A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a bill aimed at prohibiting the federal government from buying or utilizing robots manufactured in China. This legislative move comes amid growing national security concerns regarding the reliance on Chinese technology, highlighting the increasing tension between safeguarding national interests and the challenges posed by China's dominance in the robotics market. The bill reflects a broader effort to reassess and potentially limit the federal government's engagement with Chinese products, particularly in sectors deemed critical to national security. As discussions around the bill progress, it is expected to spark significant debate in Congress about the implications for trade and technology partnerships with China.
US Lawmakers Target Chinese Humanoids with Federal Procurement Ban
Robotics needs a service framework.
RSF defines a common language for robot service capability, lifecycle operations, certification pathways, and service-provider networks.
RobotToday Weekly Briefing August 31 – September 4, 2026
This week in robotics: NVIDIA agrees to buy Hugging Face for $12.93 billion, Figure signs a $3.5 billion compute deal with Nscale for up to 100,000 GPUs, Tesla launches steering-wheel-free Cybercabs in Austin under NHTSA scrutiny, and Uber and Wayve bring the UK its first autonomous rides. August 31 – September 4, 2026.
RobotToday Weekly
Universal Robot Launches Da Sheng 1: A Versatile Industrial Dexterous Hand
At the WRC exhibition, Universal Robot unveiled the Da Sheng 1, an industrial-grade dexterous hand designed to overcome existing limitations in robotic gripping technology. This innovative product aims to combine the high load capacity of traditional grippers with the versatile operational capabilities of dexterous hands, addressing a significant industry...
Dexterous Hands Industrial Robotics Automation Technology
OpenAI's CEO Confirms Plans for Humanoid Robots After GPT-6 Astra Launch
Just two days before the launch of the next-generation flagship model GPT-6 Astra, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman made a definitive statement regarding the company's plans to develop humanoid robots. This announcement positions OpenAI as a formidable competitor in the humanoid robot market, traditionally dominated by Tesla's Optimus robot, which has already infl...
Humanoid Robots AI Robotics
Figure Partners with Nscale to Deploy 100,000 GPUs for Humanoid Robot AI Training
U.S. robotics company Figure has entered a strategic partnership with UK-based Nscale to secure up to 100,000 GPUs for training its next generation of humanoid robots. This collaboration aims to meet the increasing data and computational demands of developing advanced AI models for general-purpose robotics, utilizing NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin platform. The part...
AI and Robotics
RobStride Launches 10P Integrated Joint for Humanoid Robots with 42N·m Torque
RobStride has introduced the ROBSTRIDE 10P integrated joint, designed to address the supply gap in mid-torque joints for humanoid and quadruped robots. With a peak torque of 42N·m and a weight of just 460g, it is priced at 859 Yuan, making it a competitive option in the 30 to 50N·m range. This innovation is significant as it balances torque and weight, cr...
Humanoid Robots Robotics Components Joint Actuators
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...
Humanoid Robotics Industry Expected to Achieve 26 Million Annual Shipments by 2040
A recent report from Berg Insight indicates that the humanoid robotics sector is poised for significant long-term commercial growth. This growth is expected to culminate in annual shipments reaching 26 million units globally by 2040. The anticipated increase in shipments highlights the rising demand for humanoid robots across various applications, signali...
Teradyne’s IP Offensive and the Next Phase of Cobot Competition
Teradyne Robotics filed two European IP actions against Chinese cobot makers Elite Robots and JAKA within six months of 2026. This briefing maps the timeline, the differences between the cases, each side’s position, and what it signals about collaborative robot market competition.
Standards and Regulations Market and Business News
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
Nscale and Figure Forge $3.5 Billion Partnership for Humanoid Robot Computing
Nscale has entered into a multi-year partnership with Figure, committing $3.5 billion to deploy up to 100,000 Nvidia GPUs for Figure's next generation of humanoid robots. The agreement has the potential to exceed $6 billion, with initial deployments of Nvidia Vera Rubin GPUs set for Barstow, Texas, starting in the latter half of 2027. This partnership is ...
AI AI Funding & Investment Robotics
CJ Logistics Deploys Humanoid Robots for Packing Operations in Yongin
CJ Logistics has introduced a bimanual humanoid robot to its packing line at the Olive Young fulfillment center located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. This marks the company's first foray into humanoid-powered logistics operations, with two robots currently in use to place cushioning paper into shipping boxes. The deployment of these humanoid robots is sig...
All News
GMO Humanoid Lab
Japan
Tokyo Physical AI lab opened April 2026 by GMO Internet Group, running whole-body humanoid control research and Japan's Humanoid Hack hackathons.
Hubei Jingchu Humanoid Robot Co., Ltd 湖北荆楚人形机器人有限公司
China
HUST-spinout Wuhan maker of direct-drive humanoid and quadruped robots, including the compact Jingchu Xiaochu and heavy-duty Jingchu Heibao.
Humanoid
United Kingdom
UK startup building commercially scalable, general-purpose humanoid robots via its KinetIQ VLM/VLA framework, offered as RaaS.
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.
ADEK Industrial Computers
United States
US-based industrial PC manufacturer building custom rugged rack-mount, panel, and embedded computers for robotics, SCADA, and HMI applications since 1993.
Aichi Robot Industrial Promotion Council
Japan
Japanese industry council promoting robotics development and diffusion in Aichi Prefecture, one of Japan's largest robot manufacturing hubs.
Arctek Robótica Industrial
Brazil
Brazilian industrial robotics system integrator in Curitiba, Parana, specializing in robotic welding, automated handling, palletizing, and custom automation.
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.
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