Lyft has launched its first commercial robotaxi service through a partnership with Waymo in Nashville, where riders can hail driverless vehicles via either app. Lyft's subsidiary Flexdrive manages fleet maintenance, infr…
#Robotics
This week in Robotics · updated Mon Sep 21 2026
This week in robotics, the focus shifted toward practical deployment and autonomous operations across varied domains. Industrial applications advanced with Boston Dynamics opening a training hub for Atlas humanoids at Hyundai's Georgia plant, while Hirebotics added conveyor tracking and modular rails for cobots, and industry voices emphasized packaging robots for immediate business needs over humanoid hype. Meanwhile, autonomy progressed in challenging settings: a Delft University whisker-guided drone navigated by touch, Scaleout Systems demonstrated an AI drone selecting its own target, and Joby flew a pilotless Cessna across the U.S. Corporate moves also dominated, with SoftBank acquiring Hyundai's robotics research lab and F-Prime Capital preparing to unveil funding trends, alongside regulatory efforts to define AV safety benchmarks.
AI-written weekly briefing drawn from this topic's recent stories.
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Lyft debuts driverless ride-hailing with Waymo in Nashville, marking its first commercial robotaxi operation
Autonomous Taxi's In-Cabin Cameras Lead to Arrest of Armed Juveniles
A Waymo self-driving car alerted San Francisco police after its cameras detected passengers handling a loaded AR-style firearm. Officers conducted a high-risk stop and arrested two juveniles, also finding suspected marij…
Tesla's Cybercab launch marks a pivotal moment for its AI ambitions
Tesla is launching its Cybercab, a two-seater autonomous vehicle without steering wheel or pedals, in Austin, Texas. The company has staged numerous Cybercabs around the city and has 420 autonomous vehicles registered in…
Tesla opens door for third-party Cybercab fleet operators
Tesla has published a form soliciting interest from businesses in purchasing Cybercab fleets or providing infrastructure for its robotaxi network. This move suggests the company may expand beyond operating its own autono…
Nvidia and Robotics Take Center Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026's New AI Showcase
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 introduces the Real World AI Stage, dedicated to practical AI applications and robotics. The stage will feature Nvidia and other major tech firms, along with demonstrations involving extinct anima…
Public safety officials warn steep drone import taxes will hinder rescue operations
The Trump administration imposed a 100% tariff on certain imported drones, with additional levies on smaller models and those from allied nations. Critics argue this will sharply increase costs for law enforcement and fi…
Robot mowers gain built-in edging capabilities for precise lawn care
At IFA 2026, Anker unveiled the Eufy Robot Lawn Mower S2 Max, which features an extendable trimming arm to cut grass along driveways and flower beds. The dual-blade mower uses camera-based vSLAM navigation to map yards u…
Uber Wins Race to Debut Driverless Taxis in London
Uber has launched the first commercial robotaxi service in London, using autonomous driving technology from UK startup Wayve. The initial fleet, consisting of Ford Mustang Mach-Es, will operate with human safety drivers …
Tesla Cybercab Debuts, But Scaling Robotaxi Service Remains Tough
Tesla is set to unveil its steering-wheel-free Cybercab at an event in Austin, marking its official entry into ride-hail service. The company has been testing the vehicle in several cities, but analysts note that manufac…
Uber launches autonomous rides in London with human oversight
Uber has partnered with British autonomous vehicle company Wayve to offer robotaxi rides in London using Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles. The service, available for UberX, Comfort, and Electric rides, requires a human super…
Partnership Aims to Boost Robot Adoption in Australia
HowToRobot and Robotics Australia Group are collaborating to help Australian businesses identify and implement automation opportunities. The platform uses AI to help companies describe projects and connect with vetted su…
RoboBusiness Panel to Showcase Real-World Physical AI Deployments
At RoboBusiness 2026, leaders from Amazon Robotics, Teradyne Robotics, and Cobot will discuss applying AI to robots in customer environments. The panel will cover perception, autonomy, fleet optimization, and maintenance…
August's Biggest Robotics Developments: Funding, Humanoids, and AI
The most-read robotics articles of August 2026 covered major funding rounds, humanoid robot progress, and new AI models for robotics. Notable items included XPeng's Dogotix raising $900M, Gravis Robotics' $200M Series A,…
Waymo challenges Tesla's sensor strategy before Cybercab debut
Waymo published a blog post arguing that fully autonomous driving requires multiple sensor types, not just cameras, and that pure end-to-end AI systems are unsafe. This comes a week before Tesla's expected Cybercab launc…
Waymo launches public robotaxi service in three additional U.S. cities
Waymo has opened its autonomous ride-hailing service to the public in Denver, San Diego, and Tampa, with tens of thousands of pre-registered users gaining access first. This expansion brings Waymo's operational footprint…
Waymo rolls out self-driving taxis in three more U.S. cities
Waymo has begun offering robotaxi rides to the public in Denver, San Diego, and Tampa, bringing its commercial operations to 14 U.S. cities. The company's fleet now exceeds 4,000 self-driving vehicles, and it plans to gr…
US Military Laser System Neutralizes Three Drones at Southern Border
The U.S. Army employed a 20-kilowatt laser weapon system to shoot down three drones near the Texas-Mexico border between August 25 and 26. The operation, led by Joint Task Force Southern Border, used the Locust system de…
Investor backs wind-powered autonomous aircraft startup for year-long flights
Alteon, a Bengaluru startup founded by 20-year-old Samay Sanghvi, has raised $2.5 million in pre-seed funding led by Lachy Groom with Together Fund participating. The company is developing small autonomous aircraft that …
US trade curbs on drones and robots may push competition to new markets
Washington has tightened restrictions on foreign-made advanced robotics and imposed steep tariffs on imported drones, citing national security. Chinese manufacturers currently dominate global shipments of humanoid robots…
Robotaxi test drivers suffer injuries from abrupt autonomous maneuvers, data shows
OSHA data reveals that test drivers for Waymo and Zoox sustained more than two dozen injuries in 2024 and 2025 due to hard braking or sudden movements by autonomous vehicles. Some workers were sidelined for months with c…
Beijing robot games highlight progress and spills
At the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, competitors set records but also suffered dramatic failures, including one robot losing a leg mid-sprint and others tripping in sparks. The five-day event showcased both the …
Army laser system downs three suspected cartel drones near US-Mexico border
U.S. Northern Command deployed an Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser System to destroy three unmanned aerial vehicles believed to be operated by Mexican cartels. The drones were reportedly used for surveillance of law e…
Carbon Robotics and iMerit enable instant field customization for laser weeders
Carbon Robotics has introduced a large plant foundation model trained on 150 million labeled plants, enabling farmers to customize laser weeding in minutes. The company partnered with iMerit to support this capability. F…
NSF backs new research centers with $90M, including human-robot collaboration hub
The U.S. National Science Foundation will invest $90 million over five years in three new Science and Technology Centers. One center, led by the University of Texas at Austin, will focus on human-robot co-adaptation. The…
Weighing power distribution models for swarm robot fleets
Swarm robotics power architecture can be centralized or decentralized, each with trade-offs in coordination, latency, and fault tolerance. A hybrid approach may combine benefits. The choice affects scalability and adapta…
Mara secures $7M to deploy backpack-sized drone interceptors against FPV threats
San Francisco-based defense startup Mara has raised $7 million in pre-seed funding to develop Spike, a backpack-portable counter-drone system. The system uses lightweight autonomous interceptors called Seekers, each weig…
Autonomous sailboat fires missiles in Navy exercise
During the RIMPAC 2026 exercises near Hawaii, the U.S. Navy tested an unmanned sailboat that launched two JAGM missiles. The vessel, developed with Lockheed Martin, operated under the Navy's ARES system and also performe…
Teradyne Robotics sues JAKA over patent infringement in European cobot market
Teradyne Robotics has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against JAKA's German subsidiary, alleging violations of hardware and software patents related to Universal Robots' collaborative robots. This is the company's se…
Locus Robotics integrates soft gripping technology from Nexera to enhance manipulation
Locus Robotics has acquired Nexera Robotics, known for its NeuraGrasp soft end effector technology. The company plans to integrate this technology into its Array mobile manipulator to handle a wider range of items, inclu…
Deere beats Q3 forecasts, raises guidance, and invests in rugged AI for agriculture
Deere & Co. reported Q3 2026 net income of $1.379 billion, exceeding expectations despite a decline in its precision agriculture segment. The company raised its full-year guidance, signaling a potential bottom in the far…
Brain Corp CTO discusses evolution from teach-and-repeat to AI-driven robot navigation
Brain Corp's chief technology officer John Black discussed scaling autonomous mobile robot fleets and building public trust in a recent podcast. The company has deployed over 50,000 robots that have logged more than 25 m…
Chinese carmakers pour billions into humanoid robots, chasing Tesla's vision
Chinese automakers are aggressively entering the humanoid robot sector, mirroring Tesla's strategic bet on robotics as a future revenue source. Xpeng's robotics unit recently secured over $900 million in funding, while o…
Meta Experiments with Robots for Data Center Maintenance
Meta is testing robots from vendors like Watney Robotics, Kinova, and ABB to handle tasks such as cable swapping, server resets, and power cycling in its data centers. One worker estimates a successful robot could replac…
Mammotion's hill-capable robot mowers get deep discounts, with the LUBA 3 AWD at $2,239
Mammotion is offering significant price cuts on two of its robot lawn mowers: the LUBA 3 AWD 3000H is reduced by $560 to $2,239, and the LUBA Mini 2 also sees a discount. These models are designed to handle large or slop…
Robotaxi test drivers report injuries from hard braking incidents
OSHA data shows Waymo and Zoox test drivers sustained over two dozen injuries in 2024-2025 due to hard braking or sudden movements. Transdev reported 16 injuries for Waymo, and Zoox reported up to eight. Contractors say …
Hugging Face launches $399 open-source duck robot Microduck
Hugging Face unveiled Microduck, a 25-centimeter-tall duck robot priced at $399, capable of waddling, picking up objects, and roller skating. It uses a camera, lidar, and IMUs for perception, and its behaviors can be tra…
Microduck: a $399 biped robot that can roller-skate
The Microduck is a 25cm-tall biped robot with 15 motors, a camera, LiDAR, and an articulated beak for picking up objects. It can walk, sit, crouch, and even roller-skate, and is designed for developers experimenting with…
Hugging Face unveils Microduck, a tiny open-source robot that rollerskates
Hugging Face's Pollen Robotics has introduced Microduck, a small bipedal robot that can rollerskate, pick up items, and follow a laser pointer. Priced at $399, it features open-source software and a unique generated voic…
Bedrock Robotics puts fully autonomous excavators to work on live construction sites
Bedrock Robotics has deployed retrofitted autonomous excavators on infrastructure projects in Texas and Nevada, addressing construction labor shortages and safety issues. The company, backed by $350 million in venture ca…
IDS launches industrial 3D time-of-flight camera with robust depth sensing
IDS Imaging Development Systems has introduced the Nion, an industrial time-of-flight camera with 1.2-megapixel resolution and integrated depth processing. The camera delivers stable depth data at 30 fps even under rapid…
Autonomous freight firm Gatik secures $200M to scale driverless regional deliveries
Gatik AI has raised $200 million in Series D funding, led by Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies, to accelerate its driverless commercial freight operations. The company reports over $600 million …
Perceptron launches open-weight vision model Isaac 0.5 for industrial robots
Perceptron, founded by former Meta researchers, released Isaac 0.5, an open-weight vision model designed to help robots perceive, reason, and act in industrial settings like warehouses. The model aims to be general-purpo…
Robot Games Highlight Speed Records and Fine Motor Skills
At the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, robots broke sprint records, with the fastest completing 100 meters in 8.86 seconds, surpassing Usain Bolt's human mark. The event featured over 600 teams and 2,000 robots, i…
Guident CEO: Remote human oversight remains vital for scaling robotaxi fleets
Guident's CEO Harald Braun argues that human-in-the-loop architectures are essential for autonomous vehicle safety, but must be made scalable through AI-driven monitoring. The company's GuideOn platform combines remote m…
RoboBusiness 2026 early registration discount expires next week
Discounted passes for RoboBusiness 2026, a major commercial robotics event, are available until August 31, saving $200 on full conference passes and $40 on expo-only passes. The two-day conference, celebrating its 20th a…
Generalist's valuation triples to $3B in latest funding round
Generalist, a robotics startup founded by former Google DeepMind and Boston Dynamics engineers, has raised nearly $200 million in an extension of its Series B, bringing its valuation to $3 billion. The extension was led …
Sonar-vision fusion helps underwater robots navigate cloudy sediment
A new system combines sonar and visual data to create real-time 3D maps for remotely operated underwater vehicles. It allows vehicles to see through sediment clouds and safely approach objects for detailed inspection. Ap…
Humanoid robots set sprint records but suffer dramatic failures at Beijing competition
At the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, humanoid robots surpassed human sprint records but many fell, broke apart, or caught fire during races. The event also included practical challenges like laundry, wher…
Waymo targets Munich for robotaxi service by 2027
Waymo announced plans to launch a robotaxi service in Munich, starting with manual mapping and later testing with safety drivers. The company expects to open commercial operations to the public by the end of 2027, pendin…
Waymo to launch robotaxi service in Munich by 2027
Waymo will begin mapping and testing its autonomous vehicles in Munich in the coming weeks, aiming for fully driverless rides by 2027. This marks its first EU location, following a planned London launch next month. The c…
Shanghai's robot carnival highlights China's push for embodied AI
A public event in Shanghai showcased a variety of robots, including humanoids and robotic dogs, drawing families eager to interact with the machines. The carnival reflects China's broader strategy to integrate artificial…
Airbound lands $37M Series A to push drone delivery toward trucking cost parity
Airbound, an Indian startup developing autonomous delivery drones, has raised $37 million in a Series A round led by Greenoaks, with participation from DoorDash, Lachy Groom, Lightspeed, and Humba Ventures. The company a…
Dogotix raises $900M to accelerate humanoid robot rollout
Dogotix, the humanoid robotics unit of XPeng Motors, has raised over $900 million in its initial funding round. The investment brings the company's valuation to more than $6.3 billion. XPeng plans to produce 1,000 IRON h…
Machines with embedded AI could solve labor shortages in farming and construction
Agricultural and construction equipment makers are being urged to integrate physical AI to address workforce shortages. The technology is particularly critical for permanent crops like orchards and vineyards, where preci…
AI Startup General Intuition Eyes $6B Valuation to Advance Robotics Models
General Intuition, a New York-based startup developing foundation models for AI agents that navigate physical space, is in talks to raise funding at a $6 billion pre-money valuation. New investors including Valor Equity …
As robotaxi fleets grow, local governments and unions intensify resistance
Robotaxi services are expanding across the US, but opposition is mounting. In New York, a proposal to allow driverless taxis outside New York City was withdrawn after taxi drivers, unions, and state lawmakers objected. I…
Simulation software helps manufacturers vet robotic systems before purchase
RoboDK's digital twin and offline programming tool lets manufacturers test robots from over 1,400 brands, along with end effectors and peripherals, in a virtual environment. This approach helps companies new to automatio…
Tiangong Ultra and Honor Lightning outrun Bolt's 100m record at Beijing robot games
At the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, the Tiangong Ultra ran 100 meters in 9.39 seconds, beating Usain Bolt's 9.58-second world record. The Honor Lightning followed with 9.47 seconds. Both robots crashed int…
FCC Revokes Certification for HoverAir Versa Drone-Camera Hybrid
The FCC has revoked the certification for HoverAir's Versa, a 230g pocket gimbal camera that attaches to a propeller chassis for flight. The regulator stated the authorization was granted erroneously and the device is a …
Army's Autonomous Ford F-250 Packs Shotgun Turret to Counter Drone Threats
The U.S. Army tested a self-driving Ford F-250 equipped with an anti-drone shotgun turret during a live-fire exercise at Fort Bragg on August 18. The vehicle uses Forterra's AutoDrive system, while the Edda turret from 9…