robot

Nvidia enlists humanoid robotics’ biggest names for new AI platform, GR00T

It’s tough to argue with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang when he notes, “Building foundation models for general humanoid robots is one of the most exciting problems to solve in AI today.” The humanoid f

Figure rides the humanoid robot hype wave to $2.6B valuation

Today Figure confirmed long-standing rumors that it’s been raising more money than God. The Bay Area-based robotics firm announced a $675 million Series B round that values the startup at $2.6 billi

Xiaomi’s latest robot dog does backflips off skateboards, costs $3,000

When it was first unveiled in the summer of 2021, Xiaomi’s CyberDog design was best described as a more nightmarish version of Boston Dynamics’ Spot. I had to comb through dozens of versions of th

iRobot and Amazon call it quits, terminate acquisition agreement

Amazon has ended its bid to acquire iRobot, the maker of robotic vacuums, after running up against headwinds with European regulators. Amazon and iRobot have opted to mutually terminate their previous

What CES 2024 told us about the home robot

Few tech demos can match the spectacle of robotics. Even as the field grows increasingly prevalent in a broad range of industrial workplaces, mechatronics doing impressive things will never cease to a

Samsung brings back Ballie, its home robot, at CES 2024 — with a few upgrades

Remember Ballie, Samsung’s spherical home robot from CES 2020? I sure didn’t — until Samsung brought it back at this year’s keynote with a few on-trend AI upgrades. The new and

Should auld acquaintance be robot

This is always a strange week for us. Save for the occasional disastrous patent dispute, things are (thankfully) almost uncannily quiet in the week separating Christmas and New Year’s Day. You see

Top robotics names discuss humanoids, generative AI and more

Last month, I took an extended break. In a bid to keep my robotics newsletter Actuator (subscribe here) up and running, however, I reached out to some of the biggest names in the industry. I asked peo

Amazon brings its home robot to businesses

In an acknowledgement that cracking the home robotics market is hard, Amazon is bringing its Astro robot to a decidedly more corporate audience. The company today announced Astro for Business, which r

Why this autonomous vehicle veteran joined a legged robotics startup

Zhang Li‘s career path has looked like a bellwether for China’s tech trends. When the Cisco veteran joined WeRide in 2018, the Chinese autonomous vehicle company was less than a year old.

Matic’s robot vacuum maps spaces without sending data to the cloud

Countless startups are trying to solve hard robotics problems in industry. But few are looking to bring the tech into homes. Well, few except for Matic. A relatively new venture founded by Navneet Dal

Amazon begins testing Agility’s Digit robot for warehouse work

At today’s Delivering the Future event, Amazon announced that it will begin testing Agility’s bipedal robot Digit in its facilities. Amazon Robotics Chief Technologist Tye Brady said the testing i

Beijing robotics firm ForwardX’s Series C hits $61 million

ForwardX this week announced an additional $30 million in funding, bringing the Beijing-based firm’s Series C up to $61 million. The funding follows an initial tranche announced way back in December

Rice Robotics picks up $7M, powers SoftBank’s office delivery

In the crowded enterprise robotics space, the ability to secure key clients is a crucial differentiator for companies. In the case of Hong Kong–based Rice Robotics, the important order has come from

Intel Capital backs Figure’s Humanoid robot to the tune of $9 million

Bay Area-based robotics firm Figure this week announced that its humanoid officially took its first steps — a milestone it hit a few days shy of of the company’s first anniversary. Figure

The M4 robot transforms to roll, fly and walk across various terrains

If you’ve followed robots with any frequency, you’ve no doubt encountered the wheel versus leg debate. Why, for instance, should a warehouse opt for a legged Digit robot instead of a rolling Locus

Figure raises $70M to build its humanoid robots

Dyson upgrades its vacuums and air purifiers

When someone asks for a tech recommendation, we almost invariably answer with one question: what’s your budget? It’s as true with vacuums as anything else. You can get a pretty good one for not a

Neato Robotics is being shut down after 18 years

In many meaningful ways, the robot vacuum has been a true success story. The category is broadly considered to be the first mainstream home robot — and 21 years after the first Roomba went on sa

WowWee returns to robots with a dog named ‘Dog-E’

It would be a massive understatement to suggest that robot toys are a mixed bag. They largely get the looks right, but brains are another thing altogether. Look at the time and money that went into bu
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