Today's Autonomy Pulse
DARPA seeks swarm‑capable robot medics for battlefield casualty care
DARPA has released a Small Business Innovation Research solicitation for autonomous, swarm‑capable robot medics that can drag wounded soldiers, administer lifesaving drugs, and assemble self‑forming tourniquets. The robots must be able to move casualties at least 10 meters, either singly or linked together, and demonstrate injury assessment, rough‑terrain mobility, and shape‑changing abilities.
GFT Technologies Deploys AI‑Driven Robotic Arms to Remove Defective Auto Parts
GFT Technologies unveiled a three‑robot AI system that inspects, marks and physically extracts faulty auto components on assembly lines. A major U.S. automaker has already begun using the solution, which could save manufacturers tens of millions by preventing costly recalls.
Arrow Electronics Addresses Rising Autonomous Mobile Robot Demand in Southeast Asia with System-Level Solutions
Arrow Electronics announced two technical seminars in Singapore (May 19) and Bangkok (May 21) to address the surge in autonomous mobile robot (AMR) demand across Southeast Asia. The events, co‑hosted with onsemi and other semiconductor partners, will demonstrate AI‑enabled navigation, advanced sensing,...
XPeng Rolls Out Its First Mass-Produced Robotaxi
XPeng announced the first mass‑produced, Level 4 robotaxi built on its GX platform, debuting in Guangzhou with pilot operations slated for the second half of 2026 and fully driverless service targeted for early 2027. The vehicle relies on four self‑developed Turing...
Home Robot Safety Is All About Relationships
ISO is finalizing a revision of its 12‑year‑old ISO 13482 standard for personal‑care robots as domestic humanoids move from prototypes to market‑ready products. The draft expands hazard identification and risk assessment to include the bidirectional nature of human‑robot interaction, but it...
The “Invisible Army” Behind Amazon’s Robotaxi Revolution
In this episode, Bob Safian talks with Ayesha Evans, CEO of Zoox, about the company’s autonomous robotaxi program and its recent partnership with Uber. Evans explains Zoox’s purpose‑built vehicle design, the milestones they’ve reached (over 2 million driverless miles and a...
XPENG Launches Mass-Produced Robotaxi in China With L4 Autonomy
XPENG has begun mass production of its first robotaxi in Guangzhou, marking the first domestic L4‑level autonomous vehicle built entirely with in‑house hardware and software. The vehicle runs on the GX platform and is powered by four proprietary Turing AI...
Hyundai Mobis Hosts 5th Mobility Day in Silicon Valley
Hyundai Mobis hosted its fifth Mobility Day in Sunnyvale, drawing about 400 participants—more than twice the 2025 attendance. The event broadened its theme to robotics and physical AI, inviting startups, investors, and OEMs beyond the traditional automotive space. Engineers from...
Automated Metro Train for Hangzhou Unveiled
CRRC Nanjing Puzhen unveiled the first custom Type AH trainset for Hangzhou Metro Line 12, the city’s inaugural line equipped for unattended automatic operation (GoA4). The fleet will consist of 29 four‑car and four six‑car trainsets capable of 100 km/h with precise platform...
Einride and EASE Logistics Deploy Autonomous Electric Trucks on Ohio Highways
Einride and EASE Logistics have begun operating SAE Level 4 autonomous electric trucks on public roads in Marysville, Ohio, under the Truck Automation Corridor Project. The deployment, monitored by a remote operator, aims to generate safety and efficiency data for future...
Tesla CEO Predicts Nationwide Rollout of Fully Driverless Cars This Year
Elon Musk told the Smart Mobility Summit in Tel Aviv that Tesla’s fully driverless cars, already operating in Texas without human safety monitors, will be deployed more broadly across the United States before year‑end. The announcement comes as Tesla seeks...
Waymo Recalls 3,800 Robotaxis as Texas Residents Lodge Safety Complaints
Waymo announced a voluntary recall of about 3,800 autonomous Jaguars after a software flaw risked vehicles driving onto flooded roadways. The recall coincides with complaints from Dallas-area residents who say dozens of empty robotaxis have been circling local streets, sparking...
Robotics Summit & Expo to Feature a Track on Warehouse Automation
The 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston, scheduled for May 27‑28, will debut a dedicated logistics automation track featuring seven expert sessions on scaling autonomous robots, AI‑driven material handling, and lights‑out warehouses. Interact Analysis reports a 7% rise in...
Aurora, Berkshire Hathaway's McLane Achieve 100% On‑Time Delivery in Autonomous Truck Pilot
Aurora Innovation and Berkshire Hathaway’s logistics arm McLane announced that their autonomous trucking pilot delivered every load on schedule, achieving a 100% on‑time performance metric. The result, released today, is presented as proof that driverless freight can meet the reliability...
Einride Deploys Autonomous Electric Trucks in Ohio Freight Corridor Pilot
Einride and EASE Logistics have launched a proof‑of‑concept service using two SAE Level 4 autonomous electric trucks on a freight corridor between EASE warehouses in Marysville, Ohio. The pilot, part of the Ohio Department of Transportation and DriveOhio Truck Automation Corridor...
Summon Fails in Tight Garage Due to Camera Block
Summon has been instrumental for us is pulling our Teslas out of our tight garage where we physically can’t get into the car. But on last few updates it says “Cameras may be blocked” and doesn’t let us use summon....
Arrive AI Using Nvidia Isaac Sim and Blackwell GPUs to Develop Autonomous Drone Delivery Network
Arrive AI is leveraging Nvidia Isaac Sim and next‑generation Blackwell GPUs to fast‑track its autonomous drone delivery platform. The physics‑based simulation creates photorealistic, ground‑truth data that lets computer‑vision models train without costly manual labeling. Blackwell workstations deliver the VRAM and...
Tesla Is Making Sweeping Improvements to Robotaxi
Tesla unveiled Robotaxi app version 26.4.5, introducing remote operator voice calls, proactive AI‑driven assistance, and manual override plus remote‑start capabilities for steering‑wheel‑less Cybercabs. The update also adds soft‑matching dispatch, multi‑stop routing, cabin‑sync controls, and a high‑security kill‑switch. These features are...
How Humanoid Robots Will Enter Automotive Production — and Why Their Success Depends on Enterprise Integration
SAP’s global automotive head Nadine Kanja argues that the true value of humanoid robots in car manufacturing hinges on seamless integration with enterprise data and workflow systems. Automakers such as BMW and Hyundai are already piloting unified AI‑driven production platforms...
XPeng Starts Mass Production of First China‑Made Robotaxi in Guangzhou, Aims for H2 2026 Pilot
XPeng announced today that its first robotaxi has entered mass production in Guangzhou, making it the first Chinese automaker to produce a Level‑4 robotaxi at scale. The vehicle, built on the GX platform with four in‑house Turing AI chips delivering...
Inside Kodiak’s Autonomous Trucking Operation in the Permian Basin Field Report
Kodiak is running its Driver‑as‑a‑Service platform for Atlas Energy Solutions in the Permian Basin, where Atlas owns the autonomous Class 8 trucks and pays for the service. By the end of Q1 2026 the fleet grew to 28 driverless trucks, logging over...
These New Sensors Could Drastically Change How Self-Driving Car Tech Works
Self‑driving vehicles rely on a suite of cameras, radar and lidar to perceive their surroundings, but integrating multiple sensors adds cost and complexity. Outster unveiled its Rev8 “native color lidar,” a 256‑channel sensor that simultaneously captures high‑resolution imagery and 3‑D...
Tesla CEO Musk Expects Expansion of Self-Driving Cars Without Monitors in 2026
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said fully autonomous vehicles without safety monitors will see a dramatic increase on U.S. roads in the second half of 2026. The rollout follows a six‑month pilot in Austin, Dallas and Houston, and recent testing approval...
BUILD America 250 Act Hands AV Trucks a Fed Framework
The bipartisan BUILD America 250 Act, passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, embeds a new Subtitle E that tasks the U.S. Department of Transportation with drafting a performance‑based safety standard for autonomous commercial trucks within two years. The...
GM Cuts 600 IT Jobs to Accelerate AI Drive in Autonomous Vehicle Development
General Motors eliminated more than 600 salaried IT positions – over 10% of its department – to make room for AI‑focused hires. The move reflects a broader AI‑skills arms race in automotive manufacturing, where Ford, GM and Stellantis have collectively...
Robotaxis Target London’s Black Cabs as Driver Numbers Slip to 16,000
British startup Wayve and Alphabet’s Waymo are set to roll out autonomous robotaxis in London later this year, challenging a black‑cab industry that has shrunk from 25,000 to 16,000 drivers in a decade. Veteran cabbies argue that the 161‑year‑old Knowledge...
Agentic AI for Robot Teams
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory hosted a free virtual webinar on June 17, 2026 to showcase its latest work on agentic AI for collaborative robot teams. The session introduced a scalable architecture that leverages large‑language‑model (LLM) agents to enable autonomy, coordination, and adaptability...
Tesla's 14.3.3 Self-Driving Nabs Spot in Crowded Lot
Tesla Self-Driving 14.3.3 did a great job of grabbing a parking spot that just opened up in a crowded lot https://t.co/3sqbLMvp8c
Nissan Unveils AI‑Powered ProPilot System with Wayve, 11‑Cam, 5‑Radar, 1‑Lidar Suite
Nissan announced its next‑generation ProPilot system, co‑developed with UK‑based Wayve, that replaces rule‑based code with an end‑to‑end AI driver. The prototype Ariya EV carries 11 cameras, five radars and a lidar, positioning Nissan to compete directly with Tesla’s camera‑only approach.
Malaysia Sets 2030 Goal for Level 3 Driverless Cars in New Roadmap
Malaysia's Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Sim Tze Tzin, announced a national roadmap aiming for Level 3 autonomous vehicle capability by 2030. The plan tasks the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute with building the ecosystem, from semiconductor design...
Figure AI’s Humanoid Robot Sorts 101,000 Packages in 81‑Hour Continuous Run
Figure AI demonstrated its humanoid robot “Jim” sorting 101,391 packages over 81 continuous hours, a record for autonomous logistics. The livestream sparked debate over the feasibility of fully automated “dark factories” and highlighted both speed gains and accuracy concerns.
Tesla FSD Impresses on NL‑Belgium Drive Despite Navigation Glitches
Drove from NL to Belgium on FSD: Two interventions, both because of navigation reasons: FSD started to take over another car slowly, while the exit was coming up. Second one it almost missed a left-exit (not very common). NL-Belgium border it gave...
Tesla Increases Actually Smart Summon Speed by 33% in New FSD Update
Tesla rolled out FSD V14.3.3, boosting the Actually Smart Summon (ASS) top speed from 6 mph to 8 mph—a 33 % increase that cuts a typical 200‑foot lot travel time by about six seconds. The upgrade is available only on vehicles equipped with the...
U.S. Sugar Deploys Largest Autonomous Tractor Fleet in American Sugar Farming
U.S. Sugar announced the deployment of five driverless John Deere tractors—four 8R Series and one 9R Series—across its 255,000‑acre South Florida sugarcane fields. The fleet, managed by Autonomous Solutions, Inc.'s Mobius platform, represents the largest commercial use of autonomous tractors...
Tesla Robotaxi Rollout Stalls as Firm Discloses 17 Crash Incidents
Tesla announced a delayed rollout of its robotaxi service to Dallas and Houston while simultaneously releasing NHTSA filings that detail 17 incidents, two of which involved low‑speed crashes under remote teleoperation. The disclosures highlight safety challenges that are slowing the...
Uber Commits $10B to AV Fleet — While Trashing Waymo
Uber announced a commitment of more than $10 billion to build its own autonomous‑vehicle fleet, shifting from a pure platform model to asset ownership. The company will invest in Rivian, Lucid and Nuro and launch a hybrid service that mixes human...
What's the Deal with Level 2/2+ Safety?
Level 2 and emerging Level 2+/2++ vehicle automation rely on a human driver to supervise speed and steering functions. Safety hinges on the driver’s ability to intervene promptly, yet manufacturers often market these systems as more capable than they are, fostering driver...
Waymo’s Empty Driverless Cars Flood Atlanta’s Buckhead Cul‑de‑Sacs, Raising Safety Alarm
Waymo’s autonomous ride‑share fleet has been repeatedly routing empty vehicles into the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, with as many as 50 cars entering a single cul‑de‑sac between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Residents say the traffic threatens children and pets, while Waymo...
Uber, Rivian Target 50k Robotaxis, Spike Lidar Metals
Uber and Rivian plan 50,000 robotaxis, boosting focus on Lidar and minor metals demand. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/05/uber-rivian-robotaxi-partnership.html
Atlas Robot Learns Human-Like Moves via Reinforcement Learning
Reinforcement-Learned Atlas Performs Moves Inspired by Human Mocap and Animation via @ZappyZappy7 #Robotics #Engineering #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Technology https://t.co/Udic9QKJTI
Ukraine Showcases “Simba” UGV During NATO Exercise
During NATO’s Crystal Arrow 2026 exercise in Latvia, Ukraine’s UGV Laboratory debuted its Simba unmanned ground vehicle. Simba performed logistics missions, delivering supplies and hauling over 300 kg payloads while covering up to 70 km per sortie, accumulating more than 1,600 km across...
Japan’s Autonomous Bus Fleet Hits 143 Vehicles, Level‑4 Pilots Expand
MM Research Institute said Japan operated 143 autonomous buses in fiscal 2025, up 18 from the prior year. The rise includes more large‑bus trials and a modest increase in Level‑4 deployments, highlighting both growth and geographic unevenness.
China Pushes Fully Automated “Dark Factories” To Reshape Manufacturing
Chinese manufacturers are building fully automated plants—dubbed “dark factories”—that could run without human workers. The trend promises to overhaul modern production, but details on investment size and rollout timelines remain scarce.
WeRide Posts Record Q1 Revenue as Robotaxi Fleet Grows to 1,300 Vehicles in 12 Countries
WeRide announced Q1 2026 revenue of $16.8 million, a 57.6% year‑on‑year increase, while its global robotaxi fleet reached about 1,300 vehicles operating in 12 countries. The growth reflects stronger product sales, higher service revenue and aggressive market expansion.
Waymo Recalls Nearly 4,000 U.S. Robotaxis After Floodwater Incident
Waymo voluntarily recalled its whole U.S. robotaxi fleet, roughly 3,800 vehicles, after a driverless car drove into flood‑water on an April 20 road in San Antonio. The recall, filed with NHTSA, triggers software updates and a temporary suspension of service...
Forget the Waymo/Uber News, Focus on the Nuro and WeRide Partnerships
Waymo announced a 1,400‑square‑mile expansion into 11 U.S. cities ahead of the World Cup, while Uber’s public campaign against Waymo intensifies as their partnership unravels. The discussion on Autonomy Markets shifts focus to Uber’s remaining allies, highlighting Nuro’s new engineering...
Tesla Full Self Driving (Supervised) Now Permitted in Belgium
Tesla’s Full Self‑Driving (Supervised) system received its first permission to operate in Belgium after a similar approval in the Netherlands. For now, a single vehicle will conduct a 5,000‑kilometre trial in Flanders to assess differences in road infrastructure and traffic...
US Air Force Awards AEVEX $18.5 Million for Group 3 Autonomous Strike Aircraft
The U.S. Air Force awarded AEVEX an $18.5 million contract to supply Group 3 autonomous aircraft for One‑Way‑Attack missions. The deal leverages AEVEX’s 100,000‑sq‑ft manufacturing space and 150‑plus engineers, highlighting the service’s push for scalable, 3D‑printed strike platforms.
Volvo and Roehl Launch First Commercial Autonomous Freight Runs in Texas
Volvo Autonomous Solutions and DSV, together with Roehl Transport and Kodiak, have started regular driver‑assisted autonomous freight trips between Dallas and Houston. The pilots represent the first commercial long‑haul autonomous trucks in Texas and aim to prove safety, efficiency and...
Tesla Discloses Two Robotaxi Crashes Involving Remote Operators in Austin
Tesla has revealed that two of its robotaxi incidents in Austin, Texas, involved remote operators taking control of the vehicles and colliding with a fence and a construction barricade. The crashes, recorded at under 10 mph and with no passengers aboard,...
Fanuc Shares Surge 16% After Google AI Robotics Partnership
Fanuc Corp. saw its shares climb as much as 16% to an intraday record after unveiling a partnership with Alphabet's Google to embed Gemini Enterprise AI into its robot arms. The deal aims to blend Google Cloud tools with Fanuc's...