Robotics news · RoboAlmanac

HIVE brings in $15M to build physical AI for industrial machines ↗

HIVE has deployed its technology across several sites in Scandinavia, operating autonomously across different machines.

Kraken Robotics acquires Covelya Group for $615M ↗

Covelya Group expands Kraken Robotics' product offerings and total addressable market in subsea technology.

Boston Dynamics brings its legged robots to the FIFA World Cup ↗

Around the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Hyundai and Boston Dynamics have taught footwork to the Atlas humanoid, while the Spot robot is on patrol.

Quantum Systems raises $1.2B to expand drone production and deployments ↗

Quantum plans to use the proceeds to expand production capacity, strengthen supply chain resilience, and more.

RoboBusiness 2026 call for speakers closes soon ↗

RoboBusiness 2026, the premier event for developers of commercial robotics and those building robotics businesses, is seeking expert speakers.

Humanoid says KinetIQ Ascend reinforcement learning approaches human-level dexterity ↗

Humanoid says its KinetIQ Ascend approach can reach 99.9% manipulation reliability at human speed and beyond for industrial tasks.

Context is king: How Avride uses cloud VLMs as a safety net for delivery robots ↗

Avride uses vision-language models, or VLMs, to improve the environmental awareness of its delivery robots.

Quarterhill discusses transport modernization as U.S. marks 70 years of federal highways ↗

At the U.S. celebrates 250 years of independence and 70 years of its highway system, an expert looks at the future of autonomous transport.

Automate 2026 show recap ↗

Editors Steve Crowe, Mike Oitzman, and Sarah Wynn review Automate 2026, analyzing key trends in physical AI, humanoids, and software orchestration.

Why you should combine robot dexterity with mechanical positioning for complex assembly operations ↗

Experts are recognizing the importance of mechanical positioning and its impact on the machine’s mobility, range and speed.

Luxonis closes Series A round to scale physical AI perception layer ↗

Luxonis said it plans to scale production of its OAK camera and refine its platform to support robotics and industrial automation.

In robotics, ruggedization is no longer optional ↗

As autonomy moves beyond controlled environments, ruggedized design is becoming a prerequisite for reliable robotic operations.

Top 10 robotics developments of June 2026 ↗

Humanoid robots made many headlines in June 2026, whether it be for companies going public, new deployments, or hitting production milestones.

Apptronik unveils Apollo 2 and a flagship data collection and training facility ↗

Built as a data collection and training platform, Apollo 2 enables continuous learning through deployment, Apptronik said.

X Square Robot brings its valuation to $2.8B with four consecutive funding rounds ↗

X Square Robots' system combines foundation models, robotics hardware, a data pipeline system, and real-world deployments.

Queue raises funding to build fully autonomous pharmacy ↗

Queue is developing automated pharmacies to expand access to prescriptions in hospitals, retail sites, and underserved communities.

Soft, robotic cells from morph embed physical AI into hardware ↗

morph launched a physically intelligent soft robotics platform that designs and manufactures what it calls “soft robotic cells.”

Sonair ADAR One 3D ultrasonic sensor is now safety-certified ↗

Sonair says ADAR One was assessed as a human detection sensor according to the IEC 61496 standard for electrosensitive protection devices.

Insights behind Kinisi’s acquisition by Bear Robotics ↗

Brennand Pierce, founder and CEO of Kinisi Robotics, discusses the company's approach to physical AI and its acquisition by Bear Robotics.

BMW Group deploys Figure 03 humanoid after tests with previous version ↗

The Figure 02 robot supported the production of more than 30,000 BMW X3 vehicles over 11 months in South Carolina.

MBody AI expands service robotics operations to eleven states and Canada ↗

MBody AI has deployed its hardware-agnostic Orchestrator platform to Florida and California, with a pilot in Ontario.

Advantages of hypoid gearing over worm, bevel and bevel-planetary ↗

Right-angle gearing often requires engineers to compromise between torque capacity and mechanical efficiency.

AGIBOT produces 15,000th robot, marking a milestone in embodied AI deployment ↗

AGIBOT has rolled out 15,000 wheeled semi-humanoid robots as it moves from embodied AI from development and production to deployment.

We know how to build smarter robots. Now, we need to learn smarter ways to test them ↗

Atharv Kolhar, a staff test automation engineer at Figure AI, says the robotics industry needs a testing philosophy that scales alongside autonomy.

How compact cobot integration enhances autonomous mobile robot applications ↗

Cobots are quickly shaping the future of warehousing, with their use rising 10-fold from 2018 to 2025, Kassow said.

General Intuition raises $320M to use video game data to train robots ↗

General Intuition is using video game clips with embedded action labels to speed up AI training for robotics.

Orbbec shows AI-powered vision systems at Automate 2026 ↗

Orbbec presented industrial-grade 3D cameras for challenging automation scenarios, as well as AI integration for enhanced robotic perception.

Hirebotics offers no-code, explosion-proof cobot for painting ↗

Hirebotics' Cobot Painter supports stationary painting, with parts placed in a paint booth where robots perform all spraying operations.

Robust.AI chooses Aptiv PULSE sensor for Gen 3 Carter mobile robot ↗

Aptiv provides sensor fusion from radar and vision using AI to enable Robust.AI's Carter robot to move safely around people.