On a sunny morning in June, I walked to work with a quadruped robot beside me. Iβve never gotten more attention from strangers.
A bunch of people snapped pictures of my robot dog. Several people asked me questions. Was it mine? (Yes.) Did I build it? (No.) Was it being used for surveillance? (No.)
Biological dogs kept a safe distance from my mechanical companion. Some growled or barked at it.
Β© Nat Purser
Chinaβs GEAIR 2.0 humanoid robot pollinates tomato flowers in under 10 seconds, combining AI, robotics and gene editing for crop breeding and farm automation.
The post Chinaβs GEAIR 2.0 Robot Pollinates Crops in Under 10 Seconds appeared first on TechRepublic.
Chinaβs GEAIR 2.0 humanoid robot pollinates tomato flowers in under 10 seconds, combining AI, robotics and gene editing for crop breeding and farm automation.
The post Chinaβs GEAIR 2.0 Robot Pollinates Crops in Under 10 Seconds appeared first on TechRepublic.
XPENGβs IRON humanoid robot has walked off its automated assembly line as the company targets mass production and commercial deployments in 2027.
The post XPENGβs IRON Walks Off the Assembly Line: Is Mass Production Next? appeared first on TechRepublic.
XPENGβs IRON humanoid robot has walked off its automated assembly line as the company targets mass production and commercial deployments in 2027.
The post XPENGβs IRON Walks Off the Assembly Line: Is Mass Production Next? appeared first on TechRepublic.
Chinaβs military is exploring humanoid robots for urban combat as the countryβs commercial robotics industry dominates global shipments and manufacturing.
The post China Is Turning Its Humanoid Robot Boom Toward the Battlefield appeared first on TechRepublic.
Chinaβs military is exploring humanoid robots for urban combat as the countryβs commercial robotics industry dominates global shipments and manufacturing.
The post China Is Turning Its Humanoid Robot Boom Toward the Battlefield appeared first on TechRepublic.
Xiaomi showcased CyberOne at IFA after reporting a 98% success rate in an EV factory trial, highlighting the promise and limits of humanoid robots.
The post Xiaomi Says CyberOne Hit 98% in Factory Trial Before IFA Demo appeared first on TechRepublic.
Xiaomi showcased CyberOne at IFA after reporting a 98% success rate in an EV factory trial, highlighting the promise and limits of humanoid robots.
The post Xiaomi Says CyberOne Hit 98% in Factory Trial Before IFA Demo appeared first on TechRepublic.
Meta is testing robots that can plug in cables, reset servers, and handle other tasks inside its data centers, according to several current and former workers familiar with the projects. The ongoing effort, which has not been previously reported, may eventually allow Meta to operate its rapidly expanding data center footprint with fewer humans, keeping labor costs in check as its spending on AI infrastructure soars.
Meta is using robots and related hardware from several different vendors, including Watney Robotics, Kinova, and ABB, according to the same workers, who asked to remain anonymous because they werenβt authorized to speak to the media. Kinova and ABB declined to comment. Watney didnβt respond to requests for comment.
In one experiment, Meta is evaluating whether a Kinova Gen3 robotic arm could be used for power cycling or cutting off electricity to servers. The company is also testing a different robot to swap networking cables. One Meta data center worker estimates that if itβs successful, the bot could replace up to 80 percent of some peopleβs workloads. βWe thought those of us performing the physical tasks were safe for a while, but not anymore,β says the worker. βItβs coming for us all, unfortunately.β
Β© Getty Images
For all the interest in and uptake of agentic AI systems over the past year or so, the world of automated AI has thus far been primarily limited to text, images, code, and other data and actions that take place inside a computer. Anthropic is now aiming to change that somewhat with what it's calling the Model Hardware Standard (MHS), a set of standardized drivers designed to let AI agents easily interface with and control arbitrary devices.
For now, the "research preview" of the MHS effort is being sold mainly as a way to help scientists streamline the arduous process of creating the custom software integrations that are often needed to get disparate components of an experiment working in concert. MHS can provide a common interface and common format for data sharing between these devices, Anthropic says, allowing them to talk to each other across a network "without needing a bespoke 'translator' program in between." The standardized system could reduce weeks or months of exacting experimental setup down to "hours or minutes," Anthropic writes.
An Anthropic graphic illustrating how MHS serves as a "translation" layer between AI agents and multiple types of devices.
Credit:
Anthropic
In a video posted alongside the announcement, Anthropic Technical Staffer Alek Kemeny says the MHS effort was inspired by observing neuroscientist Arco Bast work through an experiment on memory formation in the brain at the HHMI Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia. Kemeny said Bast had worked out an interface to get the rotating laser beams, microscopes, cameras, and myriad other components of the experiment to coordinate through a common interface. "This idea could be used to have AI run any science experiment in the world," Kemeny recalls thinking at the time.
Β© Anthropic
Viral videos of the World Humanoid Robot Games show sprinting robots beating the human 100-meter record held by Usain Boltβbut also feature running robots crashing into barriers and falling down because they cannot readily stop running. A few fallen robots even break at the waist in a shower of sparks or catch on fire.
That demonstration of both robotic prowess and limitations came from the second edition of the World Humanoid Robot Games hosted in Beijing from August 22β26. Like the inaugural event held in 2025, this yearβs event challenged humanoid robots to run fast, perform kung fu or dance moves, fight one another in kickboxing, and play soccer or table tennis.
This yearβs games also tested robots in more humdrum practical scenarios like washing and hanging laundry, where they appeared to lag behind typical human working speeds. That suggests the event organizers, including Chinese state media and the Beijing city government, are keen to showcase the commercial potential of humanoid robots at a time when Chinaβs robotics industry is rapidly developing and testing such robots.
Β© evin Frayer/Getty Images
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