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Robotics

Robotics
China surges ahead of US in race for humanoid robots
We may be rapidly approaching a future where the cars you buy will be made by humanoid robots. The humanoids market is likely to reach US$5 trillion by 2050, Morgan Stanley Research has projected, with more than one billion humanoids being used at that time. Leading companies have planned to introduce their humanoids in manufacturing, including automakers like Hyundai and Tesla. While some United States humanoid developers have struggled to deploy their robots on schedule, China’s humanoid companies have leveraged government support to swiftly expand the country’s industry.What are humanoids?Humanoids are human-shaped robots that use limbs and sensors to interact with their environments, and are operated by artificial intelligence. Many leading developers hope to deploy humanoids in manufacturing and warehouse contexts. Robotics developer Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid will be used in parent company Hyundai’s factories by 2028, the company has said. Tesla has also claimed that it will add its own humanoids to its car manufacturing processes. Companies have indicated that deploying robots could allow them to downsize their human workforces. Amazon reportedly aims to avoid hiring more than 160,000 U.S. workers by 2027 b
Robotics
ABB shares peak after robotics unit sale to Softbank
ABB shares hit a record high after it decided to sell its robotics division to SoftBank Group Corp for an enterprise value of US$5.375 billion (A$8.18 billion) rather than spin it off as a separately listed company. ABB Chairman Peter Voser said SoftBank’s offer had been carefully evaluated by the Board and Executive Committee of the Swiss-based electrical engineering giant and compared with a spin-off and would create immediate value for ABB shareholders. “Our ambitions for ABB are unchanged and we will continue to focus on our long-term strategy, building on our leading positions in electrification and automation,” Vosser said in a news release. SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said the Japanese investment conglomerate and ABB Robotics would unite world-class technology and talent under a shared vision to fuse artificial super intelligence and robotics. “SoftBank’s next frontier is Physical AI,” he said in a press release. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and further customary closing conditions and is expected to close in mid-to-late 2026. ABB said the sale will result in a non-operational pre-tax book gain of about $2.4 billion with expected cash proceeds, net of transaction costs, of
Robotics
Nvidia launches Jetson Thor module in push for robotics
Nvidia has launched the Jetson AGX Thor, its newest robotics chip module, as the company seeks to expand its robotics segment. The Jetson Thor is powered by Nvidia’s Blackwell chips. It will deliver up to 7.5 times the artificial intelligence computing power of its predecessor, the Jetson Orin, the company said. “We’ve built Jetson Thor for the millions of developers working on robotic systems that interact with and increasingly shape the physical world,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. “With unmatched performance and energy efficiency, and the ability to run multiple generative AI models at the edge, Jetson Thor is the ultimate supercomputer to drive the age of physical AI and general robotics.” The Jetson Thor also includes 128 gigabytes of memory and can provide up to 2,070 teraflops of AI compute. The module will also be 3.5 times more energy-efficient at running generative AI models than the Jetson Orin, according to Nvidia. It will be priced from US$3,499, with the first Jetson Thor developer kits shipping next month. Amazon Robotics, Boston Dynamics, and Caterpillar have already begun using the Jetson Thor, Nvidia said. Huang said in June that robotics was among Nvidia’s largest growth opportunities, alon
Robotics
Ratchet and bank: The dawn of the robot metabolism
Imagine a single, unassuming module on a factory floor - a simple bar-shaped robot capable only of crawling forwards and backwards. Then imagine it finding others and connecting with magnetic clicks - forming a larger machine like a complex three-dimensional tetrahedron that moves in new ways. Finally, imagine this newly formed machine consuming another stray module - not for fuel, but for function - and integrating it to become faster and more capable. This isn't the cult sci-fi movie Screamers; it's the definitive start of an entirely new and revolutionary industrial paradigm that will reshape our future.The newsResearchers at Columbia University have revealed a system demonstrating "robot metabolism" - a foundational step toward creating a completely self-sustaining robot ecology. Their "Truss Link" modules are designed as simple building blocks that can self-assemble, grow, and adapt by consuming parts from their immediate environment. In a series of experiments, these robots demonstrated the ability to develop from individual 1D components into fully functional 3D robots - without external machinery. The system is capable of significant growth - developing from six individual links into a complex "diamond-with-tai
Robotics
Robots Rise: Grok 4 tackles Humanity’s final big test
The artificial intelligence landscape has accelerated wildly in mid-2025 - with new models shattering learning benchmarks while tariffs and megadeals reshape its supply chain. Azzet's Robot's Rise column lays down the latest ructions of rapidly evolving artificial intelligence - the most important tectonic shift in innovation we've seen since the advent of the internet. This wasn't how the year was scripted; DeepSeek, ChatGPT-4, Claude and now Grok 4 large language models (LLMs) were meant to show incremental gains, yet here we are, watching xAI's creation leap ahead of the pack in what feels like Humanity's Last Exam (HLE) - the final moments prior to the advent of superintelligence. Yet the frenzy reveals more about raw market forces than any hype cycle ever could. Let's take a look:Tariff clouds gather over hardwareU.S. tariff hikes are slamming AI hardware costs - threatening to inflate prices for chips and sensors by double digits. President Trump's proposed 20-50% duties on imports from 23 countries, now delayed to August 1, could drive up AI wearable production expenses by 10-15%, according to Yale's Budget Lab. A recent QYResearch report pegs the global AI wearables market at US$29 billion in 2023, projectin

Robotics
Trump signs American drone manufacturing into the air
The Trump administration's ambitious airspace overhaul promises American dominance, but can the FAA deliver where it's consistently failed before with surging drone tech? The White House's latest executive order on drones and eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) reads like Silicon Valley fever dreams wrapped in red white and blue packaging. Signed on 6 June, the directives make bold promises to unleash American drone dominance, while simultaneously kicking China's Shenzen-based DJI empire to the curb.It's a numbers gameThe centrepiece of the EO is the forcing of the FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) to finalise the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) regulations by February 2026 - a deadline that would make even the most optimistic regulator break out in cold sweats. Industry watchers are increasingly concerned that delays signal internal challenges at the FAA - possibly resource constraints or shifting priorities. Here's the rub of the green: The FAA has been promising BVLOS rules for yearsCongressional leaders warned in October that missed deadlines were already stalling industry growthThe agency's waiver-based approach has become what lawmakers diplomatically call ‘cumbersome’ - bureaucrat-speak f
Robotics
FCC: Physicists unveil even bigger atom smasher plan
The Future Circular Collider (FCC) is set to be the next quantum leap in particle physics, following the success of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Planned by CERN, the FCC will be a massive 91-kilometre underground ring beneath the French-Swiss border, including Lake Geneva. This collider will smash particles together with eight times the energy of the LHC, aiming to uncover mysteries like dark matter and antimatter. The project will be divided into two phases: the first will focus on electron-positron collisions for precise measurements, and the second will involve proton-proton collisions at unprecedented energy levels. These experiments could lead to ground-breaking discoveries about the universe's fundamental forces. The FCC's history is deeply tied to the LHC, which began operations in 2010 and famously discovered the Higgs boson in 2012. The LHC was first proposed in 1984, approved in 1994, and it took over 25 years to develop and install its magnets. Similarly, the FCC has been in the planning stage for over a decade, with feasibility studies completed in 2025. Construction is expected to begin in the 2030s, with the first phase operational by the mid-2040s and the second phase by the 2070s.Credit: CERNThe FCC inves
Robotics
Google's Gemini AI models are coming to humanoid robots
Google will integrate its Gemini artificial intelligence models into humanoid robots, as the company steps up its investment in AI. Its Gemini Robotics AI models will be used to power robots built by Apptronik. These models will be adaptable for a number of different purposes, Google DeepMind said. “At Google DeepMind, we've been making progress in how our Gemini models solve complex problems through multimodal reasoning across text, images, audio and video. So far however, those abilities have been largely confined to the digital realm,” said Google DeepMind’s head of robotics Carolina Parada. "In order for AI to be useful and helpful to people in the physical realm, they have to demonstrate “embodied” reasoning — the humanlike ability to comprehend and react to the world around us— as well as safely take action to get things done.” The Gemini Robotics AI models are powered by Google’s Gemini 2.0. First unveiled in December, Gemini 2.0 includes image and audio generation, as well as agentic capabilities to perform online tasks. The base Gemini Robotics models will include physical action commands alongside Gemini 2.0’s functions. Gemini Robotics-ER, an advanced model, will feature “advanced spatial understanding”.
Robotics
Sodexo opens Australia's first autonomous retail store
Sodexo has opened Australia’s first remote retail autonomous store in the Pilbara, serving residents at Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri Village facility. The store is open at all hours, and allows shoppers to buy food and other essentials. Artificial intelligence-powered cameras detect the products taken, and charge shoppers automatically without a checkout counter. “This cutting-edge store marks a major milestone in our mission to bring innovative technology-driven solutions to the energy and resource sector,” said Daniel Zarew, Sodexo Australia’s head of retail services. “We are proud to offer our residents a phenomenal retail experience that is faster, easier, and more efficient than it’s ever been before.” The store was produced in partnership with artificial intelligence company AiFi, which offers technology such as AI checkout cameras. Sodexo plans to add more autonomous stores nationwide. The French-based company is a major provider of accommodation and food services for fly-in fly-out workers in Australia. It signed a A$2.5 billion 10-year contract to manage Rio Tinto’s accommodation villages in 2016. Sodexo’s share price (EPA: SW) closed at EU€71.25 on Friday, down from the previous day’s €71.40. Its market c