ROBOTTODAY Weekly July 27 – 31, 2026

SUMMARY

Washington's FCC banned imports of foreign-made humanoid robots, robot dogs, and power inverters over national-security concerns, prompting Beijing to threaten retaliation even as Unitree Robotics pressed ahead with its Shanghai STAR Market IPO. Google DeepMind unveiled Gemini Robotics 2, giving humanoid robots whole-body AI control, while Amazon's Zoox won federal approval to charge for driverless robotaxi rides in Las Vegas. On the financial side, Procore agreed to acquire DroneDeploy for $845 million, Kraken Technology raised $175 million for autonomous maritime vessels, and Teradyne's robotics unit posted 33% year-over-year growth.

TOP STORIES

Jul 31 — Unitree Robotics Moves Closer to Shanghai STAR Market IPO

Unitree Robotics moves closer to a Shanghai STAR Market listing, aiming to raise roughly RMB4.2 billion for AI models, robot hardware, and a new smart-manufacturing base.  | TechNode

Jul 30 — Gemini Robotics 2 Brings Whole-Body Intelligence to Robots

Google DeepMind's new AI model gives humanoid robots whole-body control — walking, bending, balancing — while adapting across different robot designs with minimal retraining.  | Google DeepMind

Jul 30 — Amazon's Zoox to Begin Charging for Rides in Las Vegas After Clearing NHTSA Hurdle

Amazon-owned Zoox won the first federal exemption letting it charge for rides in its steering-wheel-free robotaxi, clearing the way for paid Las Vegas service.  | CNBC

Jul 29 — US Government Bans New Foreign-Made Humanoids, Robot Dogs, and Solar Inverters, Citing Risks to National Security

The FCC banned imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots, robot dogs, and solar inverters over national-security concerns, a move aimed largely at China.  | TechCrunch

MARKET & FINANCIALS

Jul 30 — Procore to Acquire DroneDeploy, Creating Next-Generation Platform That Sees, Understands, and Acts on the Jobsite

Procore agreed to acquire DroneDeploy for roughly $845 million, folding its aerial and ground visual-intelligence platform — used on 3 million-plus jobsites — into Procore's software.  | Robotics Tomorrow

Jul 30 — China Threatens Retaliation Against US Humanoid Robot Ban, Says It 'Severely Damages' Relations

China's commerce ministry demanded the US withdraw its humanoid-robot import ban, warning of countermeasures and calling the move damaging to bilateral relations.  | CNBC

Jul 30 — China's Top Court Finds Patent Lawsuits Against Unitree Robotics Malicious

China's Supreme People's Court ruled that patent lawsuits against Unitree's Go2 and A2 robot dogs, based on an 'electronic dog' patent, were malicious.  | TechNode

Jul 30 — Teradyne Robotics Revenue Rises 33% Year Over Year in Q2

Teradyne's robotics segment grew 33% year-over-year to $100 million in Q2, its fifth straight quarter of growth, as AI demand lifted total company revenue to $1.3 billion.  | The Robot Report

Jul 29 — UNIT AI Raises $12 Million to Scale AI-Powered Ecommerce Fulfillment and Returns

UNIT AI raised $12 million to scale its AI-powered ecommerce fulfillment and returns platform across North America amid accelerating retailer and 3PL demand.  | Robotics Tomorrow

Jul 28 — China's Unitree Robotics Eyes Capacity Boost to Meet Humanoid Demand

Unitree Robotics is moving to expand manufacturing capacity in Hangzhou to keep pace with surging demand for its humanoid and quadruped robots.  | Nikkei Asia

Jul 27 — Kraken Technology Raises Series B Funding for Autonomous Vessels

Kraken Technology raised $175 million in Series B funding at a $1 billion valuation to expand its autonomous maritime platforms for NATO and UK defense partners.  | The Robot Report

Jul 27 — XTEND and JFB Announce $1.5 Billion Merger to Form XTEND AI Robotics

Israeli defense-tech firm XTEND and JFB Construction Holdings agreed to a $1.5 billion all-stock merger forming XTEND AI Robotics, set to trade on Nasdaq as XTND.  | DroneLife

PRODUCT LAUNCHES & BREAKTHROUGHS

Jul 31 — LimX Dynamics Shifts From Motion-Control Showcases to Real-World POC Deployment

LimX Dynamics is shifting from motion-control demos to proof-of-concept deployments of its Luna humanoid, COSA brain system, and FluxVLA engine in real-world settings.  | PanDaily

Jul 30 — FedEx and Dexterity Expand Physical AI Deployment for Autonomous Trailer Loading at Hagerstown Hub

FedEx and Dexterity expanded their partnership to deploy Dexterity's Foresight world model and Mech trailer-loading robots at FedEx's Hagerstown, Maryland hub at greater scale.  | FedEx Newsroom

Jul 30 — AgiBot WITA-Omni Full-Modal Model Tops DailyOmni Global Leaderboard

AgiBot's WITA-Omni model scored 85.21 on the DailyOmni benchmark, topping 6 of 8 indicators and outperforming Google Gemini, ByteDance Doubao, and Alibaba Qwen.  | PanDaily

Jul 30 — Muscle Radar Unlocks Potential for Future Robotic Limbs

University of Queensland researchers built noninvasive ultra-wideband radar sensors that measure muscle forces in real time, aiming to improve wearable robotic mobility devices.  | TechXplore

Jul 30 — Daniela Rus Receives Bavarian Minister-President's High-Tech Prize

MIT CSAIL director Daniela Rus received the 2026 Bavarian Minister-President's High-Tech Prize in Munich for her work on self-organizing robot collectives and soft robotics.  | MIT News

Jul 29 — Neura Robotics Expands Global Physical AI Training Network in Partnership With RWTH Aachen University

Neura Robotics and RWTH Aachen University will open a 'Neura Gym' physical-AI training facility in Germany by year-end, part of a planned ten-site global network.  | Robotics & Automation News

Jul 29 — Synapticon and Stabilus Form Partnership to Develop Integrated Actuators for Humanoid Robots

Synapticon and Stabilus are jointly developing a new line of integrated actuators for humanoid robots, pairing drive-intelligence expertise with large-scale manufacturing capability. | Robotics Tomorrow

Jul 29 — Video: Self-Balancing Monowheel Robot for Autonomous Security Patrols

Estonian startup Rollo Robotics launched 1ROLLO, a self-balancing monowheel security robot that patrols on a single 60cm wheel at speeds up to 30 km/h.  | Interesting Engineering

Jul 28 — China Tests First Civilian Drone That Can Fly 24 Hours Non-Stop, Fully Loaded

China's TP200 completed its maiden flight, a fully loaded civilian drone capable of 24-hour, 1,860-mile missions for surveillance, logistics, and disaster response.  | SCMP

Jul 27 — 2,000 Humanoids to Take on Textile Production in Chinese Firm's Push

Chinese sewing-machine maker Jack Technology, working with Siemens, is deploying 2,000 humanoid robots across textile plants to lift manufacturing efficiency by 30%-plus.  | Interesting Engineering

For ongoing coverage and real-time global robotics developments, the Industry Briefing channel provides continuous updates throughout the week.