Samsung Electronics appointed Juan Carlos Niebles, former director of Stanford’s Vision and Learning Lab and adjunct computer‑science professor, as head of its North America AI Center at Samsung Research, reporting at the executive‑vice‑president level. Niebles brings experience from the Stanford‑Toyota AI center and a stint leading AI research at Salesforce, with over 100 publications in computer vision, multimodal learning and robot control. The hire underscores Samsung’s shift toward “physical AI,” targeting humanoid robots, manufacturing automation and wearable devices, and [...]

Neptune Medical Inc. received FDA clearance for its Triton 1 robotic endoscopy system, designed to enhance colonoscopy precision and control. The system, capable of full-colon navigation, aims to improve screening, surveillance, and therapeutic procedures such as EMRs and ESDs. In a first‑in‑human CARE 1 study, Triton achieved 100 % cecal intubation, a 54.2 % adenoma detection rate, and reduced endoscopist workload by 67 %. The clearance follows a $97 million Series D round and positions Triton as a potential game‑changer in colorectal cancer care. [...]

At RoboBusiness 2026 in Santa Clara on Oct. 20‑21, F‑Prime Capital partners Sanjay Aggarwal and Betsy Mulé will present the firm’s annual State of Robotics Investments report. The study, based on 162 transactions tracked by The Robot Report, shows the sector raised $4.87 billion in August 2026 alone, highlighting where capital is flowing and which technology categories and end‑markets attract the most interest. Attendees will receive a data‑driven overview of current funding trends and actionable guidance for building and [...]

SoftBank Group Corp. has agreed to acquire the Robotics and AI Institute (RAI) from Hyundai Motor Group, a move that has entered review by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS). RAI, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was founded in 2022 after Hyundai’s purchase of Boston Dynamics and has received over $400 million in initial funding. The institute specializes in robot control, perception, manipulation, navigation, and AI, developing technologies such as the whole‑body learning framework used in Boston Dynamics’ [...]

AI and automation are set to overhaul manufacturing logistics, with smart warehouses, robotics, and digital twins driving higher inventory accuracy, efficiency, visibility and scalability. The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s 2026 roadmap highlights industrial data analytics, autonomous systems, and sustainable manufacturing as key AI‑enabled advances, allowing earlier disruption detection and supplier substitution. In India, rapid manufacturing growth is spurring demand for modern logistics infrastructure; ICRA projects warehousing capacity to expand 12‑14 % annually to 550‑570 million square feet [...]

ABZ Innovation has opened a new manufacturing plant in Szentendre, Hungary, quadrupling its floor space and positioning the company to triple production by 2026. The expansion follows a €7 million funding round led by Vsquared Ventures, Day One Capital, and Assembly Ventures. ABZ produces heavy‑duty drones for agriculture and industry, operating in more than 40 countries. The new facility will accommodate larger platform ranges, increase assembly and testing capacity, and support a growing distributor network. The company emphasizes [...]

Researchers at Delft University of Technology have equipped a sub‑100‑gram drone with a pair of rodent‑inspired artificial whiskers that provide real‑time tactile feedback. Each whisker contains three miniature pressure sensors at its base, detecting minute deflections, vibrations, and pressure changes when the whisker contacts a surface. An onboard processing pipeline, using only 34 kilobytes of memory, filters out propeller turbulence to deliver millimeter‑precision depth data. Flight tests showed the drone navigating pitch‑black enclosures, mapping unknown rooms, and [...]