Agile Robots and Hitachi have formed a co-creation partnership to bring Physical AI into real factories and commercialize it. Hitachi provides Physical AI technology, system integration capabilities, and over 110 years of manufacturing and operational technology experience, while Agile Robots provides robotic arms, mobile robots, the Agile ONE humanoid robot, and the AgileCore software platform.
Yaskawa Electric began sales on September 29, 2026, of the CPU-14U CPU unit for the MPX1010 and the CM-EC02 and CM-EC02M EtherCAT communication units/modules, all new additions to the MPX1000 series. The CPU-14U's processing performance is 1.5 times that of the CPU-12U within the series and 12 times that of the MP3300's CPU-301; the CPU alone can synchronously control up to 256 servo motors, and with the addition of the SVF-12 motion unit this reaches 640 axes. Pricing is open.
Sharpa launched three products at IROS 2026: the D01 manipulation robot with integrated tactile sensing, featuring an end-effector speed over 10.5 m/s, repeatability of 0.2 mm, and electronic-skin tactile sampling at 100 Hz; the W02 fully tactile compact dexterous hand, with 21 active degrees of freedom, about 30% smaller than the W01, and fingertip force sensing from 5 mN to 30 N; and the AE01 high-fidelity tactile exoskeleton data glove, which uses 22 encoders for teleoperation and data collection and supports 256-level continuous tactile feedback per fingertip.
ROKAE's 10,000th humanoid force-controlled arm officially rolled off the line and was delivered on September 29 at its smart manufacturing future factory. The company says it has partnered with more than 80 leading industry partners, and that its force-controlled arms continue to enter real application scenarios. Its humanoid force-controlled product line includes the Xuanji HSA series force-controlled joints with built-in high-precision torque sensors; the Taibai AR series humanoid force-controlled arms, which cover a payload range of 3-20 kg and adopt a humanoid seven-degree-of-freedom and cross-wrist configuration; and the Xuanhe iNex control system, which integrates force control with WBC whole-body motion control.
Why it matters: The piece explains in fairly specific terms the path of transferring a decade of industrial force-control expertise to humanoid actuation units, as well as the product line composition that supports the 10,000-unit delivery.
Yifei Technology exhibited its first humanoid robot, Hongjun, and the Lobster wafer robot at the 5th Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou from September 23 to 27. Hongjun demonstrated electricity meter assembly on site, featuring a 7-DOF single arm, a 0.6-meter reach, a 5 kg peak payload, and repeat positioning accuracy of ≤±0.05 mm, and is equipped with the self-developed YiBrain multimodal industrial embodied large model; Lobster meets the ISO Class 1@0.1μm cleanliness standard and has entered SMIC production lines. The company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in May 2026, with overseas revenue up 318% year on year.
Highpower Technology has officially unveiled its new-generation solid-state battery technology, with volumetric energy density exceeding 1200Wh/L and gravimetric energy density of 400Wh/kg, roughly 30% higher than mainstream mass-production levels in the industry. It has passed the 160°C hot-box test and nail-penetration test, and mass production is expected in 2027. Its solid-liquid battery has already achieved volume delivery at 950Wh/L, the new-generation quasi-solid-state battery has completed small-scale trial validation, and multiple strategic customers are simultaneously advancing validation and adoption.
Professor Zhang Tao, Dean of Tsinghua University's Institute for Embodied Intelligence and Robotics, delivered a lecture titled "Embodied Intelligence Empowers Everything" at the Tsinghua Humanities Forum. He described three major characteristics of embodied intelligence—generality, interactivity, and autonomy—and noted that key technologies still need to be breakthroughs, including multimodal embodied large models, environmental perception, dynamic planning and control, and dexterous bodies.
At Ascend 2026, Skydio launched its first fixed-wing drone, F10 Lightrunner, the accompanying MegaDock hangar, the Controller 2 remote controller, and two software platforms, Asset Command and Security Command.
Why it matters: The same autonomy engine is being extended to a fixed-wing form factor for the first time, together with a hangar and command software, which lets readers assess its path toward fleet-scale operations and workflow integration.
High-jump star Zhang Guowei visited the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, where he interacted with Tiangong Omni, Tiangong Ultra, and Tiangong 3.0 in running, high-jumping, and tug-of-war experiences; Beijing Humanoid gifted Tiangong Ultra to Zhang Guowei. Tiangong Omni can run at speeds exceeding 10 m/s, while Tiangong Ultra has broken world records 34 times and set a 3.4-meter high-jump record, supported by the Huisi Kaiwu embodied intelligence platform. Its data base covers nearly 6,000 square meters, is equipped with more than 150 robots, has an annual data capacity of up to 180,000 hours, and has delivered nearly 30,000 hours of real-machine data.
Zerith Robotics appeared at the 2026 World Manufacturing Convention in Hefei, showcasing embodied intelligence data, the Zerith V series action models, robot bodies, and unmanned retail applications. Its "grab anything" demonstration achieves autonomous judgment and grasping for small, flexible, transparent, and reflective objects, and its robot shops have been deployed at 20+ locations, with plans to expand to 300–500 within the year. In the 2026 first-half rankings released by MIR DATABANK in the third quarter of this year, Zerith ranked 13th in humanoid robot production and 14th in shipments.
The Yuyao Robotics Research Center is publicly recruiting 1 mechanical structure engineer, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Requirements include a bachelor's degree or above in mechanical engineering or a related field and more than 2 years of structural design experience. The role involves the overall structural design of desktop-level intelligent robots, engineering implementation of open-source solutions, and micro precision transmission design. Applicants should email the registration form to the designated email address; hiring follows assessment, medical examination, review, and public announcement.
Boston Dynamics mechanical engineer Diane Heinle discusses durability testing for the Stretch robot: she is responsible for the dynamic cable design on the Stretch arm, cycling cables millions of times in the lab at speeds and forces far beyond real-world conditions, simulating years of warehouse wear in a matter of weeks. The durability lab is known as the "Tick-Tock Room" because the cable testers swing back and forth like metronomes, and the test data is also used to refine the design and maintenance schedules, avoiding downtime at customer sites.
The embodied tennis robot TENNIIX ULTRA MAX, jointly developed by LimX Dynamics and Inxee Power, debuted at the Billie Jean King Cup Shenzhen Finals, where it rallied live with tennis star Wang Qiang, completing serves, returns, and shot variations including topspin and moonballs. The robot uses the TENNIIX PRO AI tennis training system plus the TRON 2 wheeled-legged chassis, and can move at high speed and stop abruptly while carrying a load of 8 to 15 kg, varying its ball-launch height from 1.2 to 1.6 meters through squatting and rising. Both parties say this moves China's embodied intelligence from technology demonstrations toward mass sports consumer scenarios.
On September 21, SEER Robotics' Embodied Intelligence Open Platform received the Goldreed Industrial Design Award for Excellent Product Design, making it the only embodied intelligence product to win an award. The platform describes itself as the first end-to-end open ecosystem connecting robot development, integration, and application, supporting modular configuration and no-code 3D interactive operations and maintenance for more than 2,000 robot models; its Robot Brain uses a three-layer architecture of Model, Cerebellum, and Nerve.
WUBA participated in the Huawei Cloud Spark Innovator Competition with the Tianlang Q10W and received the "Intelligent Motion Control Technology Innovation Award." The Tianlang Q10W is the industry's first modular four-wheeled legged robot, featuring an open software and hardware architecture, and completed obstacle-crossing training demonstrations at the competition venue; the Huawei Cloud CloudRobo platform and VLN model were deployed and run on real machines in an end-cloud collaborative mode, supporting real-machine validation. WUBA and Guodi Robotics also jointly exhibited an intelligent inspection quadruped robot solution for power, energy, and utility tunnel scenarios, capable of carrying payloads such as infrared temperature measurement, environmental monitoring, and high-definition cameras.
On September 18, the EBC 2026 Embodied Intelligence and Humanoid Robot Brain Technology Conference was held in Shanghai. Zhuoyide received the "Yingxing Benchmark Enterprise Award" and the "Most Bionic Form" Humanoid Robot Award. The humanoid robot Moya opened the event as announcer and interacted with guests. Founder Professor Li Qingdu gave a speech introducing the tendon-rope-driven bionic body and the DroidSoul robot intelligence system, and proposed the BEISE five entry thresholds for robots entering people's daily lives: Balance, Efficiency, Intelligence, Safety, and Economy.
The East China Sea voyage organized by Tsinghua University in collaboration with the Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology has returned successfully. Using the independently developed deep-sea controllable visual sampler (DCVS), the team completed dive operations at 7 stations in areas including the Xianchi cold seep area and the Qiaoyue hydrothermal field, with a maximum dive depth of 1260 meters. DCVS operated stably under extreme conditions such as high temperature and high pressure, collecting multiple physical samples and acquiring large amounts of high-definition seabed imagery. The equipment was developed under the leadership of the Department of Automation at Tsinghua University, with participation from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Xiamen University.
YOUIBOT Robotics will present its AMR material handling solutions for semiconductor manufacturing at the 3rd Kyushu Semiconductor Industry Exhibition, held September 30 to October 1 at Marine Messe Fukuoka (Booth A3-60, Hall A), and will show the collaborative integration of the OW and ATS series in Japan for the first time.
Atom Robots is participating in the 2026 Tianjin International Machine Tool Exhibition, held September 16-19 at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Tianjin) Phase II, showcasing heavy-load collaborative robots, high-speed SCARA robots, and MINI delta robots, aimed respectively at heavy-load operations, continuous mass production, and sorting of small components. Building on its accumulated delta robot technology, the company provides self-developed controllers and vision process software, and is developing embodied intelligence software solutions that integrate large models, machine vision, and force-sensing perception, serving machine tool supporting applications as well as the new energy, 3C electronics, pharmaceutical, and food industries.
Atom Robots exhibited its MINI parallel robot at the 2026 Green Low-Carbon Expo and International Engineering Construction Expo held at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Tianjin). The system integrates a Delta parallel robot, in-house industrial vision, and a software control system; it can identify tiny parts, arrange materials at high speed, and handle mixed batches of parts in forward and reverse orientations, making it suitable for food, pharmaceuticals, 3C, and photovoltaics applications. The company says it has ranked first in domestic market share among independent parallel robot brands for five consecutive years since 2020, with cumulative product shipments exceeding 10,000 units to more than 30 countries and regions worldwide.
Highpower Technology CTO Liao Xingqun detailed the technical logic behind the three growth curves of AI edge devices, AIDC, and robotics under the "AI edge battery + solid-state" strategy. The next-generation solid-state battery will be released in May 2026, with a volumetric energy density of 1200Wh/L and a gravimetric energy density of 400Wh/kg, about 30% higher than mainstream mass-production levels in the industry; it has so far only completed small-scale trial validation, while 950Wh/L solid-liquid batteries are already in mass supply. Robot batteries have been stably mass-produced and delivered to AgiBot, Zhishen, and UBTech, with related revenue expected to approach 100 million yuan in 2026.
Atomrobot's parallel robots handle the pick-and-place and precise stacking of battery blocks, suitable for cell and module loading, sorting, and stacking. They emphasize high dynamics, high consistency, and high stability to meet the challenge of maintaining constant yield across tens of millions of repetitions in mass production. In addition to the Li Auto project, this solution has been deployed on the lithium battery production lines of CATL, BYD, Sunwoda, Leapmotor, Great Wall Motor, FAW, Foxconn, and other companies.
Agile Robots' humanoid robot factory in Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany, went from an empty facility to mass production in about six months, starting production in January and entering series production in late summer.
ROBROS unveiled Real-Time FBT, a real-time full-body teleoperation technology for its IGRIS-C humanoid robot that maps the operator's movements onto the robot's full-body motion in real time. The demo includes basic full-body movements such as squatting, kicking, turning, and bowing, as well as box handling, sandbag punching, and ball kicking. The technology extends teleoperation from the previous upper-limb-focused control to the whole body, allowing the operator to coordinate locomotion, posture changes, and manipulation in real time as one continuous behavior.
Rokae Robotics has launched a full-stack embodied intelligence development platform for developers and industry partners. The hardware includes the Xuanji HSA series integrated force-controlled joints, the Taibai AR series humanoid force-controlled arms, and the Xuanhe iNex embodied intelligence control system. The AR series offers 7 degrees of freedom, a 3 kg–20 kg payload, and a whole-machine force-control bandwidth of >30 Hz.
Agility Robotics has released Digit 5, a next-generation general-purpose humanoid robot built around a safety architecture that allows it to work in close proximity to people without traditional physical safety fencing. It uses an independent safety controller, AI-based human detection, and audiovisual cues, and is the first launch partner for the NVIDIA Halos for Robotics platform, built on NVIDIA IGX Thor.
Why it matters: The official announcement details Digit 5's safety architecture, payload, battery life, and other specific upgrades, along with order background, giving readers insight into the product approach for humanoid robots working near people.
Westwood Robotics has launched the new Gummy BEAR — GB01 and GB01X, with 3.8 Nm rated torque, 14 Nm / 1.5 s stall torque, and weights of 235 g / 248 g.
Li Xiangming, general manager of RoboTechnik's Embodied Intelligence Business Unit, gave a keynote titled "How Industrial Robots Can Break Through in the AI Era" at the 2026 Global Industrial Internet Conference held in Liaoning, proposing four breakthrough paths: reliability, ease of use, full-category plus embodied intelligence, and going global.
Nanjing Tianchuang Intelligent and Daimon Robotics have formed a strategic partnership and signed a 100-million-yuan cooperation framework agreement to jointly upgrade next-generation embodied intelligent robots for special scenarios including firefighting, national defense, power grids, mining, and explosion-proof chemical applications. The two parties will establish a joint R&D team for tactile intelligence in special robots, closing the loop from tactile hardware supply, multimodal data collection, tactile model training, and full-robot adaptation and optimization to real-world scenario testing and validation and large-scale industrialization.
Highpower Technology recently participated again in a new funding round for Zhishen Technology, increasing its capital investment on top of its previous strategic investment; the two sides' cooperation will extend to product definition, joint technology research, and scenario validation. Highpower Technology is already a core battery system supplier to leading robotics companies such as AgiBot, Qiyuan, UBTECH, Disney, and Yunji. Zhishen Technology focuses on the R&D and industrialization of quadruped robots, humanoid robots, and related intelligent equipment, with products aimed at scenarios including security inspection, power operation and maintenance, firefighting and emergency response, scientific research and education, and commercial services.
Highpower Technology has completed a strategic restructuring, positioning itself in AI edge batteries plus solid-state. Interim revenue grew 15% and net profit rose 27% year on year; excluding share-based payment expenses, net profit grew 60%. Energy storage revenue grew 66% year on year, with the share of cells sold externally exceeding 70%. AIDC energy storage R&D began in 2025, advancing on both lithium and sodium battery lines and currently in the sample submission and certification stage. Robot batteries have entered the supply chains of AgiBot, Zhishen, and UBTECH, and the company expects related revenue of nearly 100 million yuan in 2026.
XSTO is showcasing a range of material-handling products at the 2026 Japan International Logistics Exhibition (LTT EXPO), which opened in Tokyo on September 8, including the Magic Block King Kong, an AI+ handling robot, an electric portable stair-climbing cart, and a motion-sensing logistics vehicle. The Magic Block King Kong uses a modular architecture to achieve multiple functions in one machine with on-demand quick swaps, covering scenarios such as flat ground, stair climbing, and loading and unloading; the AI+ handling robot and the electric portable stair-climbing cart target stair scenarios, while the motion-sensing logistics vehicle serves warehouse freight handling with motion-sensing control.
NEURA Robotics and SECO S.p.A. announced a strategic partnership on September 7, 2026, under which SECO will design, engineer, and manufacture electronic compute modules for NEURA's cognitive robots, including the 4NE1 humanoid robot; the modules integrate Qualcomm Dragonwing processors.
Wandercraft announced that its Calvin-40 industrial humanoid robot has secured 12 major customers spanning the automotive, logistics, retail, healthcare, and defense sectors. The company first builds reliability on material-handling tasks such as tires, boxes, and parcels, then expands to panels and carts, and is developing finer operations such as sorting; its partnership with Renault Group plans to deploy 350 humanoid robots over the next 18 months.
STIER has launched the PolishV series radial compliant spindle, featuring three main characteristics: high torque, precise force adjustment, and automatic tool change. The spindle delivers output torque of over 2.7 N.m and a floating torque of up to 24 N.m, providing 360° circumferential compliance and ±5° oscillating radial force, with floating accuracy of ±1 N, and supports automatic tool change in conjunction with a robot tool magazine. It has already been deployed in fields including liquid-cooling computing, chip manufacturing, aluminum alloy die casting, bearing manufacturing, medical devices, and 3C consumer electronics, and together with PolishX compliant force control and six-axis force sensors, forms its AI compliant grinding product system.
Stial has built a full-stack physical AI technology system spanning flexible force control, AI process decision-making, motion control, and robotic execution, focused on complex grinding, polishing, and deburring scenarios. Its PolishX flexible force control system can achieve contact force control accuracy of up to ±0.5% FS within the specified range and test conditions, and NextBrain™ AI Mushroom Cloud provides robot modeling, task planning, simulation, digital twin, and AI process decision-making capabilities. The related solutions have been applied in computing infrastructure, shipbuilding, auto parts, 3C electronics, and other fields, and have entered overseas markets such as Southeast Asia.
XSTO held the global debut of its M9 series light off-road electric wheelchair at a new product launch on September 3 at the China International Welfare Expo in Beijing. The series uses an intelligent all-time four-wheel-drive system, four-wheel independent suspension, and high-grip off-road tires to handle unpaved terrain such as grass and stone paths, with a maximum range of 54 kilometers; the M9 Pro supports fully electric posture adjustment and one-touch flat recline. The X13 embodied mobile robot, M4 Ultra smart wheelchair, and A7 wheeled bipedal robot also appeared at the same exhibition, which runs until September 5, with on-site preorders available at booth 3B04.
DEEP Robotics' X30 quadruped robot won the China Design Gold Award at the 26th China Patent Award, which is jointly organized by the China National Intellectual Property Administration and the World Intellectual Property Organization; no more than 10 Design Gold Awards are granted each year. The X30 features a wide operating temperature range of -20°C to 55°C, IP67 whole-machine protection, and a 520mm standardized mounting rail, and supports autonomous charging and rapid battery swapping. It was previously the first industry-grade quadruped robot from China to be deployed in an overseas power system in 2024.
The Kepler Qilin quadruped robot makes its debut; the company says it offers up to 8 hours of battery life at full load and is designed for heavy-duty industrial work across a range of operating conditions. The robot can carry out joint missions in coordination with the Kepler K2 Hornet humanoid mech.
ZINOVA, using LimX Dynamics' TRON 2 dual-arm embodied robot, partnered with RIC Robotics to complete a POC demo of a scaled concrete slab construction scenario, covering processes such as formwork frame assembly, and multi-layer rebar laying and tying. In the demo, two TRON 2 robots respectively held a nail gun and wooden boards to collaboratively assemble and secure the concrete formwork frame. TRON 2 supports human-machine collaborative teleoperation, with operators intervening at key points while accumulating data to lay the foundation for future autonomous capabilities and model training.