Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Industrial robots

Comau unveils new robotic arc welding system that ‘increases productivity and reduces costs with AI’

by

Ensuring the efficient and safe handling of welding applications is a significant challenge for steel companies. To address this complexity and at the same time achieve the highest production quality, more and more companies are adopting robotic, advanced and intelligent solutions.

This is driven by the shortage of skilled labor and the risks associated with harsh working conditions, with the aim of optimizing processes, reducing costs, and improving operator safety.

Such is the case with Tubosider, a manufacturer of steel products used for civil works, such as road and noise barriers, pipelines, and linings for tunnels and tanks, which help protect people and the environment. The global company has adopted an automated solution for arc welding developed by system integrator X-Machine based in Alba (Italy), using Comau technologies. [Read more…] about Comau unveils new robotic arc welding system that ‘increases productivity and reduces costs with AI’

NūMove introduces an innovative robot tool for layer picking automation

by

NūMove Robotics & Vision has introduced its latest innovation in robotics: a newly designed layer depalletizing tool engineered for enhanced adaptability and performance in high-throughput logistics environments. This improved robot tool enables efficient depalletizing of both single-SKU and rainbow pallets.

This new end-of-arm tool for depalletizing represents a significant advancement over NūMove’s previous models that relied solely on suction and forks. The latest design integrates three complementary gripping mechanisms – suction, clamping, and bottom forks – enabling the robot to securely handle a broader range of packaging types and formats.

These include closed cases, open cases, wrapped or unwrapped trays, and carton boxes in a tray. To avoid product damage, sensors verify that the layer is properly lifted before the bottom forks are extended. [Read more…] about NūMove introduces an innovative robot tool for layer picking automation

BTM Industrial to host massive online sale of industrial robots: ‘Everything must be sold, regardless of price’

by

Facility closure auction features more than 200 industrial robots and automated manufacturing support items and equipment

BTM Industrial, the world’s largest auctioneer of industrial equipment, is hosting an online sale of industrial robots and automated manufacturing support equipment and items, many new in box, on December 17 and 18, 2025. (See video below.)

The company is assisting a client liquidate inventory at its Chicago location, which includes more than 200 robots designed to automate tasks, such as welding, manufacturing, packaging, warehousing, and food processing.

This court-authorized sale requires the liquidation of all assets, “regardless of price”. [Read more…] about BTM Industrial to host massive online sale of industrial robots: ‘Everything must be sold, regardless of price’

Teradyne Robotics to expand presence with new US operations hub in Metro Detroit, Michigan

by

Teradyne Robotics, one of the world’s largest providers of industrial collaborative and autonomous mobile robotics, has announced it will open a new US Operations Hub in Wixom, Metro Detroit, Michigan in 2026.

This strategic expansion reflects Teradyne Robotics’ commitment to operating close to its customers and meeting the growing manufacturing demand in the US and the Americas.

The new facility will manufacture Universal Robots (UR) industrial collaborative robots (cobots), with future potential to include MiR autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). It will also serve as a regional customer training center, service hub, and visitor experience center. [Read more…] about Teradyne Robotics to expand presence with new US operations hub in Metro Detroit, Michigan

Flexiv Robotics completes first foray into Japan at iREX 2025

by

Flexiv Robotics marked its inaugural Japanese exhibition with five flagship demos and a commitment to long-term growth in a vital global market 

Flexiv Robotics, a developer of general-purpose robotics, made its first appearance at the International Robot Exhibition (iREX) in Tokyo earlier this month, marking a major step in the company’s global expansion.

From December 3 to December 6, 2025, at Tokyo Big Sight, Flexiv’s team occupied booth E5-16, where they demonstrated the adaptive capabilities of the company’s Rizon series robots and highlighted how they can automate tasks that traditional robots struggle with.

Flexiv’s debut at the world’s largest robotics showcase featured five interactive, live demonstrations designed to showcase versatility, sensitivity, and applied intelligence. Visitors were able to see automated car bodywork polishing, precision ball balancing, high-accuracy server component insertion, and an early look at Flexiv’s new Isaac Sim plug-in for accelerated development and virtual testing. [Read more…] about Flexiv Robotics completes first foray into Japan at iREX 2025

MIT alumni build robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting

by

By Zach Winn, MIT News

Founded by MIT alumni, the Pickle Robot Company has developed machines that can autonomously load and unload trucks inside warehouses and logistic centers.

There are some jobs human bodies just weren’t meant to do. Unloading trucks and shipping containers is a repetitive, grueling task – and a big reason warehouse injury rates are more than twice the national average.

The Pickle Robot Company wants its machines to do the heavy lifting. The company’s one-armed robots autonomously unload trailers, picking up boxes weighing up to 50 pounds and placing them onto onboard conveyor belts for warehouses of all types.

The company name, an homage to The Apple Computer Company, hints at the ambitions of founders AJ Meyer ’09, Ariana Eisenstein ’15, SM ’16, and Dan Paluska ’97, SM ’00. The founders want to make the company the technology leader for supply chain automation. [Read more…] about MIT alumni build robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting

Techman Robot debuts high-speed AI inspection and automated training tools at iREX 2025

by

Techman Robot has announced what it describes as “a significant leap” in manufacturing efficiency at the International Robot Exhibition (iREX) 2025 held at Tokyo Big Sight.

Under the theme “AI Instant Decision, Seamless Productivity Upgrade,” the company unveiled its High-Speed AI Flying Trigger Inspection and breakthrough “Auto AI Training” technology, signaling a new era of zero-downtime, high-efficiency production.

The centerpiece of the exhibition, the High-Speed AI Flying Trigger Inspection system, underscores Techman Robot’s leadership in collaborative robotics. [Read more…] about Techman Robot debuts high-speed AI inspection and automated training tools at iREX 2025

SoftBank and Yaskawa partner to advance ‘Physical AI’ robots for office environments

by

SoftBank and Yaskawa Electric have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop “Physical AI” and deploy what the companies describe as a new class of robots that combine advanced decision-making with flexible, multi-purpose physical capabilities.

The collaboration brings together SoftBank’s AI-RAN initiative and Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) platform with Yaskawa Electric’s robotics and motion-control technologies.

According to the press release, the companies aim to accelerate the “social implementation” of Physical AI as Japan faces labour shortages, demographic pressures, and increasingly complex business operations. [Read more…] about SoftBank and Yaskawa partner to advance ‘Physical AI’ robots for office environments

Precision robotics: Applications in electronics assembly and medical device manufacturing

by

A few decades ago, industrial robots were extraordinary because they could place heavy parts with centimetre-level accuracy. Today, the competitive benchmark has shifted by several orders of magnitude.

Modern precision robots routinely achieve ±5 µm repeatability, with some specialist motion stages achieving sub-micrometre accuracy. To put that into context:

  • 1 micrometre (µm) equals one-thousandth of a millimetre, often called a micron. Put another way, 1 micrometre is one-millionth of a metre.
  • A human hair is roughly 70 to 100 µm thick.
  • An advanced SCARA robot can place components with an error margin smaller than one-tenth of a human hair’s diameter.
  • High-end photonics assembly systems use motion stages with a command resolution of 0.1 µm – too fine for the average human eye to see, even when aided by most optical microscopes.

[Read more…] about Precision robotics: Applications in electronics assembly and medical device manufacturing

B&R Automation expands robotics portfolio with new six-axis Codian AR

by

B&R Automation, a business unit of ABB, has added what it describes as “significant flexibility” to its Codian robotics portfolio with the new Codian AR and meets the market’s demand for a fully integrated robotics solution within machine automation.

Having six degrees of freedom allows the Codian AR mechanics to perform highly complex 3D paths, multi-angle manipulation, and the flexibility to manoeuvre repeatedly in and out of the workspace.

Areas of application range from handling operations and sorting to assembling tasks serving industries including plastics, pharmaceuticals, metals, electronics manufacturing and consumer packaged goods (CPG). [Read more…] about B&R Automation expands robotics portfolio with new six-axis Codian AR