And next month, the company will unveil the third generation of the 4NE-1 robot, which it claims will be the world’s most advanced humanoid.  The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!4NE-1 — as the name implies — is a robot built for anyone. The human-like bot is designed to be equally capable of folding your washing at home as it is stacking boxes in a warehouse. The current version of 4NE-1 is 180cm tall, tips the scales at about 80kg, and can carry items weighing up to 15kg. With a top speed of 3km/h, though, it’s a bit of a slowcoach. Its performance is set to improve in the third generation — we’ll have to wait to find out. What sets the humanoid apart, according to Reger, is its cognitive abilities. “It can touch, think, and react in much the same way humans do,” he said.  That’s thanks to a network of sensors and cameras embedded throughout its body. These feed real-time data to an AI system that interprets the environment and makes split-second decisions. The third generation of 4NE-1 will have more of these sensors than other humanoids, Reger said, allowing better data collection and closing the loop between virtual and physical worlds.  While Reger is confident that Neura is building the best humanoid, competition will be fierce. There are hundreds of companies developing human-like robots globally — including Musk’s car firm Tesla. The company is currently developing Optimus, also known as the “Tesla bot.”  Optimus is not dissimilar to Neura’s 4NE-1. Measuring 173cm and weighing 57kg, it’s also designed to be multi-purpose. It can fold washing, water plants, and vacuum, according to a recent demo video. Tesla aims to produce between 5,000 to 12,000 Optimus units this year.  “I see Musk as my only competitor in the segment,” said Reger.  Although Reger admires Musk, he’s wary of the impact his recent antics could have on robotics. He fears the political controversies could set the industry back.  “For humanoids to be accepted in people’s homes and work lives, trust is everything,” said Reger. “So he should be careful with what he is doing.” Story by Siôn Geschwindt Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehic (show all) Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehicles, he's happiest sourcing a scoop, investigating the impact of emerging technologies, and even putting them to the test. He has five years of journalism experience and holds a dual degree in media and environmental science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. When he's not writing, you can probably find Siôn out hiking, surfing, playing the drums or catering to his moderate caffeine addiction. You can contact him at: sion.geschwindt [at] protonmail [dot] com Get the TNW newsletter Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week. Also tagged with

To hear him tell it, veteran character actor Neal McDonough shocked his writing partners when he showed them the initial draft for his latest movie, The Last Rodeo. Where did this come from? his friends would ask. You write about Lee Marvin and tough guys. Those are your heroes! As much as it surprised the folks he knew, The Last Rodeo will feel quite familiar to anyone who knows McDonough from his many supporting roles. With his striking blue eyes and wide smile, McDonough’s become one of the most recognizable “that guys” in Hollywood, especially when he’s playing a tough one, whether that be Dum Dum Dugan in Captain America: The First Avenger or the terrifying criminal Quarles in Justified. On the surface, The Last Rodeo protagonist Joe Wainright falls in line with those guys. Written by McDonough, Derek Presley, and director Jon Avnet, The Last Rodeo follows McDonaugh’s former championship bull rider as he returns to the sport to earn money for his grandson’s surgery. In addition to the rust he’s gathered in his years away from the sport, Joe must also overcome the physical injury that drove him out of bull riding and the mental and emotional scars left by the sudden death of his beloved wife (McDonough’s real-life wife and co-producer, Ruvé McDonough), who succumbed to the same disease that now threatens his grandson. For McDonough this story of a man who will do anything for his family makes Joe stand out from his other more famous characters. And the idea came to him during a lonely moment after a shoot when a horrible but provocative thought popped into his head. “One day, I was driving home from work and I got gut-punched with the thought of what would become of me if something ever happened to Ruvé,” McDonough recalls to us. “I’m on the side of the highway in Arizona and the idea just came into my head, Rocky or Bull Durham for a grandpa who has to go back and save his grandson’s life because he’s dying of the same tumor that killed his wife. I just sat on the side of the road voice-dictating what I thought the script would be and I had the whole film, it just flew out of me.” Always open about his Catholic faith, McDonough’s quick to attribute the idea to divine inspiration (“I’m pretty smart, but I don’t think I’m that clever,” he quips). But he also admits that he made Joe a bull rider because he saw the sport as underrepresented in cinema. “I was looking for ideas because I love athletics. But when you get to a certain age, you can’t be the athlete anymore. You have to be the coach, and I was getting tired of being the coach. So I started asking, ‘Who’s the oldest rookie of the year?’ and ‘what’s an old story?'” McDonough remembers. He found his answer in bull riding, but the 59-year-old actor didn’t get to completely meld fiction and reality, at least when it came to Joe’s feats in the arena. “I wanted to be the guy on the bull all the time,” laughs McDonough. “I think everyone knows what a knucklehead I am when it comes to stunts and the physicality of acting in films. I love it. Being an athlete for so long, it’s just something that I always kind of told myself that I can still do, even at my age. But they would never let me get on an actual bull unless it was for a [single] shot. But let me tell you this, they beat the living tar out of me on those mechanical bulls for months and months, and they’re not easy. The amount of times I got smoked off of that thing and got bashed… riding a bull ain’t easy.” McDonough’s commitment to embodying characters isn’t a surprise to anyone familiar with his work. He puts Joe Wainright alongside Buck Compton from Band of Brothers and Wyatt Kane from Tin Man as his favorites to play precisely because of the depth he brings to them, even when they’re silent. While Joe retains a warmth in his taciturn nature, some of McDonough’s other characters felt menacing in their stillness, such as Dave Williams in Desperate Housewives or Damien Darhk in the CW Arrowverse. But that was a skill McDonough had to learn early on. “You almost need a Dramamine just to watch my early stuff,” he admits. “But then I started to pare it down and be as simple as possible in everything. I was watching what John Wayne would do. People don’t think of John Wayne as one of the greatest actors of all time, but he understood stoicism better than anyone. He’d take that breath before he’d say a line and really think about what he was about to say before saying the line, and then really hammering it out there. Kevin Costner’s great at that, Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, all those guys were great at listening to what’s going on. They’d take a second and say a line, not twenty lines.” As much as he admires those pillars of cinematic masculinity, McDonough also confesses that he initially saw himself as more of a comedian when he first came to Hollywood. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! “When I did Walking Tall, I thought they were bringing me in for the Johnny Knoxville character. I had read the script and was all prepared, and went in thinking I was going to crush this. But they said ‘No, no, no—we want you to play the villain.” Given his love for Wayne and McQueen, it seems odd that McDonough would go out for a part that eventually went to Johnny Knoxville. But McDonough cites another legend as a major influence, one not known for his silence. “William Shatner as Captain Kirk, my favorite captain!” he declares. Shatner’s a fitting model, given that McDonough made his Hollywood feature debut on a Star Trek movie, albeit in Star Trek: First Contact, the first film without Shatner on set. But McDonough doesn’t look back on the experience with sadness, in part because of the way the Next Generation cast supported him as a young actor. “Patrick Stewart became such a paternal figure to me because he knew it was my first big movie,” McDonough recalls. “Jonathan Frakes, who also directed, took it upon himself to bust my nuggets every single day on set. They said, ‘Look, we only have you for a short amount of time. You’re about to die, you’re the red shirt guy. So we’re going to make fun of you all day long.” He adds with a chuckle, “I was sort of like the toy they got to play around with. And you know, I saw Frakes about a year ago and he was like, ‘Gosh, to see what you’ve become ever since then and what you’ve gone through in your personal life to get here is inspirational for all of us.’ Coming from Jonathan Frakes, who’s an incredible talent, that was a great compliment.” McDonough’s work on First Contact also meant that he got to participate in franchise events, some of which involved his hero, William Shatner. The first time he and Shatner were at an event, McDonough admitted that he turned down the chance to meet the legendary actor, worried that the reality wouldn’t live up to the hero in his mind. “Then Shatner came up right behind me and they rolled him up on a wheelchair because he was 90 years old at the time. And he stands up from the wheelchair and gives me a big hug. He tells me, ‘I know exactly who you are and I’ve been following your career and I think you’re terrific.’ And that was just amazing.” Of course since then McDonough’s got the chance to play some heroes himself, including one in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. McDonough has appeared several times as Dum Dum Dugan, a member of the Howling Commandos and an agent of SHIELD. Despite how well-received McDonough’s performances have been, and despite Dugan’s status as a fan favorite in the comics, he hasn’t been a regular in the MCU. “Every time I see Kevin Feige, I say, ‘What’s wrong with you? You’ve got one of the coolest characters and you don’t use him!'” jokes McDonough. “That’s the kind of character for me to play, a lughead from Boston who likes to have fun, but if there’s a fight to be had or someone messes with his family, watch out. I love that about Dum Dum, he’s tough as nails and all-American. C’mon, Kevin! Figure out how to bring Dum Dum back!” Whether or not Dum Dum Dugan will appear in Avengers: Doomsday remains to be seen, but until then, we know where we can find McDonough, playing the strong and silent type, whether that be aboard the USS Enterprise or holding tight to a bucking bull.