Archives

SUTD’s ALBATROSS robot uses the same wings to slow its fall and sail across water, demonstrating aerial deployment and autonomous navigation in reservoir trials.

Anthropic’s new study finds a wide gap between robot capabilities and affordable deployment, with cost scenarios pointing to decades before broad physical automation.

NEURA HealthTech launches with autonomous empty-bed transport, a monthly service model and plans to expand physical AI into hospital logistics and assistance.

The IFR’s annual World Robotics report shows the global industrial robot operational stock rose 9% to 5.08 million units in 2025 with 603,000 new installations, while separately confirming only 7,000 humanoid robots were sold, as Boston Dynamics shelves a listing and Chinese regulators slow humanoid IPOs following Unitree’s post-debut collapse.

Tesla has reached hundreds of Optimus robots per week in production – a tenfold increase from Q2 2026 levels – and is on track for 1,000 units weekly by year-end, but reports acknowledge that task generalization, hand durability, and supplier issues mean production volume is no longer the primary bottleneck.

Emirates Group is developing next-generation airport robots capable of completing passenger check-in via facial recognition and passport scanning, receiving and tagging luggage, and transporting bags autonomously, with a formal launch planned for Q1 2027 through the airline’s in-house robotics laboratory.

NASA’s Dexterous Robotics Team is testing humanoids, robotic arms and control software to support future Moon and Mars missions, with iMETRO trials focused on practical tasks.

The International Federation of Robotics has published its first-ever humanoid robot count, placing global 2025 sales at approximately 7,000 units for industrial and professional service use, with most going to research institutions and AI training programs rather than productive factory deployment.

A senior Hyundai Motor Group executive with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that a Boston Dynamics IPO in 2027 is unlikely, as the company has not yet deployed its Atlas humanoid robots at scale and remains unprofitable, with analysts suggesting a listing is more likely in 2029 or 2030.

UBTECH has launched its new 14,000 square-meter factory in Liuzhou, Guangxi, designed to produce more than 10,000 humanoid robots annually at a rate of one robot every 10 minutes, using humanoid robots on the production floor alongside Siemens digital twin technology and a flexible mixed-line design.

Figure AI and Nscale have signed a strategic partnership providing Figure with access to up to 100,000 NVIDIA Vera Rubin GPUs starting in the second half of 2027, in an initial $3.5 billion compute commitment with intent to scale beyond $6 billion, as Figure’s Helix model generates 35 minutes of training data every second through its Index dataset initiative.

IFA 2026 in Berlin featured the highest number of humanoid robots in the trade show’s history, with PrimeBOT Q1, Booster K1, EngineAI T800, Agibot A3, and Zeroth W1 among the platforms demonstrating martial arts, soccer, calligraphy, and home navigation for B2B and emerging B2C markets.

Lyte, founded by Apple Face ID and Microsoft Kinect engineers, has raised $165 million in a Series C led by Maverick Silicon at a $1.6 billion post-money valuation, tripling its January 2026 valuation as it scales its LyteVision perception platform from prototypes to production deployments in inspection, logistics, and manufacturing.

Zeroth has launched Bridge, an 88-centimeter AI-native humanoid robot with open SDKs and motion-control APIs, alongside OpenBridge, a fully open-source ecosystem with a shared Skill Hub, targeting developers who want to build and share robot capabilities across a community platform.

Pudu Robotics has launched the GT Series, a three-model lineup of commercial robotic mowers covering compact grounds care, large-area high-efficiency mowing, and precision reel mowing for golf courses and professional sports fields, debuting globally at GaLaBau 2026 in Nuremberg.