Robotics & Automation News

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Interview with Sharpa’s Alicia Veneziani: ‘Dexterous manipulation is the key to useful humanoid robots’

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Much of the recent excitement surrounding humanoid robots has focused on increasingly impressive demonstrations of walking, running, jumping, and balancing. Yet many robotics experts argue that locomotion, while important, is only part of the challenge.

The bigger obstacle to creating genuinely useful humanoid robots may be something far more familiar to humans: the ability to use their hands.

Among the companies focused on solving this problem is Sharpa, a Singapore-based robotics startup developing dexterous robotic hands, tactile sensing systems, and embodied AI technologies designed to enable robots to interact more effectively with the physical world. [Read more…] about Interview with Sharpa’s Alicia Veneziani: ‘Dexterous manipulation is the key to useful humanoid robots’

From audio tapes to AI: Interview with TDK Ventures investment director Ankur Saxena

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Artificial intelligence has become the dominant theme in technology investing, but when it comes to robotics, some investors argue that the industry may be drawing the wrong conclusions from recent breakthroughs in large language models and generative AI.

Among them is Ankur Saxena, investment director at TDK Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of TDK Corporation.

While TDK is widely recognized today as a supplier of electronic components, sensors, power systems, and advanced materials, many readers will remember the company as one of the world’s most recognizable brands in the era of cassette tapes and audio recording media. [Read more…] about From audio tapes to AI: Interview with TDK Ventures investment director Ankur Saxena

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

Genesis AI launches first general-purpose humanoid robot

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Genesis AI, a “global full-stack robotics company”, has unveiled Eno, the company’s first general-purpose robot.

The company describes Eno as “a next-generation robot that breaks free from traditional form factors through its minimalist design”.

GENE, Genesis AI’s foundation model and the industry’s most advanced robotic brain, will operate Eno as a true physical agent: reasoning, adapting and owning outcomes beyond pre-defined tasks. [Read more…] about Genesis AI launches first general-purpose humanoid robot

Raymond partners with Third Wave Automation to expand physical AI across lift truck fleets

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Third Wave Automation has announced a technology collaboration with The Raymond Corporation, part of Toyota Material Handling North America to launch and expand AI-enabled physical automation capabilities across select automated Raymond lift trucks.

The collaboration builds on several years of collaborative development and operational learning since 2021, backed first by investments from Toyota Ventures, Toyota’s early-stage venture firm, and followed by Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth fund.

Raymond will offer Third Wave’s automation capabilities as part of its Raymond ecosystem, providing customers with a scalable path to improve warehouse performance through AI-first technology. [Read more…] about Raymond partners with Third Wave Automation to expand physical AI across lift truck fleets

RLWRLD named World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer for advancing physical AI infrastructure

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RLWRLD, a physical AI company developing the proprietary Robotics Foundation Model RLDX-1, has been named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer 2026.

The WEF Technology Pioneers program selects 100 innovative technology companies each year that are positioned to drive long-term, paradigm-shifting impact on global industries and society.

According to the WEF’s official analysis report, Meet the Technology Pioneers, this year’s selection centered on companies providing the foundational software and core infrastructure to support large-scale deployment of autonomous AI systems, ones that perceive, reason, and act directly in the physical world, going beyond conversational chatbots and application-layer software. [Read more…] about RLWRLD named World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer for advancing physical AI infrastructure

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

How Sony AI’s table tennis robot is advancing physical AI

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Although Omron and Kuka have demonstrated similar systems before, a table tennis-playing robot may still sound like a novelty to some. After all, industrial robots already assemble cars, sort parcels and weld metal with remarkable precision.

But for researchers working at the intersection of robotics and artificial intelligence, table tennis represents one of the most demanding real-world tests imaginable.

A successful table tennis player must perceive a fast-moving object, predict its trajectory, decide on a response, position themselves correctly and execute a precise movement – all within fractions of a second. The challenge combines vision, motion planning, control, prediction and decision-making in a constantly changing environment. [Read more…] about How Sony AI’s table tennis robot is advancing physical AI

Teradyne Robotics unveils production-ready physical AI applications at Automate 2026

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Teradyne Robotics, the company that owns Universal Robots and Mobile Industrial Robots, will demonstrate how physical AI is transforming industrial automation at Automate 2026 in Chicago, June 22-25 at booth #1250.

“Physical AI is on full display across our robotic solutions at Automate,” said Jean-Pierre Hathout, President of the Teradyne Robotics Group.

“The demos we are presenting are real and deployable. Manufacturers can purchase the physical AI‑enabled applications we have on display, including our first physical AI-product the MiR1200 Pallet Jack, today – delivered through our global ecosystem of system integrators and partners – to automate tasks that have traditionally been difficult or impractical for robots, including those in dynamic and unstructured environments.” [Read more…] about Teradyne Robotics unveils production-ready physical AI applications at Automate 2026

MassRobotics honors Stanford’s Allison Okamura and Seoul National University’s Ayoung Kim with 2026 robotics medals

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MassRobotics, a robotics innovation organization, announced its 2026 Robotics Medal and Rising Star recipients at the recent IEEE ICRA conference in Vienna.

The Robotics Medal is the world’s first major award to recognize the wide-ranging impact of female researchers focusing on the development of robotics around the globe.

The Robotics Medal is awarded to a nominated woman researcher in robotics to recognize her impactful contributions to the field and includes a $50,000 prize awarded to the individual. [Read more…] about MassRobotics honors Stanford’s Allison Okamura and Seoul National University’s Ayoung Kim with 2026 robotics medals