Today's Autonomy Pulse
Volkswagen to Deploy Full-Domain AI Agents in New Models by H2 2026
Volkswagen announced that its Agentic AI for All roadmap will see full deployment in vehicles built on the CEA architecture starting in the second half of 2026. The locally trained large-language-model system moves beyond passive assistants to proactively manage parking, route adjustments and cabin preferences while keeping all data inside the vehicle.
Ukraine Deploys Robot Battalion To Fight Russia
Ukraine has organized a dedicated battalion of uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) that are now armed and actively engaging Russian forces on the front lines. The robots, originally intended for logistics, carry machine guns, grenade launchers and explosive payloads, and are remotely controlled to avoid friendly fire. Ukrainian manufacturers Devdroid and Tencore supplied hundreds to thousands of strike‑capable UGVs last year, while Russian troops field similar armed platforms, including kamikaze models. Both sides report successful ambushes and prolonged defensive actions using these ground robots.
Mastercard Brings Agentic Payments to Life in Singapore with DBS and UOB
Mastercard completed its first live, authenticated agentic payment in Singapore, partnering with DBS and UOB. An AI‑driven agent used Mastercard Agent Pay to book a hoppa ride to Changi Airport, leveraging tokenised credentials and Payment Passkey consent. The transaction moves...
GA-ASI Expands MQ-9B Capabilities With Long-Range Standoff Weapons & Naval Strike Roles
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) is adapting its MQ‑9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian UAVs to carry next‑generation long‑range standoff weapons such as the JASSM, LRASM and Joint Strike Missile. Engineers have completed performance analytics and plan a flight‑test of at least...
Quintauris and eSOL Partner on RISC-V Automotive Software Integration
Quintauris and eSOL have announced a partnership to embed eSOL’s real‑time operating system into Quintauris’ RISC‑V automotive platforms. The joint effort targets production‑ready solutions for advanced driver assistance systems, vehicle‑control functions and zonal architectures. By offering a consistent software foundation,...
Red Cat & Allen Control Systems Partner to Advance Autonomous Counter-Drone Systems
Red Cat Holdings announced a partnership with Allen Control Systems (ACS) to integrate ACS’s Bullfrog autonomous counter‑drone platform into Red Cat’s Blue Ops maritime division. The collaboration will embed Bullfrog on uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), providing precision engagement against hostile...
Teledyne Marine Signs Strategic MoU for Maritime Unmanned Systems
Teledyne Marine has signed a memorandum of understanding with UK‑based M Subs to create a strategic partnership focused on maritime autonomy and unmanned systems. The alliance will combine Teledyne’s sonar, glider and AUV platforms with M Subs’ autonomy, acoustic communications and sensor...
Ground Control & ArduPilot Demonstrate MAVLink Telemetry over Iridium Certus
Ground Control and the ArduPilot team demonstrated that MAVLink telemetry can operate reliably over Iridium Certus 100 satellite service using the RockREMOTE UAV OEM modem. Tests showed round‑trip latencies between 600 ms and 1,600 ms, keeping data flow within a sub‑2‑second window. The...
Cambridge Pixel Introduces HPx-700 for Edge-Based Radar Input & Signal Processing
Cambridge Pixel has launched the HPx-700, an ARM‑based radar input and signal processor that moves complex radar processing to the edge. The fanless, low‑SWaP unit converts analogue radar returns into network‑ready data, removing the need for host PCs. It ships...
Xiaomi Humanoid Robot Achieves 90% Success in Car Factory
Xiaomi’s humanoid robot is now testing in a real car factory. It ran autonomously for 3 hours straight with a 90%+ success rate on installing self-tapping nuts,fully keeping up with the production line’s 76-second beat https://t.co/Fm8tj3EKp2 #factory #xiaomi #humanoidtech #humanoid #robot #Robotics...
78: Tupperware on Wheels
In this episode of Roboism, hosts Alex Cox and Kathy Campbell riff on the unsettling sight of delivery robots—dubbed “Tupperware on Wheels”—parked like sentinels, using the image to spring into a broader conversation about AI, large language models, and the...
Singapore: AI, Smart Technology for Next-Gen Maritime Sector
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is fast‑tracking AI and digital technologies to modernise the nation’s maritime sector. Central to the effort is the Maritime Singapore Master Plan, which promotes autonomous vessels, AI‑driven analytics and a Maritime Digital...
EHang, Türk Telekom and Argela to Bring Pilotless eVTOL Services to Türkiye
EHang has signed a strategic partnership with Turkey’s telecom giant Türk Telekom and its tech subsidiary Argela to launch pilotless eVTOL services across the country. The deal integrates EHang’s certified EH216‑S aircraft with Argela’s unmanned traffic management (UTM) platform and...
Upgraded HaiPick Climb Aims to Make the Aisle Obsolete
Hai Robotics has upgraded its HaiPick Climb system to support double‑deep storage and sub‑120‑second delivery cycles, enabling up to 4,000 tote deliveries per hour. The compact design can hold 45,000 totes within 10,764 sq ft, boosting inventory density without expanding warehouse footprints....
US Department of Transportation Selects Eight eIPP Programmes to Progress AAM US Operations
The U.S. Department of Transportation and FAA announced eight Advanced Air Mobility and eVTOL Integration Pilot Program projects spanning 26 states, slated to begin operations by summer 2026. The selected initiatives encompass urban air‑taxi services, regional passenger routes, cargo logistics,...
AV Fleet Management with Ming Maa (Moove AV CEO)
In this episode, Ming Maa, co‑founder and CEO of Move AV, discusses how independent fleet operators are essential for scaling autonomous vehicle (AV) services commercially. He explains Move AV’s role in providing end‑to‑end infrastructure—charging, service, and parking facilities—and operations for Waymo in...
AI-Driven Robots Signal Real Automation Shift
Nvidia partnering with ABB to build a new generation of AI-enabled industrial robots is a practical signal about where automation is actually heading. The Financial Times reports that Nvidia and ABB Robotics are collaborating on systems that combine Nvidia’s AI...
Tech Firm Expands Driverless Freight Operations Across Sun Belt
Aurora Innovation announced a three‑fold expansion of its autonomous freight network, now covering ten Sun Belt routes including Dallas‑Houston, Fort Worth‑El Paso and Phoenix corridors. The fourth software release adds automated mapping and inclement‑weather navigation, while a validation regime of over...
We’re Data Experts at Ford. Here’s How We See AI Agents Reshaping the Shop Floor.
Ford’s data team outlines how agentic AI is transforming manufacturing. The third wave moves beyond predictive analytics to autonomous agents that make real‑time decisions on the shop floor. Pilot deployments have cut unplanned downtime by up to 40%, reduced defect...
Tesla Loses Software Director Who Built Its OTA and Robotaxi Infrastructure
Tesla’s over‑the‑air (OTA) and Robotaxi software director, Thomas Dmytryk, announced his departure after 11 years, ending a tenure that grew the OTA pipeline from a five‑person team to a system serving nearly 10 million vehicles worldwide. His group also built the...
Tesla Leads the Way in Consumer Autonomy
“We view [Tesla] as the current leader in consumer autonomy,” BofA equity analyst Alexander Perry 🤔
Tesla ‘Full Self-Driving’ Drives Through Railroad Crossing Barriers in Viral Video
A Tesla Model 3 on Full Self‑Driving drove straight through lowered railroad crossing gates in Los Angeles, captured in a viral dash‑cam video posted March 8. The incident coincides with the March 9 deadline for Tesla to provide NHTSA with detailed crash data...
Unmanned Naval Fleet Bolsters Marine Corps Force Design in Pacific
The Marine Corps’ Force Design emphasizes dispersed Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations across the Pacific, creating a logistics challenge for remote outposts. Blue Water Autonomy’s newly unveiled Liberty Class autonomous vessels—187‑foot, 150‑ton payload, 10,000‑nautical‑mile range—aim to deliver supplies, sensors and potentially...
MIPS and INOVA Collaborate to Put Physical AI Into the Palm of Robotic Hands with New Reference Platform
MIPS, a GlobalFoundries subsidiary, teamed with Inova Semiconductors to unveil a reference Physical AI system‑on‑chip for robotics. The custom SoC merges MIPS Atlas RISC‑V compute, AI, and mixed‑signal IP with Inova’s APXpress high‑speed interconnect, fabricated on GlobalFoundries’ ultra‑low‑power FDX process....
Doosan Robotics to Supply Large-Scale Manufacturing Robot Solutions to Kwangjin Group
Doosan Robotics signed an MOU with Kwangjin Group to deliver more than 100 collaborative robot solutions across its domestic and overseas automotive component plants through 2027. The expanded deployment follows a pilot that reduced defect rates to zero on Kwangjin’s...
Avalanche Technology To Be Deployed in Next-Gen Unmanned Rovers and Deep Space Exploration Platforms
Avalanche Technology announced its Space Grade MRAM will be integrated into Aitech’s unmanned rovers and deep‑space exploration platforms. The memory delivers radiation immunity, permanent data retention, unlimited writes and nanosecond write latency, satisfying all five Space Grade criteria. By removing bulky redundant...
Zoox Expands Robotaxi Testing to Phoenix and Dallas as Autonomous Miles Surpass 1 Million
Zoox, the Amazon‑backed autonomous‑mobility startup, announced that its robotaxi program will now operate in Phoenix, Arizona, and Dallas, Texas. The company is establishing local depots and will soon roll out a fleet of retrofitted test vehicles before introducing its purpose‑built,...
ABB Robotics Partners with NVIDIA to Deliver Industrial-Grade Physical AI at Scale
ABB Robotics announced the integration of NVIDIA Omniverse libraries into its RobotStudio platform, creating the RobotStudio HyperReality solution that delivers physically accurate digital twins and synthetic‑data generation. The partnership claims up to 99% simulation‑to‑real accuracy, reducing robot positioning errors to...
2nd Cavalry Tests Ground Robots for xTech Contest, Struggles with ‘Navigating’ UGV Costs
Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment is field‑testing more than 17 unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) under the xTech Edge Strike Ground competition. Leaders say the biggest challenge is the wide price spread, from disposable $500‑$1,000 units to million‑dollar purpose‑built platforms, which exceeds...
Alstom Supports Delhi Metro Pink and Magenta Line Extensions
Alstom and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation have inaugurated the Pink and Magenta line extensions, adding the Majlis Park‑to‑Maujpur and Majlis Park‑to‑Deepali Chowk sections as part of Phase IV. The Pink Line will become India’s first circular metro line and is equipped...
Uncovered Records Reveal the Hidden Costs of Waymo Robotaxis on San Francisco Streets
San Francisco’s Transit Management Center has documented a rise in Waymo robotaxi incidents, including illegal lane changes, stalled vehicles, and near‑misses that can delay buses and emergency responders for up to an hour. The city created a dedicated "Driverless Car...
WeRide and Geely’s Farizon Prepare to Scale AV Production
WeRide and Geely’s Farizon have signed an expanded agreement to deliver 2,000 next‑generation Robotaxi GXR units beginning in Q3 2026, boosting WeRide’s global fleet to over 2,600 vehicles by year‑end. The GXR runs WeRide’s Gen8 autonomous system with a 600‑metre...
From Affordable Humanoids to Robotaxis: Pittsburgh Robotics Network Predicts the Next Wave of Physical AI
Pittsburgh’s robotics ecosystem is poised for a breakthrough in 2026 as affordable humanoid robots dip below $20,000 and robotaxi services are projected to capture more than 10% of urban transport markets. The Pittsburgh Robotics Network highlights major capital inflows—$400 million for...
DHL and Locus Robotics Reach 1 Billion Warehouse Picks Milestone
Warehouse robots from Locus Robotics operating in DHL Supply Chain have completed their one‑billionth pick, marking a milestone for large‑scale automation. The achievement was recorded at a DHL facility using an autonomous mobile robot and reflects a decade of partnership...
Lenovo and SWM Partner on Next-Generation Robotaxi
Lenovo and South Korean autonomous mobility firm SWM announced a partnership to co‑develop a next‑generation robotaxi. The project centers on SWM’s AP‑700 autonomous driving platform combined with Lenovo Vehicle Computing’s AD1 domain controller, which runs on Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor...
Saildrone Adds Seabed Imaging Capability to Autonomous Voyager Ocean Drones
Saildrone has integrated Innomar’s Medium‑USV sub‑bottom profiler onto its Voyager unmanned surface vehicle, enabling high‑resolution imaging of the seafloor and sub‑seafloor. The system can operate in up to 250 meters of water and penetrate 70 meters below the seabed, first demonstrated in...
The Driverless Car Squeeze
Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous‑driving unit, is scaling its robotaxi service to over one million weekly rides by the end of 2026, expanding into ten new U.S. markets and its first international city. The rapid growth has already cut human driver productivity,...
Autonomy Will Disrupt the Business Model of Major Manufacturers: Tractors Will Become Smaller
Sabanto offers retrofit kits that make existing tractors autonomous, using cameras, sensors and GPS. A Montana pilot showed three small autonomous combos could replace a 750‑hp tractor and save about $1 million in capital. Founder Craig Rupp predicts the market will...
Xpeng Reframes Autonomous Driving as AI Deployment in the Physical World
Chinese EV maker Xpeng unveiled its second‑generation vision‑language‑action (VLA) model, announcing a strategic shift to bypass Level 3 autonomous driving and aim directly for Level 4 capabilities. The company merged its cockpit and autonomous‑driving divisions into a single AI platform, positioning the...
Cellula Robotics to Highlight Subsea Autonomy & Operational Readiness at Oi 2026
Cellula Robotics will exhibit at Oceanology International 2026 in London, showcasing its Envoy AUV and Porter XLAUV scale models while emphasizing deployment readiness, repeatable workflows, and long‑endurance support for environmental, survey, and defence missions. The company’s Chief Commercial Officer, Richard...
Greensea IQ Launches Rapid Data Processing & Mission Analysis Toolset
Greensea IQ unveiled Bayonet Insight, a post‑processing software suite for maritime robotics. The toolset enables operators to process raw sensor, sonar and video data during or immediately after missions, generating bathymetric maps, geo‑referenced summaries and telemetry plots. It works with...
Tier IV Tests Level 2+ Semi-Trailer Truck in Japan
Tier IV, in partnership with Yamato Transport and Mitsubishi Fuso, finished a proof‑of‑concept for long‑haul autonomous trucking in Japan. The trial used a Level 2+ semi‑trailer to cover roughly 2,000 km between Tokyo and Osaka, with a 100‑km segment on the Shin‑Tomei Expressway...
Neural Network Predicts Future Frames From User Motion
Check out this cool robotics "world model" demo: https://www.yixuanwang.me/interactive_world_sim/#interactive-demo Rather than a traditional simulation, this neural network predicts future video frames based on user movement.
Helix 02 Autonomously Restores Your Living Room on Departure
Today we're showing Helix 02 that can tidy a living room fully autonomously Figure is designed so when you leave the house, your home resets exactly how you like it https://t.co/wvAVoheVoC
SBG Systems Releases Firmware 6.0 to Advance UAV Navigation & Sensor Fusion
SBG Systems has launched Firmware 6.0 (v6.0.5585‑stable) for its Ekinox, Apogee, Quanta and Navsight navigation suites. The update adds a fixed‑wing UAV motion profile with full air‑data support, and opens integration to external cameras, LiDAR or radar for position and...
Unmanned Ships Signal New Defense Inflection Point
Truist note re Iranian conflict and autonomous sea power: @TheTerminal “We believe the impending shift toward unmanned maritime systems in the Persian Gulf represents the next major inflection point for defense technology, mirroring the rapid ‘Ukraine-style’ adoption cycle."
Electric Autonomous Grocery Vans Bring Shopping Home
#Autonomous Mobile Electric Grocery Store Delivers Right to Your Doorstep via @ZappyZappy7 #RetailTech #ML #EmergingTech #Innovation #Technology https://t.co/A2y3Z15Mrd
Numina Group Launches AI-Driven AMR and Voice Picking Automation
Numina Group unveiled Batchbot 2.0, an AI‑driven solution that fuses its Real‑time Distribution Software with KUKA’s fifth‑generation autonomous mobile robots and a voice‑picking suite. The system claims to slash more than 20 minutes of idle operator travel per hour and...
Video: Hyundai's Firefighting Robots Lead the Way Into Burning Buildings
Hyundai Motor Group has donated four autonomous firefighting robots to fire stations across South Korea, built on the HR‑Sherpa unmanned vehicle platform. The robots combine a water cannon, infrared and regular cameras, temperature‑resistant tires, and a self‑spraying cooling system that...
BrainChip Named Official Technology Sponsor for Raytheon’s Autonomous Vehicle Competition
BrainChip has been named the official technology sponsor for Raytheon’s 2025‑2026 Autonomous Vehicle Competition, providing its Akida™ AKD1000 neuromorphic processor to every participating university team. The competition tasks undergraduate engineers with integrating UAVs and UGVs that can autonomously navigate, identify...
Gravis Robotics Expands Into US with Autonomous Construction Equipment Platform
Gravis Robotics announced its full commercial rollout in the United States at CONEXPO‑CON/AGG 2026, showcasing live autonomous earth‑moving equipment alongside partners Develon and Hitachi. The company introduced Gravis Copilot, a machine‑guidance platform that makes existing fleets autonomy‑ready without altering workflows. Deployments...