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Robotics | Humanoids | Automation

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Boston Dynamics just gave Atlas a new pair of highly dexterous robotic hands.

Each hand features 13 degrees of freedom with directly actuated joints, allowing Atlas to perform far more precise manipulation than a simple industrial gripper.

But the hardware was also designed with AI training in mind.

Boston Dynamics says the hands were built for high-fidelity simulation, helping policies learned virtually transfer more effectively to the physical robot through sim-to-real reinforcement learning.

That combination of dexterous hardware and AI could allow humanoids like Atlas to handle tools, manipulate irregular objects and perform increasingly complex physical tasks in environments designed for humans.

For humanoid robots, walking is only half the problem. Hands capable of actually doing useful work may be just as important.

Follow @roboticnow for more real-world robotics. by @roboticnow

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2 days ago

Figure AI found a dramatic way to retire some of its humanoid robots: sending them into molten metal.

The footage comes from Figure’s work with industrial environments, where humanoid robots are being developed for jobs that can be repetitive, physically demanding or potentially dangerous for humans.

But robots used for development don’t last forever. Hardware is constantly tested, damaged, modified and eventually replaced as newer generations improve in areas like mobility, reliability, dexterity and AI control.

The molten-metal footage makes the process look straight out of a sci-fi movie — especially for machines designed to increasingly resemble the way humans move and work.

For now, they’re machines. But this might be the most Terminator-looking retirement program imaginable.

Follow @roboticnow for more real-world robotics. by @roboticnow

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3 days ago

Sharpa North put its humanoid robot’s reflexes to the test at IROS 2026.

In this demonstration, the robot faces a human in a falling-stick challenge, where it has to detect each stick as it drops, react quickly and coordinate its arm to catch it before it hits the ground.

What looks like a simple game actually tests several difficult robotics problems at once: visual perception, reaction speed, motion planning and precise hand-eye coordination.

Challenges like this show how humanoid robots are being trained to react to unpredictable events in real time rather than simply repeating pre-programmed movements.

Follow @roboticnow for more real-world robotics. by @roboticnow

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7 days ago

This robotic arm was built with cheap servo motors and a 3D printer.

The creator designed a 5-DOF robotic arm using a fully 3D-printed frame, inexpensive servos and a Raspberry Pi to control the system.

Five degrees of freedom allow different joints to move independently, giving the arm enough mobility to perform basic positioning and manipulation tasks.

The original plan was to add computer vision, which could have allowed the system to detect objects and react to its surroundings automatically.

It’s a great example of how accessible robotics has become.

You don’t necessarily need an industrial lab to start building robots anymore.

Follow @roboticnow for more real-world robotics. by @roboticnow

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7 days ago

This humanoid robot is being built to look disturbingly human.

Vitarobotics is developing a highly realistic humanoid platform designed around human-like proportions, movement and appearance.

Underneath the synthetic exterior is a complex mechanical structure packed with actuators, electronics and articulated joints designed to reproduce the way a human body moves.

What makes projects like this especially interesting is the combination of robotics and realism. Instead of building purely industrial machines, engineers are exploring humanoids that could eventually interact with environments designed entirely around the human body.

And as the technology improves, telling where the machine ends and the human begins could become increasingly difficult.

Follow @roboticnow for more real-world robotics. by @roboticnow

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7 days ago

A delivery robot in China drove straight into a roadwork zone instead of realizing its route was no longer safe.

The clip is funny, but it highlights one of the hardest problems in autonomous robotics: the real world constantly changes.

GPS and pre-mapped routes can tell a robot where it should go, but construction zones, temporary barriers, holes, pedestrians and unexpected obstacles require something more: real-time perception and decision-making.

For autonomous delivery robots to operate reliably, they need to detect these changes, understand that their planned path is blocked and find a safe alternative without human intervention.

Navigation is easy when the map matches reality.

The real challenge begins when it doesn’t.

Follow @roboticnow for more real-world robotics. by @roboticnow

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8 days ago

Researchers are deliberately pushing, kicking and knocking humanoid robots off balance to teach them how to recover.

These tests expose robots to sudden forces and unstable situations they could eventually encounter outside controlled laboratory environments.

Instead of simply learning how to walk under perfect conditions, the robot has to react in real time, regain its balance and avoid falling when something unexpected happens.

This type of training is important for humanoids designed to operate around humans, where floors, obstacles, physical contact and unexpected movements make the real world far less predictable than a lab.

The goal isn’t just to make humanoid robots walk.

It’s to make them much harder to knock down.

Follow @roboticnow for more real-world robotics. by @roboticnow

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8 days ago

Xiaomi just showed a humanoid robot working in its EV factory while another robot filmed it.

The footage shows one humanoid handling components and storage containers on the production floor, performing the kind of repetitive manipulation tasks manufacturers increasingly want robots to automate.

But look at who’s behind the camera.

Another humanoid robot is moving through the same environment while recording the demonstration.

That detail makes the footage particularly interesting. Instead of showing a single robot performing an isolated task, it gives a glimpse of what factories could eventually look like when multiple general-purpose robots operate alongside each other, each taking on different roles.

Humanoid robotics is moving beyond controlled lab demonstrations and increasingly toward real industrial environments.

Follow @roboticnow for more real-world robotics. by @roboticnow

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8 days ago

This tracked robot combines a 5-DOF robotic arm with a small tank chassis.

Built around an ACEBOTT QD004 tracked platform, the system uses an ESP8266 to control five servos powering the arm’s base, shoulder, elbow, wrist and gripper.

The tracked chassis gives the robot mobility while the articulated arm lets it interact with objects instead of simply driving around.

It’s a relatively simple DIY robotics build, but it demonstrates the same basic idea behind much larger mobile manipulators: give a robot the ability to move, reach and interact with its environment.

Follow @roboticnow for more real-world robotics. by @roboticnow

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10 days ago

This tiny robot crab looks like a toy until you see how it moves.

Its multi-legged design gives it a completely different style of locomotion from the wheeled robots we’re used to seeing. Each leg can move independently, allowing the robot to walk, turn and reposition itself in surprisingly fluid ways.

Crab-inspired robots are especially interesting because legged locomotion can eventually help machines navigate uneven terrain and spaces where wheels struggle.

For now, though, watching this little machine crawl around is already strangely satisfying.

Follow @roboticnow for more real-world robotics. by @roboticnow

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10 days ago

He waited 20 years to finally build this robot.

What started as an idea two decades ago is now a working V1, controlled wirelessly with a Bluetooth game controller.

The build combines a Raspberry Pi 3B+, ESP32, multiple servo controllers and 18 servos to bring the machine to life.

The creator says the project took him through every emotion, and although there are still improvements to make, he finally considers this a solid first version.

Sometimes the most impressive part of a robot isn’t the technology.

It’s actually building the thing you’ve been imagining for years.

🎥 @deadpohl

Follow @roboticnow for more real-world robotics. by @roboticnow

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10 days ago

This robotic arm exists both in the real world and inside a virtual simulation.

The creator built a custom inverse kinematics system in Unity and synchronized it with a physical 3-DOF robotic arm powered by stepper motors.

Inverse kinematics solves an important robotics problem: instead of manually telling every joint how much to rotate, you specify where you want the end of the arm to go.

The software then calculates the joint movements required to reach that position and sends those movements to the physical robot.

Projects like this show how simulation and real hardware can work together, allowing engineers to develop and test robotic motion virtually before executing it in the real world.

Follow @roboticnow for more real-world robotics. by @roboticnow

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11 days ago