Robotics
Foundation pushes its Phantom humanoid toward combat
Foundation is testing its Phantom humanoid in Ukraine as militaries explore support roles. Plans for combat still face questions about reliability.
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14 stories in Robotics
Robotics
Mecka reportedly nears $500M valuation as robot data draws investors
Mecka reportedly nears a $500M valuation as robot training data draws investors. Human demonstrations still need engineering and tests to help robots learn.
Robotics
GMO unveils a humanoid ambulance to keep robots working
GMO’s humanoid ambulance carries tools, parts, and a replacement robot. Its service plan targets the emerging business of keeping these machines running.
Robotics
XPeng opens IRON production lines ahead of mass production push
XPeng opens IRON humanoid production lines, pairing its EV supply chain with more than $900 million in announced financing for its robotics arm.
Robotics
Zoox’s San Francisco robotaxi push has to turn attention into fares
Zoox is courting San Francisco riders with free trips and local events. Repeat paying customers and busy vehicles will test its robotaxi business.
Robotics
Dynamic Creatures wants to bring roaming robot characters to more venues
Dynamic Creatures wants to bring robot characters to parks and hotels, building on platforms such as Spot and focusing on movement and guest interaction.
Robotics
Tesla’s Cybercab debut brings awkward rides and a federal safety audit
Tesla’s Cybercab is offering paid rides in Austin amid awkward drop-offs, a surprise touchscreen joystick and a federal audit of its safety certification.
Robotics
iRobot’s Roomba Duo carries a second robot and hopes for a comeback
iRobot’s Roomba Duo prototype deploys a smaller robot beneath furniture, offering a novel comeback idea with price, reliability and launch questions ahead.
Robotics
Bedrock’s autonomous excavators target construction’s operator shortage
Bedrock’s autonomous excavators are working on infrastructure projects. They could ease operator shortages, but reliability and support needs remain open.
Robotics
Figure bets on up to 100,000 GPUs to scale its humanoid AI
Figure’s Nscale deal targets up to 100,000 GPUs for Helix, pairing a major compute commitment with human task videos. The robot scaling bet remains unproven.
Robotics
IFA’s robot runway shows hardware progress as autonomy faces a harder test
IFA’s robot runway showed off movement and interaction. Reliable autonomy in homes and factories remains a harder test, despite new data and compute plans.
Robotics
Skild’s S1 aims to cut robot training time with a single video
Skild says S1 can learn an extended robot task from one video. Its tests suggest less task data may be needed, though reliable completion remains uncertain.
Robotics
MIT’s CW-Net helps people spot flawed reasoning in autonomous cars
MIT and Motional’s CW-Net reveals concepts behind autonomous car decisions, helping people recognize flawed reasoning while leaving safety questions open.
Robotics
Altman says OpenAI will build humanoids, opening a path beyond software
Sam Altman says OpenAI will build humanoid robots. Its hardware ambitions could bring more control over training data—and new demands beyond model quality.
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