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Iván Hernández Dalas: Data security is the foundation of trust in physical AI

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Cyber and data security are key concerns for physical AI such as this ANYmal inspection robot. Source: ANYbotics If you follow the robotics industry, you have likely seen the wave of humanoids performing backflips, robot dogs navigating parkour, and robotic arms folding laundry. This pace of innovation is inspiring, and it is fascinating to see the impact of AI on physical machines. However, as we move technology from the controlled safety of the lab into the complexity of the real world, a security headline serves as a stark reminder for the broader industry. Reports recently surfaced regarding critical security flaws in consumer robot vacuums . Interestingly, this was discovered by a software engineer who stumbled into the vulnerability by accident, gaining full control over devices and accessing cameras and microphones to peer into private homes. While a vulnerability in a living room is a serious privacy concern, an autonomous robot in a chemical plant or a high-voltage power ...
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Iván Hernández Dalas: Ed Mehr on transforming manufacturing at Machina Labs; AW26 Recap

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The Robot Report Podcast · Ed Mehr on Transforming Manufacturing at Machina Labs Episode 235 of The Robot Report Podcast features Ed Mehr, co-founder and CEO of Machina Labs. In addition, Eugene Demaitre, editorial director for The Robot Report , is back from a weeklong trip to Seoul. Gene shares some takeaways from Automation World, or AW 2026 , and discusses what he learned from the international companies exhibiting in South Korea . Mehr joins the show to discuss how his company is changing hardware production through flexible, robotic-powered factories that switch products at the click of a button. He offers insights on software-defined factories, advanced automation, and strategic partnerships shaping the future of hardware production. Ed Mehr, co-founder and CEO, Machina Labs  Mehr is an entrepreneur and engineer specializing in advanced manufacturing, robotics, and artificial intelligence. At Machina Labs, he leads efforts to integrate AI-driven robotics into fle...
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Iván Hernández Dalas: Robot Talk Episode 148 – Ethical robot behaviour, with Alan Winfield

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Claire chatted to Alan Winfield from the University of the West of England about developing new standards for ethics and transparency in robotics. Alan Winfield is Professor of Robot Ethics at the University of the West of England (UWE), Visiting Professor at the University of York, and Associate Fellow of the Cambridge Centre for the Future of Intelligence. Alan co-founded the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, where his research is focussed on the science, engineering and ethics of cognitive robotics. Alan is an advocate for robot ethics; he chairs the advisory board of the Responsible Technology Institute at the University of Oxford and has co-drafted new standards on ethical risk assessment and transparency. View Source
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Iván Hernández Dalas: Oxa closes Series D funding to bring industrial mobility automation to market

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Oxa’s systems tow and carry goods in ports, airports, or manufacturing facilities, as well as monitor assets and perimeters in solar farms or industrial plants. Source: Oxa Oxa Autonomy Ltd., a developer of autonomous vehicle technology, this month closed a $103 million Series D round. The company said the investment will enable it to intensify its focus on commercializing the automation of repetitive industrial driving tasks. “These investments validate our intensified focus on industrial mobility automation (IMA), where the path to commercial deployment at scale is clearest and most immediate,” said Paul Newman, founder and chief technology officer of Oxa. “The capital will supercharge the development of our technology, enabling our industrial customers to benefit from significant productivity gains, lower operational costs, and increased workplace safety sooner,” he added. “We are proud to be developing world-leading technology here in the U.K., fundamentally changing the way i...
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Iván Hernández Dalas: Three companies demonstrate global commercialization potential at AW 2026

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The Robot Report recognized Hypergram, Epson, and Polaris3D at AW 2026. Credit: Sewong Chloe Park SEOUL — Among the highlights at last week’s Smart Manufacturing and Automation World, or AW 2026, were the 500 exhibitors. The event’s organizers asked me and other international reporters to select three of the most promising candidates for its Global Media Awards. The criteria included their strength in marketing, potential for market growth, opportunity for investment, and competitiveness. In addition, the finalists had a significant presence in South Korea as the country intends to parlay its expertise in service and industrial automation to be a bigger player in the global robotics ecosystem. AW 2026 showcased cutting-edge technologies in smart factories, robotics, and innovations in AI-driven manufacturing . The event ‘s organizers included Coex, the Korea Industry Intelligentization Association, the Korea Smart Manufacturing Office, the Korea Machine Vision Industrial Associa...
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Iván Hernández Dalas: MassRobotics, NVIDIA, and AWS announce second Physical AI Fellowship cohort

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Nine startups are part of Cohort 2 in the Physical AI Fellowship program. Source: MassRobotics Physical AI developers need help to satisfy growing industrial demand for intelligent machines in real-world environments. MassRobotics today announced the second cohort of the Physical AI Fellowship, a virtual program to help robotics startups build, refine, and scale physical AI systems. The organization offers the fellowship with Amazon Web Services (AWS) Startups and NVIDIA Inception . By providing startups with deep technical guidance, cloud and compute resources, and access to a global robotics ecosystem, the fellowship is intended to enable teams to move from promising prototypes to enterprise-grade deployments. “We’re excited to launch our second Physical AI Fellowship cohort and continue working alongside industry leaders like AWS and NVIDIA to help startups scale real-world physical AI solutions,” said Tom Ryden, executive director at MassRobotics. “We look forward to showcas...
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Iván Hernández Dalas: Rhoda AI exits stealth with $450M to train robots from video

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Rhoda AI offers a Direct Video-Action Model that reformulates robot policies as video generation. | Source: Rhoda AI Rhoda AI has emerged from stealth with $450 million in Series A funding. The company also unveiled FutureVision, an approach to robotic intelligence that is based on video-predictive control. “We believe the next era of robotics requires models that understand how the world moves — not just what it looks like or how it’s described in language,” said Jagdeep Singh, cofounder and CEO of Rhoda. “By learning from internet-scale video and operating in closed loop, our systems are designed to adapt to real-world variability in ways conventional approaches struggle to achieve. The goal is simple: robots that work in the real world, not just controlled lab settings.” Traditional industrial robots perform well in structured environments but remain largely limited to pre-programmed trajectories. More recent AI approaches, particularly vision-language-action (VLA) models, allo...
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