Defici News
Archive (750 older articles) →AI, commerce and the agent economy.
Apple Reportedly Planning a $1,000 Roaming Home Robot for 2027
Ars Technica reports that Apple may launch a roaming home robot that supports FaceTime calls and switches lights on, possibly by 2027.
3 Nov 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedChurchill Capital XI Shareholders Approve Agility Robotics SPAC Deal
The Robot Report says shareholders of Churchill Capital Corp XI approved the $2.5B SPAC combination with humanoid developer Agility Robotics.
3 Nov 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedGentherm Launches ThermAffyx to Position and Warm Patients in Robotic Surgery
The Robot Report says Gentherm Medical has designed ThermAffyx, a system that both secures and warms patients during robot-assisted surgery.
3 Nov 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedTutor Intelligence Raises $75M Series B for Picking Robots
The Robot Report says Tutor Intelligence has raised $75 million in Series B funding as it works toward general-purpose robotics.
3 Nov 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedQuadruped Robot Solves a Giant Rubik's Cube by Itself
IEEE Spectrum's Video Friday features a quadruped robot that solves a giant Rubik's Cube by itself.
2 Nov 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedSpot Shows Whole-Body Manipulation in Video Friday
IEEE Spectrum's Video Friday this week features Spot playing to show its whole-body manipulation.
2 Nov 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedAgility Robotics Launches Digit 5
IEEE Spectrum publishes an essay by a cofounder of Agility Robotics on the launch of Digit 5.
2 Nov 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedMars Perseverance Rover Sets a Distance Record
IEEE Spectrum reports in a Q&A that the Perseverance rover has set a new distance record for Mars rovers.
2 Nov 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedHiPHI Dataset Offers 617.5 Hours of Motion Capture
The HiPHI dataset contains 617.5 hours of motion capture, including 245.7 hours of human-object interaction.
1 Nov 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedHarmonic Drive to Present Integrated Actuators at RoboBusiness
Harmonic Drive will hold a session on integrated actuators at RoboBusiness on October 20 at 10:30 PT.
1 Nov 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedOmron Says Software and Fleet Management Now Matter as Much as the Robot
In Episode 264 of The Robot Report Podcast, Miguel Garcés Moreno, EMEA product marketing manager for mobile robots at OMRON Industrial Automation Europe, says software, safety and fleet management are
1 Nov 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedDaifuku Column Discusses the Warehouse "Reality Gap"
A column from Daifuku discusses a "reality gap" in warehouse automation.
1 Nov 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedMassRobotics Opens Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst Cohort 6
MassRobotics is accepting applications for the sixth cohort of its Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst until December 31, 2026.
31 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedCenter-Pivot Lawn Mower Project
A project by rctestflight builds a center-pivot lawn mower.
31 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedPogo-Bot Hops on a Spring-Loaded Leg
University of Toronto researchers built the Pogo-bot, which has four propellers, a spring-loaded leg and a pivoting foot.
31 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedRoboBusiness 2026 Features Reshoring Panel
RoboBusiness 2026 takes place October 20–21 in Santa Clara, California.
31 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedOver $23 Billion Invested in Physical AI in 2026
More than $23 billion has been invested in physical-AI companies in 2026, according to a physical-security column.
30 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedEx-Nvidia Engineer Says Robotics Is in Its "Lego Era"
Amulya Vishwanath, formerly of Nvidia, says robotics is in its "Lego era", according to the source report.
30 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedSchneider Electric to Acquire PTC for About $22.6 Billion
Schneider Electric has agreed to acquire PTC for about $22.6 billion, according to the source report.
30 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedHexa-Bouncer Robot Bounces a Ball With Six Steppers
The Hexa-bouncer is a robot with six stepper motors, two cameras and a Teensy 4.0 controller, according to Hackaday.
30 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedSafeworld Raises Seed Round Above $12 Million
Safeworld has raised a seed round of more than $12 million led by Shine Capital and a16z Speedrun.
29 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedInnodata Opens Motion-Capture Lab
Innodata has opened a motion-capture lab equipped with Vicon cameras that track movement with sub-millimeter accuracy.
29 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedWaymo Heads to Toronto Through Ontario Pilot
Waymo is coming to Toronto under Ontario's autonomous-vehicle pilot program.
29 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedYeah Hand: A 3D-Printed Tendon-Driven Robot Hand
Vittorio Lumare's Yeah Hand is a 3D-printed robot hand with five servos that pull fishing-line tendons through PTFE tubes, Hackaday reports.
29 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedRunway Releases Open-Weight Praxis-1 World Action Model
Runway has released Praxis-1, an open-weight world action model that learns mostly from third-person video.
28 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedPatent Attorney Column Looks at Robotics IP
A column by a Lightbringer patent attorney discusses intellectual property in robotics.
28 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedFCC Rules on Foreign-Made Robots Push Toward Local AI
FCC restrictions on foreign-produced robots, added in July, are pushing companies toward local, on-premises AI, according to the source report.
28 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedTeradyne Invests in Bright Machines
Teradyne has made a strategic investment in Bright Machines, according to The Robot Report.
28 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedChina Shows AI-Guided Interceptor Drones
China showed AI-guided interceptor drones at the Great Wall-2026 counterterrorism forum, held October 13–15 by the People's Armed Police.
27 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedHumanoids Column: Atlas and Hyundai's Robot-Heavy Plant
A column on humanoid robots looks at Boston Dynamics' Atlas, which is majority-owned by Hyundai at 88 percent.
27 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedTimken Precision Drives Target Humanoid Joints
Timken's Precision Drives group, which includes Cone Drive, SPINEA, CGI Motion and Timken Encoders, is promoting its products for humanoid robot joints.
27 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedF-22 Pilot Directs Anduril Fury Drone From the Cockpit
An F-22 pilot directed an Anduril YFQ-44A Fury uncrewed aircraft from the cockpit after it took off from Edwards Air Force Base.
27 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedTesla Patent Describes Touch-Sensitive Robot Skin
Tesla's patent application US 2026/0310299 A1, published on October 8, describes a touch-sensitive skin printed on a flexible substrate and heat-formed into shape.
26 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedETH Zurich Robot Hand Learns to Walk on Its Fingers
Researchers at ETH Zurich used reinforcement learning to teach the WUJI robot hand to move on its fingers, in a paper titled "Fingers as Legs" by Kazemipour, Zheng and Katzschmann.
26 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedPudu Shows D7 Semi-Humanoid at IFA 2026
Pudu Robotics is showing its D7 industrial semi-humanoid, making its European debut at IFA 2026, along with the D5-W quadruped and the CC1 Pro cleaning robot.
26 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedSkild AI Trains Robots by Self-Play at Soccer
Skild AI trained its S1 model through self-play in Nvidia's Isaac Sim, running more than 140 simulated years of soccer.
26 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedCars That Talk: Neurosymbolic Planning for Cooperative Self-Driving
Vehicles could share what they see in plain language.
25 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedHow Drones Are Hunting Fires Hidden Beneath the Cairngorms
Hot spots can keep burning underground after a wildfire.
25 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedLondon Cabbies Urge the Mayor to Slow Robotaxis
A City Hall report casts doubt on whether the capital is ready.
25 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedJob Titles of the Future: Delivery Drone Air Traffic Controller
A Texas remote pilot explains the role.
25 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedCat-Like Whiskers Help Tiny Drones Fly in the Dark
Researchers took lessons from nocturnal animals.
24 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedTeradyne Robotics and Elite Robots Settle Cobot Dispute
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
24 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedRobotic Fish Keeps Swimming Well at Any Size
EPFL's ScaFi is designed for shallow, plant-filled waters.
24 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedAnimal-Like or Anime-Style Faces May Boost Social Robots' Appeal
University of Glasgow research could guide design.
24 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedRobot Data Startup Mecka AI Raises $60 Million From Sequoia
The company pays people to record everyday tasks.
23 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedA Robotic Hand That Walks on Its Fingertips
ETH Zurich researchers turned an off-the-shelf hand into a self-contained robot.
23 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedPromise Robotics Signs Multi-Year Deal With D.R. Horton for Homebuilding
Standardised component manufacturing is meant to speed construction.
23 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedHumanoid Robots Can Sprint and Box, but Laundry Is the Real Test
A Cardiff academic reflects on the World Humanoid Robot Games 2026.
23 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedWhy Dexterity Is Physical AI's Real Bottleneck
Doing a task once is easy; doing it hundreds of times is not.
22 Oct 2026
Robotics· AI-generatedWill 'Boring' Robots Win in the Real World?
An article argues robot form should follow workflow.
22 Oct 2026