Today's Robotics Pulse
Chinese startup Spirit AI tops global AI robot leaderboard, beating Nvidia
Spirit AI’s embodied intelligence model, Spirit v1.6, achieved a score of 1,924 on the RoboArena benchmark, surpassing Nvidia’s Cosmos3‑Nano‑Policy. The company also disclosed a ¥1.5 billion (≈$222 million) funding round to accelerate its robotics AI platform.
Also developing:
By the numbers: OneRobotics acquires Nanoleaf for $40M
The Sensor Suite for Autonomous Vehicles: LiDAR, Radar, Cameras and Sensor Fusion
Autonomous vehicles rely on perception rather than pure AI to make safe decisions, and that perception emerges from a heterogeneous sensor suite of cameras, LiDAR, radar and auxiliary devices. Each sensor brings complementary strengths—cameras offer semantic richness, LiDAR supplies precise 3‑D geometry, and radar provides robust motion data in adverse weather. The real value comes from sensor fusion, which combines raw and processed data to reduce uncertainty and enable reliable detection, tracking, and prediction. Economic trade‑offs and system‑level design choices now dictate whether manufacturers adopt integrated platforms or modular stacks.
Robotics Teams Lose Time Rebuilding Infrastructure, Not Algorithms
🎙️ Stephen James is the founder and CEO of Neuracore , and Assistant Professor of Robot Learning at Imperial College London: In this episode, Stephen shares his path from growing up in Wales to spending a decade at Imperial, a...
Robotics Demos Lag Far Behind Real-World Production
there is massive arb between robotics demos you see on twitter and what very few companies have in large-scale production today and no, the gap isn't in favor of the twitter demos.
Automated Port and Terminal Operations: Robots Moving Global Trade
Ports are evolving into integrated cyber‑physical ecosystems where autonomous cranes, straddle carriers and internal terminal vehicles work under a central software nervous system. The shift from mechanisation to partial autonomy has been gradual, with robots now handling thousands of container...
OpenMind Unveils Robot App Store
OpenMind has launched a dedicated App Store for robots, positioning it as a software distribution layer for quadruped and humanoid platforms. The marketplace, built on the company’s OM1 modular operating system, aims to close the gap between rapidly evolving hardware...
Locus Robotics and Radial Surpass 25 Million Picks Milestone
Locus Robotics announced that its partnership with e‑commerce platform Radial has exceeded 25 million picks at Radial’s Shepherdsville fulfillment center. The site now runs 87 LocusBots daily, swelling to 104 robots during peak periods, and has quadrupled throughput without expanding its...
Barq Group and Elroy Air to Establish $200 Million Joint Venture in Abu Dhabi to Manufacture Autonomous Aircraft
Barq Group and U.S.‑based Elroy Air have signed a $200 million joint‑venture agreement to build a manufacturing plant in Abu Dhabi for the Chaparral autonomous hybrid‑electric VTOL cargo aircraft. The facility will serve commercial and humanitarian customers across the MENA region,...
COMAU�s Intelligent In.Grid Robot Monitoring Platform Accelerates Digital Transformation at IVECO
COMAU has installed its cloud‑based in.Grid Robot Monitoring platform at IVECO’s Valladolid plant in Spain. The system continuously captures robot data from the Door Ring and Mascherone lines, flagging anomalies and measuring KPI compliance. By delivering real‑time visibility and predictive...
Unbox Robotics Raises $28M to Scale Modular Warehouse Robots
Unbox Robotics announced a $28 million Series B round led by ICICI Venture, with participation from F‑Prime and other investors. The funding will fuel expansion of its engineering and leadership teams, accelerate development of its modular, swarm‑intelligence warehouse robots, and...
Europe’s First Drone Shot Down: A Line Crossed in Civil Airspace
A civilian in Nurmijärvi, Finland deliberately shot down a police‑operated drone during an armed‑suspect response, marking Europe’s first known incident of a drone being targeted in civil airspace. The drone was deployed to enhance officer safety and situational awareness. Police...
Beyond Polymers: New State-of-the-Art 3D Micro and Nanofabrication Technique Overcomes Material Limitations
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute and NUS have unveiled an optofluidic laser technique that assembles micro‑ and nanoparticles in liquid to create 3D structures without relying on polymers. By focusing a femtosecond laser inside a particle suspension, a localized thermal...
My Favorite Budget-Friendly Robot Vacuum Is From a Brand You've Never Heard Of
ZDNET’s review highlights the 3i G10+ robot vacuum‑mop as a standout budget option priced around $230. It combines 18,000 Pa suction, a 1‑liter dust‑compactor bin and intelligent obstacle avoidance, delivering up to 60 days between emptying. Lab tests recorded 86.53% floor coverage,...
Open‑Source Dev Kit Enables AI‑Native Robotics Integration
An Open Source Dev Kit for AI-native Robotics. [📍github below ] This repo uses LeRobot's plugin conventions to be automatically detected by a LeRobot installation in the same Python environment. https://lnkd.in/gc5tmifi —— Weekly robotics and AI insights. Subscribe free: scalingdeep.tech
KUKA México to Celebrate 30th Anniversary in 2026
KUKA México will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2026, marking three decades of delivering advanced automation solutions to the country's manufacturing sector. Since its 1996 launch, the firm’s first major deployment was with Volkswagen for the Jetta A3 and new...
New York Robotics Formally Launches Amid Surge In Robotics Investment, Demand, And Talent
New York Robotics (NYR) officially launched, highlighting a fast‑scaling robotics ecosystem across the Tri‑State area. The network now includes over 160 robotics startups—nearly 100 in New York City—and links more than 450 global firms, 300 venture‑capital investors, leading corporations, universities, and...
Ask Your Burning TIA Portal STEP 7 Questions
You work with Siemens TIA Portal – and there’s a question you always wanted to ask? 🤔⚙️ Now is your moment. I’m collecting your questions for an interview with Christian Fischer , Product Manager for STEP 7 in the Siemens...
Bout-and-Glide Swimming Proves More Energy Efficient
A new Science #Robotics study uses a #bioinspired robot to demonstrate that “bout-and-glide" swimming, seen in aquatic animals such as zebrafish and humpback whales, is more energy efficient than continuous swimming. https://t.co/8EWURPmuCh https://t.co/UJWVkzvaRk
Allient Inc. To Attend UAV Technology USA 2026
Allient Inc. announced its participation in UAV Technology USA 2026, scheduled for February 2‑3 in Arlington, Virginia. The company will use the event to showcase its U.S.-manufactured drone components—including propulsion motors, ESCs, gimbals, propellers and mission‑ready kits—that meet stringent defense specifications. By...
U-Space Implementation Handbook: Turning Early Experience Into Guidance
Europe has published the U‑space Implementation Handbook, a comprehensive guide that captures early deployment experience of the continent’s unmanned traffic management framework. Produced by the U‑ELCOME project and co‑funded by CINEA, the handbook consolidates 70 lessons learned, six technical appendices,...
MHS Lift and Movu Robotics Announce Partnership to Advance Next-Generation Warehouse Optimization
MHS Lift has become the first North American integrator to commission a second Movu Robotics Atlas four‑way shuttle system, extending a partnership that began in 2019 with the region’s first deployment. The Atlas solution uses autonomous robots to move pallets...
Blue UAS for First Responders
First responders are increasingly adopting small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for search‑and‑rescue, firefighting, and post‑incident analysis. The Department of Defense’s Blue UAS Cleared List now offers a vetted catalog of compliant drones, simplifying acquisition for public‑safety agencies. The SAVER AEL...
Palladyne AI Awarded U.S. Air Force Contract to Advance Swarming Capabilities for Integrated Cross-Domain Operations
Palladyne AI secured a contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop its HANGTIME program, aimed at unifying autonomous systems across space, air, maritime and land. The effort will deploy the company’s patented SwarmOS™ platform to enable drones, ships...
Apera AI Accelerates 4D Vision Deployments with Launch of Apera Vue 9.52 and 4X Faster Apera Forge AI Training
Apera AI unveiled Vue 9.52, adding programmable Autopilot, range‑finding pipelines, and enhanced TCP visualization to streamline 4D Vision robot setup. The release also accelerates its Forge AI training platform, delivering up to four‑fold faster model training in as little as six...
Figure AI Shows Robot that Really Puts Its Hip Into Dishwasher Duty
Figure AI unveiled Helix 02, a humanoid robot governed by a single neural network that controls its legs, torso, arms, and fingers in real time. In a four‑minute kitchen demo, the robot completed 61 autonomous actions, including loading and unloading a...
Crypto Loses Speculative Edge as AI and Robotics Attract Capital: Delphi
Delphi Digital reports that speculative capital is migrating from cryptocurrency to artificial intelligence and robotics, eroding crypto’s traditional role as the go‑to high‑risk asset class. Over the past year Bitcoin fell about 12% while the Global X Robotics and AI...
SKADI and HelloGard Robotics Partner to Embed Autonomous Cybersecurity in Robotics
SKADI Cyber Defense and HelloGard Robotics announced a strategic partnership to embed autonomous cybersecurity directly into AI‑powered robots and connected automation systems. The collaboration will co‑develop cross‑platform security solutions for Windows, Android and Linux that protect robotic operating systems, AI...
Waabi Raises $1B From Uber and VCs
The episode examines Waabi, an autonomous trucking startup that just raised a $1 billion funding round, including a $250 million investment from Uber. It highlights Waabi's AI‑first strategy, which relies on advanced simulation to enable rapid learning and generalization across vehicle platforms...
Robbyant Open-Sources LingBot-VLA as a “Universal Brain” For Robots
Ant Group’s embodied‑AI unit Robbyant has open‑sourced LingBot‑VLA, a vision‑language‑action model designed as a universal brain for robots. The model, trained on over 20,000 hours of real‑world interaction data, can be adapted to diverse platforms—including Galaxea Dynamics and AgileX robots—with...
Waabi Raises $1B and Expands Into Robotaxis with Uber
Waabi announced a $1 billion financing round, including a $750 million Series C led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners and $250 million milestone‑based capital from Uber. The funding fuels a partnership that will place more than 25,000 Waabi‑powered robotaxis on Uber’s ride‑hailing...
Standard Bots Selects Cognibotics’ Calibration for Next-Generation AI Cobots
Standard Bots, an AI‑driven robotics firm, has chosen Cognibotics’ CogniCal calibration for its next‑generation cobot platform. The technology delivers world‑class accuracy, reducing geometric and payload‑induced deviations across robot units. By tightening precision, AI‑based task training becomes more efficient and transferable,...
Siemens Introduces Digital Twin Composer for Large-Scale Digital Twin Environments
Siemens announced Digital Twin Composer, a platform that creates large‑scale, photorealistic industrial metaverse environments by merging 2D/3D digital‑twin data with real‑time physical information via Nvidia Omniverse. The solution, part of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, lets manufacturers simulate products, processes and...
Oversonic Robotics Launches Humanoid Robot RoBee in US Market
Italian robotics firm Oversonic Robotics introduced its latest cognitive humanoid, RoBee, to the United States this month, aiming to broaden its footprint in healthcare and advanced manufacturing. The launch coincided with a strategic North American partnership targeting medical and aerospace...
Segway Navimow Expands Robotic Mower Lineup for 2026
Segway Navimow unveiled five new robotic mower series for 2026, targeting both residential and commercial markets. The X4, i2, H2 and Terranox lines replace perimeter wires with network RTK, vision and solid‑state LiDAR navigation. New models boast enhanced terrain handling, steep‑slope...
Tesollo Unveils Compact and Lightweight Humanoid Hand
Tesollo announced the DG‑5F‑S, a compact humanoid robotic hand that weighs under 1 kg and retains the five‑finger, 20‑degree‑of‑freedom architecture of its DG‑5F predecessor. The new model costs roughly 60% of the original, making it more accessible to startups, research labs,...
XGSynBot Unveils Dual-Arm Mobile Robot at CES Showcase in Las Vegas
XGSynBot showcased an AI‑powered dual‑arm mobile robot at a private CES event in Las Vegas. The platform merges force‑controlled manipulators, an omni‑directional chassis and a multi‑sensor vision system to serve industrial and commercial tasks. Marketed as a universal, cross‑scenario solution, it...
Code Ninjas Opens in Vaughan, Inspiring the Next Generation of Coders
Code Ninjas, the nation’s fastest‑growing kids‑coding franchise, opened a new centre in Woodbridge, Vaughan at 6175 Highway 7. The dojo serves children aged 5‑14, teaching coding, robotics, and game development through a martial‑arts‑inspired belt system. In addition to weekly drop‑in sessions,...
How EV-Grade BLDC Motors Perform in Heavy-Duty Automated Industrial Vehicles
EV‑grade brushless DC (BLDC) motors, originally designed for automotive use, are now powering heavy‑duty automated industrial vehicles such as forklifts, AGVs, and mobile robots. These drives run continuously at 60‑80% load for up to 16 hours daily, delivering 3‑20 kW and up...
Anduril Has Invented a Wild New Drone Flying Contest Where Jobs Are the Prize
Anduril has launched the AI Grand Prix, an autonomous drone‑racing contest that tests participants' software‑writing skills rather than piloting ability. The event, held in Ohio, offers a $500,000 prize pool and direct hiring opportunities that bypass the company’s normal recruiting...
Synthetic 'Muscle' With Microfluidic Blood Vessels Shows Promise for Soft Robotics
Researchers at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln have unveiled a hydrogel‑based actuator that mimics biological muscle by embedding microgel units within a microfluidic circulatory network. The system delivers rapid chemical or thermal stimuli, allowing actuation in non‑aqueous environments and achieving faster...
XYZ Robotics Automates Inbound Receiving From Loose Loads to Organized Pallets
XYZ Robotics introduced an end‑to‑end automation system that unloads, sorts, and palletizes loose cartons using two Rocky mobile manipulation robots, a five‑sided barcode scanner, and a conveyor line. The robots handle payloads up to 66 lb, generate optimized pallet patterns, and...
Remote Controlled Police Drones Keeping Coventry Safe
Police drones controlled from Birmingham are now operating over Coventry as part of the "Drone as First Responder" initiative, a five‑year national project funded by the Home Office via the NPCC. The drones launch from automated charging stations on a...
Robot Masters 1,000 Tasks After <24‑hour Demos
Scientists have developed an #ImitationLearning-based method that enabled a robot to learn 1000 distinct manipulation tasks from less than 24 hours of human demonstrations. Learn more in Science #Robotics: https://t.co/T9EKphwp70 https://t.co/R3TFjfdUgd
Quantum Systems’ Vector Recognized by Ukrainian Armed Forces with “Army of Drones 2025” Award
Quantum Systems’ Vector UAV secured third place in the Army of Drones 2025 ISR competition, a ranking driven by Ukrainian frontline units through the BRAVE1 Marketplace. The award follows the company’s August 2025 entry into the marketplace and reflects direct procurement of...
Reconfigurable Robotic Fish Reveals How Stiffness and Wave Propagation Shape Swimming Performance
A team at Peking University built a soft robotic fish that can reconfigure between eel‑like (anguilliform) and tuna‑like (carangiform) swimming styles. By adjusting body stiffness, the platform directly measured how wave propagation and stiffness affect thrust, speed, and maneuverability. In...
Helix 02: Fully Autonomous, Whole-Body Dishwashing Powerhouse
Introducing Helix 02 It's our most powerful model to date - it's using the whole body to do dishes end-to-end and it's fully autonomous https://t.co/jtUVCRIsLh
ABB Robotics Leads Global Effort to Standardize Measurement of Industrial Robot Energy Consumption
ABB Robotics is leading a global initiative to create the first standardized method for measuring energy consumption and efficiency of industrial robots. Working with the Swedish Institute for Standardization and other manufacturers, the group aims to publish an ISO technical...
Should Companies Replace Human Workers with Robots? Study Takes a Closer Look
A new study by Binghamton University researchers challenges the prevailing push to replace human workers with robots, arguing that a collaborative, complementary approach yields greater economic value. The research contrasts a "substitute" view with a "complementary" view, finding that firms...
Agri Spray Drones and WinField United Announce Co-Marketing Agreement to Advance Drone-Based Crop Application Across U.S. Agriculture
Agri Spray Drones and WinField United have signed a co‑marketing agreement to promote drone‑based crop application across the United States. The deal makes each company a preferred vendor in the other’s network, linking ASD’s spray‑drone systems with WinField’s adjuvant portfolio....
LightIC Technologies Announces New FMCW LiDAR with Exceptional Cost and Power-Efficiency for Automotive and Robotic Applications
LightIC Technologies has partnered with indie to embed the iND83301 system‑on‑chip into its silicon‑photonic FMCW LiDAR, replacing traditional FPGA processing. The integration slashes power consumption by 80% and reduces overall module size by 40%, delivering a far more cost‑effective solution....
Innoviz Technologies Announces InnovizSMART Is Now Available to Order with Short Lead Times and Enhanced Production
Innoviz Technologies announced the general availability of InnovizSMART, an off‑the‑shelf, automotive‑grade LiDAR now ready for order with short lead times. The sensor delivers up to 450 meters of range, low power consumption, PoE connectivity, and resilience to dust and extreme temperatures....