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Inside Omron’s next-generation LD mobile robots
In mobile robotics, software, safety, and fleet management are becoming just as important as the robot itself, according to an OMROM project manager.
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Affected by layoffs? Don’t miss this $75 deal for your TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Expo+ Pass
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What is a vision-language-action (VLA) model, and who is building them?
A vision-language-action (VLA) model is one neural network that reads camera images and a plain-language instruction and outputs a robot's next motor commands, built by training a vision-language model on robot demonstrations. Google DeepMind, Physical Intelligence, NVIDIA, Figure AI, Skild AI and AgiBot lead, and the commercial race now turns on the cost of action data rather than model design.
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Barbara Mazzolai Wants to Build a New Field of Robotics
Throughout her career, roboticist Barbara Mazzolai has turned to nature for inspiration. Now she wants to ensure the technology she builds gives back to the environment, too.
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Next wave of VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 contenders at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 revealed
Meet the next five top-tier investors judging the Startup Battlefield 200 contenders live at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Register before September 25 to save up to $200 and don't miss a moment of the ultimate startup pitch competition.
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Korea's AI robot alliance reaches 280 members in its first year, with shipyard and refinery humanoids aimed at 2027 and 2028
Korea's trade ministry said on May 29 that the AI robot division of its M.AX manufacturing alliance now has about 280 members and is running industrial humanoid pilots with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, SK Energy and BGF. It also highlighted Korean robot foundation models, a 13 km/h humanoid lower body from KAIST and plans for a 500 billion won fund with a mandatory humanoid share.
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A humanoid robot wins Beijing's half marathon in 50 minutes 26 seconds, 17 minutes ahead of the fastest human
The 2026 Beijing E-Town humanoid half marathon on April 19 drew more than 100 robot teams from 13 provinces, against five provinces a year earlier, and about 40% of robots navigated on their own. The winning robot, Lightning of the Qitian Dasheng team, finished the 21.0975-kilometre course in 50:26 while the men's human winner ran 1:07:47, according to the Beijing municipal government.
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FANUC opens its robots to ROS 2 and NVIDIA as a record iREX 2025 turns Tokyo into a physical AI showcase
FANUC released an open-source ROS 2 driver, made Python standard on its robots and showed NVIDIA-based physical AI demonstrations at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo. Yaskawa Electric and SoftBank Corp. signed a memorandum to build office robots that split AI between the mobile network edge and the robot. Organisers counted a record 673 exhibitors and 156,110 visitors over the show's four days.
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NVIDIA pitches factory digital twins and Thor robot computers as the toolkit for US reindustrialization, enlisting Foxconn, Siemens, FANUC and four robot developers
At GTC Washington on October 28, 2025, NVIDIA expanded its Mega Omniverse Blueprint for factory-scale digital twins, with Siemens, FANUC and Foxconn among the first partners, and named Figure, Agility Robotics, Amazon Robotics and Skild AI as robot developers on its stack. It also unveiled IGX Thor, a 5,581 FP4 teraflop industrial and medical edge computer due in December 2025.
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Beijing stages the first World Humanoid Robot Games with 280 teams and more than 500 robots, capping a state-run August of robot showcases
The first World Humanoid Robot Games closed in Beijing on 17 August 2025 after 487 matches in 26 events, contested by more than 500 robots from 280 teams in 16 countries, according to the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission. The games followed the 2025 World Robot Conference and a subsidised robot shopping festival in Beijing's E-Town district that the district says sold more than 190,000 robots and related products.
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Figure opens BotQ humanoid factory with a first line built for 12,000 robots a year and plans robots on its own assembly line
Figure AI said on 15 March 2025 it has set up BotQ, a vertically integrated factory whose first-generation line can build up to 12,000 humanoids a year. The company redesigned its next robot around molded, cast and stamped parts, built its own factory software, and says its supply chain can scale to 100,000 robots in four years.