Researchers at the University of Oxford are exploring the advancements in robotic technology, highlighting the significant progress robots have made in visual recognition and navigation. These machines can now identify objects and maneuver through complex environments, sorting thousands of parcels each hour. However, challenges remain when it comes to delicate interactions; robots struggle to perform tasks that require gentle, safe, or meaningful touch. This research aims to bridge the gap between current capabilities and the nuanced skills necessary for robots to interact more effectively with their surroundings and human counterparts. As the field evolves, understanding and overcoming these limitations will be crucial for the future integration of robots in everyday tasks.
The science of human touch – and why it’s so hard to replicate in robots
Robotics needs a service framework.
RSF defines a common language for robot service capability, lifecycle operations, certification pathways, and service-provider networks.
ROBOTTODAY WEEKLY September 7 – 11, 2026
This week in robotics: JD.com plans to deploy three million robots across its logistics network, XPeng commissions its IRON humanoid production line, FANUC and Google launch an AI arc-welding agent, and Unitree shares fall 53% from their post-IPO high. September 7–11, 2026.
RobotToday Weekly
Bionic Emotion-Sensing Humanoid Robot Demonstrates Real Tears During Interaction
A new humanoid robot has been developed that can express emotions by shedding real tears while communicating. This advancement highlights the potential for robots to engage more authentically with humans, enhancing their roles in various applications. The ability of this robot to exhibit genuine emotional responses could significantly impact industries su...
AI and Robotics
Anthropic Disrupts Five Cases of Claude Misuse for Potential Bioweapons Research
Anthropic reported that it intervened in five instances where researchers misused its AI model, Claude, in ways that could have facilitated biological weapons development. These incidents occurred between December 2025 and August 2026, highlighting the challenges of distinguishing legitimate scientific research from potentially harmful activities. The sig...
AI and Robotics
Sixth Graders Program Robots to Breakdance, Highlighting Shift in Robotics Education
At Punahou School in Hawaii, a group of sixth graders successfully programmed wheeled robots to perform breakdancing moves. This project involved translating complex physical movements into sequences of commands that machines can understand, encompassing concepts like coordinate transformation and feedback control. With the right educational tools, these ...
Robotics Education Programming Algorithm Development
NOAA Selects Mississippi State University to Lead New Northern Gulf Research Institute
NOAA has appointed Mississippi State University to host the Cooperative Institute in the Gulf of America (CINGA), aimed at enhancing research collaboration on Gulf ecosystems. This initiative builds on a 20-year partnership with NOAA, focusing on science-based decision-making for the northern Gulf region. The establishment of CINGA is significant as it co...
noaa mississippi state university northern gulf research institute
Teledyne Webb Research Secures U.S. Navy Contract for APEX Profiling Floats
Teledyne Webb Research has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Navy for the provision of APEX profiling floats. This contract highlights the Navy's commitment to enhancing oceanographic research capabilities through advanced technology. The APEX profiling floats are designed to collect critical ocean data, which is essential for various applications, incl...
teledyne webb research contract award u.s. navy
China’s Dexterous Hand Industry, 2026 Part 3 — The Players
Five vendor archetypes, MIR’s composite top ten, eight company profiles and six field deployments — every firm linked to the RobotToday supplier directory.
Components and Hardware Humanoids
AGIBOT Open-Sources 11,430 Robot Trajectories to Enhance Reinforcement Learning Research
AGIBOT, a Chinese robotics company, has released its WORLD 2026 dataset, featuring 11,430 robot trajectories aimed at advancing research in reinforcement learning for embodied AI. This dataset emphasizes learning from real-world interactions, capturing a range of experiences including successes, failures, and human interventions. The significance of this ...
AI and Robotics
Manufacturers Embrace Agentic AI Amidst Lack of Governance Plans
Recent research highlights a significant gap in governance as manufacturers increasingly adopt agentic AI technologies. The focus has primarily been on the delay in establishing governance frameworks, yet there is less emphasis on the practical steps needed to address this gap. As AI systems evolve from merely summarizing reports to making autonomous deci...
China’s Dexterous Hand Industry, 2026 Part 1 — The Demand Picture
MIR Databank puts China dexterous hand shipments above 30,000 units in 2026, yet only 3.5% of 2025 demand came from factory production. Part 1 of 3.
Components and Hardware Humanoids
China’s Dexterous Hand Industry, 2026 Part 2 — The Technology
Linkage, tendon, direct drive or hybrid — and why hardware is converging while the DL1–DL5 manipulation scale decides who wins. Part 2 of 3.
Components and Hardware
Preliminary Study Investigates Humanoid Robot Touch's Impact on Mood and Emotions
A preliminary study has examined the relationship between humanoid robot touch and changes in mood and emotional expression. This research highlights the potential applications of robot-assisted therapy, suggesting that interactions with humanoid robots could positively influence emotional well-being. Understanding how humanoid robot touch affects mood is...
BioRobotics Laboratory, Korea University of Technology and Education
Korea, Republic of (South)
South Korean university research laboratory focusing on haptics, exoskeletons, rehabilitation robotics, and autonomous ground vehicles.
Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL)
United States
VA–Univ. of Pittsburgh research center founded 1994, developing wheelchair robotics and assistive mobility tech for veterans and people with disabilities.
Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
United States
The REC Foundation is a US nonprofit that runs VEX-based robotics and drone competitions reaching 1.1 million students across 70 countries.
SAISON ROBOT/LingYu Robotics 灵御智能
China
LingYu Robotics to Showcase Teleoperation and Embodied AI Solutions at Automate 2026 Subscribe for the Latest Automate Show Updates Copyright © 2013-2026 A3 Automate.
Yuanqi Innovation (Xiamen) Robot Co., Ltd. 元启创新（厦门）机器人有限公司
China
yuanqirobot.com resolves to a Xiamen-based robot company; directory lists it as Qingdao YuanQi Intelligent Robot Tech — city mismatch requires verification.
OM Robot Technology Co. Ltd. 东莞全向机械科技有限公司
China
Chinese manufacturer of mecanum wheels, omnidirectional wheel bases, and mobile robotic platforms for AGV applications.
Human in Motion Robotics
Canada
Canadian company developing hands-free lower-limb exoskeletons for spinal cord injury and stroke rehabilitation.
LG Display
Korea, Republic of (South)
Seoul display maker (KRX:034220, NYSE:LPL), formed 1999, that launched plastic OLED humanoid-robot face panels for industrial settings in 2026.
Roboblock System Co., Ltd.
Korea, Republic of (South)
South Korean robotics distribution and development company founded in 1997; supplies AI robots, drones, humanoid kits, and VR/AR systems internationally.
Australian Centre for Robotic Vision
Australia
World's first research centre specialising in robotic vision, an ARC Centre of Excellence led by QUT.
Machine Vision Lighting Inc.
Japan
Tokyo firm whose patented VISA-Method lighting delivers uniform illumination and one-step 3-D imaging for machine-vision inspection.
Tangram Vision
United States
Perception infrastructure software and hardware company enabling reliable sensor calibration and integration for robotics and autonomous systems.
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