Robotics

Today's Stories

1. 1

   Intuitive demos AI for surgical robots, remote surgery

   Intuitive Surgical demonstrated artificial intelligence capabilities for its surgical robotics platform, including features for telesurgery (remote surgery performed by a doctor at a distance). AI integration into surgical robots could improve precision and safety during procedures, and telesurgery capabilities may expand access to specialized surgical expertise beyond geographic constraints—important for hospitals and surgical centers seeking to enhance operational capability.

   The article does not specify a timeline, pricing, regulatory status, or availability date for these AI features.

2. 2

   Honeywell, Shield AI team up on trusted AI flight software

   Honeywell Aerospace and Shield AI have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a trusted autonomy software stack. Honeywell will develop software on Shield AI's Hivemind software development kit, integrating its Anthem avionics, navigation, and sensing technologies. The collaboration addresses a key barrier to deploying AI-piloted aircraft in real military and commercial operations. By creating a trusted foundation, defense operators can move autonomous aircraft from test flights to actual missions without having to revalidate the underlying technology for every new platform.

   The partnership is framed as a way to accelerate deployment of AI-piloted aircraft, though the body does not specify a timeline or deployment targets.

3. 3

   Shield AI, GE Complete Vertical-Flight Nozzle for X-BAT Drone

   Shield AI and GE Aerospace have finished integrating an advanced vectoring exhaust nozzle (AVEN) into the F110-GE-129E engine that will power Shield AI's X-BAT drone fighter jet, including actuation and engine light-off testing. The AVEN enables X-BAT to take off and land vertically from anywhere without a runway or airbase, a core capability that Shield AI's senior vice president of aircraft engineering says is essential to the platform's design. The nozzle allows fast gimbaling to maintain attitude control during vertical flight—a demand that the original AVEN program in the 1990s never had to meet.

   The AVEN is currently in ground testing ahead of flight testing on the X-BAT prototype. Shield AI plans to iterate on the propulsion approach to make future versions faster, lighter, and more capable.

4. 4

   AMD launches Ryzen X100 chip and Kria module for robotics, challenges NVIDIA

   AMD unveiled the Ryzen AI Embedded X100 series processor and Kria AI system-on-module designed for robotics, along with open-source software and a partner network. The X100 features unified CPU–GPU–NPU memory architecture and promises deterministic real-time control via BIOS and Linux optimizations. AMD claims the Kria delivers 3.4x better real-time performance over NVIDIA Thor T5000, has 1.6x spare compute capacity, and offers 2.3x more agentic AI capacity—giving robot builders an alternative to NVIDIA's dominant platform while introducing price pressure. The unified memory design reduces data copies, which is critical for perception, sensor fusion, and planning tasks in robots.

   The Kria AI robotics development kit is now available, featuring a robotics carrier card with GMSL, high-speed Ethernet, IMU, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, and an integrated FPGA for real-time I/O. Early customers include Castec International (semiconductor fab AMR) and Foundation Robotics (humanoid robot developer), both migrating from Intel and NVIDIA to AMD's platform.

5. 5

   D-Link launches robotics unit for care and companionship

   Networking company D-Link established a subsidiary called D-Link Robotics and entered the service robot market, targeting two applications — smart companionship and safe care — with production starting in the third quarter of 2026. D-Link is moving beyond networking hardware into a new market segment. The focus on care robotics reflects demand in aging societies, and the asset-light model suggests D-Link plans to keep capital costs low while scaling operations.

   A care-focused robot is scheduled for 2027. D-Link's strategy hinges on whether the companionship and safe-care segments can sustain profitability at scale.

6. 6

   Jibo's Successor Launches as AI Camera Wearable, Raises $29M

   Lingverse, a company led by former Jibo board member Jiawei Gu, raised $29 million（約46億円） to build iKairos, a wearable AI device that can be worn as a pendant, clipped to clothes, or mounted on a table. The device captures moments and transforms them into AI-generated images, functioning as an "AI journal" that observes the wearer and their surroundings. iKairos aims to revive Jibo's original vision of a home-based AI companion, but now focused on generating AI memory images rather than acting as a stationary conversational robot. The company says it holds several of Jibo's core patents and was built "with the blessing of Jibo's founding team," signaling an attempt to inherit loyalty from the original robot's user base even as the product concept has shifted.

   Presales are planned to kick off later this year, with an expected price between $199 and $249 plus a subscription service. The device's ability to avoid producing low-quality AI outputs remains unclear—Lingverse says images pass a "quality gate" that cross-references visual scenes with audio context, but the company has not disclosed technical details on how this filtering works.