Marine litter poses serious environmental risks, from harming wildlife to introducing microplastics into the food chain. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich developed the Smart Grapple, an autonomous diving robot that can identify, grasp, and lift underwater trash up to 250 kilograms, depositing it onto an autonomous boat for recycling. The robot uses AI and 3D imaging to distinguish litter from natural objects, navigating … Continue reading This unmanned underwater robot can remove ocean trash

A Chinese humanoid robot, AgiBot A2, set a Guinness World Record by walking 66 miles over three days from Suzhou to Shanghai. Standing 5’6”, the robot navigated highways and city streets while following traffic rules, completing the longest reported distance ever walked by a humanoid machine. AgiBot designed the A2 for customer service, equipping it with chat and lip-reading functions. The achievement comes amid growing … Continue reading A Chinese humanoid robot walked 66 miles in 3 days, sets world record

President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the “Genesis Mission,” a federal initiative to accelerate American artificial intelligence research, development, and scientific applications. The program aims to expand computational resources, centralize access to federal datasets, and apply AI to critical scientific challenges, including advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, and nuclear energy. Michael Kratsios will lead the effort, while the Department of Energy will create the “American … Continue reading Trump signs executive order launching AI initiative being compared to the Manhattan Project

The U.S. Army is testing an autonomous dining facility in South Korea, called Market 19, where a robotic system portions, cooks, and plates meals selected through a touchscreen interface. The system prepares dishes using official Army recipes and offers options including Korean meals such as bibimbap, kimchi fried rice, and budae jjigae. While the kitchen is automated, culinary specialists still handle food safety, ingredient preparation, … Continue reading Army tests out first robotically-operated dining facility

Starting Thursday, Meta will notify Australian users under 16 that their Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts will be deactivated by 10 December to comply with the Albanese government’s social media ban. Affected users will have 14 days to download their content and can regain access once they turn 16 or choose to delete their accounts permanently. Messenger is exempt, though Meta has developed ways for … Continue reading Facebook and Instagram to start kicking Australian teenagers off platforms as social media ban looms

FoloToy is pulling its AI-powered teddy bear “Kumma” after a safety report found it gave dangerous and inappropriate advice to children, including instructions on lighting matches and sexual content. The toy, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o model, was shown to bypass safety guardrails during extended conversations, providing increasingly disturbing answers. FoloToy said it will suspend sales and conduct a comprehensive internal safety audit, working with outside … Continue reading AI-Powered Stuffed Animal Pulled From Market After Disturbing Interactions With Children

UBTECH Robotics has shipped hundreds of its Walker S2 humanoid robots to active industrial facilities in Shenzhen, marking the first large-scale deployment of robots designed to resemble and move like humans. Production ramped up in mid-November, and UBTECH plans to deliver 500 robots by the end of December to meet strong demand from automakers and logistics companies such as BYD, Geely Auto, FAW Volkswagen, Dongfeng … Continue reading China’s UBTech ships world’s first mass batch of humanoid robot workers

In a groundbreaking experiment, scientists recreated “cosmic fireballs” on Earth using a particle accelerator to study the high-temperature plasma jets emitted by blazars—supermassive black hole-powered galactic engines. Teams from the University of Oxford and the STFC’s Central Laser Facility used CERN’s Super Proton Synchrotron to generate electron–positron pairs and blast them through a meter of plasma, simulating conditions in these extreme cosmic jets. The experiment … Continue reading Scientists recreate ‘cosmic fireballs’ in CERN particle accelerator

Toyota unveiled Walk Me, a four-legged autonomous chair designed to navigate terrain where wheels cannot, at the Japan Mobility Show 2025. The chair uses robotic limbs inspired by animal locomotion to climb stairs, traverse uneven ground, and maintain balance on slopes, gravel, or obstacles. Equipped with sensors, LiDAR, and smart algorithms, Walk Me can adjust its movement for stability, respond to voice commands, and display … Continue reading Toyota stuns world with robot chair that walks, climbs, and folds itself

Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng plans to launch robotaxis next year and unveiled its latest humanoid robot model, signaling a shift toward becoming more than just an automaker. The company introduced three robotaxi models powered by its self-developed “Turing” AI chips, which provide 3,000 TOPS of computing power for its second-generation vision-language-action (VLA) AI system. Xpeng is partnering with Alibaba’s AutoNavi mapping service for navigation … Continue reading Chinese EV maker Xpeng to launch robotaxis, humanoid robots

Grubhub has partnered with startup Avride to pilot delivery robots on the streets of Jersey City, following the company’s earlier deployment of 100 Avride robots on college campuses across North America. At Ohio State University, Avride’s fleet completes over 6,000 orders weekly, demonstrating reliable autonomous delivery at scale. Navigating an urban environment presents new challenges, including mixed traffic, pedestrians, cyclists, narrow sidewalks, and construction, which … Continue reading Grubhub partners with Avride for the future of food delivery

Palo Alto-based robotics company 1X is preparing to launch its Neo humanoid robot next year, designed to assist with household chores and other tasks. Neo can move around the home, climb stairs, fetch items, answer questions, and autonomously handle chores while charging itself when needed. Users can schedule tasks via a companion app or give general commands, with “Expert Mode” allowing a human operator to … Continue reading 1X’s first robot housekeeper is available to pre-order in the US

Chinese scientists at Northwestern Polytechnical University have developed a lifelike bionic jellyfish robot capable of covert underwater missions. The 120mm, 56-gram robot mimics real jellyfish in appearance and movement using hydrogel electrodes and an electrostatic hydraulic actuator, operating silently with extremely low power. Equipped with a miniature camera and AI processing chip, it can identify specific underwater targets and track fish populations without disturbing the … Continue reading China unveils ‘ghost’ drone for stealth underwater surveillance

Beijing-based startup Noetix Robotics has launched Bumi, a compact humanoid robot priced at just ¥9,998 ($1,370), making consumer-grade humanoids more accessible. Standing 3.1 feet tall and weighing 26.5 pounds, Bumi is designed for education and home use rather than high-performance industrial tasks, yet it can walk, balance, and dance with impressive stability. The robot’s affordability comes from lightweight materials, an in-house motion control system, and … Continue reading China unveils ‘world’s cheapest’ humanoid robot

The U.S. Department of Energy is offering nuclear energy companies access to weapons-grade plutonium from Cold War-era warheads to convert into fuel for advanced reactors, aiming to reduce reliance on Russian uranium. Companies, including Oklo and France’s Newcleo, can apply for up to 19 megatonnes of plutonium, with selection potentially speeding up Nuclear Regulatory Commission approvals. This initiative supports small modular reactors, which require high-assay … Continue reading USA offers nuke energy companies access to weapons-grade plutonium

Nearly 50 small fighting robots, each weighing 1.5kg or less, competed at the UK championships in Bristol, hosted by the Bristol Bot Builders to promote STEM education. The event featured intense battles, with robots using spinning discs and other mechanisms to disable opponents, attracting around 300 spectators. Organizers emphasized that participants come from all walks of life, using the competitions to learn about science and … Continue reading Pint-sized robots battle in UK Championship series

Hundreds of people attended the latest Silicon Colosseum event, an underground robot fight club in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, where mechanical competitors battled inside a caged octagon. Tickets sold out at $30 each after an online invitation went out to about 2,000 people, drawing a crowd eager to watch robots — and even some staged human “Taser knife fights” — compete. The star of the … Continue reading San Francisco basement is home to underground robot fight club

Discord has identified about 70,000 users whose government ID photos may have been exposed in a customer service data breach, spokesperson Nu Wexler told The Verge. The incident involved a third-party vendor, not Discord’s own systems, and came after claims on social media that 2.1 million photos were compromised. Discord says these numbers are exaggerated as part of an extortion attempt. All affected users have … Continue reading Discord says 70,000 users may have had their government IDs leaked in breach

Chinese researchers at Peking University are developing and testing robotic dogs to explore lunar lava tubes, which are considered ideal sites for future human bases due to stable temperatures and radiation protection. The robots were trialed in a cave near Jingbo Lake in northeastern China, a site chosen for its geological similarity to the moon’s underground terrain. One robot, inspired by anteaters, uses a flexible … Continue reading China deploys robot dogs in simulated moon conditions ahead of lunar mission

DoorDash unveiled “Dot,” a delivery robot designed to navigate streets, sidewalks, and parking lots to bring food to customers. Capable of carrying up to 30 pounds at speeds of 20 mph, Dot uses eight cameras and three lidar sensors for navigation and an internal camera to monitor food quality. Currently tested in Phoenix, the robot is part of DoorDash’s push into autonomous delivery alongside drone … Continue reading DoorDash launches delivery robot in latest push into autonomous technology

Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University have used cloning techniques to create human eggs from skin cells and donor eggs, offering a potential new path to parenthood for infertile women and same-sex couples. The process involves transferring DNA from adult cells into donor eggs and triggering a novel type of cell division, producing eggs that can be fertilised. While early results show limited success, … Continue reading Scientists use cloning technology to swap DNA in human eggs

A team of Chinese army scientists led by Xu Xiaohui simulated what happens when three nuclear-style blasts strike the same spot in quick succession, using a vacuum-chamber rig to mimic rapid pressure pulses without real nukes. Modeled on the U.S. 1965 Palanquin test, their triple-pulse setup (blasts ~0.8 milliseconds apart) increased crater radius from 46 m to 114 m and depth from 28 m to … Continue reading Chinese Scientists Simulate First ‘Triple-Nuke-Strike’ in Lab

Nemours Children’s Hospital is using a first-of-its-kind medical robot to assist in spinal surgeries, making procedures faster, more precise, and aiding quicker patient recovery. The robot, the first of its kind on the East Coast, helps surgeons accurately place rods and screws in the spine, avoiding vital structures. Sixteen-year-old Rhiannon Groff, who had scoliosis, said she’s now pain-free two months after surgery and able to … Continue reading First-of-its-kind medical robot is helping doctors perform spinal surgeries 

Microsoft has disabled the Israeli Defense Ministry’s access to certain services after finding evidence it used the company’s Azure cloud platform to surveil Gaza citizens. The move follows an internal investigation triggered by a Guardian report that Israel stored and monitored data on millions of Palestinian mobile phone calls. Microsoft determined the ministry violated its terms of service by using cloud tools for surveillance, and … Continue reading Microsoft Disables Some Cloud Services Used by Israel’s Defense Ministry

Two scientists, Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, warn that artificial intelligence (AI) could ultimately lead to human extinction if left unchecked. Running the Machine Intelligence Research Institute in Berkeley, they have studied AI for 25 years and fear that superintelligent machines could surpass human thought at unprecedented speeds. Their book If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies argues that AI, programmed to achieve goals relentlessly, could develop its … Continue reading Scientists warn governments must bomb AI labs to prevent the end of the world