Today's Robotics Pulse
NASA plans spacewalk to repair seized Canadarm2 wrist joint
NASA reported that the ISS’s Canadarm2 robotic arm has seized a wrist joint, stopping its motion after routine work on May 27. A spacewalk on June 30 will replace the faulty joint using a spare stored on the station. The 25‑year‑old arm, operating beyond its design life, remains critical for cargo capture and station maintenance.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Base10 Partners raises $850M for real‑economy automation funds
Teledyne FLIR’s New Throwable Robot Shares Controls with Nano-Drone
Teledyne FLIR Defense introduced the FirstLook 125 throwable robot at SOF Week, a 5.7‑lb platform that survives 16‑foot drops and self‑rights instantly. It shares a common controller with the Black Hornet 4 nano‑drone, allowing a single soldier to operate both ground and aerial reconnaissance tools. Articulated flipper tracks let the robot climb stairs, traverse rubble, and navigate tight indoor spaces. The integrated system is designed to speed building‑clearance decisions while keeping personnel out of harm’s way.
Delivery Robots Multiply in Los Angeles as Residents React with Praise and Frustration
Serve Robotics deployed an additional 500 autonomous delivery robots across 40 Los Angeles neighborhoods, joining Coco Robotics' fleet of roughly 300 units. The rapid rollout has ignited a debate among residents and businesses, who praise the emissions‑free service but decry...
Robotic “Eyeball” Ensures Vision Pro Quality
This robot's only job is to pretend it's your eyeball 👁️🤖 At Display Week 2026, Dr. Satya Mallick visits Gamma Scientific — the 6-axis robot AR/VR brands use to QA every headset before launch. 18+ tests in one rig: contrast, parallax,...
Vastnaut Wraps Up Its First Los Angeles Demo Day, Letting Supporters Live-Test the 4x4 Exoskeleton
Vastnaut concluded a three‑day Demo Day in Beverly Hills, letting the public physically test its AI‑powered Vastnaut One 4×4 exoskeleton while its Kickstarter campaign remains active. Attendees performed stairs, deep crouches, and heavy‑backpack hikes, reporting up to 35% knee‑impact reduction...
Latvian Drone Interceptor Units to Enter Service “Within Weeks”
Latvia will field mobile counter‑drone (CUAS) units within weeks, each staffed by three to four soldiers and equipped with a locally produced interceptor UAV. The units are mounted in a single high‑mobility vehicle, enabling rapid response along the country’s 450‑km...
IntBot and Certis Group Partner to Scale Enterprise Physical AI Across Singapore
IntBot, a San Jose‑based developer of socially intelligent humanoid robots, has teamed up with Singapore’s Certis Group to bring enterprise‑ready Physical AI to high‑traffic public spaces. The partnership combines IntBot’s General Social Intelligence layer with Certis’ expertise in designing and...
Bee‑Nav Lets Micro‑drones Fly GPS‑free for Hundreds of Meters
Scientists at Delft University of Technology have demonstrated Bee‑Nav, a navigation method that lets micro‑drones travel hundreds of meters and return without GPS, relying on a neural memory of only 42 KB. The breakthrough could open low‑cost autonomous flight for greenhouses,...
Why Humanoid Robots Still Face Big Hurdles in Warehouses
Research firm Interact Analysis projects the global humanoid‑robot market to reach about $15 billion by 2035, driven by the promise of flexible machines that can navigate existing warehouses without major retrofits. However, the report flags high purchase costs, limited battery endurance,...
Partnership Develops Virtual Digital Twin Technology for Autonomous Cargo
Dassault Systèmes has deployed its 3DEXPERIENCE‑powered virtual twin technology in partnership with Singapore deep‑tech startup iHawk Global for autonomous cargo handling. The pilot runs in a 50,000 m² container yard where drones and ground rovers work together to capture live inventory...
How Drone Companies, Public Safety Agencies, and Individual Pilots Can Thrive Under Part 108, Part 146, Section 2209, and the...
The FAA’s upcoming Part 108/146 BVLOS rulemaking, Section 2209 site‑restriction proposal, and the DETER enforcement policy are moving the U.S. drone market from waiver‑based experimentation to organization‑centric, telemetry‑backed regulation. This shift raises compliance complexity, fixed and recurring costs, and expands restricted airspace...
'5-in-1' Seed-Sized Surgical Robot Switches Tools in Under One Second
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University have unveiled a 4.4 mm seed‑sized robot that can perform five distinct surgical functions—cutting, gripping, drug release, tissue sampling and localized heating—by switching tools in under one second using weak magnetic fields. The device’s soft magnetic...
BMW: How Humanoid Robots Are Moving From Plant Trials Toward Production Work
BMW is expanding its humanoid robotics program from a Spartanburg pilot to a production‑scale rollout at Plant Leipzig in Germany. The Spartanburg test saw Figure AI’s Figure 02 robot handle over 90,000 sheet‑metal components across 1,250 operating hours, supporting 30,000 X3...
British Army Turns to Local Option for Small Robot Trials
The UK Ministry of Defence has placed an order for XRC Robotics’ Rhino small unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to enter British Army frontline experimentation. The contract follows a recent order for ARX Robotics’ Gereon tracked UGV, both to be manufactured...
Hyundai Motor Group Accelerates Atlas Humanoid Robot Mass Production for AI‑Driven Factories
Hyundai Motor Group announced that its Metaplant America facility in Georgia will become the lead site for mass‑producing Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid robot, while a new Software‑Defined Factory division will integrate AI across its plants. The move adds a dedicated...
Kubota, NTT, and DOCOMO Demonstrate Stable Communications for Remote Robotic Farm Machinery
Kubota, NTT, and NTT DOCOMO demonstrated a communications system that keeps video feeds stable for remotely operated robotic farm machines in Japan’s mountainous terrain. The solution blends mobile and satellite links using multi‑link control, automatically switching to the stronger connection....
New Humanoid Robots Show Real-World Utility Gains
Humanoid #Robots step up their game: how useful are the latest droids? by Elizabeth Gibney @Nature Learn more: https://t.co/2nGPJ1doRk #AI #Robotics #Engineering #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Technology https://t.co/vlJHmSICoi
Xer Technologies Unveils X8 PRO & Expands Tactical Defence Solutions
Xer Technologies has introduced the X8 PRO, a European‑built hybrid‑electric unmanned aircraft that replaces the original X8 as the company’s sole production platform. The system can carry up to 10 kg, fly for three hours, and operate within a 50 km radius,...
Researchers From the University of Oulu and the University of Tokyo Demonstrate Drone-Mounted 5G Base Station for Emergency Communications
Researchers from the University of Oulu and the University of Tokyo have successfully demonstrated a drone equipped with a compact 5G base station and satellite backhaul, delivering stable mobile coverage in a controlled test environment. The proof‑of‑concept was carried out...
Mechanical Delays Masking PLC Program Errors
Industrial plants often rely on PLC logic that seems flawless during commissioning, but mechanical inertia—such as motor coast‑down, valve lag, and conveyor drag—can unintentionally compensate for missing interlocks or feedback checks. When equipment is upgraded, speeds increase, or process conditions...
Swisslog Secures Second Frozen Warehouse Automation Project with Magnavale
Swisslog has been selected as the automation partner for Magnavale’s new frozen storage facility in Avonmouth, Bristol, marking the second high‑bay warehouse under their framework agreement after the successful Project Phoenix in Lincolnshire. The 90,000‑pallet, -28 °C warehouse will feature ten...
China’s Zoomlion Introduces Hybrid, Autonomous Mining Tech at Mining Expo
Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology used the 2026 Global Mining Machinery Expo to launch more than 40 new‑energy mining products, including the hybrid ZWL360 loader, ZTE450HEV truck and dual‑engine ZE1650G excavator. The company highlighted its ZM‑i Adaptive Super Energy...
Kodiak AI and Roehl Transport Launch Driverless Freight Service Between Dallas and Houston
Kodiak AI and Roehl Transport have started a four‑times‑per‑week autonomous truck service on the Dallas‑Houston corridor, marking the first large‑scale driverless freight operation on a major U.S. highway. The rollout aims to boost safety and efficiency while testing long‑haul automation...
Serve Robotics Posts 578% Revenue Jump as Autonomous Delivery Fleet Expands
Serve Robotics announced a 578% year‑over‑year revenue increase in Q1 2026, reaching $3 million. The surge stems from its Gen3 autonomous delivery robots, new contracts with DoorDash and Uber Eats, and the acquisition of Diligent, which added the Moxi hospital robot...
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Elmo Motion Control has launched the Titanium Maestro, a next‑generation motion controller built for high‑performance industrial applications. The device features ultra‑fast EtherCAT communication, multi‑axis management, and precision accuracy that set a new benchmark in motion control. Designed for demanding environments,...
Electromate Announces Availability of Dobot Educational Robots and Accessories in Canada
Electromate has added Dobot’s educational robot lineup to its Canadian catalog, making the platforms and accessories available for immediate delivery. The portfolio spans entry‑level kits like Magician Lite for K‑12 coding to advanced units such as the MG400 and Magician...
Tokyo Wants to Build a Real-World Robot City by 2031
Tokyo’s Institute of Science is converting a 39‑story complex in Meguro Ward into a live laboratory for "physical AI," slated to open its first phase in fiscal 2031. The district will host humanoid robots, autonomous transport, drone deliveries, AI‑driven health...
China Creates Digital ID for Humanoid Robots
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has introduced a 29‑digit digital ID for every domestically produced humanoid robot, managed through the Humanoid Full Lifecycle Management Service Platform. The code records nation, manufacturer, model and serial numbers, and over 28,000...
Festo Debuts GripperAI to Automate Robotic Tool Choice
Festo unveiled GripperAI, an AI‑driven software that automatically selects the optimal gripping tool for mixed‑product robotic handling without custom programming. The solution runs on standard industrial PCs paired with a 3D camera, recalibrating in real time if a grip fails....
Motion Tracking System Shows Robots the Path Most Traveled by, Keeping Them on Task
MIT CSAIL researchers unveiled Cluster Alignment for Learned Motions (CALM), a motion‑tracking system that derives a mean trajectory from a handful of human demonstrations. By clustering similar paths and maintaining a belief of task progress, CALM lets robots recover from...
Galaxy Robot Park Opens in Seoul, Showcasing K‑Pop Humanoid Bots
Galaxy Corporation unveiled Galaxy Robot Park, a 16,500 sqm venue in Seoul’s Gangdong district where child‑sized humanoid robots perform K‑pop shows. The park aims for three to six concerts a day, over 1,000 shows a year, and a global tour by...
Figure AI’s Helix‑02 Humanoids Log 24‑Hour Continuous Package‑Sorting Test
Figure AI announced that three Helix‑02 humanoid robots completed more than 24 hours of nonstop package sorting, handling over 28,000 items without human intervention. The extended run, originally slated for eight hours, highlights the startup’s claim that its AI system...
How The MQ-9 Reaper's Triple-Redundant Avionics Keep It Flying For 40 Hours Straight
The General Dynamics MQ‑9 Reaper’s Extended Range (ER) variant can exceed 40 hours of endurance under optimal conditions, though realistic combat patrols typically see 30‑34 hours. Its triple‑redundant avionics system eliminates single points of failure, using majority‑voting logic to maintain...
2026 Humanoid Robots Summit Europe
The 2026 Humanoid Robots Summit Europe will convene in Stuttgart from September 9‑11, gathering more than 40 global exhibitors, 1,000 industry decision‑makers, and 500 companies. The event, organized by ACG Events Global, features top experts such as Sanctuary AI CEO James...
Ukraine Says Russia Is Using a New Jet-Powered Attack Drone in Response to Its Interceptors
Ukraine’s military intelligence reported that Russia has fielded a new jet‑powered attack drone, the Geran‑4, as a direct response to Kyiv’s increasingly effective interceptor drones. The Geran‑4, equipped with a Chinese‑made turbojet, can reach roughly 310 mph, cruise at 5,000 m, and...
$150 Humanoid Robot Cleaning Service Debuts in San Francisco, Threatening Maid Jobs
Gatsby rolled out a $150 flat‑fee cleaning service in San Francisco that uses Unitree‑based humanoid robots to clean entire apartments without human staff. The launch, billed as the first consumer‑facing humanoid robot cleaning in the United States, undercuts typical deep‑clean...
Autonomous Drone Harvests Its First Tree in World First for Forestry
AirForestry, a Swedish green‑tech firm, demonstrated the world’s first fully autonomous drone that felled, delimbed and transported a tree without any ground machinery. The electric drone, with a 6.2‑metre carbon‑fibre frame, can lift up to 200 kg and operate in temperatures...
FlytBase and Yarra Drones Partner to Support Compliant Autonomous Drone Operations in Australia
FlytBase, a global Physical AI platform for autonomous drones, has partnered with Australian UTM specialist Yarra Drones. The collaboration blends FlytBase’s hardware‑agnostic autonomy suite with Yarra Drones’ CASA‑approved safety and air‑traffic‑management services, aiming to enable compliant BVLOS operations across Australia....
Human Tactile Data Collection 4× Faster Enables Zero‑Shot Robot Skills
Human data collection roughly 4x faster than robot teleoperation: A method that aligns human glove-based tactile signals with robot sensors via self-supervised encoders and rectified flow using motion-derived pseudo-pairs, avoiding any need for paired data or identical hardware. The approach...
Edge‑Compute Platforms Become Essential for Tesla Optimus‑Powered Factories
Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot deployment is forcing manufacturers to replace traditional automation back‑ends with low‑latency edge‑compute clusters. The shift highlights the need for ruggedized GPU servers and ultra‑fast networking to keep AI‑driven robots operating safely and efficiently on the shop...
UK MoD Allocates £10 Million to Develop Autonomous Drones for Apache Helicopters
On May 15, 2026, the UK Ministry of Defence announced a £10 million ($13.3 million) investment in Project NYX, a program to develop autonomous loyal‑wingman drones for AH‑64E Apache attack helicopters. Four British‑based firms – Anduril Industries UK, BAE Systems, Tekever, and...
U.S. Army Confirms Deployment of AEVEX Disruptor Long‑Range Strike Drone
The U.S. Army officially integrated AEVEX Aerospace’s Disruptor strike drone into training during Exercise Arcane Thunder 26, revealing a loitering munition that can travel up to 1,400 km and deliver a 22.5 kg warhead. The public acknowledgment marks the first time the...
Unitree Robotics Launches H1 Humanoid in India, Targeting Manufacturing Automation
Unitree Robotics announced the commercial rollout of its H1 humanoid robot in India, with pricing of ₹75‑80 lakhs ($90‑96 k) and availability slated for the next quarter. The move positions the Chinese firm against Western rivals and could accelerate automation for Indian...
Hyundai to Deploy 25,000 Atlas Humanoid Robots by 2028, Union Pushes Back
Hyundai Motor Group announced a plan to install more than 25,000 Atlas humanoid robots across its factories by 2028, igniting a sharp response from South Korea’s Metal Workers’ Union. The union demands a formal labor‑management agreement before any robots are...
New Benchmark Measures Memory in Vision-Language-Action Robots
Big update for robot learning: a brand new benchmark suite that tests 'memory' in Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models on tabletop robotic manipulation tasks: 90 tasks, 10 memory types (object positions, colors, sequences, etc.), varying temporal horizons & difficulty levels. Built on...
Analysts Warn Drone Warfare Escalates as US-Cuba Tensions Rise
U.S. intelligence officials have warned that Cuba now possesses hundreds of military drones capable of threatening U.S. assets, sparking fresh concerns about autonomous warfare. The allegation comes amid broader geopolitical strain, with analysts noting that drone proliferation could amplify conflicts...
Drone Breaks World Speed Record with 453 Mph in Test Run — Exotic Sawtooth Carbon Fiber Propeller Blades One of...
A duo of drone builders reclaimed the unofficial speed record by pushing their Blackbird platform to a peak of 453 mph (730 kph) in a test run, outpacing the previous 408 mph benchmark. The breakthrough hinged on hand‑crafted carbon‑fiber propeller blades featuring a...
Former NASA Robotics Chief Says U.S. Builds the Wrong Robots as China Gains Edge
Former NASA robotics chief warns that America’s focus on high‑profile humanoid robots misses the mark, citing a Stanford study showing only 12% success on real household tasks and a $2.5 bn venture capital influx that still favors demos. He points to...
Amazon’s Drone Ambitions Are About to Reshape Chicago’s South Suburbs
Amazon is set to launch its Prime Air drone delivery pilot in the south suburbs of Chicago, targeting residents within an eight‑mile radius of its Matteson and Markham warehouses. The FAA‑approved MK30 drones can transport 5‑pound packages, fly up to...
Yarbo Robot Mowers Vulnerable to Remote Hack, Exposing Home Networks
Security researcher Andreas Makris disclosed that roughly 6,000 Yarbo autonomous lawn mowers and snow blowers contain hard‑coded root passwords and a persistent remote‑access tunnel. Yarbo co‑founder Kenneth Kohlmann confirmed the findings and said the company is rolling out firmware fixes.
Rovex Unveils Rovi, Claiming First Autonomous In‑Hospital Patient Transport Robot
Florida‑based robotics startup Rovex unveiled Rovi, a robot it claims is the world’s first autonomous in‑hospital patient transport system. The device uses computer‑vision navigation, universal stretcher attachments and data‑capture tools to ease bottlenecks in imaging, procedures and bed turnover.