Unchained Labs Explodes Into AI-Driven Automation, Launches Stuntman
Unchained Labs unveiled Stuntman, an AI‑driven automation platform that lets scientists command experiments using natural‑language prompts. The system embeds a large‑language model to translate plain‑text instructions into executable workflows while offering deep programmatic control when needed. Its modular hardware architecture can be reconfigured on the fly, delivering a flexible, open‑format data capture that streamlines experiment design and analysis. By removing coding bottlenecks, Stuntman promises faster iteration and reduced time‑to‑insight for life‑science research teams.
California City Approves $683K Drone Program for Police Emergencies
Santa Ana City Council approved a Drone as a First Responder program, allocating up to $682,900 to purchase five Skydio drones over three years. The drones will be deployed only for clearly defined emergencies such as active crimes, searches, and...
US Containerized Drone Swarms No Silver Bullet vs China
The Defense Innovation Unit has issued a solicitation for a Containerized Autonomous Drone Delivery System (CADDS) that can store, launch, recover and service large numbers of unmanned aerial systems from a single container on land or sea. CADDS is designed...
Waymo Raises $16B Investment Round
Waymo announced a $16 billion financing round that lifts its post‑money valuation to $126 billion. The round was led by Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Silver Lake, Tiger Global and other heavyweight firms. Alphabet...
'Today, the Real Standard Is No Longer Simply 'Wire-Free' But 'Senseless Intelligence' – Whether the Robot Can Be Like an...
Segway Navimow unveiled its 2026 X4 series, adding LiDAR‑based navigation and the proprietary Xero‑Turn mechanism to handle tight pivots without damaging grass. The CEO, George Ren, said the market’s new benchmark is "senseless intelligence," meaning robots must act like invisible gardeners...
When Robots Can’t Replace Humans: The Critical Role of Personal Protection in Robotic Law Enforcement Operations
Law‑enforcement robots are now routine for bomb disposal, surveillance and initial entry, but they cannot replace human officers for arrests, rescues and tactical decisions. The most hazardous moment occurs when officers transition from remote robot control to physical intervention, creating...
Ukraine Seeks God Mode with New Control App for Drone War
Ukraine has deployed Mission Control, a digital command‑and‑control system that centralizes planning, execution, and reporting for every drone operation across the country. Integrated into the broader DELTA battlefield management ecosystem, the platform captures launch data, flight routes, and mission outcomes...
Haply Robotics Raises $16 Million to Build the “Steering Wheels” For Physical AI
Haply Robotics announced a $11.75 million USD (CAD $16 million) seed‑plus financing round, led by Sound Media Ventures and backed by Amazon’s Industrial Innovation Fund, Hanwha, Two Small Fish Ventures, and BDC Capital. The Montreal‑based startup builds high‑precision haptic controllers—such as the Inverse3...
Physical AI Robotics Draws Millions in Funding as Digital Markets Face Correction
In 2025 venture capital redirected billions from speculative crypto to physical AI robotics, allocating $211 billion to hardware solutions. Global venture funding reached $425 billion, highlighted by Mimic Robotics’ $16 million seed round to develop dexterous robot end‑effectors for manufacturing. ETH Zurich researchers...
NASA Let AI Drive The Perseverance Rover For Two Days
NASA employed Anthropic’s Claude AI to generate waypoints for Perseverance, enabling the rover to travel 456 meters over two days without human control. The AI processed HiRISE orbital images and digital elevation models to identify hazards and plot a safe path....
7 CNC-Machined Components Every Industrial Robot Depends On
Industrial robots consist of numerous CNC‑machined components, with seven parts—joint housings, gearbox casings, motor mounting plates, end‑effector interface plates, link structures, bearing seats, and encoder mounts—forming the core of every robot. These parts require tight dimensional tolerances (±0.01 mm to ±0.025 mm)...
AI Research to Support Efficient Management of Autonomous Baggage Vehicles at Airports
Aston University has partnered with autonomous‑vehicle specialist Aurrigo to create artificial‑intelligence tools for managing airport baggage‑handling fleets. The AI system will automate task allocation, balancing battery levels, location data and flight‑schedule disruptions in real time. By moving beyond centrally‑controlled human...
Mint Signed MoU with Robotics Leader Rice Robotics to Pioneer Physical AI Solutions Across Asia
Mint Incorporation Limited announced that its subsidiary Aspiration X has signed a non‑binding MOU with Japan‑based Rice Robotics to explore a joint venture focused on physical AI solutions. The proposed venture would be seeded with roughly HK$10 million from Mint, pending...
Robot Swarms Turn Music Into Moving Light Paintings
University of Waterloo researchers unveiled a swarm of light‑emitting robots that translate musical features such as tempo and chord progression into moving paint‑like trails on a floor canvas. Up to 12 wheeled robots coordinate in real time, adjusting color, intensity...
AGIBOT Hosts "AGIBOT NIGHT," A Robot-Led Live Gala Show
AGIBOT staged "AGIBOT NIGHT," the world’s first live gala entirely led by humanoid robots, streaming on February 8. The 60‑minute show featured robots performing dance, magic, comedy and music, as well as joint acts with human performers and consumer brands. The...
Flipping the Script: How ‘Upside-Down’ AutoPallet Robots Solve Palletizing Density
AutoPallet Robotics unveiled its upside‑down, ceiling‑mounted palletizing system at Manifest 2026, showcasing small autonomous mobile robots that cling to steel panels and use vacuum grippers to build dense pallets. The self‑contained units run on lithium‑phosphate batteries, communicate via a wireless...
Gather AI, Maker of ‘Curious’ Warehouse Drones, Lands $40M Led by Keith Block’s Firm
Gather AI announced a $40 million Series B round led by Keith Block’s Smith Point Capital, bringing its total funding to $74 million. The Boston startup equips warehouse cameras and autonomous drones with a Bayesian‑based AI that ‘gets curious’ to scan barcodes, expiration...
Walmart to Add Automation, Robotics to Louisiana Distribution Center
Walmart announced a $330 million investment to modernize its Opelousas, Louisiana, regional distribution center, adding robotics and automation. The upgrade, slated to begin this year, will double the facility’s shipping capacity once completed. This effort is part of a broader initiative...
Corvus Robotics Launches Dedicated Cold Chain Drones for Autonomous Inventory in Sub-Zero Warehouses
Corvus Robotics unveiled Corvus One™ for Cold Chain, an autonomous drone system designed to perform inventory cycle counts inside sub‑zero freezers ranging from –20 °F to ambient temperatures. The drones feature re‑engineered thermal management, adaptive barcode scanners, and flight‑stabilization to handle...
Discontinued Electronic Products: In-Depth Analysis of PCB Reverse Engineering and IC Unlock Techniques
Planned obsolescence is pushing many electronic products into retirement, leaving users without official repair options. PCB reverse engineering and IC unlock techniques let engineers recreate schematics, bill‑of‑materials, and firmware from physical boards. The article outlines a step‑by‑step workflow, essential tools...
Kiwi Charge Takes EV-Charging Robot to Showroom Floor with $1.7-million Pilot Project
Toronto‑based Kiwi Charge is piloting its autonomous EV‑charging robot in a $1.7 million project with General Motors Canada and Pfaff Automotive. The robot, dubbed the “R2‑D2 for EV charging,” can self‑charge in 30 minutes and fully charge a vehicle in another 30 minutes,...
AutoAgri Introduces IC12 Multipurpose Autonomous Carrier
Norwegian firm AutoAgri unveiled the IC12, a fully electric, unmanned carrier designed for precise, cost‑effective agricultural work. The compact platform supports multiple payload configurations, including top, front, rear, and trailer mounts, and is offered in 2‑WD and 4‑WD versions with...
Nvidia Releases DreamDojo, a Robot ‘World Model’ Trained on 44,000 Hours of Human Video
Nvidia unveiled DreamDojo, a robot world model trained on a 44,000‑hour human egocentric video dataset, enabling robots to acquire physical intuition by observation before hardware‑specific fine‑tuning. The DreamDojo‑HV dataset is 15× longer, contains 96× more skills and spans 2,000× more...
E-TERRY: A Lightweight Weeding Robot for Mechanical In-Row Weed Control
German startup E‑TERRY has launched a lightweight, fully electric field robot for mechanical in‑row weed control in vegetables and specialty crops. Its patented ultra‑flexible chassis adapts to any row spacing, while an AI‑based phenotyping system identifies crops with over 95%...
Ocado Cost Saving Drive Puts 1,000 Jobs at Risk
Ocado Group is weighing a reduction of up to 1,000 jobs, roughly 5% of its staff, as part of a cost‑saving initiative after a challenging year for its automated warehouse operations. The potential redundancies would focus on head‑office functions such...
OnRobot to Host Automation Roadmap Event in Dallas as Manufacturers Face Labor Shortages
OnRobot is hosting a free, in‑person "Build Your Automation Roadmap" event in Dallas on February 19, 2026, targeting manufacturers in metal fabrication, CNC machining, aerospace, food & beverage, and other sectors. The event will feature live Fanuc robot demos, hands‑on workshops, and...
ABB Showcases the Future of Lab Automation at SLAS 2026
ABB Robotics is highlighting its Autonomous Versatile Robotics (AVR) platform at the SLAS 2026 conference in Boston, demonstrating AI‑driven collaborative robots that increase laboratory throughput and reproducibility. The company showcased three process‑cell demos, including multi‑step analytical workflows with Mettler Toledo...
From Demos to Daily Transport: How Las Vegas Is Turning Autonomy Into Real Urban Infrastructure
Las Vegas is rapidly converting autonomous technology from pilots to everyday infrastructure, with Amazon‑owned Zoox launching a public robotaxi service on the Strip. Remote‑driving startup Vay now delivers rental cars via teledrivers, while the Regional Transportation Commission runs autonomous shuttles...
3 Surprising Trends That May Change Your View of Autonomous Farming Technology
Sabanto has deployed over a hundred autonomous tractors by retrofitting existing farm equipment rather than building new machines. The company finds that autonomy is being used to amplify the productivity of current workforces, allowing farms to scale without hiring additional...
The Best AR and MR Glasses in 2026: Expert Tested and Reviewed
ZDNet’s 2026 roundup evaluates the fastest‑growing AR and MR glasses market, naming Meta Ray‑Bans 2 as the overall best choice thanks to its 3K video, longer battery and sleek design. The guide also highlights niche leaders such as Viture Beast for...
Nvidia Launches Robotics Hackathon with $5,000 Top Prize to Spur Physical AI Development
Nvidia has launched the Cosmos Cookoff, a global virtual hackathon aimed at accelerating robotics and physical AI development. Participants must build applications using Nvidia’s Cosmos foundation models, with registration open Jan 29 to Feb 19 and submissions due Feb 26. The competition offers...
ABB Launches ‘Automation Extended’ to Help Industries Modernize Control Systems without Disruption
ABB unveiled Automation Extended, a new architecture that lets industrial operators upgrade control systems without costly shutdowns or full equipment replacement. The solution builds on ABB’s existing DCS portfolio—800xA, Symphony Plus, and Freelance—while adding AI, advanced analytics, and IoT capabilities through a...
The Rise of Collaborative Robots and Human-Robot Teams in Modern Factories
Collaborative robots, or cobots, are increasingly deployed in factories to work side‑by‑side with human operators, delivering flexibility and rapid reconfiguration. Unlike traditional isolated robots, cobots handle delicate assembly, inspection and quality‑control tasks, demanding high positional accuracy. Manufacturers are turning to...
Robots that Keep Moving when Flipped? Sea Star Tube Feet Offer a Blueprint
Researchers at USC’s Kanso Bioinspired Motion Lab have uncovered how sea stars achieve locomotion using decentralized control of hundreds of tube feet. By attaching a 3D‑printed backpack and measuring individual foot responses, they showed each tube foot adjusts adhesion via...
Amazon’s Delivery Dreams Grounded as Texas Drone Crash Sparks Fresh Safety Fears
Amazon’s Prime Air MK30 drone collided with a Richardson, Texas apartment building on February 4, 2026, sparking renewed safety concerns. The crash follows earlier mishaps in Arizona and Waco, highlighting potential flaws in the MK30’s LiDAR‑based navigation system. Critics argue...
The View From Zasche: Where Human Skill Meets Smart Automation – the Case for Semi-Automated Bin Picking
Zasche Handling promotes semi‑automated bin picking as a middle ground between manual handling and full‑scale robotics. The approach lets operators retain judgment while machines perform the physically demanding lifting and positioning tasks, improving safety and productivity. Flexible grippers and modular...
RC Mowers Awarded Canoe Procurement Group Cooperative Contract
RC Mowers has secured a cooperative purchasing contract with Canoe Procurement Group, granting Canadian municipalities, public agencies and nonprofits streamlined access to its autonomous mowing systems. The agreement reduces procurement cycles from months to weeks and aligns with Canoe’s partnership...
Micropolis Robotics Appoints AfricAI as Its Exclusive Continental Partner
Micropolis Robotics has granted AfricAI exclusive, multi‑year rights to commercialise, deploy and scale its advanced robotics platforms across Africa. The partnership prohibits direct sales or other distributors, positioning AfricAI as the sole gateway for autonomous systems in security, logistics, industrial...
Comau Deploys in.Grid Robot Monitoring Platform at Iveco Plant to Advance Smart Manufacturing
Comau has installed its cloud‑based in.Grid Robot Monitoring platform on the Door Ring and Mascherone lines at Iveco’s Valladolid plant in Spain. The system autonomously captures production data, flags anomalies, and tracks user‑defined KPIs to boost robot utilization and cut...
How ADR and Intel Went Underground with Edge AI
Australian Droid + Robot (ADR) has teamed with Intel to embed Xeon and Core Ultra processors into its Explora autonomous inspection robots for underground mining. The edge‑AI platform processes 3D lidar, thermal imaging, and gas‑sensor data in real time, enabling...
US Marine Designs Corps’ First NDAA-Compliant 3D-Printed Drone
The U.S. Marine Corps unveiled HANX, its first 3D‑printed first‑person view drone that meets National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) security requirements. Developed by Sgt. Henry David Volpe at the II Marine Expeditionary Force Innovation Campus, the drone is approved by...
Josh Ogden Thinks Canada’s Drone Industry Can Gain some Altitude
Josh Ogden, CEO of AVSS, warns that Canada’s drone sector has dwindled to fewer than 20 manufacturers that merely assemble foreign components rather than develop core technology. He points to historic successes like Aeryon Labs, many of which were acquired...
Norway Drone ‘Threat’ Fails to Materialise as Spy Service Finds No Link to Foreign States
Norway’s Police Security Service (PST) concluded that none of the dozens of drone sightings reported in 2025 were linked to foreign intelligence agencies. Investigations revealed that most incidents were misidentified celestial bodies, weather phenomena, or conventional aircraft. The surge in...
Oil and Gas Robotics Deployment Expands as Global Market Heads Toward $205 Billion in 2030, Says GlobalData
Robotics in oil and gas is entering a rapid expansion phase, propelled by AI and cloud computing that enable autonomous decision‑making and navigation. GlobalData projects the overall robotics market to climb from $90.2 billion in 2024 to $205.5 billion by 2030, with...
What Happens when Waymo Runs Into a Tornado? Or an Elephant?
Waymo has launched a new "World Model" built on Google’s Genie 3 AI, enabling the creation of hyper‑realistic 3D driving simulations from simple text or image prompts. The platform can generate extreme edge cases—tornadoes, flooded streets, rogue elephants—and run them at...
Around the Commercial Drone Industry: Air Taxi Demos, Police Drone Programs, and Weather Forecasting
SkyDrive Inc. will showcase its SD-05 eVTOL passenger drone in Tokyo this February, a public demonstration that precedes a planned 2028 market launch and supports Japan’s 2030 commercial vertiport roadmap. In Ohio, six police agencies have adopted Skydio drones, fielding...
Robot Talk Episode 143 – Robots for Children, with Elmira Yadollahi
Robot Talk’s Episode 143 featured Elmira Yadollahi, an assistant professor at Lancaster University, discussing how children interact with robots. Yadollahi’s research focuses on explainability, multimodal perception, and managing expectations to build trust and AI literacy among young users. She has...
Hail Our New Robot Overlords! Amazon Warehouse Tour Offers Glimpse of Future
Amazon opened its Stone Mountain, Georgia warehouse to the public, offering a rare glimpse of the robots that now assist human pickers and stowers. The tour revealed only a handful of mobile shelf‑moving units, a single palletising arm, and a...
7.5 Metres Wide Autonomous Implement Carrier From Cyclair
French ag‑tech startup Cyclair unveiled its hybrid autonomous implement carrier line at GOFAR’s field day, showcasing the 2‑metre Rover GS prototype and announcing the larger 7.5‑metre Rover GW slated for commercial release in late 2026. The Rover GW will weed up to 5.4 metres...
Robotics Build Path From Rural Kenya to World Stage
Jeremiah Kithinji, once a computer‑naïve student, now leads robotics clubs in Laikipia, Kenya. The clubs, serving roughly 200 pupils, recently sent a three‑member team to the World Robotics Olympiad in Singapore, where Kithinji also acted as the competition’s first Kenyan...