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Massachusetts awards $2 million to six local robotics companies

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Massachusetts’ Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Innovation Institute, a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech), has awarded nearly $2 million through the Massachusetts Robotic Digital Twin Initiative to six organizations advancing robotics innovation across the state.

The funding will help accelerate commercialization pathways for robotics hardware developers by expanding access to digital twin technologies.

Digital twins, or virtual, data-driven replicas of physical robots, allow users to test robots virtually before deployment in real-world environments, reducing costs, improving safety and accelerating innovation. [Read more…] about Massachusetts awards $2 million to six local robotics companies

Interview with Workr Robotics CEO Ken Macken: ‘Paying for automation by the hour’

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Industrial robotics is entering a new phase. Advances in artificial intelligence, large language models, and so-called embodied AI have sparked renewed excitement about robots that can understand, reason about, and interact with the physical world.

High-profile collaborations between companies such as Google DeepMind and Boston Dynamics have fueled speculation that increasingly capable general-purpose robots may soon find their way onto factory floors.

But not everyone in the industry is convinced that these developments represent an immediate breakthrough for manufacturing. [Read more…] about Interview with Workr Robotics CEO Ken Macken: ‘Paying for automation by the hour’

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

Interview with Intrinsic’s Stefan Nusser: Traditional automation is ‘too expensive and too inflexible’

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For years, industrial automation followed a relatively stable formula: high-volume production, long product lifecycles, and robotic systems designed to repeat the same process millions of times with minimal variation.

That model helped transform industries such as automotive manufacturing, where fixed production lines and highly specialized robots delivered extraordinary efficiency at scale.

But manufacturing is changing. Product cycles are shorter, customization is increasing, and factories are under pressure to adapt more quickly to shifting demand and supply chain volatility. In many facilities, the traditional economics of automation no longer work as neatly as they once did. [Read more…] about Interview with Intrinsic’s Stefan Nusser: Traditional automation is ‘too expensive and too inflexible’

Boston Dynamics integrates Google DeepMind’s Gemini Robotics model into Spot inspection platform

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Boston Dynamics has partnered with Google Cloud and Google DeepMind to integrate advanced artificial intelligence models into its industrial inspection platform, in a move the company says will significantly expand the capabilities of autonomous robots in real-world environments.

The collaboration brings Google’s Gemini and Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 into Boston Dynamics’ Orbit software, specifically its AI Visual Inspection (AIVI) and AIVI-Learning systems, which analyze images captured by the company’s Spot robot.

According to Boston Dynamics, the integration is designed to enable robots to move beyond basic detection tasks and instead perform more complex reasoning about their surroundings. [Read more…] about Boston Dynamics integrates Google DeepMind’s Gemini Robotics model into Spot inspection platform

Boston Dynamics and Google DeepMind announce AI partnership focused on humanoid robots

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Boston Dynamics and Google DeepMind announced a new artificial intelligence research partnership at CES 2026, aimed at integrating large-scale AI foundation models into humanoid robots.

The collaboration will focus on combining Google DeepMind’s Gemini Robotics AI models with Boston Dynamics’ next-generation Atlas platform. The companies said joint research using a new fleet of Atlas robots was expected to begin later this year, with work conducted across both organizations.

According to the companies, the partnership is intended to enable humanoid robots to perform a wider range of industrial tasks, with an initial focus on manufacturing applications, including automotive production. [Read more…] about Boston Dynamics and Google DeepMind announce AI partnership focused on humanoid robots

Boston Dynamics partners with Analog to bring ‘physical intelligence’ to the UAE

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Technology company Analog and Boston Dynamics have announced an “exclusive regional alliance to deploy physical intelligence across the UAE”, beginning with Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots.

Initial use focuses on practical outcomes including park inspections, environmental and accessibility monitoring, and preventive maintenance that improves everyday livability and operational responsiveness.

Physical intelligence is AI that perceives with sensors, builds shared context in a world model, and coordinates actions with robots and infrastructure safely and in real time. [Read more…] about Boston Dynamics partners with Analog to bring ‘physical intelligence’ to the UAE

Boston Dynamics and LG Innotek to introduce ‘next-generation vision systems’ into Atlas humanoid robot

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Boston Dynamics, a developer of humanoid and mobile robotics, has agreed a new partnership with LG Innotek, the South Korean materials and electronic components manufacturing company.

This strategic alignment will enable Boston Dynamics to install LG Innotek’s “next-generation” vision sensing components into Atlas, Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot.

The collaboration brings together Boston Dynamics’ and LG Innotek’s research teams to develop new vision sensing systems to address some of robotics hardest to solve problems. [Read more…] about Boston Dynamics and LG Innotek to introduce ‘next-generation vision systems’ into Atlas humanoid robot

Boston Dynamics interview: ‘Ghastly’ grace, the uncanny valley, and the dawn of humanoid utility

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The first time I saw a Boston Dynamics robot move, I genuinely thought there was a person inside the machine. Not literally, of course, but something about the fluidity of motion – the precision, the uncanny timing – seemed less robotic and more… alive, more human or at least more animalistic.

For years, I’d watched robots lumber around trade shows or on TV, carefully placing one foot in front of the other before promptly tipping over.

So, when Boston Dynamics released videos of Atlas backflipping and dancing with unsettling realism, I wasn’t the only one who found it both mesmerizing and a little eerie. One observer even called it “ghastly” – and not as an insult, but as a mark of awe. [Read more…] about Boston Dynamics interview: ‘Ghastly’ grace, the uncanny valley, and the dawn of humanoid utility

Webinar: How Robots Won the Digital Transformation Dance at Boston Dynamics

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Click here to register now for this webinar

You’d love to dance your way through a digital transformation, swinging to the sounds of product innovation, business acceleration, and unfettered visibility.

But, maybe you’re a bit hesitant to get on your feet and waltz your way to more effective customer engagement and efficient operations.

Boston Dynamics – the groundbreaking manufacturer behind those viral dancing robots – led their digital transformation to success by choreographing the right mix of great technology, a single digital platform, and proven best practices.

And, they’re sharing their tips and insights to help you realize the same transformational success.

[Read more…] about Webinar: How Robots Won the Digital Transformation Dance at Boston Dynamics