ZeroGantry — Independent tracking of the robotics industry (Page 2)

Latest articles — page 2 of 4

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: Aug 28–Sep 4, 2026 — This week highlighted accelerating real-world humanoid deployments and big-tech hardware entries alongside production hurdles and software pivots. Partnerships like Apptronik-Jabil
2. Hugging Face LeRobot GR00T N1.7 Integration and Microduck Biped Launch — Hugging Face updated its LeRobot library in July 2026 to support NVIDIA's GR00T N1.7 VLA model for fine-tuning. In late August, its Pollen Robotics team opened pre-orders for the $
3. OpenAI Humanoid Robot: Sam Altman Confirms In-House Hardware Plans — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed on September 2, 2026 that the company will build humanoid robots through its internal robotics division. The project begins with infrastructure cons
4. Agility Digit Expands to Multiple Amazon Fulfillment Centers — Agility Robotics has scaled Digit humanoid deployments to additional Amazon fulfillment centers in the US, building on 2023 pilots. The robots perform material handling, inventory
5. Apptronik Jabil Apollo Deal Advances 2026 Production Scale-Up — Apptronik and Jabil announced a manufacturing partnership to produce Apollo humanoid robots at scale and test them directly in Jabil factories on inspection, sorting, kitting, and
6. Tesla Optimus Fremont Line Encounters Battery and Integration Snags — Tesla activated its converted Model S/X assembly line at the Fremont factory for Optimus production in late July or August 2026. Early low-volume output for internal testing faces
7. 1X NEO Beta Trial Begins Home Companion Robot Testing — 1X Technologies launched its NEO Beta Household Trial Programme this week, placing select robots with global households for real-world safety and interaction testing ahead of 2026
8. Sanctuary AI Pivots to Physical AI Software for Industrial Robots — Sanctuary AI now sells hardware-agnostic Physical AI software that runs on existing industrial robotic arms. A June 2026 proof-of-concept with a global Tier 1 automotive supplier h
9. Meta Data Center Robots: Watney, Kinova, ABB Pilots Advance AI Ops — Meta is testing robots from Watney Robotics, Kinova, and ABB at its Altoona, Iowa and New Albany, Ohio data centers for cable swaps, server power cycling, and hardware reseating. T
10. Robotics Week in Review: Aug 21–Aug 28, 2026 — Humanoid robots shattered performance records while AI foundation models and massive datasets accelerated real-world deployment. Funding rounds, record shipments, and warehouse aut
11. Toyota Research Institute Scales LBMs for Manufacturing at Automate 2026 — Toyota Research Institute presented updates on its Large Behavior Models at Automate 2026. Director Erin McColl described diffusion-based multitask policies that cut data needs by
12. Physical Intelligence Eyes $1B Raise at Over $11B Valuation — Physical Intelligence is in early talks for a roughly $1 billion funding round that could value the San Francisco startup above $11 billion. The move nearly doubles its $5.6 billio
13. Figure AI Index Dataset: 16M Videos Scale Helix Training — Figure AI launched its Index app on August 25, 2026, after collecting 16 million real-world human videos from 264,000 downloads in 108 countries.
14. Skild AI S1 Achieves 10-Minute Tasks from One Video Prompt — Skild AI released its S1 robotics foundation model on August 25, 2026. The model performs unseen long-horizon manipulation tasks up to 10 minutes long after watching a single human
15. Unitree Superman Humanoid Reaches 12.66 m/s and 2 m Jump — Unitree Robotics unveiled its Superman humanoid prototype on August 17, 2026. The 45 kg machine with 0.85 m legs achieved a claimed 12.66 m/s peak speed and 2 m standing jump after
16. Amazon Proteus 2 and Tetromino Project Advance Warehouse Robots 2026 — Amazon is expanding its Proteus fleet with a voice-command Proteus 2 while piloting the Tetromino project for automated delivery stations that process packages 2.5 times faster. Th
17. Tiangong Ultra Hits 9.39s 100m at World Humanoid Robot Games 2026 — Tiangong Ultra from the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center ran the 100m in 9.39 seconds at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, beating Usain Bolt's record. Honor Light
18. Boston Dynamics Electric Atlas Parkour Demos Advance 2026 Capabilities — Boston Dynamics released updated demonstration footage of its all-electric Atlas humanoid performing complex parkour, high-speed runs, backflips, and push recovery on uneven surfac
19. AGIBOT Leads Humanoid Shipments with 9,700 Units in H1 2026 — AGIBOT shipped about 9,700 humanoid robots in the first half of 2026 to capture over 43% global market share. Counterpoint Research data shows total shipments exceeded 22,000 units
20. Tesla Optimus Maintenance Costs: $1,500-$4,000 Reality Check — Analyses of the 2026 Tesla Optimus platform put annual consumer maintenance at $1,500-$4,000 and enterprise use at $5,000-$15,000. These figures cover routine servicing and updates
21. North American Robot Orders Hit $1.2B in H1 2026 — North American companies ordered $1.2 billion worth of robots in the first half of 2026, up 6.6% year-over-year according to A3 data released August 19. Demand diversified across s
22. BMW Figure AI Humanoid Deployment Advances at Spartanburg in 2026 — BMW continues its Figure AI humanoid robot pilot at the Spartanburg, South Carolina plant. Figure 02 completed an 11-month logistics run moving over 90,000 parts before Figure 03 t
23. Unitree G1 Failure Modes, MTBF Data, and Maintenance Needs — Unitree G1 humanoid robots commonly face joint actuator overheating under load, battery thermal issues during long runs, and IMU sensor drift in unstructured settings. Owners typic
24. Robotics Week in Review: Aug 10–Aug 17, 2026 — This week underscored the humanoid sector's pivot from prototypes to practical operations, with new repair networks, certification standards, and service models emerging alongside
25. Humanoid Robot Repair Shops and CHRT Certification 2026 — iFixRobot and SuperDroid Robots now provide national repair services for humanoid platforms, covering actuators, batteries, and diagnostics. RobotCare launched the CHRT certificati
26. Figure 03 Humanoid Achieves Autonomous Ladder Climb in Helix AI Demo — Figure AI released video of its Figure 03 humanoid climbing a short ladder fully autonomously around August 1, 2026. CEO Brett Adcock shared the footage showing coordinated arm-leg
27. 1X NEO Warranty, Service Costs & Maintenance Plans 2026 — 1X Technologies bundles a 3-year warranty and premium support with its $20,000 Early Access purchase of the NEO home humanoid. The $499 monthly subscription adds expert teleoperati
28. Humanoid Robot Repair Costs 2026: Actuators, Batteries & Service Plans — Unitree H1 series humanoids face limited public data on repair economics and actuator pricing. Operators report hundreds to low thousands of dollars per actuator replacement plus v
29. South Korea Navy Tests Pibot Humanoid as Ship Helmsman — On July 23, 2026, the South Korean Navy ran its first combat experiment with KAIST's Pibot humanoid robot performing helmsman duties on a warship bridge simulator in Changwon. The
30. AgiBot Hong Kong IPO Targets Up to $6.4B Valuation — Shanghai-based AgiBot has initiated its Hong Kong IPO process targeting HK$40-50 billion valuation. The humanoid robot maker has produced over 15,000 units and plans a Q3 2026 list