ZeroGantry — Independent tracking of the robotics industry

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30 articles on this page. Each article includes sources when available and links into Inventory, Reviews, or Patents when relevant.

1. Robotics Week in Review: Oct 30–Nov 6, 2026 — This week featured hardware upgrades for logistics, open AI perception models, China's first humanoid standards, and a major robotics SPAC debut. NVIDIA's Cosmos and Xpeng's Ground
2. Boston Dynamics Stretch Gen 2 Cuts Trailer Unload Downtime — Boston Dynamics unveiled Stretch Gen 2 on November 3, 2026, a trailer unloading robot redesign built from more than 100,000 operating hours. The company cites 81 percent less inter
3. Xpeng Open-Sources GroundingPI 4B Perception Model — Xpeng released the open-source GroundingPI visual perception model today. Developed with Peking University and University of Hong Kong researchers, the 4-billion-parameter model sc
4. China Publishes First Six Humanoid Robot Standards — China approved its first six national humanoid robot standards on September 28, 2026. They take effect April 1, 2027, covering perception, motion control, manipulation and simulati
5. Agility Robotics AGLT Begins Nasdaq Trading After SPAC Close — Churchill Capital Corp XI shareholders approved the Agility Robotics business combination on November 2 with over 84% support. The deal closes November 4, enabling trading on Nasda
6. NVIDIA Cosmos Framework Boosts GR00T World Model Training — NVIDIA released the Cosmos Framework on November 2, 2026. The open toolkit helps developers train and run world models for robotics and physical AI using GR00T and other models.
7. Robotics Week in Review: Oct 23–Oct 30, 2026 — Humanoid platforms advanced from synchronized demos and records to production lines and enterprise AI tools this week. Tesla, Figure, AgiBot, and Google DeepMind drove progress in
8. AGIBOT AHA3 Platform and Worken Metric Launch at Innovation Day — AGIBOT unveiled its AHA3 humanoid hardware platform with liquid-cooled IP67 joints and OmniHand 3 dexterous hands at its October 29 Innovation Day in Shanghai. The company also int
9. Tesla Optimus 24/7 Data Collection with 24 lb Sensor Suits — Tesla runs continuous data collection at Palo Alto and Texas sites using dedicated teams in 24 lb suits with up to 40 cameras and 3D sensors. The effort has operated for months acr
10. Genie 4: Google DeepMind World Model Advances Robot Simulation Training — Google DeepMind released Genie 4 on October 27, 2026. The interactive world model generates photorealistic scenes with native audio, real-time steering, and improved physics for up
11. Gemini Robotics ER 2 Hits Google Cloud in Public Preview — On October 27, 2026, Google DeepMind released Gemini Robotics ER 2 in public preview on Google Cloud. The embodied reasoning model adds enterprise tools for natural conversation, l
12. GXO Expands Agility Digit Deployments to NC and TN Warehouses — GXO Logistics announced on October 26, 2026 that it will deploy Agility Robotics Digit humanoids at warehouses in Statesville, North Carolina and Lebanon, Tennessee starting early
13. Boston Dynamics Spot Repair Costs and Spot Care Plans — Boston Dynamics Spot base units start near $75,000 and configured systems reach $150,000–$300,000. Spot Care service plans cover accidental damage repairs with 10-day turnaround, p
14. Tesla Optimus Production Starts at Fremont with 2027 Delivery Target — Tesla began early production of Optimus humanoid robots on a high-volume line at its Fremont factory during Q3 2026. External deliveries are targeted for late 2027 once durability,
15. AgiBot Sets Guinness Record with 110 Expedition A3 Dancing — On October 24, 2026, AgiBot's 110 Expedition A3 humanoids performed a synchronized dance in Jinan, setting the Guinness World Record for the most humanoid robots dancing simultaneo
16. Figure 04 Design Lock Advances Custom Actuators — Figure AI CEO Brett Adcock announced during an October 22 all-hands that Figure 04 has reached full design lock. Parts are now shipping while the team characterizes in-house actuat
17. Robotics Week in Review: Oct 16–Oct 23, 2026 — This week highlighted rapid progress in embodied AI models, cross-embodiment world models, and hardware optimizations alongside China's policy push boosting Unitree. Humanoid compa
18. AGIBOT Dataset Sharpens Robot Decision-Making in Shifting Scenes — AGIBOT released its AGIBOT WORLD 2026 Release 4 physical reasoning dataset on October 22. The open Hugging Face resource trains robots to adapt actions to changing conditions durin
19. Figure 03 vs Tiangong Ultra: 2026 Capabilities and Costs — Figure 03 targets home and factory tasks with Helix AI showing 56% zero-shot success in unseen homes. Tiangong Ultra prioritizes speed and endurance after setting an 8.64-second 10
20. Ropedia W0 Open Release: Cross-Embodiment Loco-Manipulation Model — Ropedia released W0, an open egocentric world model trained on 13,000 hours of human and robot video. The model predicts future video for humans, robot arms, and humanoids like the
21. NVIDIA GR00T 1.7 and Agile ONE SN Launch at GTC Berlin — NVIDIA released GR00T 1.7, a 3-billion-parameter VLA model, and partnered with Agile Robots on the Agile ONE SN humanoid reference platform at GTC Berlin on October 21, 2026. The u
22. Unitree Stock Surges 16% on China Embodied AI Policy — Unitree Robotics shares rose 16.15% to ¥495.92 on October 19 after nine Chinese government departments issued guidance promoting embodied AI in household services and logistics. Th
23. Agility Digit 5 Nyobolt Battery Hits 9-Minute Charge for 20-Hour Days — Agility Robotics selected Nyobolt battery technology for its Digit 5 humanoid on October 15, 2026. The system targets 90 minutes of runtime from a nine-minute charge to support mor
24. Robotics Week in Review: Oct 9–Oct 16, 2026 — AI training breakthroughs and record funding dominated robotics this week, as models like Gemini 4 Argon slashed humanoid learning times while NVIDIA and others poured billions int
25. Gemini 4 Argon Cuts Apptronik Apollo Cornhole Training to Hours — Google DeepMind's Gemini 4 Argon model analyzed a human cornhole video on October 13, 2026, built a MuJoCo simulation, and trained an Apptronik Apollo 2 humanoid to land seven cons
26. NVIDIA Eyes $1B Figure AI Stake at $38B Valuation — NVIDIA is in talks to invest another $1 billion in Figure AI at a roughly $38 billion pre-money valuation. The move would expand NVIDIA's existing stake and support Figure's large-
27. Physical Intelligence Pi API Beta Speeds Figure 03 and Tiangong Fine-Tuning — Physical Intelligence opened beta access to its Pi API on October 13, letting developers fine-tune π0 and π0.5 models on managed compute and run inference through a hosted gateway.
28. Skild AI Closes $1.4B Series C at Over $14B Valuation — Skild AI raised $1.4 billion in a Series C led by SoftBank, reaching a valuation above $14 billion. The funds support scaling its S1 foundation model for teaching robots long-horiz
29. Google DeepMind Cambridge Lab Expands Gemini Robotics Hardware — Google DeepMind is building a new robotics lab in the Cambridge area to house its growing hardware team. Aaron Saunders, who joined from Boston Dynamics in late 2025, announced the
30. Tesla Optimus Hand Durability and Magnet Supply Issues Slow Ramp — Elon Musk addressed ongoing Tesla Optimus hand engineering problems during an October 10 interview at the X Takeover event. China's 2025 rare-earth magnet export restrictions delay