In Episode 213 of The Robot Report Podcast, hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the major robotics news of the week.
Dustin Vaughan, VP of R&D for robotics at Asensus.
This week’s show features Dustin Vaughan, vice president of research and development for robotics at Asensus Surgical. He discusses the strategic direction and priorities of his team, with a focus on the development of the Luna platform.
Vaughan explains how performance-guided surgery and the integration of augmented intelligence can enhance clinical support systems. He also addresses the challenges of navigating regulatory landscapes and cybersecurity concerns while noting the potential of robotics and automation in the medical field.
Vaughan says the future of surgical robotics is bright, particularly in pediatric care. In addition, he touches on the role of AI in enhancing surgical outcomes. Asensus was a 2025 RBR50 award winner for its Senhance system.
Also featured during the news section is Anders Beck, vice president of technology at Universal Robots, with a manufacturer’s perspective on the latest collaborative robot standards.
Show timeline
- 05:39 – Conversation with Anders Beck, VP of technology, Universal Robots
- 14:37 – News of the week
- 27:30 – Conversation with Dustin Vaughan, VP of research and development for robotics at Asensus Surgical
News of the week
Figure AI becomes a humanoid robotics unicorn with Series C funding
With its Series C funding round, Figure AI Inc. this week said it has surpassed $1 billion in committed capital, bringing its post-money valuation to $39 billion. The San Jose, Calif.-based company is working toward general-purpose robotics.
Figure AI said it plans to build out its Helix embodied intelligence platform and the BotQ high-volume production environment unveiled in March. The company previously announced plans to ship 100,000 humanoids over the next four years.
The race to develop a commercially viable humanoid robot has gotten lots of fuel lately, with UBTECH recently securing $1 billion in financing to scale production and Dyna Robotics raising $120 million in its Series A round to build a scalable foundation model.
Jaime Lee from Tamarack Global appeared in Episode 147 in March 2024. Go back and listen to this podcast installment to get a better sense of the excitement shared by the investor community for the promise of humanoids.
Rethink Robotics shuts down — again
Rethink Robotics Inc., which rose as a force- and power-limited arm pioneer, has shut down for a second time. Robotics innovators Rodney Brooks and Ann Whittaker co-founded Heartland Robotics in 2008 with the intent of creating low-cost robots. In 2012, the then-Boston-based company renamed itself Rethink Robotics and launched the two-armed Baxter, one of the first so-called cobots. It was initially popular with researchers.
However, Rethink’s robots suffered from nagging problems with precision and repeatability because of the choice of series elastic actuators. In 2018, Rethink went bankrupt, and HAHN Group acquired its intellectual property (IP).
By September 2024, United Robotics Group relaunched Rethink and returned the company from Germany to the U.S. However, its latest Reacher robot arms, Ryder autonomous mobile robots, and Riser mobile manipulators brought new challenges.
Catch the latest on humanoid and surgical robotic development at RoboBusiness 2025. Join Deepu Talla, vice president of robotics and edge AI at NVIDIA, for a keynote titled “Physical AI for the New Era of Robotics.”
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