Ivan Hernandez Dalas - Mechatronics

On a bench not long ago, a small quadruped turned cleanly to the right. The mirrored left turn dragged and lost contact. The legs had landed in different servo regions and loaded the body differently, so the same command did two different things. The code was symmetric; the contact mechanics were not. The Llama analogy works until the model has to move hardware. The original Llama paper gave software teams a reusable starting point. A team that did not pay for the training run could adapt the model, shrink it, and serve it through a familiar software path. The weights were useful because other teams already had the tools to turn them into running software. Robot models move the same way, but a robot policy does not travel on its own. A local control stack converts policy output into motion on the installed robot via its controller, within the cell’s safety envelope. Model access will expand what robots attempt. The advantage will come from turning that behavior into supported ...

Wing maintains a fleet of lightweight drones that can transport small packages directly from businesses to homes in minutes. | Source: Wing Wing Aviation LLC and Walmart today announced a major expansion of their drone delivery partnership, adding seven metropolitan areas to Walmart’s growing network: Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Salt Lake City. Walmart has plans to build a network of over 270 locations for drone delivery to reach more than 40 million Americans by 2027. Now, this planned expansion into additional regions will bring Wing and Walmart’s total service footprint to nearly 20 U.S. markets nationwide. The companies said they have completed over one million commercial deliveries together to date. “Our work with Walmart has shown that drone delivery isn’t just a novelty, it’s a service many customers count on multiple times per week,” said Heather Rivera, Wing’s chief business officer. “We’re alre...

Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), who co-sponsored a bipartisan bill to establish a National Commission on Robotics. Robotics can support U.S. economic and military interests, but unified federal policy has been slow in coming. That may be changing, as Senators Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) last week introduced a bill to create an independent commission to evaluate U.S. competitiveness and recommend policies to strengthen its leadership. “Advancements in robotics are rapidly changing how we live and work,” stated Sen. Hickenlooper. “If America is going to lead the future, we need a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges ahead—from supply chains and national security to workforce development.” “Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh especially, is an incredible hub of robotics talent and demonstrates that American leadership in robotics creates high-paying jobs, strengthens domestic supply chains, and dr...

Standard Bots offers robot arms with payloads ranging from 7 to 30 kg. | Source: Standard Bots Standard Bots today announced that it has raised $200 million in Series C funding, bringing its valuation to $1 billion. The company said it plans to use the investment to expand its manufacturing footprint in New York. This will increase its ability to design, assemble, and deploy American-made robots at scale. “ AI -native robots are the essential power tool of the 21st century – the tool that will grow American manufacturing and help every worker to be a force at work,” stated Evan Beard, co-founder, CEO, and chief engineer of Standard Bots. “AI will allow industrial robots to do 100x more tasks with full autonomy. You just show your robot how it’s done, and it learns through demonstration.” “The quickest way to get to full autonomy is through deployments, collecting real-world data, and iterating as fast as possible,” he added. “Standard Bots is the furthest alon...

Allen Control Systems’ Bullfrog uses AI models to target drones or other threats. | Source: Allen Control Systems Allen Control Systems has raised $200 million in Series B funding. This puts the company’s valuation at $2.2 billion, Allen Control Systems (ACS) claimed. ACS will use the funding to scale manufacturing and accelerate deployment of its autonomous weapon station, Bullfrog, for the United States and allied militaries. The company also plans to develop new product lines. Bullfrog is a lightweight, low-power autonomous weapon station that combines AI , computer vision, and precision robotics. ACS said it designed Bullfrog to detect, identify, and neutralize enemy unmanned systems. The company claimed Bullfrog excels in both on-the-move operations and the protection of high-value targets like power substations. The system is capable of engaging group 1-3 UAs, and it offers both autonomous and semi-autonomous modes. “Drone threats are growing faster than traditiona...

Embodied AI is evolving from vision-centric perception toward Physical AI. While vision enables robots to perceive the world, it cannot fully capture the physical interactions that underpin real-world manipulation, limiting robots’ ability to operate reliably in unstructured environments. As World Models advance, tactile sensing is increasingly recognized as a key modality. By providing critical physical feedback beyond vision, tactile helps robots understand and interact with the physical world, making it an essential foundation for intelligent manipulation. Yet one critical question remains difficult to answer: How much does tactile sensing actually improve physical interaction? In what ways does it improve robot manipulation? What kinds of tactile data are most needed for physical AI? While many robotics developers believe tactile will play an important role in the next generation of embodied intelligence, the industry lacks a standardized way to evaluate its impact. Witho...