How to Cut Parcel Damage in Automated Fulfillment
Automated fulfillment lines, projected to handle 85% of U.S. warehousing by 2030, are generating significant parcel damage due to high‑velocity vibrations and abrupt robot stops. The article recommends creating soft‑stop zones, calibrating sensor thresholds, and upgrading packaging to ISTA‑approved robotic standards to mitigate these forces. It also highlights hardware tweaks such as cushioned totes, friction testing, and variable‑speed conveyors, while urging the use of vision‑based chain‑of‑custody documentation and third‑party protection like Secursus for residual risk. Implementing these measures can preserve margins as warehouses become fully touchless.
X Square Robot Unveils New Embodied AI Model, Says Robots Will Arrive in Homes in 35 Days
X Square Robot introduced Wall‑B, an embodied AI foundation model built on its World Unified Model (WUM) architecture that jointly trains vision, language, action and physical prediction. The system learns from real‑world household data and physics‑aware simulations to handle unstructured...
HII Kicks Off Production of Four More ROMULUS USVs
Lockheed Martin’s Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced the start of production for four additional ROMULUS 151 unmanned surface vessels (USVs) at its Breaux Brothers Enterprises shipyard in Louisiana, joining the first hull already under construction. The ROMULUS family is an...
MicroVision Attempts 'Lidar 2.0' Comeback
MicroVision, the Redmond‑based lidar specialist, announced that its next‑generation "lidar‑2.0" sensors have moved beyond pilot trials and are now operating in active mining environments. The company, which endured a challenging 2025, highlighted deployments at multiple mine sites in both the...
Shield AI Joins $800M US Navy ISR Initiative with VTOL Drone Fleet
Shield AI has been chosen by the US Navy to provide contractor‑owned, contractor‑operated (COCO) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) services. The company will compete for up to $800 million in task orders, delivering persistent ISR with its V‑BAT vertical take‑off and...
Seeing Clearly Even in the Fog
Korean researchers led by Jong‑Soo Lee have created a next‑generation short‑wave infrared (SWIR) image sensor that fuses Ag₂Te quantum dots with an MoS₂ 2D semiconductor. The hybrid architecture leverages photodoping at the material interface to deliver a responsivity of 7.5 × 10⁵ A/W...
ANELLO Maritime INS Selected for BlackSea Technologies’ Chaser ASV Platform
ANE LLO Photonics’ Maritime Inertial Navigation System (INS) has been selected for integration into BlackSea Technologies’ Chaser autonomous surface vessel (ASV) platform after successful trials on the GARC testbed. The INS relies on ANELLO’s silicon photonics optical gyroscope, delivering high‑precision...
Musk Delays Release of Roadster, Optimus and Unsupervised FSD, as Tesla Margins Jump
Tesla announced further postponements for the next‑generation Roadster and unsupervised full‑self‑driving (FSD), pushing the Roadster debut to at least a month away and targeting Q4 for FSD rollout. The company posted Q1 revenue of $22.39 billion, below expectations, but margin expansion...
Elon Musk Admits Millions of Tesla Owners Need Upgrades for True ‘Full Self-Driving’
Elon Musk announced that Tesla’s current Hardware 3 vehicles will require a new computer and upgraded cameras to run future Full Self‑Driving (FSD) software that operates without driver supervision. The upgrade could be costly and logistically complex, prompting Tesla to consider...
Elon Musk Pushes Unsupervised FSD for Consumer Teslas — Again
Tesla confirmed on its Q1 2026 earnings call that unsupervised Full‑Self‑Driving (FSD) for consumer cars will not be available until at least Q4 2026, pushing the deadline further after multiple missed targets. The company said it still needs roughly 10 billion miles of...
Seeds | Juwei Technology Completes Series A Financing Rounds Totaling Hundreds of Millions of Yuan
Juwei Technology closed four back‑to‑back Series A financing rounds, raising roughly 200 million yuan (about $28 million). The capital will fund deep research into its quadruped robots and accelerate large‑scale deployment across China’s toughest industrial sites. Investors include Weiqiao Group, Binzhou Chemical, Binzhou...
Former XPeng VP, Joins ENGINEAI Robotics
Li Liyun, a former vice president at XPeng who led the company’s AI‑driven autonomous‑driving transformation, has been appointed chief technology officer of ENGINEAI Robotics. A multidisciplinary scientist with stints at LinkedIn, Baidu’s Apollo team and JD.com, Li will oversee the...
Tesla Seems to Say Robotaxi Launch Will Be Pushed Back in 5 US Cities
Tesla’s latest earnings release shows the company pulling back its robotaxi rollout in five of the eight U.S. cities it had promised for the first half of 2026. The investor letter now labels those markets as "preparations underway" instead of...
Chef Robotics Physical AI Models Can Help Automate Produce Packing
Chef Robotics announced that its AI‑driven robots can now automate tray assembly for produce packing, handling both discrete fruits and scoopable vegetables. The system uses computer‑vision‑guided piece‑picking and weight‑based scooping to place items into clamshells, snack boxes, or layered trays...
MODEX 2026: Fives Intralogistics Corp. Reinforces Global Automation Leadership with Caja by Fives GTP Robotic Solution
Fives Intralogistics Corp showcased its new Caja Goods‑To‑Person (GTP) robotic solution at MODEX 2026 in Atlanta, marking a strategic push into warehouse and retail distribution automation. The software‑first system pairs an AI‑driven Warehouse Control System with a dual‑robot fleet—ground‑level and...
Fortem Receives New Lockheed Backing, Reliable Robotics Completes Series B Raise
Fortem Technologies secured a $25 million first‑tranche investment from Lockheed Martin as part of a Series B round, accelerating production of its AI‑driven counter‑UAS sensors and interceptors. The capital will also embed Fortem’s technology into Lockheed’s Sanctum ecosystem, creating a more interoperable defense...
UK Government Outlines Regulatory Workplan for Speeding BVLOS Operations and eVTOL Integration
UK Transport Minister Heidi Alexander has set out a regulatory workplan for the Civil Aviation Authority to accelerate routine BVLOS drone flights and integrate electric vertical take‑off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The plan calls for the CAA to become the...
Microchip and Sunny Smartlead Expand ASA-ML Ecosystem with ADAS Camera Collaboration
Microchip Technology and Sunny Smartlead have partnered to broaden the Automotive SerDes Alliance Motion Link (ASA‑ML) ecosystem. Sunny Smartlead will launch ADAS camera modules that integrate Microchip’s VS700 ASA‑ML serializers, promising faster, simpler, and lower‑cost development for automotive OEMs and...
Accenture, Vodafone and SAP Trial Humanoid Robot
Accenture, Vodafone Procure & Connect, and SAP have completed a pilot that deployed humanoid robots in Vodafone’s Duisburg warehouse. Integrated with SAP’s Extended Warehouse Management, the robots performed visual inspections, flagged safety hazards, and reported optimization insights directly into the...
OMS Group Snaps up Second Exail DriX Vessel for Subsea Surveys
OMS Group has purchased a second Exail DriX O-16 uncrewed surface vessel, expanding its autonomous survey fleet to meet rising demand for subsea cable infrastructure. The USV offers up to 30 days of endurance and a 3,500‑nautical‑mile range, equipped with...
The Moment I Stopped Using AI as a Chat Tool (And Started Using It as a Teammate)
The author describes a turning point after seeing a crypto developer’s autonomous AI agent that monitors code, detects bugs, and negotiates bounties without human input. This experience sparked a shift from using AI as a chat assistant to deploying self‑running...
Game, Set, Bot: Sony AI’s ‘Ace’ Serves Up a Defeat to Table Tennis Pros
Sony AI’s autonomous robot “Ace” has demonstrated expert‑level table‑tennis play, beating three of five elite players and achieving a 75% return rate. The system combines nine high‑speed cameras, event‑based vision sensors, and an eight‑degree‑of‑freedom arm, all driven by deep reinforcement‑learning...
ABB Robotics Launches High-Speed PoWa Cobot Family
ABB Robotics unveiled its PoWa cobot family, delivering industrial‑grade performance in a collaborative robot form. The lineup spans six payload options from 7 kg to 30 kg and reaches a top speed of 5.8 m/s, the fastest among cobots. Designed for compact environments,...
US Needs to Flesh Out Strategy to Counter China’s Robotics Advances, Lawmakers Say
Lawmakers warned that while the United States still leads in artificial intelligence research, it is falling behind China in the development and deployment of robotics, the physical embodiment of AI. A House subcommittee hearing highlighted China’s dominance in robot supply...
Singapore Eyes Autonomous Feeders Between Container Terminals
Singapore’s Maritime & Port Authority (MPA) and PSA have issued an Expression of Interest to develop autonomous feeder vessels that will shuttle containers between Pasir Panjang Terminal and the newly built Tuas Port. The proposal calls for a remote operations...
REGENT Seaglider Autonomous Drone, Squire, Completes First Ground-Effect Test Flight
REGENT Defense successfully flew its autonomous Seaglider drone Squire in a ground‑effect test, marking the first U.S. defense‑specific wing‑in‑ground‑effect (WIG) flight. The craft can travel up to 70 knots, cover more than 100 nautical miles and carry a 50‑pound payload for ISR,...
Emma the Joke-Telling Robot Cracks up the Care Home: Paula Hornickel’s Best Photograph
In July 2025 a German care home in Albershausen piloted Emma, a toddler‑sized social robot with googly eyes and a knitted red hat. The robot tells jokes, remembers conversations and recognizes faces, quickly engaging residents who are often isolated. Developed...
U.S. Army Procures Condor Drones for Evaluation
The U.S. Army has purchased ten Valinor Condor drones for flight testing during the Arcane Thunder 26 exercise, giving Multi‑Domain Task Force‑Europe pilots hands‑on experience. The Condor is a backpack‑portable Group 1 UAV with a 40 km (25‑mile) range, 161 km/h (100 mph) top speed,...
REGENT’s Autonomous Drone Squire Completes First Ground-Effect Flight in U.S. Waters
REGENT, a Rhode Island maritime‑tech firm, flew its autonomous Squire drone in ground‑effect over Narragansett Bay on April 13, marking the first U.S. defense‑configured wing‑in‑ground‑effect flight. The 18‑foot craft can reach 70 knots, travel 100 nautical miles and carry a 50‑lb payload while...
Proposed Chinese Robot Ban Is Latest U.S. Tech Sovereignty Move
The bipartisan American Security Robotics Act, introduced by Senators Tom Cotton, Chuck Schumer and Rep. Elise Stefanik, would bar U.S. government use of Chinese‑made ground robots such as humanoids, quadrupeds and crawlers. The proposal follows the FCC’s recent crackdown on...
Komatsu Hits Autonomous Milestone
Komatsu announced it has commissioned its 1,000th autonomous ultra‑class haul truck, cementing its role as a pioneer in driverless mining equipment. The milestone centers on the company’s 930E‑5 electric haul truck, which can transport a 290‑metric‑ton payload. By reaching this...
Uber’s AV Pivot: Growth Opportunity or Margin Risk?
Uber announced a $10 bn investment to build the world’s largest autonomous‑vehicle network by 2029, marking a departure from its traditional asset‑light ride‑hailing model. The move coincides with a projected Q1 2026 EPS of $0.71 and a full‑year EPS decline of...
Accenture, Vodafone and SAP Pilot Humanoid Robotics in Warehouse Operations
Accenture, SAP and Vodafone Procure & Connect launched a pilot in Duisburg, Germany, deploying humanoid robots powered by Accenture’s “Robot Brain.” The bots were first trained in a digital twin of the warehouse using Nvidia‑backed simulation tools, then tasked with...
Advancing Uncrewed Aviation: Oregon’s Response to the FCC Public Notice
On April 15, 2026 the Oregon Department of Aviation filed comments with the FCC on its “Unleashing American Drone Dominance” notice. The agency calls for a UAS‑specific experimental licensing pathway that offers broader geographic authority, longer terms and multi‑band testing....
Robotic Phlebotomy Study Signals Automation Shift for Clinical Labs
Vitestro’s autonomous robotic phlebotomy system Aletta completed a multicenter ADOPT trial involving 1,633 patients, achieving a 94.5% first‑stick success rate and markedly low hemolysis (0.3%) and adverse events (0.6%). Patient surveys showed 90% experienced equal or less pain, with 82%...
Texas Instruments Interview: The Hidden Engineering Challenges Behind Humanoid Robots
Texas Instruments is positioning itself as a critical enabler for humanoid robots, leveraging its analog and embedded‑processing portfolio to deliver deterministic real‑time control, sensor‑fusion, power efficiency, and functional safety. German Aguirre identified three core gaps—robust perception, low‑latency control, and system‑level...
Department of War Launches Phase Two of $1.1bn Drone Dominance Programme
The U.S. Department of War has opened Phase II of its $1.1 billion Drone Dominance Program, targeting the rapid fielding of low‑cost, one‑way attack sUAS. The solicitation promises at least $300 million in prototype delivery orders for 30,000 drones, priced at $4,500 for...
Aurrigo to Relocate Global Headquarters in Coventry
Aurrigo, the autonomous‑vehicle and mobile‑robotics firm, will move its global headquarters and core design and manufacturing centre to a new 130,000‑square‑foot campus at Power Park in Coventry. The site is more than three times larger than its current UK facility and...
INTERVIEW: Tiancheng Lou, Founder and CTO, Pony.ai on PonyWorld 2.0
Pony.ai unveiled PonyWorld 2.0, an upgraded world‑model and training system that enhances its autonomous‑driving stack. After confirming profitable unit economics with its seventh‑generation robotaxi fleet in Shanghai and Beijing, the company is accelerating commercialization. It targets more than 3,000 vehicles...
German Military Adopts Driverless Testing Systems for Safety Evaluation
Germany’s Bundeswehr has deployed driverless testing rigs at its Technical Centre for Land‑Based Vehicle Systems (WTD 41) to evaluate the durability of military vehicles. The autonomous platforms repeatedly traverse extreme surfaces, removing human drivers from high‑vibration environments that can cause spinal...
Norco and Xocean Produce an Uncrewed Surface Survey Vessel
Norco partnered with Xocean to fabricate the composite hull of a next‑generation uncrewed surface survey vessel, which has now been delivered. The vessel’s lightweight resin‑infused structure enhances performance and range, and a second unit is already completed with a third...
Blueprint for a Robotic Workforce: Can the UK Close Its Automation Gap?
A panel of industry leaders in London highlighted the UK’s stark automation gap, noting robot density of just 104 units per 10,000 manufacturing workers—well below the G7 average. While the country boasts world‑class research, 74% of manufacturing SMEs still operate...
AI Watchkeeper Put Through Paces in Mediterranean Trial
Lloyd’s Register completed a five‑day live trial of Orca AI’s computer‑vision platform on a feeder containership sailing 828 nautical miles through the busy Mediterranean. The AI system logged 739 targets, achieving 94% precision and 98.6% recall while operating with zero...
Humanoid Robot Chases Boar In Warsaw
A Chinese‑made Unitree G1 humanoid, dubbed Edward Warchocki, was filmed chasing a herd of wild boar through Warsaw’s streets, a stunt that amassed over 14 million Instagram views. The video sparked public approval as the city grapples with a surge to more...
Kooiman Supplies Camera-Guided Hoeing Machine Farming GT
Dutch firm Kooiman Mechanisation has begun supplying the Farming GT, a camera‑guided hoeing machine from German maker Farming Revolution. The system leverages a database of over 100 crops to differentiate crops from weeds, using GNSS RTK and real‑time camera correction...
Innoviz Launches 1 Km Long-Range LiDAR Sensor
Innoviz Technologies unveiled the InnovizTwo Ultra Long‑Range (ULR) LiDAR, capable of detecting objects up to 1 km away for automotive applications. The sensor, built on the same production line as the existing InnovizTwo, has already been shipped to select customers for...
US Southern Command Stands up Autonomous Unit
U.S. Southern Command announced the creation of the Autonomous Warfare Command (SAWC), a new element designed to integrate autonomous, semi‑autonomous and unmanned platforms across land, sea, air, cyber and space domains. The initiative, mandated by Gen. Francis L. Donovan, seeks...
This High-Tech Drone Could Autonomously Scope Out Undersea Mines
Ulysses Maritime Technologies unveiled the Mako autonomous underwater drone, designed to locate and neutralize undersea mines. The modular platform can be reconfigured for agility—maintaining position in strong currents—or endurance, extending speed and range. Equipped with 2D/3D radar, cameras and payload...
Robotic Mower Maintenance Tips for Long-Term Use
Robotic lawn mowers require regular upkeep to stay reliable and efficient. The guide outlines routine cleaning, blade replacement, wheel and sensor inspections, and battery care, emphasizing weekly tasks during peak growth. It also covers software updates, seasonal adjustments, proper storage,...
Up to £2 Million Available for Riverine Relief
The UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), together with the British Army, has launched the third phase of its "Map the Gap" competition, offering up to £2 million (≈ $2.54 million) in funding. The challenge seeks autonomous solutions that can measure ground...