2026: The Year the AI and Robotics Debate Gets Nasty
The vibe shift surrounding AI and robotics heading into 2026 is palpable. There’s one near certainty for the coming year: Things will get really nasty.
AI Robots
AI robots combine artificial intelligence and robotics to perform tasks, learn from experience, and work safely alongside people.
Kawasaki Pushes Kaleido 9 Humanoid Robot Toward Real World
Kawasaki Heavy Industries says it’s pushing its flagship humanoid robot into the real world after a decade of research and development.
Unitree G1 Gives Engineer Harsh Lesson in Viral Teleoperation Video
A viral video from a Chinese lab shows an engineer learning the hard way to give robots space during testing.
Boston Startup Puts a $699 Price Tag on Its Vision for AI Companionship
A Boston embodied AI startup just emerged from stealth with its first commercial product: an AI-powered, doll-like robot to address loneliness.
Clone Robotics Says Its Viral Synthetic Human Is About to Break Free
Clone Robotics says it’s on track to showcase a fully untethered version of its viral synthetic human prototype.
UBTECH Passes 1,000-Robot Mark as Humanoids Move to China’s Southern Border
Shenzhen’s UBTECH Robotics says it just manufactured its 1,000th industrial humanoid in 2025. The AI-powered humanoid could be headed to guard the China-Vietnam border.
Why 1X Is Building a Lifestyle Brand Around an Unfinished Robot
1X Technologies, the company behind NEO the $20K home robot, is pushing beyond robotics and into lifestyle branding.
Beijing Open-Sources First AI Robot Brain That Passes China’s Autonomy Standards
China just open-sourced a robot brain the government says can safely think, move, and work on its own.
Beijing Startup Claims Humanoid Robot Has Cracked Wire-Harness Assembly
A well-funded Beijing startup claims its new humanoid robot solves wire-harness assembly, one of the toughest and longest-unsolved challenges in industrial automation.
The Shocking Rise of Humanoid Robot Performers
A viral performance by a troupe of Unitree G1 robots is one of the clearest demonstrations yet of where humanoids can deliver immediate value: entertainment.
Figure AI CEO Launches New $100M Embodied AI Lab
The CEO of the $39B humanoid startup Figure AI has reportedly launched a new artificial intelligence lab called Hark with $100 million of his own capital.