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
This Lightweight Exoskeleton Lets You Unleash Your Inner Tony Stark Thanks to AI
The Vigx π6 is a lightweight, AI‑powered exoskeleton that assists walking, standing and light fitness activities. Weighing just 2 kg and folding to umbrella size, it uses a built‑in camera and AI processor to analyze terrain and modulate power every 30 milliseconds, improving stability on uneven surfaces. Available in Base, Pro and Ultra versions, the Ultra model can support up to 40 km of movement. The product is slated for a June 2026 launch, with pricing yet to be announced.
Differentiable Simulation Enables Real‑World Quadruped Locomotion
Can differentiable simulation actually work for real robot locomotion? This work answers that with a rare yes❗️ The core problem has always been contact. Soft contact models give smooth gradients but break realism. Hard contact models are realistic but kill...
Three Essentials for High‑Speed Pick‑and‑Place Automation
🧿💯 To have a high-speed pick-and-place feeding system, you need three determining factors: the right detection system, the right robot, and the right gripper . How is your opinion about it ? #automation #industry #robotic #gripper
Gartner Predicts Fewer Than 20 Companies Will Scale Humanoid Robots for Manufacturing and Supply Chain to Production Stage by 2028
Gartner forecasts that by 2028 fewer than 20 companies will move humanoid robots from pilot projects to full‑scale production in manufacturing and supply‑chain environments. While chief supply‑chain officers are attracted to the human‑like form factor for labor‑cost challenges, the research...
IdeaForge Indigenous Defence Tactical UAV ‘ZOLT’ to Be Showcased at India’s 77th Republic Day Parade
India's indigenous UAV maker ideaForge will display its tactical drone ZOLT at the 77th Republic Day Parade, highlighting the country's push for homegrown defence solutions. ZOLT is a multi‑role, VTOL‑capable platform built for long‑range ISR and precision payload delivery in...
Microsoft Research Reveals Rho-Alpha Vision-Language-Action Model for Robots
Microsoft Research unveiled Rho-alpha, the first robotics model built on its Phi vision-language series, extending capabilities with tactile sensing and bimanual manipulation. The model translates natural‑language commands into control signals, co‑training on physical demonstrations, simulated tasks, and web‑scale visual question‑answering...
SiFly and Taranis Launch Field Validation Program to Accelerate Aerial Crop Intelligence at Scale
SiFly Aviation and Taranis have launched a 2026 Field Validation Program to test a new operational model that pairs SiFly’s long‑endurance Q12 VTOL drone with Taranis’s AI‑driven, leaf‑level crop intelligence. The program aims to demonstrate how three‑hour autonomous flights can...
DEWALT® Unveils the World's First Downward Drilling, Fleet-Capable Robot to Accelerate Data Center Construction
DEWALT, in partnership with August Robotics, unveiled the world’s first downward‑drilling, fleet‑capable robot aimed at accelerating data‑center construction. The robot drills up to ten times faster than traditional methods and has already shaved 80 weeks off timelines across ten projects...
Video Wednesday
Johnson & Johnson’s Verb division unveiled OTTAVA, a six‑armed robotic platform aimed at expanding minimally invasive surgery capabilities. The system integrates modular hardware with advanced AI control, allowing simultaneous manipulation of multiple instruments. OTTAVA targets high‑complexity procedures in orthopedics, cardiology...
PI Introduces Miniaturized Alignment Engine Platform for Scalable, Parallel E/O Wafer-Level Test
PI (Physik Instrumente) unveiled a miniaturized alignment engine platform that enables parallel electro‑optical wafer‑level testing for photonic integrated circuits. The system integrates multiple piezoelectric aligners with fly‑height sensors and an interferometry‑based FAU ranging method that uses existing fiber channels, eliminating...
Autonomous Labs Enable Diverse Overnight Experiments, Not Just Repeats
What’s exciting now with autonomous labs is you can get the closer to the flexibility of the bench but automated. So you could design 200 different experiments to run overnight and read out for you in the morning. ...
Handy Robot Can Crawl and Pick up Objects From Multiple Angles
Scientists have unveiled a detachable robotic hand that can crawl and grasp objects from either side, breaking the traditional one‑sided design of most manipulators. The hand, available in five‑ and six‑fingered versions with a 16 cm palm, can detach from its...
NMITE And The British Army Unveil Detail Of The New Undergraduate Degree In Autonomous Robotics
NMITE, in partnership with the British Army, announced a new MEng (Hons) Integrated Engineering degree focused on Autonomous Robotics, set to admit its first cohort in September 2026. The three‑year programme compresses a traditional four‑year master’s timeline and emphasizes hands‑on...
Robots Now Autonomously Inspect Hazardous Tight Spaces
This simulation shows what a mobile inspection robot can actually do inside a tight industrial cabinet room. In the demo, Aru performs a full inspection workflow in a constrained space. Robots like Aru are becoming practical tools for inspections in...
AgiBot Claims Top Spot in Global Humanoid Robot Shipments in 2025 with More than 5,100 Units Delivered
Shanghai‑based AgiBot announced it shipped over 5,100 humanoid robots in 2025, securing roughly 39% of the global market and overtaking rivals such as Unitree and UBTech. The Omdia report shows total worldwide shipments reached about 13,000 units, highlighting rapid industry...
Real AGI Requires Safe, Embodied Cooking—Still Years Away
New definition of AGI: can your AI cook dinner while embodied in a robot over an open flame without setting the house on fire? Five years away. Minimum. The world models, even those from Google or @worldlabs aren't ready. Until AI...
Weak Robots Still Pose Harm—Missing Stop Button
Is there no stop button for these robots? I get they’re fairly weak, but they can still hurt you.
Why Serve Robotics Is Acquiring a Hospital Assistant Robot Company
Serve Robotics announced a $29 million acquisition of Diligent Robotics, the creator of Moxi hospital assistant robots. Diligent, founded in 2017, has raised over $75 million, including a $25 million round in 2023. The deal marks Serve’s first move beyond its sidewalk food‑delivery...
Humanoid Robots Overhyped; Specialized Automation Still Dominates
One thing I learned by visiting @maticrobots today and seeing how they make floor cleaning robots (I have a video I might put up later this week) is that it's going to be very hard for a humanoid robot to...
Event in Dallas, Targeting Manufacturing Labor Shortages Facing North Texas
OnRobot will host a free, in‑person event titled “Build Your Automation Roadmap” on February 19 in Dallas to address the acute manufacturing labor shortages in North Texas. The program features live FANUC robot demonstrations, workshops, and case studies targeting sectors such...
OnLogic Launches Ultra-Compact CL260 Industrial PC for Edge Computing at Scale
OnLogic unveiled the CL260, an ultra‑compact, fanless industrial PC aimed at edge computing deployments. Measuring just 115 × 30 × 82 mm and built on Intel N‑Series processors, the device offers cost‑effective performance for data‑gateway tasks. It ships with pre‑configured integrations for ZEDEDA edge orchestration...
Event 38 Delivers E455 Systems to Florida State Guard for Emergency Response Support
Event 38 Unmanned Systems has delivered its E455 fixed‑wing VTOL drone systems and mission payloads to the Florida State Guard (FSG). The drones will support training, evaluation, and operational readiness for emergency response, disaster relief, and public safety missions across...
Sphere Calls for Rapid, Scalable Deployment of Autonomous Drone Surveillance to Protect NSW Beachgoers
Sphere, an Australian commercial drone firm, is urging the NSW Government to fast‑track a coast‑wide autonomous drone surveillance program to mitigate shark risk after a spate of recent attacks. The company proposes its HubX and HubT "drone‑in‑a‑box" systems, which launch,...
Zero-Trust UTM: TII, VentureOne, and High Lander Join Forces at UMEX to Forge New Airspace Security Standards in the UAE
High Lander Aviation, Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and venture builder VentureOne announced a strategic collaboration at UMEX 2026 to develop national‑level zero‑trust security standards for unmanned traffic management (UTM) in the UAE. The partnership will focus on end‑to‑end security...
Palladyne AI Secures Next-Generation Spacecraft Contract, Unlocking New High-Growth Opportunity
Palladyne AI announced that its GuideTech subsidiary has secured a contract with Portal Space Systems to supply navigation, guidance, modeling, embedded software and avionics for next‑generation, highly maneuverable spacecraft. The deal marks Palladyne’s first major entry into the space domain,...
Engineering for Real-World Impact, Not Flashy Robots
Being a MechE at Sunday isn’t about building flashy dancing robots. It’s about deep system thinking and the urgency to make robots genuinely useful for millions of homes.
A Geometric Twist Boosts the Power of Robotic Textiles
EPFL researchers have introduced an X‑Crossing textile architecture that interlaces shape‑memory‑alloy (SMA) fibers in a periodic X pattern, enabling a 4.5‑gram fabric to lift 1 kg when contracted 50 %. The design aligns each fiber crossing with the desired motion, turning individual...
Moffett Automation, SSI Schaefer Partner to Deliver Free-Roaming Pallet Shuttles
SSI Schaefer and Moffett Automation announced a joint offering of free‑roaming pallet shuttles that integrate directly with SSI Schaefer’s WAMAS warehouse management system. The compact, multi‑directional shuttles can navigate low‑ceiling and complex layouts, delivering high throughput even in deep‑freeze environments....
Automate 2026 Brings Popular Humanoid Robot Forum and NVIDIA-Sponsored Humanoid Robot Pavilion to Show
Automate 2026, North America’s largest robotics trade show, will host the third annual Humanoid Robot Forum alongside a new NVIDIA‑sponsored Humanoid Robot Pavilion. The paid forum, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, will deliver deep‑dive sessions on humanoid development, deployment...
Galbot S1 Breaks Industry Load Limits with 50KG Heavy-Duty Capacity
Galbot unveiled the S1, a heavy‑duty embodied‑AI robot that lifts a continuous dual‑arm payload of 50 kg, shattering the industry’s long‑standing limit. The S1 is already operating on CATL’s core battery‑production lines, proving its viability in real‑world manufacturing. It runs up...
CMES Robotics Expands AI-Driven Warehouse Automation Footprint with New Logistics Projects
CMES Robotics announced new multi‑year AI‑vision automation projects with a premium North American food ingredient manufacturer, extending its warehouse automation footprint. The deployments focus on robotic bag palletizing that can handle frequent changes in product size, packaging and orientation. CMES...
Cyngn Receives Notice of Allowance for 24th U.S. Patent for Its AI-Powered Autonomous Vehicle Technologies
Cyngn announced a notice of allowance for its 24th U.S. patent covering a system and method of adaptive, real‑time vehicle system identification for autonomous driving. The patent is slated for issuance next month, bringing the company’s total U.S. patent count...
BionIT Labs Launches Adam’s Hand for Humanoids and Service Robots
BionIT Labs announced that its Adam’s Hand, a prosthetic‑derived dexterity platform, is now available for integration with humanoid and service robots. The device was showcased at CES 2026 on the industrial Robee R and medical Robee M robots, demonstrating human‑scale...
Collaborative Carting: Advances in Human-Robot Biomechanics
The latest research on collaborative carting demonstrates how tightly coupled human‑robot systems can share material handling tasks while preserving operator comfort. By embedding force‑feedback sensors and biomechanical models into autonomous carts, the platform dynamically adjusts assistance to match a worker’s...
Comau’s Role in Shaping Future Leaders: Harvard Business School Explores Italian Advanced Automation and Robotics
Comau hosted Harvard Business School professors and students for the third consecutive year, integrating the Immersive Field Course into its Comau Academy workshop. The program highlighted Comau's latest collaborative robots, intelligent intralogistics, and flexible automation platforms, including hands‑on sessions with...
NARMA Strengthens U.S. Presence Amid FCC Covered List Expansion
NARMA is reinforcing its U.S. market strategy after the FCC added more foreign‑produced UAS to its Covered List. The company is advancing through the AUVSI Green UAS Cleared program, targeting cybersecurity, data handling, and supply‑chain validation, which will qualify its...
Spencer Krause: Why Hardware Is the New Engineering Frontier
In the latest episode of The Robot Report, SKA Robotics co‑founder and CEO Spencer Krause argues that hardware development is the next engineering frontier in the post‑AI era. He draws on 23 years of field‑robot experience, including rugged solutions for...
1 Ms
Triple inverted pendulum in transition control A classic control problem, done in real time. This setup moves smoothly between all eight equilibrium points of a triple inverted pendulum. The system reacts every 1 millisecond, which shows how fast modern control...
Key Barriers Hindering Robotic Milling Advancement
💡Are you familiar with the FANUC industrial robot, specifically known in similar applications as the R-2000iC series, which is suitable for high-precision robotic milling operations on metal parts, such as engine housings❓ 🔺These 6-axis articulated robots are engineered for high...
Autonomy Without Assumptions: InfiniDome and Wonder Robotics Introduce IroNav
infiniDome and Wonder Robotics announced a strategic partnership to launch IroNav, a full‑stack autonomous system that fuses vision‑based navigation with resilient GNSS protection. The solution assumes GNSS interference as a persistent condition, automatically switching between satellite‑aided and fully denied modes....
CIS News
Recent weeks have seen a flurry of activity in the surgical robotics sector, highlighted by multiple regulatory clearances, sizable funding rounds, and strategic leadership moves. CMR Surgical secured a CE mark for its Versius platform in pediatric procedures, while Distalmotion...
Micro Nano Robots Aim to Cut Carbon Buildup in Closed Life Support Systems
Researchers at Guangxi University unveiled micro‑nano reconfigurable robots (MNRM) that capture and release carbon dioxide using sunlight as an energy source. In laboratory tests the robots sequestered 6.19 mmol CO₂ per gram of sorbent and regenerated at just 55 °C, maintaining over...
GA-ASI Breaks Ground on a New Hangar in El Mirage
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems broke ground on a new 85,000‑square‑foot hangar at its El Mirage Airfield on Jan 14. The facility will house testing of the MQ‑9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian remotely piloted aircraft and accommodate up to a dozen certifiable ground control stations....
DIY $600 Haptic Glove Enables Real Robot Teleoperation
A high-quality haptic control for robots as a weekend project? All for under $600. [📍 Save Github & arXiv for later] A team built DOGlove, an open-source haptic glove for robot teleoperation that you can assemble yourself for under $600....
GA-ASI Makes Another Autonomous Aerial Intercept in Company-Funded Demo with MQ-20 Avenger(r)
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA‑ASI) demonstrated its MQ‑20 Avenger executing a fully autonomous aerial intercept using government‑reference autonomy software. The jet employed an Anduril infrared search‑and‑track sensor to locate, track, and compute a simulated kill‑shot against a manned aggressor without...
Autonomous Labs Free Scientists From Bench Work
Great article from @packyM and @evanbeard -- I agree with this distinction between automation and autonomy. We've been working on autonomy with our autonomous labs at @Ginkgo -- much needed to get scientists off the lab bench, more in...
From Manual to Fully Automated: The Evolution of Loading Dock Workflows
Loading docks are finally catching up with broader warehouse automation as large carriers roll out dedicated trailer‑unloading robots. UPS has ordered 400 Pickle Robot units and DHL plans to add over 1,000 Boston Dynamics Stretch machines, moving the technology from pilots...
VLAN Segmentation Stabilizes OT Networks and Boosts Cybersecurity
🎥 Stable & secure OT networks – structured with VLANs OT networks tend to grow over time. More devices, more traffic – and suddenly PROFINET becomes unstable. ⚠️ In my new YouTube video, I take a hands-on look at why...
Cooperating Drones Lay Bricks, Reducing Construction Risk
What if your bricklayer could fly? Researchers at Imperial College London tested a new way to build using cooperating drones instead of cranes or scaffolding. Two drones work together. One lays down foam and lightweight cement. The other checks accuracy...
How to Prevent Charge Buildup in a Lunar Rover
Future lunar rovers risk hazardous triboelectric charge buildup on wheels as they traverse the Moon’s insulating regolith. While solar‑wind plasma normally dissipates excess charge, plasma‑starved regions such as night‑side wakes and permanently shadowed craters limit this natural discharge path. Researchers...