Ivan Hernandez Dalas - Mechatronics

Dexterity said its Foresight world model can help solve physically demanding tasks such as truck loading. | Source: Dexterity Dexterity today launched its world model and 4D box-packing agent, Foresight. Dexterity is also launching the Foresight API Challenge with up to $50,000 in prizes for student teams. Dexterity said ForeSight is a physics-consistent world model that enables robots to perceive, reason, and act. Dexterity said it built the model not for observation, but for physical manipulation at the production scale. In autonomous truck loading, Foresight powers Dexterity’s dual-armed robot, Mech , with a 4D box packing agent that reasons across three spatial dimensions plus time. It determines where to place each package onto an evolving wall of freight. “Foresight delivers real-time, production-grade random box packing in 4D space-time, predicting how one placement dictates the integrity of the entire truck,” said Samir Menon, founder and CEO of Dexterity. “Physical AI is...

Illustration of the radiotherapy room and the occlusion problem faced by ceiling-mounted cameras in this application. What was the topic of your PhD research and why was it an interesting area? My topic of research was developing an optical tactile sensor to track head motion during radiotherapy. I worked on both the hardware and software development of this sensor, though my focus was mostly on the software side. Its importance comes from the fact that during radiotherapy, patients undergoing head and neck cancer treatment are typically immobilised. This is usually done using a thermoplastic mask, which can feel very claustrophobic, or a stereotactic frame. Frames are more common for brain cancers, but they have to be surgically inserted into the patient’s skull using pins. Either of these immobilisation tools may be used depending on the situation. When patients are uncomfortable, they are more likely to move, which affects the accuracy of treatment, especially with thermoplastic m...

Logos of MassRobotics startups. | Credit: MassRobotics MassRobotics resident startups have collectively raised $2 billion in venture funding since launching in 2017. Resident startups have announced major funding rounds, new product launches, and key industry milestones so far in 2026, highlighting the strength of resident startups within the MassRobotics ecosystem. As the world’s largest independent robotics hub, MassRobotics’ mission is to help create and scale the next generation of successful robotics and Physical AI technology companies by providing entrepreneurs and startups with the workspace, resources, programming and connections they need to develop, prototype, test and commercialize their products and solutions. “The strength and growth of robotics startups in the Boston ecosystem is unparalleled,” said Tom Ryden, executive director, MassRobotics. “With more than 500 robotics companies, research labs, and innovation hubs across Massachusetts, and an ever-growing number...

Agibot X2, Unitree G1, and Leju Kuavo 4th Generation Pro humanoid robots make their debuts in South Korea. Credit: AW 2026 SEOUL — Smart Factory & Automation World, or AW 2026, opened yesterday. The event, which occupies the entire Coex venue and features 2,300 booths, is the largest one in AW’s 36-year history, according to the organizers. It was founded as the Manufacturing Innovation Expo. This year’s theme of “Autonomy: the driver of sustainability” reflects the global shift from factory automation and digitalization to AI and robotics in multiple industries, they said. They added that the goal is production “with greater intelligence, adaptability, and minimal human intervention.” In his opening keynote, Jo Sang Hyeon, president of Coex, explained how AW ‘s expo halls and session tracks were organized around five themes or trends: smart factories, industrial and collaborative robotics, machine vision and sensors, digital twins, and physical AI including humanoid robots. ...

Noble Machines Moby humanoid can lift 60-lb payloads. | Credit: Noble Machines Noble Machines, formerly known as Under Control Robotics, has emerged from stealth mode. It said it has deployed its first humanoid robots at a Fortune Global 500 customer within 18 months of the company’s launch. The Sunnyvale, California-based startup was founded by former engineers from Apple , SpaceX , NASA , and Caltech . Noble Machines said it is focusing on “whole-body” AI control with rapid, language-based learning. Moby, the first humanoid robot developed by the company, can lift up to 60 lbs (27 kg) and navigate steep inclines and outdoor environments. Agility Robotics’ Digit humanoid can lift up to 35 lbs, the new Atlas from Boston Dynamics can lift a maximum of 66-110 lbs and the new Figure 3 humanoid can lift up to 44 lbs.  Noble Machines said it is preparing to release the next generation of the robot soon. “Noble Machines’ mission is to tackle all the hazardous, physically demand...

This overhead illustration of the incident shows the location of the Waymo vehice (ADS-V) and the stopped school bus. | Credit: NTSB Federal investigators have launched a probe into Waymo after a remote operator’s error caused a self-driving taxi to illegally pass a stopped school bus in Austin, marking the latest in a series of safety violations involving the company’s autonomous fleet. While the autonomous driving technology is marketed as a way to eliminate human error, this specific incident reveals a “human-in-the-loop” failure. The vehicle did exactly what it was supposed to do: it stopped and asked for help. But the safety net failed when the remote human operator gave it the green light to proceed illegally. The incident The incident in question took place on January 12, 2026, about 7:55 a.m. Central Standard Time. According to the NTSB, a 2024 Jaguar I-Pace sport utility vehicle, equipped with an ADS and operated by Waymo LLC, passed a 2025 Thomas Built school bus, oper...