Robotics & Automation
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U.S. Navy MASC Program Drives Autonomous Ship Race as IMO Prepares First Global Rules
A $2.1 billion Navy program has drawn at least a dozen competitors to build autonomous warships, while commercial shipping firms deploy AI navigation on thousands of vessels and the IMO targets May 2026 for its first autonomous shipping code.
ICON Opens Sales of Its 899K Dollar Titan 3D Construction Printer to Builders as Californias First Printed Housing Community Takes Shape
ICON launched its Titan program on March 11, letting builders buy its robotic 3D printing system for $899,000, while California's first 3D-printed housing community nears completion in Yuba County.
DHL Hits One Billion Robotic Warehouse Picks as New Integration Platform Targets 100 Sites
DHL Supply Chain and Locus Robotics completed their one billionth autonomous warehouse pick, while DHL's new SOFTBOT platform enables robotic integration 12 times faster across 30 sites with plans to expand to 100.
Pentagon Places First Drone Dominance Orders, Awarding 30,000 One-Way Attack Drones to 11 Vendors After Inaugural Gauntlet Competition
The DOD orders 30,000 small attack drones at $5,000 each from 11 vendors — including a British company that topped the leaderboard — as the first phase of a $1 billion program to field 300,000 domestically produced combat drones by 2027.
Robot Dogs Win the Data Center Security Contract as AI Infrastructure Boom Drives Demand for Autonomous Patrols
Boston Dynamics and Ghost Robotics report surging demand for quadruped robots at data centers, where Spot and Vision 60 units now patrol perimeters, detect thermal anomalies, and slash security costs as the US races to build more than 800 new facilities.
Tesla Debuts Third-Generation Optimus at Shanghai Expo, Targets Mass Production by Year-End
Tesla showcased its third-generation Optimus humanoid robot at AWE 2026 in Shanghai, as the company prepares to convert its Fremont factory lines for robot production and aims to begin public sales by end of 2027.
Mind Robotics Raises $500 Million Series A as Rivian Spinout Bets on Task-Specific Factory Robots Over Humanoids
Rivian spinout Mind Robotics raises $500M Series A led by Accel and a16z at $2B valuation, challenging humanoid robot trend with AI-powered industrial automation.
Uber Signs Robotaxi Deals With Both Zoox and Motional in a Single Week, Cementing Its Role as the Autonomous Ride-Hailing Platform
Uber launched Motional IONIQ 5 robotaxis in Las Vegas on March 13 and announced a strategic partnership with Amazon-backed Zoox two days earlier, accelerating a multi-partner platform strategy now spanning more than 25 AV companies.
Household Robotics Startup Sunday Reaches Unicorn Status With 165 Million Dollar Series B to Ship Home Robots by Thanksgiving
Sunday raised $165 million at a $1.15 billion valuation to deploy its household robot Memo to homes by Thanksgiving 2026, using a novel low-cost data capture approach.
Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Emerges From Eight Years of Stealth to Launch Atoms, a Robotics Company Betting Against Humanoids
Kalanick rebrands City Storage Systems as Atoms, absorbing CloudKitchens and acquiring autonomous-driving startup Pronto to build purpose-built industrial robots.
BMW Deploys First Humanoid Robot in German Auto Production as Physical AI Strategy Expands from US Pilot to Europe
BMW Group has begun deploying Hexagon Robotics' AEON humanoid robot at its Leipzig plant, marking the first time a humanoid robot has entered automotive production in Germany, following a Spartanburg pilot where Figure AI's robot moved 90,000 components across 1,250 operating hours.
Rhoda AI Exits Stealth with $450 Million Series A to Build Robot Foundation Models That Learn from Internet Video
Palo Alto startup Rhoda AI emerged from 18 months of stealth with a $450 million Series A at a $1.7 billion valuation, unveiling a robotics intelligence platform trained on hundreds of millions of internet videos.