Industrial

Latest news and articles about industrial

When Did Robotics Companies Start Solving Wildfire Detection and Freeway Access?

From autonomous wildfire response systems to agricultural weed removal robots, the robotics industry is quietly expanding beyond factories and warehouses into domains we traditionally associate with government infrastructure and emergency services. This shift raises questions about whether we're witnessing innovation filling critical gaps—or private automation creeping into public responsibilities.

Creative Robotics11h agoOriginal

Software Companies Are Building Robots Now — And Hardware Engineers Should Be Worried

OpenAI, Anthropic, and Adobe aren't just building AI assistants anymore — they're racing to integrate their models into physical systems. This week's announcements signal a strategic shift that could reshape who controls the robotics stack.

Creative Robotics16h agoOriginal

Güdel to show grinding beyond stationary robots with vertical, horizontal motion at Automate 2026

Güdel AG will demonstrate an advanced grinding automation system at Automate 2026 that combines vertical and horizontal motion systems to expand robot workspace beyond traditional stationary setups. The system uses a FANUC R-1000 robot mounted on Güdel's TrackMotion Vertical and Floor systems to perform large-scale grinding on difficult-to-reach parts, reducing the need for multiple robots while improving process stability and repeatability.

Robotics Business Review20h ago

NASA is testing a rover that can drive faster and lift its wheels to climb obstacles

NASA is testing the Ernest (Exploration Rover for Navigating Extreme Sloped Terrain) prototype rover, which features active suspension and can individually lift its wheels to climb obstacles, achieving speeds of 0.6 mph compared to Perseverance's 0.1 mph. The prototype, tested in the Colorado Desert, demonstrates new mobility approaches using powered joints and multiple gaits that could enable future Mars and lunar missions to cover more ground with greater autonomy from Earth-based controllers.

Engadget1d ago

Surface Finishing Shows Why Humanoids Won't Dominate Factory Floors

The robotics industry is discovering an uncomfortable truth: humanoid robots might be impressive demos, but they're terrible at most factory work. Two contrasting approaches to surface finishing reveal why purpose-built automation will continue to outperform human-shaped machines for industrial applications.

Creative Robotics1d agoOriginal

Defense manufacturing readiness hinges on autonomous finishing, says GrayMatter Robotics

GrayMatter Robotics highlights how its autonomous surface-finishing systems using edge-deployed physical AI can address critical workforce shortages in defense manufacturing and depot maintenance. The U.S. military faces significant readiness challenges due to a 174,000-worker shortfall in the industrial base, with surface preparation and finishing work being a critical bottleneck that traditional automation cannot handle due to the geometric variation in each job.

Robotics Business Review1d ago

Is Validation Theater Holding Back Physical AI?

Two separate announcements this week revealed automotive suppliers achieving over 99% success rates on production tasks with AI-powered robots. The impressive numbers look great in press releases, but they obscure a more uncomfortable truth about how we're measuring progress in physical AI.

Creative Robotics2d agoOriginal

U.S. robotics industry saw double-digit growth in 2025, says IFR

The U.S. industrial robotics market grew 11% in 2025 with 38,000 unit installations, driven by 30% surge in food industry adoption, while China maintains dominant global market share with 295,000 annual installations. The IFR reports the U.S. now ranks eighth globally in robot density, and industry advocates are pushing for a national robotics strategy including a Federal Robotics Office and domestic technology procurement mandates.

The Robot Report2d ago

Elmo releases new motion controller and servo drives for industrial applications

Elmo Motion Control has launched new servo drives and motion controllers designed for industrial automation, including the Titanium line featuring compact dual-axis drives with functional safety capabilities and the Maestro multi-axis controller supporting up to 256 axes. The new products are optimized for robotic systems including cobots, AGVs, AMRs, and exoskeletons, offering enhanced power density, integrated safety features, and reduced system complexity through multi-axis integration.

Robotics Business Review2d ago

RealSense unveils AI-native D585 Pro depth camera for robots

Intel's RealSense unveils the D585 Pro AI-native depth camera designed for robotics applications, featuring on-device AI acceleration, a custom Gen 5 system-on-chip, and capabilities for humanoids, autonomous mobile robots, and industrial systems. The camera offers sub-15cm minimum range, 120×100° field of view at 60 FPS, IP65 protection, and is expected to ship in Q1 2027, with software-defined updates enabling new capabilities without hardware replacement.

The Robot Report3d ago

Kinova launches KIMA medical robotic arm

Kinova Inc. launched KIMA, a medical robotic arm specifically designed for clinical environments including endoscopy, bronchoscopy, and surgical interventions. The compact arm features a 3 kg payload, weighs under 13 kg, integrates medical-grade safety standards (IEC 62304 Class C and ISO 14971), and uses open EtherCAT architecture to integrate with existing medical platforms and surgical instruments.

Robotics Business Review3d ago

Microbot Medical to expand veteran access to robotic surgery with LIBERTY

Microbot Medical has partnered with Lovell Government Services to expand access to its LIBERTY endovascular robotic system across U.S. federal healthcare systems, including the Veterans Health Administration, Military Health System, and Indian Health Service. LIBERTY is a single-use, remotely operated surgical robot designed for minimally invasive vascular procedures, with the partnership expected to activate in Q3 2026 through federal procurement channels.

The Robot Report3d ago

Physical AI Is Having Its Awkward Teenage Phase

From automotive suppliers to construction sites, physical AI platforms are finally leaving research labs and entering real factories. But the gap between impressive success rates and actual production deployment reveals an industry struggling with the messy reality of manufacturing.

Creative Robotics4d agoOriginal

Safety Certification Is About to Become Robotics' Biggest Bottleneck

As physical AI moves from research labs into automotive plants and industrial settings, a new challenge is emerging: proving these systems are safe enough for production environments. Recent developments suggest the industry is racing to solve a problem most people don't know exists yet.

Creative Robotics4d agoOriginal

Evaluating humanoids for surface finishing applications

This article evaluates the suitability of humanoid robots for surface finishing manufacturing applications like sanding, polishing, and grinding. The analysis concludes that humanoids are not well-suited for factory floor operations because their legs, multi-fingered hands, and heads add unnecessary complexity and cost without providing manufacturing advantages—instead, traditional dual-arm industrial robot configurations mounted on fixed rails are more efficient for speed, precision, and economics of scale.

Robotics Business Review4d ago

Fennec Engineering earns T2 qualification for Advanced Safety Acceleration Platform

Fennec Engineering has received TÜV Rheinland certification (Tool 2 qualification) for its Advanced Safety Acceleration Platform (ASAP), a SaaS tool designed to automate functional safety processes for robotics and AI systems. The platform helps manufacturers manage safety requirements, traceability, and compliance with IEC 61508 and ISO 13849 standards, addressing the challenge of integrating safety into complex autonomous systems from the early stages of development.

Robotics Business Review4d ago

Construction Sites Are Becoming AI Testbeds — And It's About Time

While the tech world obsesses over humanoid robots and general-purpose AI, some of the most significant advances in physical AI are happening in the least glamorous place imaginable: construction sites. Recent partnerships and new platforms suggest the industry is finally ready to move beyond cautious pilot programs.

Creative Robotics5d agoOriginal

Autonomique deploys semi-humanoid robots and AI at Canadian Tier 1

Autonomique, an AI startup spun out of SRI International, is deploying its physical AI platform and mobile manipulator at Canadian automotive supplier F&P Manufacturing to address labor shortages and production complexity. The company's hardware-agnostic software combines teleoperation systems, generalist-specialist AI architecture, and reinforcement learning to enable industrial robots to adapt to multi-step workflows with human-like dexterity while maintaining manufacturing precision and reliability.

Robotics Business Review4d ago

Sanctuary AI validates physical AI performance at Tier 1 automotive supplier

Sanctuary AI has achieved a 99.5%+ success rate on a complex wire-plugging task at a Tier 1 automotive supplier, demonstrating its physical AI technology can meet production-line performance and cycle-time requirements. Rather than waiting for humanoid robots to reach commercialization, the Vancouver-based company is deploying its AI and proprietary hydraulic hands on existing industrial robot platforms to address manufacturing labor challenges.

Robotics Business Review4d ago

HPE AI Factory With NVIDIA Expands for the Era of Agents

HPE and NVIDIA are expanding the HPE AI Factory to support agentic AI workloads, introducing the NVIDIA Vera CPU for agent-specific computing and the NVIDIA Agent Toolkit for HPE Private Cloud AI, alongside extended confidential computing capabilities across the entire portfolio. The Vera CPU, designed for tool calls and real-time data processing in agent loops, will be available in 2027, with early enterprise adoption from the New York Stock Exchange exploring the technology.

NVIDIA Blog AI5d ago

Kawasaki Robotics to debut RL030N physical AI platform at Automate

Kawasaki Robotics will debut its RL030N eight degree-of-freedom robot platform designed for physical AI applications at Automate 2026 in Chicago, along with demonstrations of its Pulseboard inspection technology and other industrial robots. The RL030N combines high-speed motion, enhanced dexterity, and real-time control capabilities to bridge the gap between traditional industrial robotics and AI-driven applications requiring adaptive motion and confined-space manipulation.

The Robot Report5d ago

Genesis AI launches Eno general-purpose robot

Genesis AI unveiled Eno, a general-purpose mobile manipulator robot powered by GENE, its robotics-native foundation model, designed with prioritized mobility and dexterity over human appearance. The company plans to begin production and targeted deployments by end of 2026, starting with industrial customers in manufacturing, logistics, and labs before expanding to service industries and consumer applications.

The Robot Report5d ago

Four-legged detection robots for safe firefighting operations

Researchers at Graz University of Technology have developed a four-legged detection robot equipped with sensors to safely identify hazardous materials during firefighting operations. The remote-controlled robot was designed in collaboration with fire services and emergency responders, using commercially available components and integrating into standard operational procedures to allow firefighters to assess dangerous situations without entering hazard zones themselves.

Phys.org Robotics6/15/2026

Built Robotics, Penn xLAB to develop physical AI for construction

Built Robotics is partnering with the University of Pennsylvania's Safe Autonomous Systems Lab (xLAB) to develop physical AI for construction sites, leveraging Built's 50,000+ hours of operational data and new data-collection robots. The collaboration aims to create a foundation model for safe human-machine coexistence on jobsites by systematically collecting edge case data and training AI models for improved human detection and hazard identification in complex construction environments.

The Robot Report5d ago

PSYONIC partners with ABB Robotics to apply human touch to robot dexterity

PSYONIC has partnered with ABB Robotics to advance dexterous robotic manipulation by combining ABB's GoFa collaborative robot with PSYONIC's Ability Hand, a dexterous gripper originally developed for prosthetics that incorporates touch sensing and compliant design. The collaboration leverages real-world data from prosthetic users to train robots to perform complex manipulation tasks, addressing a key challenge in developing physically intelligent robots capable of handling deformable objects and high-mix, low-volume operations.

The Robot Report6d ago

Farms Are Getting Smarter Than Factories

While everyone obsesses over humanoid robots in warehouses, agricultural robotics has quietly become the most sophisticated deployment of autonomous systems in the real world. From disease detection to VR-trained robots, farms are solving problems factories haven't even acknowledged yet.

Creative Robotics6/14/2026Original

Burro introduces Grande 44 with proven outdoor autonomy built for heavy industry

Burro launched the Grande 44, an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) designed for heavy industrial applications with 44 hp of power, 6,000 lb towing capacity, and proven outdoor autonomy capabilities. The platform builds on over 1 million hours of field operation and is engineered to handle unpredictable outdoor environments like industrial yards, airports, and rail facilities without infrastructure modifications. Burro's AI leverages millions of environmental scenes to enable the Grande 44 to operate in varied weather and terrain conditions where traditional indoor-focused AMRs cannot function.

The Robot Report6d ago

Modernizing the global economy with industrial robotics is needed but not inevitable

Industrial robot sales reached 229,000 units in 2024, with the market dominated by Japan, China, the U.S., Germany, and South Korea, according to the International Federation of Robotics. The article discusses market growth projections, challenges to robotics adoption including skills shortages and outdated training infrastructure, and emerging opportunities in service robots and AI-integrated systems, with the global robotics market expected to reach $380 billion by 2030.

The Robot Report6/14/2026

Warehouses Don't Need Humanoids — They Need Boring Software

While venture capital chases billion-dollar humanoid robot startups, the actual automation revolution is happening in warehouse orchestration platforms that coordinate existing equipment through AI. Companies like GreyOrange are proving that intelligence beats morphology.

Creative Robotics6/13/2026Original

Edge Computing Finally Makes Robots Practical — And Nobody Saw It Coming

For years, robotics promised transformation but delivered lab demos. The sudden convergence of edge AI processors, locally-run models, and abstraction platforms like NEPI is quietly dismantling the biggest barrier to real-world deployment: the need for constant internet connectivity and cloud dependence.

Creative Robotics6/13/2026Original

Windows for robots: Edge AI expands usability

Edge AI processors from companies like NVIDIA, AMD, and Qualcomm are enabling robots and automated systems to run AI models locally without internet connectivity, but their complexity limits adoption to experienced engineers. Numurus has developed NEPI, a software platform that abstracts away low-level complexity through plug-and-play drivers, built-in applications, and browser-based interfaces to democratize edge AI deployment in robotics, similar to how Windows made PCs accessible to non-experts.

The Robot Report6/13/2026

AI in Warehousing: Akash Gupta's vision for the future

The Robot Report Podcast episode features Akash Gupta, CEO of GreyOrange, discussing AI in warehouse automation and fulfillment orchestration. GreyOrange's GreyMatter platform uses AI to coordinate robots, people, and systems in real-time to optimize warehouse operations, delivering significant productivity gains.

The Robot Report6/12/2026

The Autonomous Truck Has Arrived — You Just Haven't Noticed

While the tech world obsesses over humanoid robots and AI chatbots, autonomous freight trucks have quietly become operational reality. PepsiCo and Walmart aren't running pilots anymore — they're running supply chains.

Creative Robotics6/12/2026Original

NVIDIA Blackwell Leads on First Agentic AI Infrastructure Benchmark

NVIDIA's Blackwell Ultra platform achieves leading performance on AgentPerf, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, delivering 20x more concurrent agents per megawatt than the prior Hopper generation. AgentPerf benchmarks agentic AI workloads—where agents chain multiple LLM calls and tool invocations together—rather than single conversation turns, reflecting how AI agents actually operate in production environments like code generation tasks.

NVIDIA Blog AI6/12/2026

Gatik to bring autonomous freight to PepsiCo's North American supply chain

PepsiCo announced a multi-year strategic partnership with Gatik AI to deploy autonomous trucks in its North American supply chain, with operations already underway in Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas. Gatik's autonomous freight system is designed for middle-mile regional logistics with dynamic route orchestration, achieving over 98% on-time delivery across its operations and now operating at commercial scale within one of the world's largest consumer goods supply chains.

The Robot Report6/12/2026

Robot Talk Episode 160 - Robotic blacksmiths, with Edward Mehr

Robot Talk Episode 160 features Edward Mehr, Co-Founder and CEO of Machina Labs, discussing their RoboCraftsman—an AI-driven robotic system that uses advanced manufacturing techniques to shape complex metal parts for aerospace, defense, and automotive industries. The episode explores how Machina Labs is integrating artificial intelligence and robotics into flexible, on-demand production systems to modernize metal forming manufacturing.

Robohub6/12/2026

Carnegie Mellon Team Helps Farmers Fight Crop Disease With Robots

Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute developed Erwin, an autonomous robot that detects fire blight disease in orchards using computer vision and robotic arms, winning the Amiga Innovation Award at the 2026 Farm Robotics Challenge. The system combines GPS, LIDAR, and AI-trained cameras to navigate orchard rows, identify infected trees, classify disease severity, and create spatial disease maps to assist farmers in targeted pruning during dormant seasons.

CMU Robotics Institute6/11/2026

Drone rescue highlights US Navy's autonomous push

The U.S. Navy used an autonomous surface vessel (Corsair) to conduct its first-ever sea-based drone rescue operation, retrieving two Army aviators near the Strait of Hormuz. The incident highlights the Navy's growing integration of unmanned systems and AI technology through Task Force 59, which demonstrates how autonomous platforms can reduce costs and expand operational capabilities beyond their original design parameters.

Phys.org Robotics6/11/2026

Physical AI Just Got a $1.6 Billion Reality Check

Two massive funding rounds this week — NEURA Robotics' $1.4 billion and Standard Bots' $200 million — signal that investors are betting big on robots that can actually touch things. But the money reveals something more interesting: a fundamental split in how the industry thinks physical AI should work.

Creative Robotics6/10/2026Original

For Robotaxis, Safety Must Be Built In, Not Bolted On

NVIDIA announced Halos OS, a comprehensive safety system for autonomous robotaxis that addresses regulatory requirements for level 4 autonomous vehicles through a certified operating system, standardized hardware/software interfaces, and verifiable AI guardrails. The article covers new robotaxi deployments by Uber, Foxconn, VinFast, and HUMAIN using NVIDIA's DRIVE Hyperion platform, alongside the technical architecture of Halos OS designed to ensure safe autonomous operation at scale.

NVIDIA Blog AI6/10/2026

Robots are closing in on human-like judgments, addressing a key challenge in physical AI

KAIST researchers developed VOTP (Video-based Optimal TransPort Preference), an AI technology that learns human judgment criteria from just a few preference videos rather than thousands of data points, addressing a key challenge in physical AI commercialization. The breakthrough enables robots, autonomous vehicles, surgical systems, and other physical AI applications to understand human intentions more efficiently, significantly reducing development time and costs for applications across manufacturing, healthcare, and autonomous systems.

Phys.org Robotics6/10/2026

America Just Realized It Doesn't Have a Robotics Strategy

Congress is moving to establish a National Commission on Robotics — not because we're winning, but because we're scrambling. While China ships humanoids by the thousands and European startups get DeepMind accelerators, the U.S. is still figuring out if it should have a plan.

Creative Robotics6/10/2026Original

Struggling German auto supplier Bosch pivots to robots

German auto supplier Bosch is pivoting toward humanoid robotics and related sensor technology as its traditional auto parts business faces pressure from competition and weak demand. The company plans to expand production of MEMS sensors crucial for robotic dexterity and has partnered with robotics firm Neura, which recently raised $1.4 billion in funding from backers including Bosch, Nvidia, Amazon, and Tether to accelerate deployment of robots and physical AI systems.

Phys.org Robotics6/10/2026

NEURA Robotics to raise up to $1.4B in Series C funding for physical AI

NEURA Robotics announced a Series C funding round of up to $1.4 billion to accelerate development of physical AI and cognitive robots. The company is building an ecosystem called the Neuraverse that combines robotics, AI, sensors, and edge computing for manufacturing, logistics, and service applications, with strategic partnerships including Qualcomm, Amazon, NVIDIA, and Bosch.

The Robot Report6/10/2026

Walmart, Wing add 7 markets in drone delivery expansion

Walmart and Wing Aviation announced a major expansion of their drone delivery partnership, adding seven new metropolitan areas (Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, and Salt Lake City) to their service network. The expansion brings their total U.S. market coverage to nearly 20 cities, with plans to reach over 40 million Americans by 2027 through a network of 270+ locations, building on over one million completed commercial deliveries to date.

The Robot Report6/9/2026

Why Companies Keep Announcing Robots Nobody Asked to See

This week saw a wave of robotics product launches and demos at ICRA 2026, but most announcements focused on technical capabilities rather than solving real problems. As the industry matures, the gap between what engineers want to build and what customers actually need is becoming harder to ignore.

Creative Robotics6/9/2026Original

Effort to establish a National Commission on Robotics advances in Congress

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives introduced legislation to establish a National Commission on Robotics to assess American competitiveness and recommend policies strengthening U.S. leadership in robotics technology. The commission would evaluate priorities including domestic manufacturing capabilities, workforce development, supply chain risks, and competition from China, with support from robotics industry groups viewing it as a critical step toward a comprehensive national robotics strategy.

The Robot Report6/9/2026

Powering the future of robotics in Europe

Google DeepMind has launched a three-month accelerator program supporting 15 early-stage robotics startups across Europe, providing technical mentorship, access to AI models, and guidance to help integrate AI into their products. The cohort includes companies working on applications ranging from industrial automation and manufacturing to healthcare and climate solutions, with a focus on embodied AI and physical world applications.

DeepMind Blog6/9/2026

Standard Bots raises $200M to expand U.S. manufacturing footprint

Standard Bots announced a $200 million Series C funding round at a $1 billion valuation, planning to expand its New York manufacturing facility to scale production of AI-native robot arms and industrial humanoids. The company focuses on robots that learn through demonstration without requiring code programming, targeting applications across machining, welding, palletizing, and assembly, and aims to deliver 10% of new U.S. industrial robot deployments by next year.

The Robot Report6/9/2026

Surgical Drones and Counter-Drone Weapons Share the Same Technology Stack

Two recent funding announcements—one for battlefield surgical drones, another for autonomous anti-drone systems—reveal an uncomfortable truth: the same AI, computer vision, and robotics technologies are being deployed for both saving and taking lives. This convergence raises questions the robotics industry can no longer ignore.

Creative Robotics6/8/2026Original