Robotics

Technology company   Analog   and   Boston Dynamics   have announced an “exclusive regional alliance to deploy physical intelligence across the UAE”, beginning with Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots. Initial use focuses on practical outcomes including park inspections, environmental and accessibility monitoring, and preventive maintenance that improves everyday livability and operational responsiveness. Physical intelligence is AI that perceives with sensors, builds shared context in a world model, and coordinates actions with robots and infrastructure safely and in real time. The UAE’s country scale world model is designed and operated by Analog as sovereign national infrastructure, and core intellectual property. Built at country scale, it is a high fidelity model that updates continuously to support real time decisions and improve service delivery, and it provides the operational substrate that enables robots and other physical systems to operate, maneuver, and coordin...

Richtech Robotics , a US-based provider of AI-driven robotics solutions, has unveiled Dex, the company’s first mobile humanoid robot for industrial use. Accelerated by the Nvidia Jetson Thor, Dex is capable of operating in dynamic environments, adapt with real time reasoning, and perform complex tasks with detailed precision, all while operating for a full workday on a single charge. Richtech is using Nvidia technology to accelerate Dex’s training across diverse industrial and commercial contexts. By combining real-world data with Nvidia Isaac Sim, an open, reference robotics simulation framework, Dex is able to learn tasks virtually at an exponential rate, and implement behaviors into a live industrial environment. This “Sim2Real” pipeline shortens deployment cycles, enhances safety, and enables faster scaling of new robotic applications. Dex builds on insights from more than 450 Richtech robot deployments nationwide. It combines the AMR (autonomous mobile robot) technology of Richtec...

When the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the world in 2020, few sectors changed as visibly as cleaning and disinfection. Overnight, hygiene became a matter of public infrastructure rather than private preference. The sight of robots quietly gliding through airports, malls and hospitals, emitting UV light or spraying disinfectant, once a novelty, became a symbol of safety and reassurance. Five years on, these machines are no longer temporary solutions. Cleaning and sanitation robots have evolved from emergency measures to permanent fixtures in the global automation landscape – part of a new baseline for public hygiene and operational efficiency. From crisis response to long-term transformation The first wave of cleaning robots was driven by fear and necessity. Airports deployed UV disinfection units to reassure travellers. Hospitals experimented with autonomous sterilisation devices to reduce viral load in high-risk areas. Offices and public transport operators used robotic floor cleaner...

Serve Robotics   has deployed its 1,000th autonomous delivery robot, marking a significant milestone for the San Francisco-based company as it scales operations across the United States. The Nasdaq-listed firm said more than 380 of its third-generation robots were rolled out in September alone, bringing the fleet to 1,000 active units. Serve reiterated that it remains on track to reach 2,000 deployed robots by the end of 2025, fulfilling its expansion plans set earlier this year. Serve develops AI-powered, low-emission sidewalk robots designed to make last-mile delivery both sustainable and cost-effective. The company spun out of Uber in 2021 and has since completed hundreds of thousands of deliveries for enterprise partners including Uber Eats and 7-Eleven. Its long-term contracts include a multi-year agreement to deploy up to 2,000 delivery robots on the Uber Eats platform across multiple US markets. The company has been steadily expanding its footprint. In September, Serve ...

University of Pennsylvania engineers, NASA, and five other universities tested robotic systems designed to help unmanned explorers cooperate in the dunes of White Sands, New Mexico, paving the way for Moon and Mars exploration In early August, the crisp dawn sky above White Sands National Park glows faintly blue, gradually brightening as streaks of marigold and soft pink pierce the clouds with the rising sun. But although the powder-white sand of the 30-foot gypsum dunes is cool at dawn, air temperatures become blistering hot as the sun approaches its zenith. It’s precisely these harsh conditions that drew an interdisciplinary research team to this remote desert, using it as an Earthly stand-in for the Moon and Mars. Their goal: to evaluate lunar robots designed to traverse unforgiving terrain. The team from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, Texas A&M University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Oregon State University,...

Yamaha Motor   has released the Yamaha Motor Cobot, a new seven-axis collaborative robot designed to operate safely alongside humans. The company has also introduced a compact, dedicated controller developed specifically for the new model. The Yamaha Motor Cobot marks the company’s first commercially available collaborative robot and employs a seven-axis configuration that provides a degree of freedom similar to a human arm. According to Yamaha, the additional axis enables “delicate movements, such as reaching into confined spaces that cannot be accessed by 6-axis robots or approaching targets by moving around obstacles”. Each axis incorporates an integrated torque sensor that allows compliance control for smooth, fluid motion. The robot can detect and stop immediately upon contact with workers. Yamaha says it is “on track to receive functional safety certification from TÜV SÜD”, the independent testing and certification body. The cobot can operate in two speed modes – a reduced-sp...

Tesla’s latest humanoid demonstration – a kung fu routine performed by its Optimus robot for actor Jared Leto – was clearly designed to impress. But, as dramatic and as thought-provoking as it was, the spectacle raised an awkward question: what will be the “killer app” for humanoid robots? “Killer app” is a phrase to mean the defining use case that makes a technology indispensable. In every major technology shift, there’s been a defining use case – a killer app – that turned novelty into necessity. For early personal computers, it was spreadsheets – programs like VisiCalc and later Excel that justified owning a machine running DOS. In mobile technology, the BlackBerry transformed from a curiosity into a corporate essential by allowing executives to read and send email on the move – a simple function that reshaped global communication. Humanoid robots haven’t yet found their equivalent. They can walk, wave, and even fold laundry in promotional videos, but they still lack that single, in...

Online retail giant   Amazon   – said to be America’s second-largest employer – is reportedly planning a major expansion of its warehouse automation that could reduce the number of US hires by   more than 600,000 over the next eight years . According to internal documents obtained by  The New York Times , the company’s robotics division aims to automate roughly 75 percent of operations by around 2033, and expects to avoid about 160,000 new roles by 2027. The leaked materials also highlight cost-savings of around $12.6 billion from 2025-2027, or about 30 cents saved per item shipped. Separate reporting by  Business Insider  presents a related internal memo in which Amazon describes its next-gen robots – including a new tactile arm called “Vulcan” – as “critical to flattening Amazon’s hiring curve over the next ten years.” Amazon has pushed back publicly. A spokesperson clarified the documents reflect one team’s view and do not represent the company’s ov...

  The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) has reported that the total number of service robots sold for professional use reached almost 200,000 units in 2024, marking a 9% increase. Staff shortages are a key driver for companies to use robots designed for trained professionals. At the same time, the growing elderly population is increasing demand for medical robots. These findings are presented in the World Robotics 2025 Service Robots report by the IFR. With 102,900 units (+14%) sold in 2024, more than every other professional service robot was built for the application class transportation and logistics. These robots cover mainly mobile robots for the transport and handling of goods. While traditional sales remained the main channel of moniniterisation, RaaS enjoyed growing popularity with a growth rate of 42% in 2024. Transportation in indoor environments without public traffic qualifies as the most important application class within this segment. A special chapter i...

Announcing the ‘largest single investment in company’s 100-year history’, Stellantis plans to expand US production by 50 percent, with five new vehicle launches and 19 product actions over next four years, adding more than 5,000 new jobs at plants in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana Stellantis has announced plans to invest a staggering $13 billion over the next four years to grow its business in the critical United States market and to increase its domestic manufacturing footprint. The investment is the largest in the company’s 100-year US history and will support the introduction of five new vehicles across the brand portfolio in key segments; production of the all-new four-cylinder engine; and the addition of more than 5,000 jobs at plants in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. The new investment will further expand Stellantis’ already significant US footprint, increasing annual finished vehicle production by 50 percent over current levels. The new product launches will be ...

The   45th Hong Kong Electronics Fair   (Autumn Edition) and the   28th electronicAsia   are under way at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, drawing more than 3,200 exhibitors from 20 countries and regions. The twin events, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and MMI Asia, run concurrently and continue to attract a global audience of technology companies, investors, and buyers. This year’s fairs spotlight three major themes: artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, digital entertainment, and the silver economy. Exhibitors include technology companies from the Chinese Mainland, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia, the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The HKTDC has also organised 120 buying missions from 61 countries and regions. Professor Frederick Ma, chairman of the HKTDC, visited the fair to meet exhibitors and tour the new Hong Kong Tech Showcase. He said: “The HKTDC has consistently supported enterprise...

A recent   Dürr   financial statement sent a clear signal to the robotics world: even well-established players are not immune to the strain of slowing demand. Dürr cut its order-intake target for 2025 (for continued operations) from its previous band of €4,300 to €4,700 million down to €3,800 to €4,100 million, citing weaker project demand. Meanwhile, in its restructuring plan, the company announced it would eliminate roughly 500 administrative positions by end-2026, and absorb €40-50 million of restructuring provisions in H2 2025 to enable annual savings of about €50 million from 2027 onward. Dürr also flagged a more sobering projection: its earnings before tax (EBIT) after extraordinary effects (that is, excluding gains from the planned sale of its environmental-technology unit) could fall into negative territory, between -1 percent and 0 percent. In short: the tailwinds that once powered unabated growth in industrial robotics are showing signs of fatigue – and Dürr, at leas...