The wire
Short, fast updates from across China’s AI industry — compute, mining, and physical AI, as they land.
- 04:45
Unitree Robotics’ Wang Xingxing: The Core Bottleneck for Robots Is Overcoming Operational Errors of a Few Millimeters
In his view, whoever can solve this problem in the future will have solved the robotics challenge altogether.
- 04:45
Enrollment Doubles as Drone Major Takes Off at a Hangzhou Technical School | New Skills, New Opportunities
The program had planned to admit 84 students this year, but ultimately enrolled 170, expanding from three classes to five.
- 04:45
- 02:41
Digit 5 May Be the First Humanoid Robot Worker That’s Truly Safe
Despite the recent deluge of videos of humanoid robots doing backflips and kung fu, the actual pace of progress towards humanoids that can do economically viable jobs at scale has at times seemed a bit plodding. There are some good reasons…
- 02:41
Video Friday: Two Birotors Make a Quadrotor
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclus…
- 02:41
Quadruped Robots: Unitree Leads, While AgiBot and DeepRobotics Vie for Second Place?
Two research firms released rankings on the same day for the same market — with two different sets of numbers.
- 02:41
Changan Auto Targets Humanoid Robot Mass Production in 2028 and Commercial Flying-Car Routes in 2030
ITHome, Sept. 25 — According to China News Service Chongqing, a collective online investor reception day and semiannual earnings briefing for listed companies in the Chongqing jurisdiction was held on Sept. 23. Xie Renjun, deputy general manager of Changan Automobile’s capital operations department and deputy director of the board office, said that the company is advancing R&D on its solid-state battery project in an orderly manner and has begun validation of a 20Ah oxygen-polymer composite solid-state battery. Xie also said the company will accelerate the layout and industrialization of emerging businesses such as embodied-intelligence humanoid robots and flying cars: it is striving to achieve mass production of humanoid robots in 2028 and launch commercial-route flying cars in 2030. As ITHome previously reported, Changan Automobile chief expert and Changan Tianshu intelligent...
- 00:41
IAC completes autonomous racing event at Laguna Seca
At Laguna Seca, Unimore Racing won the Indy Autonomous Challenge, marking the IAC's first autonomous car overtakes on a road course. The post IAC completes autonomous racing event at Laguna Seca appeared first on The Robot Report.
- 00:41
- 20:41
5 million robots are now at work in factories worldwide, reports the IFR
China still leads the world in industrial robot installations, but the U.S. and Germany are also significant markets, found the IFR. The post 5 million robots are now at work in factories worldwide, reports the IFR appeared first on The Rob…
- 18:41
Video Friday: Lift Happens
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclus…
- 18:41
Mexican EPICS in IEEE Team Builds Portable Educational Platform
In Guadalajara, Mexico, many high schools have motivated teachers and talented students with an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, but they lack access to advanced tools such as robotics laboratories. The resourc…
- 18:41
Boston Dynamics opens Metaplant Application Center to train Atlas humanoids
The new Robotics Metaplant Application Center is training humanoids as part of Hyundai's Metaplant America in Georgia. The post Boston Dynamics opens Metaplant Application Center to train Atlas humanoids appeared first on The Robot Report.
- 18:41
Why you should look beyond the spec sheet when choosing motion architecture
Choosing the right motion architecture is about understanding how the entire system will behave in use, explains Kollmorgen. The post Why you should look beyond the spec sheet when choosing motion architecture appeared first on The Robot Re…
- 16:41
Epson introduces AX6 cobot with compact design, no-code programming
Epson Robots has expanded its six-axis robot line with the AX6, a lightweight force- and power-limited arm. The post Epson introduces AX6 cobot with compact design, no-code programming appeared first on The Robot Report.
- 16:41
Robot Companies Are Draining the Industry Credibility of Embodied AI
When a once-scarce title becomes a mass-produced standard feature, its value starts to erode.
- 16:41
Amazon to Invest More Than $100 Million in New U.S. Robot Manufacturing Plant, Set to Open in 2028
ITHome, Sept. 24 — According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon is already one of the world’s largest robot manufacturers. As the company pushes further to automate warehouse operations, it is expanding robot production. Amazon said it will invest more than $100 million, about 672 million yuan at current exchange rates, to build a new robot manufacturing plant in Greenwood, Indiana, which is expected to begin operations in 2028. Just last month, Amazon also announced plans to build another robot manufacturing hub in Austin, Texas. With the completion of these two new facilities, Amazon’s robotics manufacturing...
- 16:41
Waymo Releases 271 Million Miles of Autonomous Driving Data, Says Serious Crashes Are 95% Lower Than Human Drivers
ITHome, Sept. 24 — Any accident involving a robotaxi tends to draw broad attention. By comparison, more than 15,000 crashes involving human-driven vehicles are reported to police in the U.S. every day. So even if people often see news about Waymo or Tesla robotaxi crashes, that alone is not enough to conclude that these vehicles are unsafe. According to data released by Waymo, its robotaxis are in fact involved in crashes at a significantly lower rate than human-driven vehicles. Waymo analyzed its robotaxi fleet in Atlanta, Austin, Phoenix, Los Angeles and...
- 16:41
Tuya Smart Shows Doova Home Companion Robot for Elderly People Living Alone
ITHome, Sept. 24 — According to a report today by Caiwen, Tuya Smart showed its Doova home companion robot at the fifth Global Digital Trade Expo. The product is designed for elderly people living alone. It can move around the home, hold conversations and link with smart-home devices. ITHome learned from the original report that the product currently mainly provides companionship, daily reminders and emergency alerts, and cannot yet handle chores such as housework. If an elderly person falls, they can call the robot for help. The robot will then try to assess the situation and contact family members or relevant institutions. If the person cannot actively call for help, connected devices such as smart watches and wristbands can also trigger an alarm after detecting abnormalities. The product can also work with smart...
- 14:41
ANYbotics opens the door for inspections with ANYmal robots
ANYbotics partnered with dormakaba and LEGIC Identsystems to enable the ANYmal quadruped to gain access like a badged employee. The post ANYbotics opens the door for inspections with ANYmal robots appeared first on The Robot Report.
- 10:41
Samsung to fuel Korean robot ambitions as exclusive AI network provider
AI-RAN, 5G SA partnership with KT and SK Telecom to guarantee Korea's 6G and physical AI foothold in the 2030s
- 10:41
Counterpoint: Global Quadruped Robot Shipments Reached About 35,000 Units in H1 2026, Three-Quarters of 2025’s Full-Year Total
ITHome reported on September 24 that Counterpoint Research released an insight on the 21st local time, saying global quadruped robot shipments reached about 35,000 units in the first half of 2026, already three-quarters of the full-year 2025 level. Of those 35,000 units, 40% were aimed at vertical industrial applications. ▲ Source: Counterpoint Research Chinese manufacturers continue to dominate the quadruped robot market, including Unitree, AGIQUAD, Genisom AI, and DEEP Robotics…
- 10:41
More Than 300 Robots to Play With: World’s First Large-Scale Embodied AI Theme Park Opens Today
ITHome reported on September 24 that AgiBot has officially announced the opening of what it calls the world’s first large-scale embodied AI theme park, built jointly with Chimelong Group. ITHome learned that the park, described as the world’s first, largest, most scenario-rich and most technologically advanced embodied AI theme park, features more than 300 robots across seven major use cases: robotic entertainment and commercial performances, science education and study tours, navigation and shopping guidance, service and retail stations, intelligent companion tours, hotel scenarios, and sports competitions. The robots will also interact regularly and deeply with visitors at more than 100 experience points. Navigation robots can use scenario maps and natural-language understanding to answer destination queries, plan routes, and autonomously lead visitors…
- 08:41
Tesla Rolls Out FSD v14.2 Lite to HW3 Model S/X in North America
ITHome, Sept. 24 — Tesla has begun rolling out FSD v14.2 Lite for the first time to Model S and Model X vehicles in North America equipped with HW3 hardware. HW3-equipped Model 3 and Model Y vehicles received FSD v14 Lite in July this year, marking the first rollout of the updated FSD technology stack to Model S and Model X. The software update is being released alongside versions 2026.27.10 and 2026.27.11, which are currently the latest FSD updates. However, Tesla has not yet pushed the update to all eligible…
- 08:41
Tesla App Accidentally Reveals Third-Generation Optimus Humanoid Robot With Sealed Joint Design
ITHome, Sept. 24 — Tesla has said little publicly about its humanoid robot project in recent months, but its own mobile app may have inadvertently revealed new details. A batch of new digital assets was found deep inside the Tesla app, apparently exposing an unobscured production version of the Optimus Gen 3 humanoid robot. Tesla enthusiast @WholeMars found the rendered models in a recent update to the Tesla Android app. Although the original post was later deleted, the content had already been reposted by @TeslaNewswire before it was removed. Unlike stylized concept sketches, these files were official Tesla…
- 08:41
PS5 Emulator Makes New Breakthrough as Silent Hill 2 Remake Can Render on Integrated Graphics
ITHome, Sept. 24 — PS5 emulation is progressing much faster than expected. From Demon’s Souls Remake to Astro Bot, PS5 emulation has made remarkable advances, and these games may soon be able to run at 60 FPS. Now, PS5 emulation appears to have made another breakthrough with Silent Hill 2 Remake. According to the latest update, Silent Hill 2 Remake can already render through an experimental version of the KyTyPS5 emulator on an integrated GPU…
- 08:41
China's First 'Perceive and Decide' Smart Metro Train Debuts in Berlin
ITHome, Sept. 24 — The 15th InnoTrans, the international trade fair for transport technology, is being held in Berlin from Sept. 22 to 25 local time. A major professional exhibition for the global rail transit industry, this year's event has drawn more than 3,000 companies from 59 countries and regions, with 180 world premieres on display. More than 200 Chinese companies are participating. Artificial intelligence and new energy technologies are among the key focuses of the show. According to a CCTV News report today, a new-generation digital-intelligent metro train from China made its global debut during the exhibition. It is also the first rail transit application of “embodied intelligence” technology, making it one of the highlights on site…
- 06:42
Is Shipyard Welding the Right First Job for Humanoid Robots?
Humanoids desperately need to stop making YouTube videos and get a job already, and Persona AI is one of the few humanoid companies that seems to be entirely focused on making that happen. Persona AI’s approach has been to carefully select…
- 06:42
Video Friday: Humanoid Robot Takes On Monkey Bars
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclus…
- 06:42
Neolix Autonomous Vehicle Unit Raises Registered Capital to About 79.23 Million Yuan
Tianyancha App shows that on Sept. 22, Neolix-affiliated New Stone Age Huitong Technology Co., Ltd. underwent an industrial and commercial registration change, increasing its registered capital from about 77.54 million yuan to about 79.23 million yuan. The company was founded in February 2018, with Li Ziyi as its legal representative. Its business scope includes industrial robot manufacturing, R&D of intelligent robots, and sales of intelligent robots. Shareholders include Yu Enyuan, Yang Zhe, and the Jiangsu Modern Service Industry Development Venture Capital Fund (Limited Partnership).
- 06:42
Humanoid Robot Industry Shifts From Feature Demos to Scaled Deployment as Harvest Robot ETF (159526) Broadly Targets Robotics Opportunities
As of 13:55 on Sept. 24, 2026, the CSI Robot Index (H30590) was down 0.52%. Among its constituents, performance was mixed: Shuanghuan Driveline led gains with a 4.44% rise, followed by PIA Automation up 3.13% and MOONS’ Electric up 2.25%. Colibri Technologies led declines, with Hongying Intelligent and Han’s Laser also falling.
- 06:42
The People Building Cars, Phones, and Robots
Humanoid robots, embodied intelligence, mass-production delivery, organizational capability, automakers building robots, smartphone makers building robots, UBTECH, and the cost loop.
- 06:42
JD 7Fresh Chef Professional Edition Debuts at 19,888 Yuan, Including Smart Cooking Robot and 15,000 Yuan in Meal Benefits
ITHome, Sept. 24 — According to Jiemian News, JD’s new 7Fresh Chef business has announced pricing for its “7Fresh Chef Professional Edition” service, with the full package launching at 19,888 yuan. The price includes a smart cooking robot valued at 16,000 yuan, the Health Brain home health meal-management system valued at 10,800 yuan, and 15,000 yuan in household meal benefits, for an overall reference value of more than 40,000 yuan. According to the company, Chef Coins are the consumption-benefit unit within the 7Fresh Chef system: 1 yuan can be exchanged for 1 Chef Coin, and 15,000 Chef Coins can be exchanged for about 74 days of ready-to-cook meal-kit delivery. ITHome previously reported that 7Fresh Chef...
- 04:41
Tesla Appears to Leak Optimus Gen 3 Design, With Production Version Looking More Mature
News on September 24: according to reports, digital assets in the latest update to Tesla’s Android app appear to have revealed the production design of the third-generation Optimus humanoid robot. Compared with the earlier Optimus Gen 2.5, the new version uses more complete joint-covering structures, switches the lower legs to a black shell, and has tighter body panels overall, giving it an appearance closer to a mass-produced product. The report said Optimus Gen 3 is designed for large-scale production, with 22 degrees of freedom in both hands. Tesla has previously begun converting parts of the Model S and Model X production lines at its Fremont factory into Optimus production lines and plans to gradually expand capacity. However, Tesla has not yet officially announced the third-generation Op…
- 04:41
Qualcomm Deepens Push Into Physical AI With Planned Acquisition of Robotics Software Firm PickNik Robotics
ITHome reported on September 24 that Qualcomm announced on September 23 California time that it has reached an agreement to acquire robotics software company PickNik Robotics. PickNik has long maintained MoveIt, one of the world’s most widely used open-source robotics operating frameworks. The framework has been broadly adopted by academia and industry worldwide for developing complex robotics applications across many sectors. Qualcomm said the deal reflects its commitment to building an open robotics ecosystem. The company pledged to keep MoveIt open source, with the community setting the roadmap and open resources. Qualcomm said it will simplify the framework’s integration with its Dragonwing…
- 04:41
Terminator Comes to Life as Zhongqing T800 Humanoid Robot Joins Human Fight for First Time and Kicks Boxer Down
ITHome reported on September 24 that on September 20 local time, in the octagon at the REK robot fighting event in San Francisco, a Zhongqing T800 humanoid robot from China fought a human boxer for the first time. Video footage shows the Zhongqing T800 fitted with a T800 robot head resembling the one from the film Terminator. In the octagon, it landed a heavy kick that knocked internet celebrity boxer Frankie LaPenna, who was wearing full protective gear, to the ground, winning the match. REK is a U.S.-based humanoid robot combat event that usually features two robots fighting each other, with the goal of becoming a real-life version of Real Steel. This human-versus-robot fight also…
- 04:41
Tesla FSD Faces Scrutiny in Europe Over Alleged Frequent Speeding and Illegal Passing
Reuters reported on September 24 Beijing time that Belgian road safety advocacy group Johanna.be said Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system frequently exceeded speed limits and attempted to pass cyclists on streets where overtaking is prohibited, based on tests it conducted in Belgium. Johanna.be, which advocates for pedestrian and cyclist safety, tested Tesla’s system for three days in July over about 400 kilometers. The tests found that FSD often exceeded the speed limit in zones capped at 20 km/h and 30 km/h, and also incorrectly displayed higher speed limits to the driver. That could mislead drivers into thinking the vehicle was allowed to travel faster…
- 04:41
Zhiyuan Sets New Global Mass-Production Record as Its 20,000th Embodied AI Robot Rolls Off the Line Today
ITHome reported on September 24 that Zhiyuan’s 20,000th general-purpose embodied AI robot, the Expedition A3 Ultra, officially rolled off the line at Chimelong Spaceship Park in Hengqin and was delivered to Chimelong Group. On the same day, the world’s first large-scale embodied AI theme park, jointly built by Zhiyuan and Chimelong Group, opened at Hengqin Chimelong Spaceship Park. More than 300 Zhiyuan robots across its product lineup have been deployed for regular operations in the park, serving visitor interaction, guidance, performances, science education and study tours. Zhiyuan said the mass production and delivery of its 20,000th robot marks a further shift for its embodied AI products from R&D validation and one-off demonstrations toward batch production, scaled delivery and routine operations. The delivery also means general-purpose…
- 02:41
Video Friday: A World Cup for Robots
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclus…
- 02:41
Building a Foundation Stack for General-Purpose Robots
This article is brought to you by X Square Robot. Large language models gave artificial intelligence a working recipe. Pretrain a large model on broad data, and general capability follows. Robotics has no such recipe. Robotics systems have…
- 02:41
How to Make an Invisible Drone
There are many words that I would never, ever use to describe a drone. Stealthy. Subtle. Whatever the opposite of obnoxious is. Much of this is because of the giant angry bee sound that drones tend to make, but it’s also the way that they l…
- 02:41
Video Friday: Your Robot Surgeon Will See You Now
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclus…
- 02:41
This Graduate Student Equips NASA’s Robots With Assembly Skills
Like many engineers, Sarah Downs says she knew she wanted to pursue a STEM career from a young age. As a teenager, she discovered robotics through her Tulsa, Okla., middle school’s First Lego League team, and she fell in love with the field…
- 02:41
Video Friday: An Italian Humanoid Comes to Life
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclus…
- 02:41
Optical Tech Would Update a Robot’s AI on the Fly
Atop a lab bench, Cornell Tech postdoctoral researcher Yifan He positions the lens of an optical receiver almost a meter away from an LED emitting a beam of red light. The computer monitor attached to the receiver takes a beat to refresh, t…
- 02:41
Robot Finger Feels in Color
Imagine running your fingertip over the surface of a U.S. penny. You would feel the ridges of the raised letters and numbers, Abe Lincoln’s bearded side profile, and, if it’s tails, the fluted columns of the Lincoln Memorial. Getting a robo…
- 02:41
Video Friday: Meet Google DeepMind’s Gemini Robotics 2
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclus…
- 02:41
What Robotics Companies Think About the U.S. Foreign Robot Ban
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “Covered List,” originally published in 2021, identifies communications equipment and services that it says pose a threat to national security. On 28 July, the FCC added mobile, communicating…
- 02:41
Video Friday: Drones Go Heavy in DARPA Lift Challenge
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclus…
- 02:41
Robot Recycler Salvages Parts From Broken Machines
Objects constructed by robots are ubiquitous. If you’ve used a car, household appliance, or smartphone today, you’ve used an object constructed at least in part by robots. The more products that manufacturers want to produce (and consumers…
- 02:41
Video Friday: Digit Redecorates
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclus…
- 02:41
OpenAI's Astra model went for a drive and no one died
First LLM to pass test did it in a parking lot at snail's pace, at considerable expense, but it still counts for something
- 02:41
Penghua Robotics ETF (159278) Benchmark Index Rises Nearly 1%, as Quadruped Robots Move Faster Into Industrial Use
On the news front, quadruped robots are accelerating their entry into areas such as security patrols and industrial inspections.
- 02:41
International Federation of Robotics: China Remains the World’s Largest Industrial Robot Market
Data in a report released by the International Federation of Robotics on September 24 showed that China’s new industrial robot installations reached 354,000 units in 2025, accounting for about 59% of the global total and setting a record high. China retained its position as the world’s largest industrial robot market. The report said China’s industrial robot market still has significant room for growth and is expected to maintain an average annual growth rate of 5% to 10% from now through 2029. (Xinhua)
- 00:41
Changing supply-demand dynamics drive notable rise in light rare earth prices
As a core raw material for neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets, light rare earths are key strategic minerals supporting emerging productivity sectors such as new-energy vehicles, wind power and industrial robots. Since mid-September, light rare earths have shown a pattern in which praseodymium-neodymium products led gains while other varieties traded sideways. SMM data showed that on Sept. 22, praseodymium-neodymium oxide rose by 5,000 yuan per ton in a single day, while praseodymium-neodymium metal rose by 7,500 yuan per ton. Prices pulled back slightly on Sept. 23 but remained near recent highs. Yang Jiawen, a rare earth industry analyst at SMM, said: “This round of price increases is mainly due to a reduction in low-priced spot resources in the market and firm quotations from upstream smelting companies.” (Securities Daily)
- 00:41
WorldSkills robot event opens with a “blind box” challenge | New skills in hand
The new assessment direction for the autonomous mobile robot event closely matches the real-world needs of today’s service robot industry.
- 22:41
Walden Robotics Partners With Toyota on Practical Humanoids
For a while there, it seemed as though robotics as a whole was stuck in a mad rush towards building humanoid robots mostly because it was very possible (and very lucrative) to do so, even without near-term goals that were necessarily realis…
- 22:41
Drones With Claws Perch on Arctic Icebergs
This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. Microspines are one of many ways to enable robots to latch onto surfaces like walls and ceilings. Now roboticists in Canada are using the mini…
- 22:41
Video Friday: Do We Need Superhuman Humanoid Robots?
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclus…
- 22:41
AI Companion Robots Are Closing the Human Connection in Modern Homes
This article is brought to you by Ollobot. From about 2017, individuals began to truly connect with the initial wave of companion robots. These devices had personality, moved around, joked, and answered when you spoke to them. Most early co…