Artificial Intelligence / Cognition

Chinese trends in industrial robots and cobots for 2026 include growing volumes, consolidation pressures, and international expansion.

NEURA Robotics and Bosch plan to co-develop AI-based core and functional software, as well as intuitive user interfaces.

Skild AI has received investment from SoftBank, NVIDIA, Bezos Expeditions, and more as it builds a brain to operate any robot.

Caterpillar plans to make upgrades with NVIDIA to ensure that its assets are ready for AI-assisted and potentially autonomous operations.

X Square Robot has raised $140 million to build the WALL-A model for general-purpose robots just four months after raising $100 million.

Trends such as industry-specific AI and a new data economy will affect physical AI in 2026, says a Universal Robots executive.

The EU AI Act could affect humanoids. AIC, or artificial integrated cognition, provides a path for AI to gain the trust needed to advance.

Buildroid says its block-laying robot and supporting mobile robots, validated in simulation, can automate 80% of masonry work.

The Yomi platform combines real-time haptic guidance, pre-operative digital planning, and intra-operative adaptability.

Qualcomm said its new architecture supports advanced perception and motion planning with end-to-end AI models.

Lyte AI said it engineered its platform, LyteVision, for safety, reliability, and performance from the hardware up.

Mobileye is acquiring Mentee Robotics for $900 million to pursue leadership in both autonomous driving and humanoid robotics.

Canvas creates worker-controlled drywall finishing robots that provide consistent wall finishes faster than human workers.

Genie Sim 3.0 draws from more than 10,000 hours of synthetic dataset, including real-world robot operation scenarios.

NVIDIA released Cosmos, GR00T, and Alpamayo open models to help developers build reasoning machines including robots and vehicles.

At CES, Boston Dynamics reunited with Google, demoed Atlas for the first time in public, debuted a new production version of the humanoid, and announced a roadmap to deploy Atlas in Hyundai factories worldwide.

Between advances in humanoid robotics, exciting events, and large robot orders, there was no shortage of news to cover this year. 

In a 60 Minutes segment, Boston Dynamics provided a glimpse at how its Atlas humanoid is becoming more capable.

Intuition Robotics’ ElliQ uses relationship-based AI to provide proactive health coaching and support independence for older adults.

In December 2025, pillars of the robotics community faced difficult times, industry leaders took new positions, and some new robot releases. 

LG debuts the CLOiD humanoid robot at CES 2026, a dual-armed home assistant designed to automate daily household chores.

Comau said the EIB partnership will target industrial sectors including batteries, aerospace, construction, renewable energy, and logistics.