Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Humanoids

From backflips to folding laundry: How X Square Robot is building the missing ‘brain’ for embodied AI

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While robotics companies around the world continue to showcase humanoids performing backflips, running obstacle courses, and dancing on stage, one Chinese firm is pursuing a more difficult – and arguably more consequential – goal: teaching robots to operate in the messy, unpredictable environments where people actually live and work.

According to X Square Robot founder and CEO Wang Qian, the industry’s hardware foundations are largely in place. Humanoid locomotion, dexterous hands, and force-control systems have all advanced rapidly. The remaining challenge is intelligence.

“The hardware is largely there,” Wang said. “The real bottleneck is the brain.” [Read more…] about From backflips to folding laundry: How X Square Robot is building the missing ‘brain’ for embodied AI

Nvidia unveils open humanoid robot platform for robotics research

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Nvidia has announced the Nvidia Isaac GR00T Reference Humanoid Robot, an open humanoid robot platform designed to accelerate research and development in physical AI and general-purpose robotics.

Unveiled at Nvidia GTC Taipei, the platform combines a Unitree H2 Plus humanoid robot, Sharpa Wave tactile five-finger hands, Nvidia Jetson Thor onboard computing, and the company’s Isaac GR00T software stack into a single reference design.

The new platform aims to address one of the biggest challenges facing humanoid robotics researchers: the fragmented process of integrating hardware, collecting data, running simulations, training AI models, and deploying robot capabilities in the real world. [Read more…] about Nvidia unveils open humanoid robot platform for robotics research

Sharpa brings dexterous robot hands to Nvidia and Unitree humanoid reference design

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Sharpa has announced that its Wave tactile robot hands have been integrated into the Unitree H2 Plus humanoid robot reference design, making it the first dexterous humanoid platform built on Nvidia’s Isaac GR00T development framework to feature the company’s tactile manipulation technology.

The companies say the configuration is designed to help robotics developers and researchers accelerate the development of humanoid robot skills by providing a validated hardware and software platform that combines dexterous manipulation, tactile sensing, simulation, training, and deployment tools.

The move comes as interest in humanoid robots and physical AI continues to grow, with developers seeking ways to reduce the complexity of integrating hardware, collecting training data, running simulations, and deploying robot capabilities in real-world environments. [Read more…] about Sharpa brings dexterous robot hands to Nvidia and Unitree humanoid reference design

Figure ramps up humanoid robot manufacturing at unprecedented speed

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Humanoid robotics companies have spent years producing carefully choreographed demonstrations and highly controlled prototypes. The real challenge, however, has always been manufacturing scale.

Building one impressive humanoid robot is difficult. Building hundreds reliably, repeatedly, and economically is something else entirely.

Figure AI now claims to be crossing that threshold. [Read more…] about Figure ramps up humanoid robot manufacturing at unprecedented speed

Figure partners with Catalyst Brands to deploy humanoid robots in logistics operations

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Figure AI has signed a commercial agreement with Catalyst Brands to deploy humanoid robots across the retailer’s distribution and logistics network.

The partnership will begin at Catalyst Brands’ distribution center in Reno, Nevada, where Figure’s humanoid robots will be used to automate physically demanding supply chain tasks.

Catalyst Brands operates several well-known retail chains, including JCPenney, Aéropostale, and Brooks Brothers. [Read more…] about Figure partners with Catalyst Brands to deploy humanoid robots in logistics operations

China to assign digital ID numbers to humanoid robots for lifecycle tracking

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China is introducing a national digital identification system for humanoid robots as authorities seek to monitor safety risks and standardize management across the rapidly growing sector.

According to state broadcaster CCTV, the initiative will assign unique digital identity numbers to humanoid robots throughout their operational lifecycle, from manufacturing and deployment to recycling and disposal.

The system is intended to help regulators track products more effectively as China accelerates development of humanoid robotics for industrial, commercial, and domestic applications. [Read more…] about China to assign digital ID numbers to humanoid robots for lifecycle tracking

Rotaku launches Domo humanoid robot platform starting at $2,999 for developers

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Rotaku has opened reservations for Domo, a compact humanoid robot platform designed for developers, makers, educators and robotics teams working with real humanoid hardware.

The Domo lineup starts at $2,999 and is intended to make humanoid robot development more accessible to users working on motion control, teleoperation, manipulation, robot interaction and embodied AI. [Read more…] about Rotaku launches Domo humanoid robot platform starting at $2,999 for developers

Humanoid secures partnership with manufacturing giant Bosch following a successful proof of concept

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Humanoid, a UK-based AI and robotics company, has agreed a partnership with manufacturing giant Bosch, marking the transition to scaled production of humanoid robots.

The agreement follows the successful completion of a joint proof of concept (POC) in March 2026, where Humanoid’s platform demonstrated full capability in a complex industrial workflow.

The POC focused on an intralogistics use case: HMND 01 robots autonomously transferred boxes from a conveyor to a trolley in Bosch’s dynamic logistics environment in Bühl, Germany. The POC involved handling 5 different box sizes across multiple footprints, heights and varying weights. [Read more…] about Humanoid secures partnership with manufacturing giant Bosch following a successful proof of concept

Boston Dynamics trains Atlas humanoid robot to pick up and place washing machine

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Boston Dynamics has released new behind-the-scenes footage showing its latest electric humanoid robot, Atlas, performing heavy lifting and manipulation tasks that the company says are designed to prepare the system for real industrial work. (See video below.)

The demonstration centers on Atlas lifting and carrying a mini-fridge weighing roughly 50 pounds, although Boston Dynamics says the robot successfully handled a loaded fridge weighing more than 100 pounds during testing.

The company says the breakthrough is not simply the robot’s physical strength, but the development of AI-driven control systems capable of adapting to “real world adaptability: handling heavy objects by bracing and accounting for the mass and inertia; using whole-body control, not just hands to maneuver”. [Read more…] about Boston Dynamics trains Atlas humanoid robot to pick up and place washing machine

‘Humanoid robots show clearer ROI, but commercial success depends on effective output’

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Humanoid robots are moving from prototype validation toward early commercial deployment, with automotive manufacturing and logistics expected to form the core demand base over the next decade.

According to IDTechEx, the humanoid robot market across automotive, logistics, and home-use applications is forecast to grow rapidly over the coming years, reaching approximately $25 billion by the early 2030s before moderating as the market matures toward 2036.

Annual shipments are projected to approach 1.8 million units by 2036, driven primarily by automotive manufacturing, with logistics following and home-use remaining a longer-term opportunity with limited penetration within the forecast period. [Read more…] about ‘Humanoid robots show clearer ROI, but commercial success depends on effective output’