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Robotics

Humanoids, industrial and service robots, robot learning breakthroughs, and the companies and deals behind them.

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Commercial scale-up led this edition: Bedrock Robotics secured $600 million, GXO plans Digit deployments at two more sites, and North American robot orders rose 24.8%.

Robotics5 items

Research updates included touch-sensing electronic skin and biomimetic underwater locomotion.

Industrial & service

North American robot orders rise 24.8% in third quarter

North American robot orders climbed 24.8% in the third quarter of 2026, according to A3. Demand from automotive component manufacturers nearly doubled, while other sectors also posted strong gains.

Why it matters: The figures indicate strengthening industrial automation demand beyond a single customer or deployment.

Research

NUS electronic skin displays touch location and pressure as light

National University of Singapore researchers developed eLuminator, an ultrathin, flexible electronic skin that lights up when touched. It displays where pressure is applied and how much.

Why it matters: Direct visual pressure feedback could help researchers assess tactile sensing for robot contact and manipulation.

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Recent briefs

  1. Tue, Nov 36 itemsAgility Robotics cleared a shareholder vote on its $2.5 billion SPAC deal, while a new ISO standard targets coordination across mobile robot fleets. Research also showed humanoids combining walking and manipulation skills without demonstrations of complete task sequences.
  2. Mon, Nov 23 itemsJR East is putting a chainsaw-equipped humanoid to work trimming trees, while Iron is receiving a solid-state battery. A mountain-climbing competition also provided a concrete test of robot mobility and endurance.
  3. Sun, Nov 12 itemsNew reports add details to Meta’s humanoid effort, including a three-month prototype build and second-generation development. Matrix Robotics also plans to establish an R&D center in Korea next year.
  4. Sat, Oct 314 itemsMeta reportedly built a humanoid prototype with Fourier, while Figure AI reportedly froze its Figure 04 design alongside a $3.5 billion compute commitment. Musk denied reports that Optimus orders would open in December.
  5. Fri, Oct 308 itemsAgility Robotics lowered its expected SPAC proceeds to $465 million, while a U.S. investigation concluded that dependence on imported robotics poses a national security risk. Atlas component production plans and new robot capability demonstrations rounded out the edition.
  6. Thu, Oct 295 itemsCommercial scale-up led this edition: Bedrock Robotics secured $600 million, GXO plans Digit deployments at two more sites, and North American robot orders rose 24.8%. Research updates included touch-sensing electronic skin and biomimetic underwater locomotion.
  7. Wed, Oct 287 itemsUnitree reported strong quarterly revenue growth, while Agility added customers and Neura opened a major robotics facility with TUM. Audi’s humanoid logistics tests and new soft-robot and mobility research rounded out the edition.

Who and what it tracks

  • UnitreeCompany8
  • Boston DynamicsCompany6
  • Agility RoboticsCompany6
  • TeslaCompany5
  • FigureCompany4
  • NVIDIACompany2