NVIDIA GTC 2026: Vention Debuts Rapid Operator AI for Autonomous Bin Picking
Vention unveiled Rapid Operator AI at NVIDIA GTC 2026, a turnkey system that automates deep bin picking in unstructured environments. Built on the Generalized Robotic Industrial Intelligence Pipeline (GRIIP) and integrated with NVIDIA Isaac models, the solution delivers up to 99% first‑pick success and can be deployed in days. Targeting mid‑market and enterprise manufacturers facing labor shortages and high variability, the system supports transparent, opaque and translucent parts across bins up to 24 inches deep. CAD‑based SKU configuration removes the need for model retraining, enabling rapid changeovers.
DJI’s “Fantastic Beginner Drone” With 4K Video and Sub-249g Weight Drops to Lowest Ever Price
DJI has reduced the price of its Neo 2 beginner drone to £199, the lowest it has ever been on Amazon. Weighing just 151 g, the drone stays under the 249 g regulatory threshold, allowing more flexible flying permissions. It offers 4K video...
Körber Teams With NVIDIA to Bring AI Simulations to Warehouses
German automation leader Körber has partnered with NVIDIA to embed AI‑driven simulation tools into warehouse operations. Using NVIDIA’s Omniverse platform, the two companies will create digital twins that let users model layouts, workflows, and new automation before physical changes. The...
Seasats Quickfish USV Completes 8-Day Continuous Sea Trial
Seasats announced that its Quickfish autonomous surface vessel successfully completed an eight‑day continuous sea trial, demonstrating over‑35‑knot top speed and multi‑week on‑station endurance. The hybrid jet‑electric propulsion and a dedicated payload bay for UAV launch set it apart from other...
3 Finalists Announced for 2026 Hermes Award
The 2026 Hermes Award finalists are Festo, Schaeffler and Ziehl‑Abegg, each showcasing breakthrough automation technology. Festo presents integrated fluid‑handling manifolds with embedded sensors, Schaeffler offers compact high‑torque actuators for humanoid robots, and Ziehl‑Abegg delivers a rare‑earth‑free synchronous elevator motor. The...
Bones Studio to Release BONES-SEED - the First Multimodal Motion Dataset Purpose-Built for Humanoid Robotics
Bones Studio announced the release of BONES‑SEED, a multimodal motion dataset tailored for humanoid robotics. The open‑source collection contains 142,000 high‑fidelity human motion sequences, each enriched with up to six natural‑language captions, precise temporal segmentation, and detailed skeletal metadata. Built...
PTC Teams with NVIDIA to Unite Design and Robotics Simulation by Connecting Onshape to NVIDIA Isaac Sim
PTC announced a cloud‑native integration that links its Onshape CAD and PDM platform directly with NVIDIA’s Isaac Sim robotics simulation framework. The workflow streams mechanical relationships from Onshape into Isaac Sim, automatically updating physics‑based simulations whenever designs change. Demonstrated at...
FANUC Accelerates Physical AI in Industrial Robotics, Leveraging NVIDIA Technologies
FANUC announced a strategic partnership with NVIDIA to accelerate "physical AI" in its industrial robot lineup. The collaboration embeds NVIDIA Jetson edge modules, Isaac Sim, and Omniverse into FANUC's robots and ROBOGUIDE software, enabling photorealistic digital twins and real‑time AI...
Thermal Cameras Used in Drones and Robots Can Be Tricked by Heat Sources, Study Finds
University of Florida researchers uncovered three previously unknown vulnerabilities in thermal‑camera perception systems used by autonomous drones and robots. The flaws—rooted in image equalization, sensor calibration and lens optics—can be triggered by ordinary or malicious heat sources, causing real obstacles...
European Client First to Use Exail’s 9-Meter USV for Civil Offshore Operations
Exail has completed its first civil offshore sale of the 9‑meter DriX H‑9 uncrewed surface vessel to an undisclosed European client. The USV is fitted with a multibeam echosounder, side‑scan sonar, sub‑bottom profiler and magnetometer for comprehensive offshore infrastructure surveys. With...
Gecko Robotics Lands the Largest US Navy Robotics Deal Yet
The U.S. Navy has signed a five‑year IDIQ contract with Pittsburgh‑based Gecko Robotics, starting with a $54 million award and a $71 million ceiling. Gecko’s autonomous inspection robots will crawl inside 18 Pacific Fleet vessels to generate detailed digital twins and feed...
US Navy to Use Wall-Climbing Robots to Inspect Ships
The U.S. Navy and the General Services Administration awarded Gecko Robotics a $71 million contract to deploy wall‑climbing robots and AI‑driven drones for inspecting ships, aircraft and other equipment. Gecko claims its systems can locate structural defects up to 50 times...
Cobots Handle Furniture-Making Drudgery, People Focus on Company Growth
Furniture maker Foliot equipped its Quebec and Las Vegas plants with Fanuc CRX‑30 collaborative robots after a successful pilot, expanding to 31 cobots in 2026. The automation shifted operators from repetitive panel‑feeding tasks to supervisory roles, boosting line throughput by 15%...
PDW Introduces CORE 1.4 Software Update for C100 Platform
Performance Drone Works has launched CORE 1.4, the latest software upgrade for its C100 unmanned platform. The update introduces Vision‑Based Navigation that enables GPS‑free “Cold Start” missions and fully activates the Multi‑Mission Payload suite. It also enhances SROC communications with...
Antigravity A1 Drone Discount Arrives Before April Feature Update
Antigravity is offering a flat 20 % discount on its A1 8K 360 drone across all bundles, just weeks before a major April software update. The A1 remains the only consumer‑grade drone in the United States capable of true 8K 360...
NVIDIA and Bolt Team up for European Robotaxis
At GTC 2026, NVIDIA and European rideshare firm Bolt announced a partnership to develop robotaxis across Europe. Bolt will leverage NVIDIA’s Cosmos, Omniverse, the Alpamayo autonomous‑vehicle model, and Drive Hyperion platform to turn its fleet data into a scalable learning...
Frog-Cell 'Neurobots' Grow Self-Organized Nervous Systems and Alter Gene Activity
Researchers at the Wyss Institute have created the first “neurobots,” living robots built from frog embryonic cells that incorporate neuronal precursor cells to form self‑organizing nervous systems. The neurobots develop mature neurons that connect internally and extend processes to surface...
Nvidia Releases Open Physical AI Models for Healthcare Robotics
At its GTC conference, Nvidia unveiled a suite of open physical AI models tailored for healthcare robotics. The models provide pre‑trained control frameworks for surgical robots, enabling faster integration of AI into operating rooms. Early adopters include surgical robotics firms...
Memories AI Is Building the Visual Memory Layer for Wearables and Robotics
Memories.ai announced a partnership with Nvidia to build a visual‑memory layer for AI wearables and robotics, using Nvidia's Cosmos‑Reason 2 and Metropolis tools. The startup launched its Large Visual Memory Model (LVMM) in July 2025, positioning it against Google’s Gemini Embedding 2. It...
4D Printing Technology Uses Waste Sulfur to Enable Self-Actuating Soft Robots
Researchers at KRICT, Hanyang University and Sejong University have unveiled the world’s first 4D‑printing platform that uses sulfur‑rich polymers derived from petroleum‑refining waste. By engineering a loosely cross‑linked sulfur polymer network, the material can be extruded, printed, and programmed to...
Niqo Robotics Charts Path to Profitability as Physical AI Weeding Platform Expands Into New Crops, Markets, and New Generation of...
Niqo Robotics announced that its core AI‑powered weeding business is on track to become profitable in its first full commercial year, a first for agricultural robotics. The company’s one‑time‑purchase RoboWeeder, which delivers 99% edge‑AI accuracy without recurring fees, has gained...
Cybertrol Engineering Celebrates 30 Years of Automation Excellence
Cybertrol Engineering marks three decades of industrial automation services, celebrating its 30th anniversary as a Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork™ Gold System Integrator. Founded in 1996, the Minnesota‑based firm now operates multi‑disciplinary teams serving food, chemical and life‑science manufacturers across North America....
EPC91202 Evaluation Board Added for Three-Phase BLDC Motor Drive Inverter
Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) launched the EPC91202 evaluation board, a three‑phase brushless DC motor‑drive inverter built around its EPC2361 100 V eGaN FET. The board can deliver up to 70 A peak (50 A RMS) current and switch PWM signals as fast as...
What Is Functional Safety?
Functional safety shifts machine protection from an all‑or‑nothing shutdown to engineered, controlled behavior under fault conditions. By using standards such as IEC 61508, manufacturers perform risk assessments to assign a Safety Integrity Level (SIL) and implement functions like safe speed, safe...
BlueSword’s AMR Lineup Manages Materials Across Industries and Countries
BlueSword Intelligent Technology has broadened its autonomous mobile robot (AMR) and automated guided vehicle (AGV) portfolio, adding forklift‑type robots, latent mobile robots and a unified control platform. The company leverages digital‑twin simulation to pre‑validate deployments, shortening commissioning and boosting reliability....
The Coming Compute War in Ukraine
Ukrainian forces depend on cloud‑based AI to coordinate massive drone swarms, but Russian electronic‑warfare can sever the uplinks, turning pre‑programmed drones into ineffective assets. Bandwidth constraints and energy shortages expose a critical compute vulnerability, prompting a shift toward a layered...
Tech Stacks, AI, and New Regulations: What Drone Surveyors Need to Know Now
The Commercial UAV News webinar highlighted how drone surveying firms must first secure data‑first workflows before layering AI, adopt a three‑tiered, modular tech stack, and address new regulatory demands. Panelists stressed that clean, structured data and automated pipelines are prerequisites...
Terra’s Drones Will Now Come with Weapons as It Begins Building Combat Ready Systems for the Nigerian Military
Terra Industries, a Nigerian‑focused defence startup, is now fitting its UAVs with machine guns and rocket launchers, turning surveillance platforms into combat‑ready systems for the Nigerian military. The classified project will be operated remotely by military personnel rather than Terra’s...
Arctech Presents Dry Cleaning Robot Weighing Just 38 Kg
Chinese firm Arctech Solar has launched the Star Shine I, a 38 kg autonomous dry‑cleaning robot for utility‑scale photovoltaic plants. The robot can travel 10‑18 m per minute, covering up to 3 km round‑trip (9 km one‑way) and achieves more than 99.5 % cleaning efficiency....
Private 5G Seen as Fix for Warehouse Robot Connectivity
Private‑5G specialist Celona and Digi International have teamed up to deliver a plug‑and‑play Robots‑as‑a‑Service (RaaS) platform that replaces unreliable Wi‑Fi in large‑scale warehouses. By integrating Digi’s rugged edge routers and gateways with Celona’s 5G LAN, the solution offers low‑latency, high‑capacity...
How Automation Is Solving Operational Inefficiency
Operational bottlenecks—approval delays, duplicated effort, siloed systems—continue to drain productivity and erode customer experience. SS&C Blue Prism argues that pinpointing root causes through process mapping and employee feedback is the first step toward remediation. The firm outlines a three‑stage automation...
What We're Watching: Touring the ABB Robotics Headquarters | 2025
ABB Robotics unveiled a new Auburn Hills, Michigan campus that consolidates training, manufacturing, testing, and customer‑facing operations under a single roof. The expansion reflects a strategic push to deepen ABB’s U.S. footprint and streamline product development cycles. Facility features include...
Kistler and ATS Develop High-Speed Medical Device Assembly Line with Real-Time Quality Monitoring
Kistler Group and ATS Life Sciences Systems have launched the Symphoni platform, a high‑speed medical device assembly line capable of processing up to 320 parts per minute while cutting tooling requirements by 90 percent. The system combines Kistler’s force and displacement...
DoCoMo and Keio University Demonstrate ‘World’s First Stable, High-Fidelity Robot Teleoperation via Commercial 5G Using Low-Latency Slicing
NTT DoCoMo and Keio University demonstrated the world’s first stable, high‑fidelity robot teleoperation using commercial 5G with low‑latency slicing (Configured Grant). The system combined Configured Grant slicing and Keio’s Real Haptics to transmit force feedback with minimal latency and jitter....
Ant Group’s Robbyant Teams Up with Leju to Bridge Embodied Intelligence and Real-World Applications
Ant Group’s embodied AI unit Robbyant announced a strategic partnership with Leju Robot, a leading Chinese robotics firm. The collaboration will combine Robbyant’s AI algorithms with Leju’s hardware expertise to develop data‑rich, embodied intelligence platforms. Both companies aim to move...
Anduril’s Lattice Platform Integrates K1000ULE for Autonomous Operations Within Army NGC2
Anduril’s Lattice platform has integrated the K1000ULE unmanned aircraft into the U.S. Army’s Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) ecosystem, following demonstrations at Ivy Sting 4 and Ivy Sting 5. The integration makes the K1000ULE a fully networked airborne node that can be maneuvered...
QuikBot Technologies, the Singapore Startup Teaching Robots to Navigate a World Built for Humans
QuikBot Technologies, a Singapore robotics and AI startup, has built QuikSync – an "Ambient Permission Plane" that lets autonomous machines communicate with elevators, access‑control and building‑management systems. The platform, marketed as an Autonomous Final‑Mile Delivery PaaS, enables robots to perform...
Why Not an Android as a Tractor Driver?
The agricultural sector is nearing functional autonomous tractors, yet real‑world deployment stalls on error handling, supervision and regulatory issues. UK startup Osmosis AI proposes a humanoid “DriverAgent” that sits in the cab, physically steering, operating pedals and performing on‑site interventions....
Greensea IQ Releases Virtual Training Simulator for Bayonet AUGVs
Greensea IQ has launched a virtual training simulator for its Bayonet Autonomous Underwater Ground Vehicles (AUGVs). The game‑based platform uses a high‑fidelity physics engine and integrates with Greensea’s Workspace software, allowing operators to practice missions, respond to environmental events, and...
Tier IV Starts Level 4 Autonomy Tests Across Three Continents
Tier IV has released hardware‑agnostic Level 4 autonomous‑driving software stacks through the open‑source Autoware platform, offering both hybrid perception‑planning and fully end‑to‑end configurations. The company began real‑world validation tests across three continents, deploying a Toyota JPN Taxi in Tokyo, a Hyundai Ioniq 5...
Tackling Complexity with Smart Automation
Swiss 3PL Alloga modernized its Bern distribution center by integrating Interroll’s Modular Conveyor Platform with Flück Fördertechnik. The modular, zero‑pressure accumulation system increased transport capacity, boosted throughput by 45% and expanded storage within the existing footprint without interrupting operations. Custom...
Market Retrospective: The Pakistan Air Force’s Drone Program Circa 2007 to 2026
From 2007 to 2026 the Pakistan Air Force assembled a uniquely diversified unmanned‑aircraft fleet, pulling platforms from Europe, China and Turkey. The acquisitions were opportunistic rather than centrally planned, with Chinese OEMs opening the armed‑drone market after European restrictions and...
Shotoku To Unveil Aura Robotic Control System For PTZ Cameras At 2026 NAB Show
Shotoku announced the Aura TR‑XPTZ control system, extending its high‑end robotic camera expertise to PTZ productions, at the 2026 NAB Show. The suite also includes the Swoop robotic crane family—available in 140 cm and 220 cm versions with SmartPed or manual bases—and...
This $155 ESP32-Powered DIY Drone Can Hit 67 Mph
A DIY quadcopter called ESP‑Blast, built around a $155 ESP32 microcontroller, achieved a recorded top speed of about 67 mph. The drone weighs 136 grams, uses a 450 mAh battery for roughly five minutes of flight, and features a fully 3D‑printed PETG frame....
Rivian’s RJ Scaringe Thinks We’re Doing Robots All Wrong
Rivian founder RJ Scaringe has launched Mind Robotics, a new venture focused on industrial robots that prioritize advanced hand dexterity over humanoid complexity. The company raised a $500 million Series A round led by Accel and Andreessen Horowitz, bringing total funding to...
HP Indigo Adds Mobile Robots to Its Portfolio, Developed by MoviĜo Robotics
HP Indigo announced it will sell and support autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) developed by MoviĜo Robotics to its print‑industry customers. The robots handle B‑to‑pallets, postal pallets, carts and racks for both sheet‑fed and web‑press environments. The partnership introduces the Sharko 5 RT,...
Could China Build an ‘Army of Centaurs’ with This Non-Invasive Cyborg Tech?
Chinese researchers have unveiled a non‑invasive wearable human‑robot hybrid that assists soldiers in carrying heavy loads across rugged terrain. The exoskeleton uses lightweight actuators, sensor arrays and AI‑driven control to augment strength without requiring implants. Tests suggest it can increase...
Saab Sets Sights on LUUV Sea Trials in Mid-2026
Saab has secured a SEK 60 million contract from Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration to build a large uncrewed underwater vehicle (LUUV) demonstrator, dubbed the Autonomous Ocean Drone (AOD). The 7‑metre, 6.5‑tonne platform will integrate Saab’s Autonomous Ocean Core autonomy engine and is...
![Humanoid Robots Get to Work at German BMW Factory [Video]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/03/BMW_humanoid.jpg?resize=1200%2C628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Humanoid Robots Get to Work at German BMW Factory [Video]
BMW is extending its AI‑powered humanoid robot program from the Spartanburg plant to the Leipzig iFACTORY, deploying Hexagon’s AEON robots to assemble electric vehicles. The earlier Figure 02 robots helped position sheet metal for welding on more than 30,000 X3s, proving...
Yes, The Neo Robot Is Real — And Here's How Much It Costs
1X Technologies unveiled Neo, a 5‑foot‑6‑inch humanoid robot priced at $20,000 or $499 per month, promising household assistance such as laundry folding and plant watering. The robot features a built‑in large language model, 0.75 kWh battery, and can lift up to...