Physical AI & robotics news
- · Technology trends
Robot Tactile Data Infrastructure Advances
IEEE Spectrum reported that academic labs and startups are making progress in developing tactile data and methods to support dexterous robot manipulation.
- · Funding
Atom seeks to raise ¥10 billion, aiming to make AI humanoids an export industry
Nikkei Business online reported that Atom is seeking to raise ¥10 billion. The company has outlined a plan to develop AI humanoids into an export industry. However, the confirmed facts in the excerpt are limited, and specific fundraising terms and uses of the funds are not clear.
- · Product launches
Okamura showcases logistics robot
Okamura presented technology demonstrations of logistics solutions at the International Logistics Comprehensive Exhibition 2026. A demonstration at the venue showed how users could sense an object’s weight and softness remotely.
- · Partnerships & M&A
Swarmer to Acquire Ratel Robotics for Up to $224 Million
Swarmer announced Sept. 10 that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire Ukrainian unmanned ground vehicle maker Ratel Robotics. The consideration will consist of cash and stock, with a total value of up to $224 million if certain conditions are met. Ratel reportedly accounted for about 37% of the 11 billion hryvnia in UGV procurement contracts awarded by Ukraine’s Defense Procurement Agency from Jan. 1 to April 18, 2026. After the acquisition closes, the companies plan to pair UAVs and interceptors with UGVs as launch platforms. Closing remains subject to customary conditions and approvals.
- · Deployment & production
Skild AI Tops $100 Million in Annualized Revenue 10 Months After Commercial Rollout
Skild AI said Sept. 9, 2026, that its annual recurring revenue (ARR) topped $100 million. The company said it reached the milestone 10 months after its first commercial rollout and now has more than 60 paying customers. It said revenue is led by general-purpose applications such as mobility, material handling and warehousing, and cited individual deployments with NVIDIA, Foxconn, Sumitomo Wiring Systems and Mitsui & Co.
- · Partnerships & M&A
FANUC and Google’s AI welding robot, Nikkei reports
Nikkei reported Sept. 11 on developments involving an AI welding robot from FANUC and Google. The report covered a robot that reads drawings and performs work automatically. See the original source for details.
- · Technology trends
UC Berkeley and Stanford unveil framework that teaches humanoids to run and perform spinning kicks from human motion data
Researchers at UC Berkeley and Stanford University developed a new AI framework called BeyondMimic. It uses human demonstration data to expand the range of humanoid movements while aiming to reduce movement-specific tuning and retraining. The framework was described in a paper published in Science Robotics.
- · Product launches
DeepCybo Publishes 'PhysBrain 1.5' Collection
DeepCybo's 'PhysBrain 1.5' is listed on a Hugging Face collection page. The page describes it as offering “integrated embodied understanding, action generation and future-state prediction.”
- · Product launches
Zhixing Jushen introduces Imprint X vision-tactile sensor, adopts event camera
leaderobot.com reported on Sept. 10, 2026, on Zhixing Jushen’s next-generation vision-tactile sensor, Imprint X. The article focuses on its use of an event camera rather than a conventional CMOS camera. See the original source for details.
- · Product launches
MW Demonstrates Household Tasks
MW, which develops robots for homes, showed the media tasks such as folding laundry.
- · Deployment & production
Yazaki, Cuebus and Yamazen Begin Demonstration of Robotic Warehouse
The Nikkei reported that Yazaki, Cuebus and Yamazen have begun a demonstration of a robotic warehouse.
- · Product launches
Honor introduces ARRI co-developed devices at Venice Film Festival
The media outlet leaderobot.com reported that Honor introduced the Magic9 Pro Max and Robot Phone, which it said were co-developed with ARRI, at the Venice Film Festival. The article said the Robot Phone features a 4DoF mechanical gimbal and a 200-megapixel camera.
- · Product launches
Skild AI unveils S1, which performs tasks lasting up to 10 minutes from video demos
Skild AI announced its S1 robot foundation model on August 18, 2026. S1 is designed to generate actions for tasks it has not been trained on, using video demonstrations as input, the company says. The company says it demonstrated in-context learning on long-duration tasks lasting up to 10 minutes.
- · Policy & regulation
Article reports on safety risks of embodied intelligence
leaderobot.com published an article on September 10, 2026, about safety issues in embodied intelligence. The article says code defects can lead to physical hazards and describes related safety measures and efforts to develop standards.
- · Deployment & production
Toden Logistics Adopts MujinRCP
MONOist reported that Toden Logistics has adopted Mujin’s case-picking automation solution, MujinRCP.
- · Policy & regulation
U.S. NHTSA investigates Tesla’s Cybercab certification
Reuters reported that the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is examining the certification process for Tesla’s self-driving taxi, the Cybercab. The inquiry covers the procedures and technical data Tesla used to demonstrate that up to 1,000 Cybercabs comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards.
- · Deployment & production
Nissan Serena-Based Autonomous Driving Test Vehicle Set to Begin Test Runs in Tokyo in Early September
jidounten-lab.com reported on September 9, 2026, that a Nissan Serena-based autonomous driving development vehicle will begin test runs in Tokyo in early September.
- · Industry
Hiroyuki Posts About Autonomous Driving
jidounten-lab.com reported that Hiroyuki posted on social media about Tesla’s Cybercab, a model designed exclusively for autonomous taxis, and posted about self-driving technology on consecutive days. The article also said Hiroyuki and Fusaho Izumi launched the political group “Hiroyuki & Izumi New Party (tentative)” in July 2026. It said the new party may include autonomous driving in its platform.
- · Research & technology
AIRoA Publicly Releases About 5,000 Hours of Robot Motion Data and a Foundation Model
The AI Robot Association (AIRoA), a general incorporated association, has publicly released about 5,000 hours of robot motion data and a continued pretraining model for the open-source VLA model π0.5. The release includes materials from research and development and verification using the mobile manipulator HSR, as well as AiroPi, source code for training. As an outcome of a project selected for GENIAC, the release is intended to support research and development of robot foundation models and the creation of a data ecosystem.
- · Deployment & production
Toden Logistics Automates 90% of Warehouse Shipments With MujinRCP
Toden Logistics has automated 90% of its warehouse shipments, ITmedia reported. The system is Mujin’s robotic case-picking system, MujinRCP, configured with AGVs. The work, previously handled by four people, can now be done by one, according to the report.
- · Deployment & production
Shimizu Corp. Begins AI Robot Trials at Construction Sites, Targets Commercial Use by FY2030
Shimizu Corp. has begun trials of AI robots at construction sites. It aims to put them into practical use by FY2030. Nikkei xTECH reported the news on September 10, 2026, citing labor shortages at construction sites and the need to improve productivity and safety. The project appears to have moved from research and development to on-site trials, with scalability and the conditions for deployment at construction sites emerging as the next focus.
- · Industry
Bosch to bring China-developed E2E autonomous driving to ASEAN; testing in Japan, too
Nikkei xTECH reported that Bosch plans to expand E2E autonomous driving technology it co-developed with China’s WeRide into ASEAN and other markets.
- · Industry
Nikkei Cross Tech publishes exclusive interview with Toyota CTO Hiroki Nakajima
Nikkei Cross Tech published an exclusive interview with Toyota Motor Corp. CTO Hiroki Nakajima. The article covers his approach to responding to advances in AI, autonomous driving and robot development. The original article should be consulted for details of his remarks.
- · Industry
Tesla hit with about $242.57 million damages verdict over 2019 crash
A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida found Tesla liable for a total of about $242.57 million in damages on Aug. 1, 2025, over a crash involving a Tesla Model S on April 25, 2019, Nikkei Xtech reported on Sept. 10, 2026. Autopilot was reportedly engaged at the time of the crash, and attention is focused on what the jury considered significant. See the original source for details.
- · Research & technology
Nikkei xTECH reports on Sharpa’s use of tactile sensing
Nikkei xTECH reported on a case involving Sharpa, based in Singapore, using tactile sensing for sim-to-real reinforcement learning. The article covers manipulation with a five-fingered hand.
- · Deployment & production
Arm-equipped robot begins operating at Haneda hotel
Nikkei xTech reported that an arm-equipped robot has begun operating at a hotel in Tokyo Haneda run by Mitsubishi Estate Hotels & Resorts.
- · Industry
Nikkei xTECH publishes article on home service robot trial
Nikkei xTECH published an article under the Nikkei Robotics banner about a trial of a service robot in a home.
- · Partnerships & M&A
NVIDIA Agrees to Acquire Hugging Face
NVIDIA announced in a blog post that it had agreed to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9303 billion.
- · Funding
Humanoid raises $152 million in Series A
British robotics company Humanoid announced it raised $152 million in a Series A round, giving it a post-money valuation of $1.35 billion.
- · Product launches
General Robotics Announces Use of AI
Forbes reported publishing an article about a Nvidia-backed robotics platform. The article described how General Robotics is using AI. It was published on September 9, 2026.