In Episode 214 of The Robot Report Podcast, hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the major robotics news of the week.
Peter Finn, managing director at BGL
In this episode, we also reconnect with Peter Finn, a managing director at investment firm Brown Gibbons Lang & Co. (BGL), to explore the evolving landscape of industrial technology, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
Finn shares insights on market trends since the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges and opportunities in the robotics sector, and the critical role of AI in shaping the future.
We delve into the dynamics of mergers and acquisitions, the potential of humanoid robotics, and the importance of adaptability in today’s fast-paced technological environment. Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on navigating the future of industrial innovation.
Show timeline
- 07:58 – News of the week
- 28:06 – Conversation with Peter Finn, managing director at BGI
News of the week
Tariff document open for comment
The U.S. Department of Commerce has opened a national security investigation into imports of medical devices, robotics, and industrial machinery. The government said it’s doing this to lessen reliance on overseas supply chains.
There is a 21-day deadline for public comments, and the robotics industry has begun to react.
The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) is working on its response. In a LinkedIn post, Jeff Burnstein, president of the organization, encouraged the industry to share its thoughts. He asked the question: “If significant new tariffs are imposed on all imported robots, will this impact U.S. efforts to reshore manufacturing?”
AdvaMed, the trade group that represents medical technology and device makers, stated that 70% of medical products in U.S. hospitals are already “made in America across thousands of manufacturing facilities in all 50 states.”
It’s essentially the exact opposite for robotics. Most industrial robots used in the U.S. are imported from other countries.
IEEE study group publishes framework for humanoid standards
The IEEE Humanoid Study Group published the final version of its findings earlier this week. The mission was to establish a framework for developing standards for humanoid robots.
- Classification: Developing a clear taxonomy to define humanoid robots, their physical capabilities, behavioral complexity, application domains, and humanoid-specific traits. This classification serves as the foundation for identifying applicable standards and addressing gaps.
- Stability: Creating quantifiable stability metrics, test methods, and safety standards tailored to actively balancing robots. This includes addressing dynamic balance, fall-response behaviors, and predictive risk modeling.
- Human-robot interaction (HRI): Establishing guidelines for safe and trustworthy interactions between humanoid robots and humans, including collaborative task safety, interpretable behavior, and user training to manage risks and perceptions.
One of the more heavily debated sections of the document was the “Classification of the Humanoid Robots.” Participants in the standards effort had a lot of discussion about the definition of the various category levels. In the end, the team arrived at a methodology to characterize the systems.
Aaron Prather, director of the Robotics & Autonomous Systems program at ASTM International, said he expects it will take another 18 to 36 months for the standards development work to be completed and for the ratified standards to be published.
You can download a full copy of the report here.
Drone startup Guardian Agriculture shuts down
Guardian Agriculture, a Woburn, Mass.-based startup developing large drones for aerial spraying, recently shut down after failing to secure additional funding. The company ceased operations in late August 2025 following a round of layoffs earlier in the summer.
Founded in 2017, Guardian Agriculture captured the attention of the agricultural and robotics sectors with its SC1, a fully autonomous quadcopter designed for crop spraying. The SC1 weighed roughly 600 lb. (272.1 kg), could carry up to 200 lb. (90.7 kg) of fertilizer or pesticides, and was capable of covering 60 acres per hour, the company said.
Despite the technical ambition, Guardian struggled to commercialize its technology. According to a source familiar with the business, the company had just one paying customer at the time of shutdown. MIT News recently said that as of June, Guardian had built eight units of the SC1 that were delivering payloads over California farms in trials with paying customers.
The Robot Report obtained an internal email that Guardian Agriculture CEO Ashley Ferguson sent to employees on Aug. 22 to announce the shutdown:
“[We] are executing on liquidation and exploring $$ opps from insiders to go through the proper wind down (including potential acquirers), but unfortunately it doesn’t help our cash problem today.”
According to Crunchbase, Guardian Agriculture raised $51.7 million over five rounds of funding. This included a $20 million Series A ruond in 2023 led by that Fall Line Capital, which did not reply to request for comment.
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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