Robotics & Automation News

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robotic perception

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’

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

Fort Robotics acquires Mapless AI to expand supervised autonomy and physical AI safety platform

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Fort Robotics, the trust layer for physical AI, has announced the acquisition of Mapless AI, a Boston- and Pittsburgh-based leader in vehicle teleoperation and autonomy supervision.

The acquisition represents a significant commercial expansion of Fort’s Trust Platform, adding two critical new capabilities: remote human-in-the-loop teleoperation and onboard active safety.

By integrating these technologies, Fort expands its market offering from safety-certified machine control to a comprehensive architecture for supervised autonomy. [Read more…] about Fort Robotics acquires Mapless AI to expand supervised autonomy and physical AI safety platform

Brain Corp and UC San Diego partner to advance the foundational intelligence layer for physical AI

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Brain Corp, the real-world AI company, has expanded its research collaboration with the University of California San Diego, which is aimed at advancing semantic mapping and contextual intelligence technologies for autonomous robots operating in complex commercial and industrial environments.

The collaboration reflects a shared ambition to shape the future of physical AI, taking autonomous systems toward a deeper understanding of the physical world around them.

As vision-language-action (VLA) and other generative AI models transform robotics, Brain Corp and researchers at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering are tackling the industry’s most critical challenge: making next-generation autonomous systems reliable, scalable, and commercially deployable in dynamic real-world environments. [Read more…] about Brain Corp and UC San Diego partner to advance the foundational intelligence layer for physical AI

PickNik releases MoveIt Pro 9 to improve AI-driven robotics in variable environments

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PickNik has released version 9 of its robotics development software MoveIt Pro, introducing new capabilities aimed at improving how robots operate in complex, real-world environments such as cleaning, sanitation and vehicle washing.

The update focuses on what the company describes as “scan-and-plan” workflows – a technique that allows robots to perceive their surroundings in real time and generate motion paths dynamically, rather than relying on fixed, pre-programmed instructions.

Industrial robots have traditionally performed best in structured environments, such as manufacturing lines, where tasks are repetitive and predictable. However, applications like restroom cleaning or food plant sanitation present a different challenge, requiring robots to adapt to changing layouts, irregular surfaces and variable geometries. [Read more…] about PickNik releases MoveIt Pro 9 to improve AI-driven robotics in variable environments

Apera AI accelerates ‘4D vision’ installations with launch of new software

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Apera AI, a specialist in “4D vision” for industrial robotic automation, has announced the release of Apera Vue 9.52 and major performance upgrades to Apera Forge.

This January 2026 update provides manufacturers with unprecedented control over robotic motion, deeper diagnostic insights into robot performance, and a significant acceleration in the simulation-to-deployment pipeline.

4D vision is a machine perception technology that combines 3D spatial data (position, shape) with temporal data (time) to analyze motion in real-time

Sina Afrooze, CEO and founder at Apera AI, says: “In 2026, 4D Vision-guided robotics has become the fastest path to higher uptime and global competitiveness for major manufacturers. [Read more…] about Apera AI accelerates ‘4D vision’ installations with launch of new software