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Fanuc-powered robotic cell automates one of furniture manufacturing’s toughest jobs

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A Canadian furniture manufacturer has automated a traditionally labor-intensive upholstery process using a robotic work cell built around a Fanuc M-710iC industrial robot.

Developed by Fanuc Authorized System Integrator Dvolu, the automated upholstery cell performs a series of tasks that have historically required skilled human workers, including fabric stretching, stapling, trimming, and palletizing chair seat linings.

The project highlights how robotics is increasingly moving beyond traditional manufacturing applications such as welding, machine tending, and material handling into tasks that require a greater degree of dexterity and adaptability. [Read more…] about Fanuc-powered robotic cell automates one of furniture manufacturing’s toughest jobs

Generalist AI raises $400 million to scale robot intelligence platform

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Generalist AI, a startup developing foundation models for robotics, has raised $400 million in new funding as it seeks to accelerate the development of what it calls “physical AGI” – artificial general intelligence capable of operating in the physical world through robots.

The funding round values the company at approximately $2 billion and brings its total capital raised to more than $500 million.

The round was led by Radical Ventures, with participation from 8VC, Union Square Ventures, Hanabi Capital and Norwest. Existing investors including Nvidia’s NVentures, Boldstart Ventures, Spark Capital, Bezos Expeditions and NFDG also participated. [Read more…] about Generalist AI raises $400 million to scale robot intelligence platform

Eternal.ag scales fully-autonomous harvesting robots with first customer Van Noord Growers

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The German agritech startup eternal.ag has deployed its fully-autonomous greenhouse harvesting robot, Harvester, to the Dutch grower, Van Noord Growers, as part of a long-term agreement.

Van Noord Growers, located in Zeeland in the Netherlands, produces both tomatoes and cucumbers across a total 8.5-hectare site. It has been operating the Harvester robot, specialized in truss tomatoes, since September 2025 and is now set to expand its fleet to a total of three this summer following a successful initial period.

With eternal.ag’s plug and play approach, the Harvester has been integrated into Van Noord’s operations from day one. The fully-autonomous Harvester is designed to operate for up to 22 hours per day, 7 days a week, and harvests trusses using an AI layer to ensure ripeness, consistency and clean cutting. [Read more…] about Eternal.ag scales fully-autonomous harvesting robots with first customer Van Noord Growers

Kirisense wins funding to develop robotic fingertips that can sense touch and slip

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UK robotics startup Kirisense has secured funding from the Henry Royce Institute to develop advanced tactile sensing technology designed to give robots a more human-like sense of touch.

The project, supported through the Henry Royce Institute’s Industrial Collaboration Programme and delivered in partnership with the University of Sheffield, will focus on creating robotic fingertips capable of detecting shear forces and slip in real time.

The funding comes as the robotics industry increasingly turns its attention from perception to manipulation. While advances in artificial intelligence and machine vision have significantly improved what robots can see and understand, handling objects reliably remains one of the sector’s biggest challenges. [Read more…] about Kirisense wins funding to develop robotic fingertips that can sense touch and slip

Volvo and Boliden complete dam construction milestone with autonomous transport

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Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Boliden have completed the autonomous transport project at Boliden’s Garpenberg site in Sweden.

The project was the first step under the memorandum of understanding signed between Volvo and Boliden in 2023, and it marks an important milestone in a collaboration that also includes future projects.

As a part of the project, material was moved from an on-site quarry on Boliden premises and used to reinforce a local dam and heighten the dam wall. [Read more…] about Volvo and Boliden complete dam construction milestone with autonomous transport

Neolix partners with QuikBot to develop autonomous delivery network

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Neolix, a developer of Level 4 autonomous logistics vehicles, has announced a strategic partnership with Singapore-based deep-tech company QuikBot Technologies, to build an end-to-end autonomous delivery solution spanning public roads, building interiors and individual doorsteps.

The collaboration will support Neolix’s Singapore pilot deployment and compliance preparation, while advancing both companies’ autonomous delivery offerings across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and other global markets.

In this collaboration, the two companies will co-develop and integrate Neolix’s autonomous mobility capabilities and fleet operations with QuikBot’s Autonomous Final-Mile Delivery Platform-as-a-Service (AFMD PaaS) to create a continuous delivery chain from public roads into buildings and to individual doors. [Read more…] about Neolix partners with QuikBot to develop autonomous delivery network

Serve Robotics expands beyond food delivery with autonomous laundry service

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Serve Robotics has announced a new partnership with NoScrubs, a fast-growing on-demand laundry service, marking Serve’s first commercial urban delivery partnership outside of prepared food.

The pilot, launching this week in select Los Angeles neighborhoods, will use Serve’s existing fleet of autonomous sidewalk robots to deliver NoScrubs laundry orders directly to customers’ doors.

The commercial pilot extends Serve’s last-mile delivery opportunity into a new category of recurring local commerce. NoScrubs operates across seven major US metros. [Read more…] about Serve Robotics expands beyond food delivery with autonomous laundry service

ABB and Salzburg researchers patent AI system to cut energy use in industrial robots

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Salzburg University of Applied Sciences and ABB’s Machine Automation Division – B&R –  are working together to apply artificial intelligence to improve energy efficiency in industrial automation.

The collaboration, anchored in the Josef Ressel Center for Intelligent and Secure Industrial Automation (JRZ ISIA), focuses on translating advanced research into practical solutions for industrial drive systems.

A recent milestone of this collaboration is the filing of a joint patent application in the field of energy-optimized motion control for drive systems used in industrial automation – such as robots, machine tools and automated production lines – where highly dynamic motion sequences including positioning, acceleration, deceleration and cyclic movement must be controlled with high precision. [Read more…] about ABB and Salzburg researchers patent AI system to cut energy use in industrial robots

Robotiq launches AI platform to automate robotic workcell integration

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Robotiq has introduced IQ, an AI-enabled platform designed to make robotic Workcell integration faster, more predictable, and easier to scale.

Enabling a much-needed shift from a manual, expert-dependent approach to automatic integration, IQ captures unstructured automation project data, coordinates engineering workflows, and helps partners generate validated workcell designs based on real customer inputs and historical deployment data from thousands of previous factory installations.

Samuel Bouchard, CEO of Robotiq, says: “Automation does not scale when integration remains manual. [Read more…] about Robotiq launches AI platform to automate robotic workcell integration

Fanuc launches 11 kg ‘lightest’ collaborative welding robot

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Fanuc has announced the European launch of its CRX-3iA collaborative robot, the lightest and smallest model in the CRX portfolio to date.

With a total weight of just 11 kg, Fanuc’s latest offering is compact, portable, intuitive and precise, making it ideal for welding applications.

Addressing growing demand in sectors such as shipbuilding and steel construction, it can be carried easily with just one hand, allowing a single person to supervise multiple welding locations and mitigating the Europe-wide shortage of skilled welders. [Read more…] about Fanuc launches 11 kg ‘lightest’ collaborative welding robot