Opinion & Briefings

Industry briefings, distilled for engineers

Daily industry briefings distilled from robotics research and industrial automation news — each links back to its original source.

BriefingOpinion · Aug 13, 2026

North American Robot Orders Rise to $622M in Q2 as Demand Diversifies

A3 data shows Q2 2026 robot orders up 4.3% in units and 21.3% in revenue, with growth across semiconductors, life sciences, food, and metals.

BriefingOpinion · Aug 10, 2026

PlusAI Hits 93.4% Safety Readiness, On Track for 2027 Driverless Truck Launch

PlusAI reports improved safety and autonomy metrics for H1 2026, targeting 100% readiness and commercial launch of factory-built autonomous trucks in 2027.

BriefingOpinion · Aug 10, 2026

Vertical Dual-Gate Transistor Enables Human-Like Touch Sensing for Robots and Prosthetics

Hanyang University researchers develop a vertically integrated dual-gate tribotronic transistor for high-density, large-area electronic skin with tunable sensitivity.

BriefingOpinion · Aug 7, 2026

Unitree Prices Landmark $9B IPO as Humanoid Robot Race Intensifies

Chinese robot maker Unitree targets ~$9B valuation in Shanghai STAR Market IPO, becoming first mainland-listed humanoid robot manufacturer.

BriefingOpinion · Aug 7, 2026

Brain Corp Reports 68% Growth, Surpasses 50,000 Autonomous Robots

BrainOS-powered fleet grows 68% YoY in H1 2026, logging over 5.3 million autonomous hours and covering 3.7 billion square feet.

BriefingOpinion · Aug 6, 2026

German Construction Giant Matthäi Launches 3D Printing Division After Printing HQ

Matthäi Schlüsselfertigbau establishes in-house construction 3D printing division following successful COBOD-printed headquarters in Germany.

BriefingOpinion · Aug 4, 2026

Yusen Logistics Deploys Destro AI Platform for Warehouse Coordination

Yusen Logistics Americas partners with Destro AI to deploy an AI-powered coordination platform for transload operations, optimizing human and robot workflows.

BriefingOpinion · Aug 4, 2026

Former DeepMind Team Launches Reimagine Robotics with On-the-Job Learning Robots

Reimagine Robotics, founded by ex-DeepMind leaders, emerges from stealth with robots that workers can train by demonstration, already deployed in manufacturing.

BriefingOpinion · Aug 4, 2026

Open-Source Robotic Guide Dog Milo Aims to Aid Blind and Visually Impaired

Researchers unveil Milo, a fully autonomous, low-cost robotic guide dog that navigates unfamiliar indoor and outdoor environments without pre-mapping or cloud computing.