Robotics & Automation News

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physical ai

Simulation tools in the ROS ecosystem: Testing and validating robots virtually

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Robots may operate in the physical world, but increasingly they are born, trained, tested, and refined in virtual ones.

Before a warehouse robot navigates its first aisle, before an autonomous vehicle drives its first mile, and before a humanoid robot takes its first step, there is a good chance it has already spent hundreds or even thousands of hours inside a simulator.

For robotics developers, simulation has become one of the most important tools in the development process. It allows engineers to test software, validate designs, train AI models, and identify failures before expensive hardware is ever powered on. [Read more…] about Simulation tools in the ROS ecosystem: Testing and validating robots virtually

RLWRLD and Nvidia launch DexBench to standardize humanoid robot dexterity

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RLWRLD, a physical AI company, in collaboration with Nvidia has launched an initiative to develop next-generation industry standards for humanoid robot AI.

RLWRLD will focus on three pillars: DexBench, a universal benchmark for evaluating dexterity performance; data standard for dexterous manipulation training; and deep integration with the open Nvidia Isaac Lab and Isaac Lab-Arena frameworks.

Dexterous manipulation – enabling humanoid robots to perform fine-grained tasks such as precision assembly, sorting, and packaging – has emerged as the decisive frontier in humanoid AI development. [Read more…] about RLWRLD and Nvidia launch DexBench to standardize humanoid robot dexterity

TARS brings real-life embodied AI to ICRA 2026 robotics conference

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TARS has capped a landmark appearance at ICRA 2026, IEEE’s international robotics conference, with the international debut of its DexHand platform, drawing significant attention among industrialists and academics.

Dr Ding, TARS’ chief scientist and co-founder, delivered the keynote address in the plenary session.

TARS’ DexHand demonstration showcased all 26 English alphabet sign-language gestures and invited to engage in real-time mirror-control interaction, thus offering live proof of the system’s biomimetic fidelity and low-latency responsiveness. [Read more…] about TARS brings real-life embodied AI to ICRA 2026 robotics conference

Interview with Columbia professor and co-founder of SceniX Yunzhu Li: ‘Simulation is central’

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The robotics industry is enjoying a surge of investment, media attention, and ambitious promises about the future of humanoid machines.

Companies are announcing plans to manufacture thousands of robots, while advances in artificial intelligence have fueled expectations that general-purpose robots may soon become commonplace in factories, warehouses, workplaces, and even homes.

Yet beneath the excitement lies a fundamental technical challenge that many researchers believe remains far from solved. [Read more…] about Interview with Columbia professor and co-founder of SceniX Yunzhu Li: ‘Simulation is central’

Interview with Jun Wu of GMEX Robotics: ‘We provide an integrated terminal + brain closed-loop system’

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Artificial intelligence may dominate the headlines, but the future of robotics will depend on much more than software alone.

While many companies are racing to develop foundation models and increasingly capable AI systems, others argue that the real challenge lies in combining intelligence with hardware that can operate reliably in the physical world.

One company taking that approach is GMEX Robotics, a Nasdaq-listed developer of AI-enabled robotic systems for industrial, commercial, and consumer applications. [Read more…] about Interview with Jun Wu of GMEX Robotics: ‘We provide an integrated terminal + brain closed-loop system’

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

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

Why robotics can’t advance without physical AI

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The next leap in robotics won’t come from faster processors or more sophisticated mechanical design. It will come from better data, specifically, from training environments that replicate how the physical world actually behaves.  [Read more…] about Why robotics can’t advance without physical AI

Interview with CreateMe CEO Campbell Myers: From stitching to bonding – physical AI could transform the way clothes are made

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For decades, apparel manufacturing has remained one of the most labor-intensive sectors in global industry. While robots have transformed automotive production, electronics assembly, and warehouse operations, handling soft, deformable materials such as fabric has proven far more difficult to automate.

Textiles stretch, wrinkle, drape, and shift unpredictably, creating challenges that traditional industrial automation systems were never designed to solve.

As interest in embodied AI and physical AI continues to grow, many researchers and technology companies see deformable-material manipulation as one of the most important remaining frontiers in robotics. [Read more…] about Interview with CreateMe CEO Campbell Myers: From stitching to bonding – physical AI could transform the way clothes are made

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’