Robotics

Humanoid robots are still novelty acts, but investment is surging to make them real tomorrow

Investment and interest have outpaced technology and society

AI + ML25 Dec 2025 | 42

Roomba maker iRobot gets cleaned out in Chapter 11

Company vacuumed up by its own manufacturer

Personal Tech15 Dec 2025 | 44

As humanoid robots enter the mainstream, security pros flag the risk of botnets on legs

Interview Have we learned nothing from sci-fi films and TV shows?

Research09 Dec 2025 | 45

Russia’s first autonomous humanoid robot staggers and falls on debut

Go home, comrade clanker, you look drunk – and worryingly angry

AI + ML13 Nov 2025 | 59

Foxconn hires humanoid robots to make servers at Nvidia's Texas factory

We're months away from AI building AI

AI + ML07 Nov 2025 | 69

Robotic lawnmower uses AI to dodge cats, toys

The Sunseeker Elite X5 can mow on its own, but it doesn't come cheap

AI + ML01 Nov 2025 | 82

AI boffins teach office supplies to predict your next move

What the world's been waiting for: a stapler with wheels to help humans afflicted by RSI

Offbeat17 Oct 2025 | 35

SoftBank snaps up ABB's robotics biz for $5.4B to fuel 'physical AI' dreams

Japanese tech goliath gets grabby with industrial automation as ABB shelves spin-off plans

AI + ML09 Oct 2025 | 8

Senate report says AI will take 97M US jobs in the next 10 years, but those numbers come from ChatGPT

ai-pocalypse Bernie Sanders calls for a robot tax and a 32-hour work week in response

AI + ML06 Oct 2025 | 15

Inventor who encouraged Elon Musk to make Optimus says most humanoid robots today are 'terrifying'

interview Scott LaValley, CEO of Cartwheel Robotics, says robot makers should prioritize social acceptance over capabilities

Offbeat13 Sep 2025 | 69

Terminators: AI-driven robot war machines on the march

Opinion Science fiction? Battle bots already used in Ukraine

AI + ML12 Sep 2025 | 44

Kilopixel creator kills livestream switch before woodblock display hits Crysis point

All good things must come to an end

Personal Tech30 Aug 2025 | 17

Researcher who found McDonald's free-food hack turns her attention to Chinese restaurant robots

Updated The controls were left wide open on Pudu's robots

Research29 Aug 2025 | 34

Nvidia touts Jetson Thor kit for real-time robot reasoning

GPU modules for AI and robotics take aim at latency

Edge + IoT25 Aug 2025 | 2

Behold the wood-block wonder of the Kilopixel display

Feature We're going out on a limb here... why not branch out from things like retina displays and get a little more fine grained?

Offbeat08 Aug 2025 | 25

How to train your robot: Wear a tiny one in a baby carrier

You can build your own robot CHILD for under $1,000

Science05 Aug 2025 | 16

Germany and Japan teamed their ISS robots for seek-and-photograph mission

Bot built by Airbus and IBM recognized astronaut’s voice and issued instructions to camera drone

Science05 Aug 2025 | 7

Kawasaki and Foxconn build robot nursing assistant to tackle hospital scutwork

If you come out of a coma in 2026, this is the machine you might see staring down at you

On-Prem04 Jul 2025 | 41

China orders trial of aged care robots that can cook, clean, and provide emotional support

Elon Musk suggested this to Beijing years ago

AI + ML10 Jun 2025 | 28

UK's answer to Darpa invests £23.3M in touchy-feely robots

Latest project gets the green light although Brexit-era brainchild faces spending review

Public Sector30 May 2025 | 6

Amazon touts Vulcan – its first robot with a sense of 'touch'

Claims human warehouse workers will still live long and prosper

Offbeat08 May 2025 | 13

Chinese carmaker Chery using DeepSeek-driven humanoid robots as showroom sales staff

And of course – sigh – they look like women with long blonde hair

AI + ML30 Apr 2025 | 38

AI-driven 20-ft robots coming for construction workers' jobs

Rise of the machines Er, are we sure we want to outsource the welding?

Offbeat26 Apr 2025 | 88

Tesla's Optimus can't roll without rare earth magnets, and Beijing ain't budging yet

Officials seek assurances that bot won't be used for military applications

Offbeat23 Apr 2025 | 76

Robot dogs learn bomb disposal tricks in trials

'Fetch' just got a lot more interesting

Offbeat06 Feb 2025 | 17

Robots in schools, care homes next? This UK biz hopes to make that happen

Interview Bot manufacturers should think outside the box of humanoid form – unless those makers are Engineered Arts

On-Prem27 Jan 2025 | 34

Humanoid robots coming soon, initially under remote control

Feature Dodgy AI chatbots as brains – what could go wrong?

AI + ML19 Dec 2024 | 93

$800 'AI' robot for kids bites the dust along with its maker

Comment - Updated Moxie maker Embodied is going under, teaching important lessons about cloud services

AI + ML16 Dec 2024 | 103

Red Rabbit Robotics takes human form to sell work as a service

Take this job and automate it

Offbeat15 Dec 2024 | 21

You're so bad at recycling, this biz built an AI to handle it for you

Maybe start getting better at sorting your trash before these ML garbage bots gain sentience?

Bootnotes08 Dec 2024 | 42

Robot runs marathon in South Korea, apparently the first time this has happened

Finishing in 4:19:52 makes it a SlowBot - although it did finish without a battery top-up

Science19 Nov 2024 | 24

Letting chatbots run robots ends as badly as you'd expect

LLM-controlled droids easily jailbroken to perform mayhem, researchers warn

AI + ML16 Nov 2024 | 44

Robots crush career opportunities for low-skilled workers

They also boost support for populist politicians, study finds

Offbeat08 Nov 2024 | 90

Destiny Robotics settles SEC case over AI-powered human robot vaporware

Raised $141k+ crowdfunding, but now powered down

AI + ML18 Oct 2024 | 5

Oh, what a feeling: Toyota building robots that get better with practice

Bots that learn to peel potatoes is a lot less scary than Black Mirror

Science17 Oct 2024 | 15

Tesla's big reveal: Steering-wheel-free Robotaxi will charge wirelessly

WCGW? Plus: Automous Robovan also makes surprise appearance at Cybercab's coming out party

Personal Tech11 Oct 2024 | 228

Chinese boffins build soft robot finger that can take your pulse

It can also type, so the robo-doctor can heal you and write legibly

Science11 Oct 2024 | 26

US Army orders next-gen robot mule to haul a literal ton of gear

Soldiers' new best friend does all the heavy lifting

Bootnotes28 Sep 2024 | 62

NASA's Astrobees need a new buzz – any ideas for the space-dwelling bots?

Hey Reg readers, what would you do with Honey, Queen, and Bumble?

Science26 Sep 2024 | 26

Robot enters Fukushima's nuclear core to retrieve melted-down remains

Video Trying for 3 grams, only 880 tons to go!

Science11 Sep 2024 | 28

Blood boffins build billions of nanobots to battle brain aneurysms without surgery

Good news for rabbits, maybe great news soon for humans?

Science07 Sep 2024 | 34

Say 'ahhhh' – AI robots are now gunning for your gums

Perceptive turns its automated dental dynamo on humans, and Zuck's dad thinks it's great

Bootnotes02 Aug 2024 | 25

Beetle mania: How bugs are inspiring the next gen of robot aviators

Deploying and folding wings without power might be useful in a tight spot

Science01 Aug 2024 | 8

NASA swings budget axe, kills $400M+ VIPER lunar trundlebot

Creeping costs, launch delays mean almost completed rover 1) will never see Moon, 2) will be stripped for parts

Science18 Jul 2024 | 18

Light-weight solar-powered flying robots are coming

Don’t worry, they look like they wouldn’t hurt a fly

Offbeat17 Jul 2024 | 11

Amazon puts down its Astro robotic business watchdog

Now even the 'droids are being laid off – sheesh!

Bootnotes03 Jul 2024 | 19

MIT's bionic leg upgrade leaves amputees walking like the wind

Researchers expect treatment to be available clinically in around 5 years

Science02 Jul 2024 | 18

AI future: Nvidia boffin hopes 'everything that moves will eventually be autonomous'

Video Welcome to the 'agentic' era

AI + ML30 May 2024 | 17

Neuralink wants 3 more quadriplegic patients for its brain control interface trial

Sign up for your turn with the R1 robot if you qualify

Science29 May 2024 | 12

Throwflame launches fire-spitting robo-dog from Hell

The Thermonator can be yours for just $9,420

Bootnotes25 Apr 2024 | 55

Boston Dynamics' humanoid Atlas is dead, long live the ... new commercial Atlas

Video If the plan was to make this all-electric droid look mildly terrifying, mission accomplished

Science17 Apr 2024 | 24

Industrial robots make people feel worse about jobs and themselves

Study finds workers' sense of meaningfulness and autonomy declines with automation

Science07 Apr 2024 | 18

The Who’s Who of AI just chipped in to fund humanoid robot startup Figure

$675 million to accelerate development of machine that can lift, but can’t keep up with humans

AI + ML29 Feb 2024 | 15

Boffins caution against allowing robots to run on AI models

Before building the Torment Nexus, consider the risks

AI + ML27 Feb 2024 | 9

Cutting-edge robot space surgeon makes first incision in Zero-G

Updated One giant leap for astronaut medicine

Science16 Feb 2024 | 12

CERN is training robot dogs to spot radiation hazards at Large Hadron Collider

Vid CERNquadbot can go off the rails – unlike science org's existing inspector bots

Science08 Feb 2024 | 28