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Your guide to the last day of the 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo

The fun continues in Boston for the second day of the Robotics Summit & Expo, which includes the Women in Robotics breakfast and more. The post Your guide to the last day of the 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo appeared first on The Robot Report .

Light-activated gel could impact wearables, soft robotics, and more

New MIT work advances the growing field of ionotronics, in which data are transferred through ions, potentially providing a bridge between electronics and biological tissue.

Handle with care: Soft robot gripper picks ripe fruit without bruising

Cornell researchers used stretchable fiber-optic sensors to create a soft robot gripper that can predict the ripeness of strawberries by touch. Credit: Anand Mishra. By David Nutt When assessing the ripeness of fruit, sight and smell can tell you a lot, but the best indicator is often how the fruit feels. Cornell researchers used stretchable […]

A minimally invasive robotic spinal surgical system for anterior lumbar nerve decompression | Science Robotics

MicroSpine is a robotic system designed for minimally invasive anterior lumbar nerve decompression.

Extreme dynamic symmetry enables omnidirectional and multifunctional robots | Science Robotics

Designing robots for extreme dynamic symmetry enables omnidirectional motion, resilience, and seamless multifunctionality.

Embodied or virtually represented: Navigating the embodiment debate in human-robot interaction | Science Robotics

The validity of virtually represented robots in HRI experiments depends on when, where, and for whom it matters.

The Moon needs robots | Science Robotics

Four science fiction works describe realistic construction and mining robots enabling human habitation of the Moon.

Fusing LiDAR and vision to generate high-quality reconstructions | Science Robotics

A neural radiance field–based reconstruction framework merging LiDAR and vision data achieves geometric accuracy.

A guide to Day 1 of the 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo

Today, the Robotics Summit & Expo will be full of insightful talks, hands-on robot demos, and interesting conversations. The post A guide to Day 1 of the 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo appeared first on The Robot Report .

Why robots still struggle to see the real world

Making machine perception reliable enough for real deployment requires more than better AI; it requires properly calibrated sensors, says an Orbbec co-founder. The post Why robots still struggle to see the real world appeared first on The Robot Report .

How humanoids learn to read the room

Sponsored by Analog Devices Inc. Designing for a humanoid robot is one of the most complicated applications in robotics today. All on its own, a humanoid system has to manage movement, balance, vision and reactivity across a complex web of joints, sensors and data processing. This becomes critical when a humanoid robot operates in an… The post How humanoids learn to read the room appeared first on The Robot Report .

GMSL and the growing ecosystem around robotic vision systems

Sponsored by Analog Devices Inc. Just a few years ago, many site owners were satisfied if a robot could move from point A to point B. That’s not quite enough anymore. Today’s robots are being asked to move faster, operate in more dynamic environments, and deal with more obstacles along the way. As those demands… The post GMSL and the growing ecosystem around robotic vision systems appeared first on The Robot Report .

XELA Robotics to show tactile sensing at the 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo

XELA Robotics will show at the Robotics Summit & Expo its improved magnetic interference compensation and uSkin in the Universal Manipulation Interface. The post XELA Robotics to show tactile sensing at the 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo appeared first on The Robot Report .

Allient to demonstrate advanced motion control systems at 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo

Allient will exhibit and demonstrate a range of its motion and control technologies at the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston this week. The post Allient to demonstrate advanced motion control systems at 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo appeared first on The Robot Report .

IntBot and Certis Group partner to scale physical AI for enterprises across Singapore

Certis is collaborating with IntBot to add humanoids to its existing service robot offerings as the partners start to expand in Singapore. The post IntBot and Certis Group partner to scale physical AI for enterprises across Singapore appeared first on The Robot Report .

A guide to everything happening at the 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo

Over the next two days, the Robotics Summit & Expo will bring thousands of attendees and hundreds of exhibitors to Boston. The post A guide to everything happening at the 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo appeared first on The Robot Report .

Simulation vs. digital twin: A strategic lens on virtual manufacturing

Digital twins and simulation provide distinct benefits for manufacturers designing and integrating systems including automation, explains Visual Components. The post Simulation vs. digital twin: A strategic lens on virtual manufacturing appeared first on The Robot Report .

Sortera uses physical AI to double capacity in a Tennessee sorting facility

With the new facility, Sortera has increased its annual processing capacity to an estimated 240 million lbs. The post Sortera uses physical AI to double capacity in a Tennessee sorting facility appeared first on The Robot Report .

The future of physical AI isn’t humanoid; it’s task-specific and cost-efficient

The vice president of physical AI at Hailo explains why the next wave of AI will run locally on specialized machines designed for real-world tasks. The post The future of physical AI isn’t humanoid; it’s task-specific and cost-efficient appeared first on The Robot Report .

Exploring PLC and robot integration with YRG Robotics’ Chris Elston

Chris Elston discusses PLC integration, Yamaha Robotics, and AI's role in advancing automation accessibility and innovation. The post Exploring PLC and robot integration with YRG Robotics’ Chris Elston appeared first on The Robot Report .

Robotics Summit keynote to present open foundation for AI-powered robots

Brian Gerkey of Open Robotics will explain how the open-source community is ushering in the age of robots and AI at the Robotics Summit. The post Robotics Summit keynote to present open foundation for AI-powered robots appeared first on The Robot Report .

Video Friday: Atlas Versus a Fridge

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion. ICRA 2026 : 1–5 June 2026, VIENNA RSS 2026 : 13–17 July 2026, SYDNEY Summer School on Multi-Robot Systems : 29 July–4 August 2026, PRAGUE Actuate 2026 : 18–19 August 2026, SAN FRANCISCO Enjoy today’s videos! Just months after its debut, Atlas is provin…

Robot Talk Episode 157 – Generating new robot designs, with Josie Hughes

Claire chatted to Josie Hughes from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne about using AI to develop new designs for robotic manipulators. Josie Hughes is an Assistant Professor at EPFL, where she established the CREATE Lab in 2021. She completed her PhD in the Bio-inspired Robotics Lab at the University of Cambridge, examining the role of […]

Open-Source Software Is Starting to Help Robots Think

When a group of academics started making open-source robotics hardware , a generation of roboticists got years of their lives back. Now, the bigger challenge is getting robots to think—and that’s starting to be open sourced too. The shift is still early, but companies including Hugging Face, Nvidia, and Alibaba have all made significant bets on open-source robotics in the last two years, releasing tools and models aimed at the higher-level work of getting robots to reason, decide, and act. Th…

The Future of Physical AI Isn’t Smarter Robots, It’s Smarter Interfaces

This sponsored article is brought to you by Wetour Robotics . A field technician on a wind turbine, harness clipped, both hands on a wrench, needs to send a command to the diagnostic device hanging at her belt. A logistics worker on a loading dock, gloves on, eyes on the pallet, needs to redirect a connected lift. A person using an assistive mobility device on a crowded street wants to nudge it forward without taking out a phone or speaking aloud. None of these moments call for a smarter robo…

Robotics Café brings together autonomous robot practitioners

The recently launched Robotics Café is a weekly online seminar series to bring together researchers, students and industry practitioners working in the field of autonomous robotics. One of the key aims of the initiative is to provide a dedicated platform for students to present and disseminate their work, enabling broader visibility and impact across academia […]

Cross-link collective: Entangled robotic matter with cohesive motion | Science Robotics

Transient entanglement enables cohesive robot matter with robust collective motion.

“Humanoids will soon replace most human workers”: A debate | Science Robotics

Experts in robotics debate whether humanoid robots will replace human workers.

Acceptance of humanoid robots: A psychological perspective | Science Robotics

Acceptance of robots depends on whether they support consumers’ psychological needs, making demand-side insights essential.

Shape-morphing metamaterials with continuous relearning | Science Robotics

A metamaterial chain uses a physical learning framework to learn, forget, and relearn different shape changes.

Will Robotics Have a ChatGPT Moment?

Over the next few decades, billions of autonomous, AI-powered robots will work alongside people in factories, perform tedious tasks in warehouses, care for the elderly, assist in unsafe disaster areas , deliver packages and food to our doorsteps, and eventually help out in our homes. Some will look like us, and many won’t. What is certain is that regardless of form factor, robots will all rely heavily on AI in order to deliver real-world value. In 2025, total investments in robotics companies…

Robots Could Turn E-Waste Into a Source of Legacy Chips

Electronic waste is moving up on regulatory agendas in 2026. New European waste-shipment rules, expanded recycling fees on products with non-removable batteries in California, and an e-waste import ban in Malaysia, for example, are all increasing pressure to recover more value before electronics are shredded or exported. The world is projected to generate 82 million tonnes of e-waste annually by 2030, according to the United Nations’ most recent Global E-Waste Monitor report in 2024. The repo…

Home Robot Safety Is All About Relationships

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is updating its 12-year-old safety requirements for personal care robots . A lot has happened since the last revision, both on the technology side and with researchers’ understanding of safety for humans collaborating with domestic robots. The proposed ISO update addresses hazard identification, risk assessment, and different use scenarios. It does not, however, set limits, propose testing methods, or have enforcement mechanisms that mi…

What Makes a Job Dull, Dirty, or Dangerous?

For years, the field of robotics has used the terms “dull, dirty, and dangerous” (DDD) to describe the types of tasks or jobs where robots might be useful—by doing work that’s undesirable for people. A classic example of a DDD job is one of “repetitive physical labor on a steaming hot factory floor involving heavy machinery that threatens life and limb.” But determining which human activities fit into these categories is not as straightforward as it seems. What exactly is a “dull” task, and w…

Boston Dynamics Releases Spot And Orbit 5 1 With New Spot Cam

Boston Dynamics has launched an updated version of its Spot robot and the Orbit 5.1, featuring a new camera for enhanced capabilities.

Boston Dynamics To Begin Production On Redesigned Atlas Humanoid In 2026

Boston Dynamics plans to start production of a redesigned version of its Atlas humanoid robot in 2026.

Aformic At Automate 2025 What Manufacturers Really Want From Amrs In 2025 Aformic

The article discusses Aformic's insights on manufacturers' expectations for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) in 2025 at the Automate 2025 event.

Tron1 Extends Robot Reach Limx New Optional Arm

The article discusses how Tron1 has expanded its robotic capabilities by introducing a new optional arm for enhanced functionality.

Table tennis robot defeats some of world’s best players – why this has major implications for robotics

Ace rotates its paddle as it prepares to return the ball back to its human opponent, Yamato Kawamata, during a match in December 2025. Credit: Sony AI. By Kartikeya Walia, Nottingham Trent University A table tennis robot has outperformed elite players in recent evaluations. The robot, called Ace, marks a significant step toward artificial intelligence […]

Agentic AI for Robot Teams

This presentation highlights recent efforts at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory to advance agentic AI for collaborative robotic teams. It begins by framing the core challenges of enabling autonomy, coordination, and adaptability across heterogeneous systems, then introduces a scalable architecture designed to support agentic behaviors in multi-robot environments. The talk concludes with key challenges encountered and practical lessons learned from ongoing research and development.…

Unitree releases H2, Ubtech wins orders — humanoid robots move toward pragmatism

Unitree's H2 reveal and Ubtech's enterprise order book reframe the humanoid race as a pragmatism contest — who can ship, integrate, and price hardware that real customers will actually deploy.

Video Friday: Heavy Robotic Machinery Operates Itself

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion. ICRA 2026 : 1–5 June 2026, VIENNA RSS 2026 : 13–17 July 2026, SYDNEY Summer School on Multi-Robot Systems : 29 July–4 August 2026, PRAGUE Actuate 2026 : 18–19 August 2026, SAN FRANCISCO Enjoy today’s videos! Bulk material handling is a critical, labor-…

Robot Talk Episode 156 – Rugged robots for dangerous missions, with Gavin Kenneally

Claire chatted to Gavin Kenneally from Ghost Robotics about robot dogs for defence, security, and public safety. Gavin Kenneally is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ghost Robotics, a company that has gained a reputation for pushing the boundaries of legged robotics technology. In his current role, Gavin spearheads a team of highly skilled engineers and […]

Autonomous seeking and mapping coral reef biodiversity hotspots with a multimodal AUV | Science Robotics

An autonomous underwater vehicle discovers biodiversity hotspots on coral reefs using vision and passive acoustic sensing.

RAPTOR: A foundation policy for quadrotor control | Science Robotics

RAPTOR is a tiny 2084-parameter neural policy that adapts zero-shot to 10 unseen real quadrotors via in-context learning.

Developing active and flexible microrobots

By C Huygelen Leiden researchers Professor Daniela Kraft and Mengshi Wei have created microscopic robots that move without sensors, software, or external control. Instead, their behaviour emerges entirely from their shape and the way they interact with their environment. This class of robots opens up entirely new possibilities for biomedical applications. Close-up of the microrobot. […]

Hello Robot Sets the Standard for Practical, Safe Home Robots

Many roboticists (and at least one robotics journalist) have been seduced by the dream of a robot butler. And the rampant popularity of videos showing humanoid robots doing household tasks in improbably clean kitchens and unrealistically tidy bedrooms suggests that we’re not the only ones interested in a robot that can do our chores. But for all kinds of reasons , legged humanoids are not yet ready for industrial or commercial applications at scale, and home applications ( if people even want…

How to teach the same skill to different robots

The assembly line task setup. Credit: 2026 LASA EPFL CC-BY-SA. By Celia Luterbacher In today’s manufacturing environments, upgrading a robot fleet often means starting from scratch – not only replacing hardware, but also reprogramming tasks. Even when two robots are built to perform similar jobs, different joint arrangements or movement limits mean that a task […]

Video Friday: AI Gives Robot Hands Humanlike Dexterity

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion. ICRA 2026 : 1–5 June 2026, VIENNA RSS 2026 : 13–17 July 2026, SYDNEY Summer School on Multi-Robot Systems : 29 July–4 August 2026, PRAGUE Actuate 2026 : 18–19 August 2026, SAN FRANCISCO Enjoy today’s videos! Introducing GENE-26.5—the first AI brain to …