MIT and EPFL's puffin-like robot swims, then flaps out of the water into flight
A sub-300 g flapping-wing robot from MIT and EPFL swims, launches at about 70 degrees, and flies using the same wings, covered by Science and The New York Times.
UC San Diego teleoperated Surgie robots complete first live animal surgeries on Unitree G1
UC San Diego's Surgie humanoids, built on Unitree G1, finished two preclinical gallbladder removals under remote surgeon control, detailed in Nature on July 8.
1X unveils 25-DoF hands for NEO Gamma with tactile sensing and washable IP68 build
1X's July 9 demo shows NEO Gamma hands assembling LEGO, pouring tea, and sensing slip, with tendon drives and IP68 wash-down for home chores.
Agility Robotics targets public listing as CEO pegs home humanoids 10+ years out
Agility's $2.5B SPAC deal would make Digit the first pure-play humanoid stock, but Peggy Johnson says living rooms stay a decade away.
Atlas humanoid delivers the match ball at FIFA World Cup 2026 halftime
Boston Dynamics' Atlas walked onto the pitch at Brazil vs Norway, copied famous goal celebrations, and handed the referee the second-half ball in Hyundai's World Cup robotics debut.
Basel's cork-sized MIR dental robot mounts on your teeth to drill crown prep in one visit
University of Basel researchers built MIR, a Miniature Intraoral Robot that clips to a custom dental splint and drills crown prep from inside the mouth. CNET's July coverage highlights lab tests on ceramic models, not patients.
UBTech pitches U1 as a lifetime loyal companion as global press picks up China's emotional humanoid push
UBTech's UWORLD U1 full-size companion humanoid is drawing global AFP coverage for its "never betray you" pitch, yuan pricing from 119,800, and 13,300-plus pre-orders ahead of September deliveries.
Unitree humanoids go viral after America's Got Talent dance audition
China's Unitree robots earned four yes votes on America's Got Talent with a Lady Gaga routine, then a separate stage clip of ballet-style moves ending in a fall spread across social feeds by late June.
FIDI feeding robot resurfaces on X as Semi Robotics preps Polish home-care rollout
A viral clip of Semi Robotics' FIDI arm feeding a seated user is making the rounds on X, but the real story is a four-person Łódź startup with NCBR backing, care-home pilots, and a waitlist ahead of series production.
San Francisco Airbnb host sues The Bot Company over secret home robot tests
Ex-Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt's chore-robot startup allegedly rented a Portola house under false pretenses, brought 30+ people inside, and left scratched appliances in its wake, per a May lawsuit now drawing wider press.
REK opens a San Francisco shop to rent, repair, and spar with 6-foot fighting humanoids
Viral robot-fight promoter REK is turning a San Francisco storefront into a humanoid training and repair hub where visitors can watch 6-foot boxing bots and eventually buy or rent the rigs.
UNIST team teaches social robots to read touch and dial up emotional reactions
A UNIST design lab unveiled touch-reading and five-level emotional expression software on its Remy prototype at ICRA 2026, aiming for more natural care and companion robot interactions.
UK firm's container robots frame a house in a day as housing crunch intensifies
Automated Architecture ships shipping-container micro-factories with robot arms that cut and nail timber wall panels on site, claiming a typical home frame in one day at roughly 30% below crew costs.
Hyundai moves to take full control of Boston Dynamics from SoftBank
Hyundai Motor Group is set to buy SoftBank's remaining 9.65% Boston Dynamics stake for $325 million, clearing the path to sole ownership and tighter control over Atlas commercialization.
UBTech opens presales for full-size U1 emotional companion humanoids
Shenzhen-based UBTech's UWORLD brand is taking refundable deposits for male and female U1 companions on JD.com, with 88-DoF bionic bodies and affective AI but no public MSRP yet.
Gatsby sends a humanoid robot to clean its first US apartment
Gatsby's flat $150 iOS booking in San Francisco marks what the company calls the first residential clean by a humanoid robot for a US consumer, with no human cleaner inside the home.
Hong Kong convenience store to be staffed solely by a humanoid robot
Galbot's 173-cm G1 humanoid Xiao Gai will run a 24-hour capsule store on the Hung Hom waterfront — stocking shelves, picking items, and handling checkout in multiple languages.
Analysts see humanoid robots hitting a $200B market by 2035
Barclays and Wedbush both flag humanoids as the next physical-AI wave, but home buyers sit in the second deployment wave after 2030.
Genesis AI unveils Eno, a wheeled general-purpose robot built to extend humans
The French startup backed by Eric Schmidt showed a foldable tower on wheels with human-like hands, targeting logistics first and home buyers later in 2026.
DEEP Robotics Lynx S10 crosses Arctic ice floes on polar expedition
A modified Lynx S10 prototype with polar-bear paws became the first quadruped robot to walk on floating Arctic Ocean ice during a 76-day university research voyage.
Tsinghua K1 humanoid kicks off ROBO Cup weekend at Hong Kong mall
Kid-sized K1 from Tsinghua University showed football moves and met children at Whampoa mall during a World Cup-themed ROBO Cup pop-up.
Nvidia ships an open Isaac GR00T reference humanoid for research labs
Jensen Huang unveiled a Jetson Thor reference rig built on Unitree H2 Plus hardware, aimed at universities rather than living rooms.
Unitree G1 variant Pemba summits Chimborazo after a 16-hour push
Modified G1 Pemba reached Ecuador's Chimborazo summit in a 16-hour field test, but steep sections still needed a human carry.
Figure AI scales BotQ to one humanoid per hour
Figure's US factory now builds about one humanoid an hour, up from one a day four months ago — a clear move from prototype runs toward serial output.
Tesla plans Optimus V3 production at Fremont this summer
Musk tied a Fremont factory conversion to Optimus V3, but warned 2026 output will start slow with no firm volume target yet.