Insider Brief
- MIT and Stanford engineers developed a vine-inspired robotic gripper that uses soft, inflatable tendrils to wrap around and lift heavy or fragile objects, including a human body.
- The system converts earlier “growing” pneumatic robots into closed-loop mechanisms that can thread under or around targets and retract to lift them, with demonstrations spanning eldercare transfers and robotic-arm grasping.
- Tests showed the gripper could handle items from watermelons to glass vases and navigate cluttered environments, suggesting applications in patient care, logistics, and industrial load handling.
IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Pearson (FTSE: PSON.L), the world’s lifelong learning company, today announced a global partnership to build new personalized learning products powered by AI for businesses, public organizations, and educational institutions.
Recent research from Pearson found that inefficient career transitions and skills mismatches will cost the US economy $1.1 trillion in lost earnings annually. Employers, educators, and learners need faster, more relevant ways to learn new skills as AI reshapes how people work and learn.
IBM and Pearson aim to address these needs with AI-powered learning tools, built using watsonx Orchestrate and watsonx Governance, which will be available globally. IBM will also help Pearson build a custom AI-powered learning platform – similar to IBM Consulting Advantage – that combines human expertise with AI assistants, agents, and assets. The platform will drive growth with new products and services, while transforming Pearson’s operations to enhance workflows, productivity, and data-driven decision-making.
As IBM’s primary strategic partner for customer upskilling and workforce transformation, IBM customers and its 270,000 employees will benefit from Pearson’s enterprise learning solutions. These include, Credly for digital credentialing, Faethm for strategic workforce planning, and Pearson Professional Assessments, which delivers IBM professional certification exams globally.
In addition, IBM and Pearson will explore the development of tools that will help verify the capabilities of AI agents, ensuring organizations can deploy them with confidence. This combines IBM’s expertise in building reliable, responsible AI with Pearson’s deep understanding of learning, skills development, and recognized credentials.
“Technology is evolving faster than human skills can keep pace. To close this gap, learning must be embedded seamlessly into the flow of work. When people learn where work happens, it has an immediate impact on productivity and performance,” said Omar Abbosh, CEO of Pearson. “Together with IBM, we’re building trusted AI-powered learning tools that will help people and organizations adapt, learn, and thrive in a world of constant change.”
“Whether you’re leading a company or just graduating, everyone needs to build new skills for the AI era,” said Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM. “IBM and Pearson are bringing AI-powered education to more organizations to help people learn faster. Together, we’re helping companies and their teams adapt to change and succeed, while helping Pearson transform its own internal operations.”
This partnership advances Pearson’s strategy to build 360-degree relationships with a select group of strategic partners to deliver stronger customer outcomes, drive joint go-to-market initiatives, and enable shared growth.
Statements regarding IBM’s and Pearson’s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice and represent goals and objectives only.
