Harbinger, American Rheinmetall Partner on UGVs
American Rheinmetall and Harbinger have teamed to build a family of uncrewed ground vehicles for the U.S. Department of War. The collaboration pairs Rheinmetall’s combat‑vehicle integration expertise with Harbinger’s hybrid‑electric, drive‑by‑wire chassis that offers silent‑watch operation and a range‑extended powertrain. The duo will chase Army programs covering autonomous tactical wheeled vehicles, contested‑logistics resupply and manned‑unmanned teaming, with joint demos slated for this summer. All design, engineering and manufacturing will be performed in the United States.
Drones Shift From Pilot Projects to Operational Goals
After years of pilot projects, the drone industry is moving toward measurable operational use cases such as safe flight, data capture, and repeatable tasks. British analyst IDTechEx projects commercial drone shipments to exceed 9 million units per year by 2036, driven...
With the US Army Watching, Defense Industry Operators Turned a Logistics Drone Into a Flying Rocket Launcher
The U.S. Army observed a test at Fort Rucker where Survice Engineering’s TRV 150 logistics drone was fitted with BAE Systems’ 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rocket launcher. The autonomous drone, capable of carrying up to 150 lb, successfully...
Teledyne FLIR Upgrades Its Rogue 1 Lethal Drone
Teledyne FLIR Defense unveiled Rogue 1 Block 2, a loitering munition whose operating range has been doubled to over 12 miles (≈20 km) and now carries an anti‑armor shaped‑charge warhead. The upgrade adds 20 % more endurance, dual‑band radio, GPS‑denied navigation, and an Android‑based ground‑control...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
New Zealand to Invest Almost US$1 Billion in Drones, Ships to Protect Maritime Security
New Zealand will spend about NZ$1.6 billion (≈US$936 million) on new drones, ship maintenance and naval upgrades to strengthen maritime security. The plan includes long‑duration ISR drones for the Southwest Pacific and polar‑capable drones that can launch from vessels in the Southern Ocean....
Report: Humanoid Robot Revenue to Reach $15 Billion by 2035
Interact Analysis' new report projects the global humanoid robot market to reach about $15 billion in revenue by 2035, with shipments climbing to over 700,000 units. The inflection point is expected around 2032, contingent on breakthroughs in embodied AI, hardware durability,...
The War in Ukraine Has Become the World’s Largest Live Test of Autonomous Drone Warfare — and What Both Sides...
The Ukraine‑Russia war has become the largest live test of autonomous drone warfare, with Ukraine producing over 4.5 million UAVs in 2025—more than the entire NATO alliance—and Russia churning out 50,000 fiber‑optic‑guided drones each month. Both sides have rapidly iterated tactics,...
Navy Turns to Autonomous Vessels to Map the Ocean Floor
The U.S. Navy’s Naval Oceanographic Office announced a two‑year, $40 million contract for contractor‑owned, contractor‑operated autonomous surface vessels (USVs) to fill critical ocean‑floor mapping gaps. The vessels must conduct 25‑day deep‑ocean surveys, collect multibeam sonar data from 200 meters to full‑depth, and...
Behind the Scenes of How Boston Dynamics Trains the Atlas Humanoid Robot
Boston Dynamics revealed how it trains its newest Atlas humanoid robot using reinforcement learning. The robot, unveiled at CES 2026, learns complex tasks such as lifting a refrigerator by practicing millions of simulated variations. Training relies on implicit proprioceptive perception,...
Plus One Robotics Streams Eight Hours of Live Warehouse Automation Performance
Plus One Robotics streamed an eight‑hour live demonstration of its AI‑driven parcel induction system, showing the robot operate continuously in a real‑world warehouse workflow. The system logged 19,784 picks, delivering a throughput of 2,488 picks per hour and an average...
Around the Commercial Drone Industry: Cargo Delivery, Mine Mapping, Drone Booth
Elroy Air’s Chaparral heavy‑payload drone has been chosen for the U.S. DOT’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, positioning it to deliver 300 lb cargo over 300 mi across the Gulf Coast. In mining, Estrella Resources is using a DJI FlyCart 30 to conduct electromagnetic...
Swiss And Euro Microbots Win Gold
Six teams from Canada, Europe and the United States competed in NIST’s Mobile Microrobotics Challenge, testing sub‑millimeter robots in a 2 mm dash, an assembly trial, and a freestyle arena. A French duo shattered the dash record with a 32 ms average,...
Qingtian Zu, JD.com Form Strategic Partnership
Qingtian Zu and JD.com have entered a strategic partnership to accelerate the Robot as a Service (RaaS) market. The collaboration will see Qingtian Zu open a flagship store on JD.com, standardizing robot‑leasing through a platform‑based model. Joint product development will target education,...
Kepler Discloses Details of Former CEO Hu Debo's Departure
Kepler Robot disclosed that former CEO Hu Debo stepped down in June 2025, shifted to a sales‑only role, had his equity incentives cancelled, and formally left the company in February 2026. The firm says the delayed announcement ensured a smooth transition while it...
Kawasaki Heavy Ties up with Nvidia on Physical AI, and the Rideable Robot Horse Gets a Foundation Model
Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced a joint physical‑AI development hub in San Jose with Nvidia, Analog Devices, Microsoft and Fujitsu. The partnership will accelerate AI‑driven robotics, starting with the four‑legged, hydrogen‑powered CORLEO mobility robot that can be ridden like a horse. Kawasaki’s...
Robot Talk Episode 157 – Generating New Robot Designs, with Josie Hughes
In Robot Talk episode 157, host Claire interviews EPFL Assistant Professor Josie Hughes about leveraging artificial intelligence to generate new robot manipulator designs. Hughes, who founded the CREATE Lab in 2021, explains how AI‑driven generative design can explore unconventional geometries...
Robots for the Rest of Us: Warehouse Automation Gets Easier
Warehouse robotics are moving from elite, capital‑intensive projects to widely accessible tools. A 2026 Peerless Research Group study shows 52% of firms now use at least one robot, up from 48% a year earlier, and 45% plan to boost spending....
Norway’s Roboxi Lands €13 Million to Transform Airport Airside Operations with Automation and Robotics
Stavanger‑based Roboxi has closed a share issue that raised roughly €13 million (about $14 million) in new equity. The capital will be used to scale its AI‑driven airport airside automation suite, which includes foreign‑object debris (FOD) detection, runway lighting inspection, and wildlife...
New Fixed-Wing VTOL UAV Launched for Weather Modification Operations
JOUAV unveiled the CW-80E, a VTOL fixed‑wing UAV built for weather‑modification missions such as cloud seeding, hail suppression and fire prevention. The drone weighs up to 100 kg, carries a 25 kg payload, and can stay aloft for roughly eight hours, cruising...
ADNOC Deploys Heavy-Duty Inspection Robot at UAE Gas Plant
ADNOC has rolled out an autonomous heavy‑duty inspection robot at its Taweelah Gas Compression Plant in the UAE. Developed by Taurob, the robot combines 3D LiDAR, thermal imaging and 360‑degree vision to spot gas leaks and heat anomalies, and can...
Trump Wants Ukraine’s Drone Technology
Ukraine’s wartime drone sector has scaled dramatically, now capable of producing up to 4 million units a year. Companies such as SkyFall are field‑testing advanced interceptors like the P1‑S amid ongoing conflict. The rapid industrialization has turned drones into a cornerstone...
Vbot’s Home Robotics Push Starts with a Quadruped Bot and RMB 500 Million in Funding
Chinese robotics startup Vbot, founded by former Horizon Robotics leader Yu Yinan, has closed a pre‑Series A round of roughly RMB 500 million ($73 million) led by Orient Renaissance Capital and others. The company launched its first consumer product, a quadruped robot, with the...
Dallas Drone as First Responder Program Takes to the Skies
Dallas Police Department unveiled a Drone‑as‑First‑Responder program, deploying quad‑propeller drones from eight fire stations to answer 911 calls with live video. The initiative, funded by a $120.6 million amendment to a $277.8 million Axon contract, aims to cut response times and reduce...
Remote ID: An Enforcement System Dressed up as Drone Safety
The UK government has earmarked nearly £50 million (≈ $63.5 million) for drone and flying‑taxi development, but £20.5 million (≈ $26 million) is dedicated to a Remote ID "number‑plate" system. The scheme will broadcast operator identity, location and flight data to a secure online database for...