Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Sam Francis

Festo launches GripperAI software to simplify flexible robot handling

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Festo has introduced GripperAI, an AI-powered software solution that enables robots to handle mixed, unfamiliar and randomly positioned products without the need for extensive programming, template loading or specialist vision integration.

Designed for manufacturers seeking greater flexibility from automated handling systems, GripperAI automatically identifies the optimum gripping point for each item and selects the most appropriate gripper for the task from the end-of-arm tools available.

The software enables robots to adapt to changing product mixes in real time, helping manufacturers deploy and scale automation more efficiently. [Read more…] about Festo launches GripperAI software to simplify flexible robot handling

Wing and Walmart expand drone delivery network to seven new US metro areas

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Drone delivery company Wing and retail giant Walmart are expanding what they describe as the largest residential drone delivery network in the United States, adding seven new metropolitan areas as they work toward a goal of reaching 40 million Americans by 2027.

The expansion will bring drone delivery services to Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Salt Lake City.

The move increases the companies’ planned service footprint to nearly 20 US markets and follows Walmart’s recent announcement that its drone delivery operations had surpassed one million deliveries. [Read more…] about Wing and Walmart expand drone delivery network to seven new US metro areas

Standard Bots reaches $1 billion valuation after raising $200 million Series C

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Standard Bots, which claims to be “America’s largest manufacturer of AI-native, industrial robotics”, has raised $200 million Series C led by existing investors and RoboStrategy.

The fundraise values Standard Bots at $1 billion, marking a major milestone for American robotics at a time when US industry is racing to modernize.

The company is also expanding its manufacturing footprint in New York, increasing its ability to design, assemble, and deploy American-made robots at scale for customers ranging from Fortune 100 companies to hundreds of SMB manufacturers across the country.

This expansion comes at a pivotal moment for US manufacturing. When also counting affiliated suppliers and services, the sector accounts for roughly a third of the US economy and a third of American jobs. [Read more…] about Standard Bots reaches $1 billion valuation after raising $200 million Series C

Simulation tools in the ROS ecosystem: Testing and validating robots virtually

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Robots may operate in the physical world, but increasingly they are born, trained, tested, and refined in virtual ones.

Before a warehouse robot navigates its first aisle, before an autonomous vehicle drives its first mile, and before a humanoid robot takes its first step, there is a good chance it has already spent hundreds or even thousands of hours inside a simulator.

For robotics developers, simulation has become one of the most important tools in the development process. It allows engineers to test software, validate designs, train AI models, and identify failures before expensive hardware is ever powered on. [Read more…] about Simulation tools in the ROS ecosystem: Testing and validating robots virtually

RLWRLD and Nvidia launch DexBench to standardize humanoid robot dexterity

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RLWRLD, a physical AI company, in collaboration with Nvidia has launched an initiative to develop next-generation industry standards for humanoid robot AI.

RLWRLD will focus on three pillars: DexBench, a universal benchmark for evaluating dexterity performance; data standard for dexterous manipulation training; and deep integration with the open Nvidia Isaac Lab and Isaac Lab-Arena frameworks.

Dexterous manipulation – enabling humanoid robots to perform fine-grained tasks such as precision assembly, sorting, and packaging – has emerged as the decisive frontier in humanoid AI development. [Read more…] about RLWRLD and Nvidia launch DexBench to standardize humanoid robot dexterity

TARS brings real-life embodied AI to ICRA 2026 robotics conference

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TARS has capped a landmark appearance at ICRA 2026, IEEE’s international robotics conference, with the international debut of its DexHand platform, drawing significant attention among industrialists and academics.

Dr Ding, TARS’ chief scientist and co-founder, delivered the keynote address in the plenary session.

TARS’ DexHand demonstration showcased all 26 English alphabet sign-language gestures and invited to engage in real-time mirror-control interaction, thus offering live proof of the system’s biomimetic fidelity and low-latency responsiveness. [Read more…] about TARS brings real-life embodied AI to ICRA 2026 robotics conference

The Developer’s Cheat Code: Everything Built Into Autheo’s DevHub Out of the Box

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Every developer knows the tax. Before you write a single line of product logic, you spend days – sometimes weeks – stitching together a stack. A wallet provider here. An identity solution there. Cloud compute from one vendor, storage from another, an AI API from a third. By the time you’re ready to actually build, you’ve already burned your momentum on infrastructure.

DevHub, Autheo‘s native development environment, was built to eliminate that tax entirely.

This isn’t a comparison of blockchains. It’s a comparison of what developers actually get on day one – before they’ve written a single line of application code. [Read more…] about The Developer’s Cheat Code: Everything Built Into Autheo’s DevHub Out of the Box

5 Best Towel Manufacturers for Wholesale Purchasing

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Most buyers don’t realize how much the wrong towel supplier can cost them until they’re three months in with inconsistent GSM ratings and a backorder problem they can’t explain.

Sourcing from the right Towel Manufacturers for Wholesale Purchasing matters more than most procurement guides admit.

MOQ thresholds, production batch consistency, and import logistics can quietly wreck margins before you ever see a return order. [Read more…] about 5 Best Towel Manufacturers for Wholesale Purchasing

6 Best Virtual Data Rooms for Secure Due Diligence and Deal Management

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Global dealmaking is getting more concentrated. Specifically, transactions are becoming fewer in number but more complex. Global M&A value rose 43% to $4.7 trillion last year.

At the same time, volumes remained flat with large transactions driving the activity. Dealmaking accounted for 4.2% of global market value, up from 3.3% the previous year. This reflects sustained momentum in high-value transactions.

Greater deal complexity puts more weight on collaboration, compliance, and data security. Thus, execution infrastructure matters as much as the deal itself. [Read more…] about 6 Best Virtual Data Rooms for Secure Due Diligence and Deal Management