In Episode 217 of The Robot Report Podcast, hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the major robotics news of the week.
We also interviewed founders and executives from 10 robotics startups who exhibited at RoboBusiness 2025 last week in Silicon Valley.
Cerulion won the Pitchfire annual startup competition at RoboBusiness. Credit: The Robot Report
Here are the founders and companies from the event interviewed for this show:
- Apoorv Chaudhri from Roworks AI
- Chongdu Xu from Forge AI
- David Ruth from Motogo
- Doug Langen from 4D1
- Katy Bradford from Rotate8
- Kevin Hays from Morelle AI
- Lakshay Sharma from Cerulion, the 2025 Pitchfire winner
- Raghavender Sahdev from NuPort
- Roby Lynn from R2 Labs
- Toshi Quides from Sensible Robotics
Show timeline
- 10:30 – News of the week
- 21:30 – Roworks AI
- 27:00 – Forge AI
- 30:26 – Motogo
- 35:34 – 4D1
- 38:17 – Rotate8
- 40:40 – Morelle AI
- 44:03 – Cerulion
- 48:48 – NuPort
- 52:17 – R2 Labs
- 55:02 – Sensible Robotics
News of the week
New Unitree H2 humanoid gets a face
Unitree Robotics last week unveiled its next-generation humanoid robot, the Unitree H2, marking the first time the H-series includes a lifelike, “bio-inspired face,” and sculpted calves.
The H2 maintains the full-sized, human-like proportions of its predecessor, standing 180 cm (5 ft., 11 in.) tall. Unitree has also increased the robot’s weight, from the H1’s 47 kg (88.1 lb.) to 70 kg (154.3 lb.).
The new humanoid also demonstrated smoother movement, thanks to a total of 31 functional joints across its arms, legs, and torso—a nearly 19% jump from the R1 model, said Unitree.
The Hangzhou, China-based company released a video showing its robots conducting ballet dance moves as a result of the combination of increased weight and advanced joint control.
Waymo plans to bring driverless robotaxis to London
Waymo LLC last week said it plans to bring its robotaxi services to London in 2026. The company said its services will support the city’s extensive network of bus, tube, bike, and pedestrian infrastructure.
Over the coming months, Waymo plans to lay the groundwork for its service in collaboration with its fleet partner Moove. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said it will also engage with local and national leaders to secure the necessary permissions for its commercial ride-hailing service in London.
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