Ivan Hernandez Dalas - Mechatronics

Bridging the divide between deterministic physics-based control and policy-driven adaptation, Boston Dynamics has deployed a hybrid locomotion architecture on a wheeled variant of its Atlas humanoid . The “experiment” combined classical model-based motor control with whole-body reinforcement learning to maintain dynamic stability across unstructured, real-world terrain. In the video, Andy Wu, controls engineer for Atlas at Boston Dynamics, highlights some recent experiments that he executed by attaching wheels to Atlas’ legs. Boston Dynamics is saying “a wheeled Atlas isn’t a product. It’s a research testbed.” Wu’s intention was to push the actuation to its limits. Another goal of the experiment was to understand unstructured environment adaptability. Wu addresses the limitations of purely model-based control when navigating unpredictable, real-world conditions that are difficult to model or simulate. Through a whole-body reinforcement learnin...

Wi-Fi connectivity needs to be reliable for real-time mobile robot management. Source: Synaptics An autonomous mobile robot or AMR may cross dozens of Wi-Fi coverage zones during a single shift. Each transition creates a small but potentially consequential communications problem: How does the robot find its next access point without interrupting the connection it is already using? The answer matters because AMRs , industrial inspection robots, warehouse automation, and healthcare service robots increasingly depend on continuous connectivity for  sensor data, telemetry, and control. In a conventional Wi-Fi architecture, the primary communication radio must periodically stop transmitting and receiving application traffic while it searches for alternative access points. That creates a tradeoff among connectivity, latency, power consumption, and roaming performance. A dedicated scan architecture separates network discovery from application traffic. The robot can monitor its wireles...

The AIhub coffee corner captures the musings of AI experts over a short conversation. This month we ask whether humanoids are the future of robotics. How has the technology evolved recently, and what can we expect in the years to come? Joining the conversation this time are: Joydeep Biswas (University of Texas at Austin), Sanmay Das (Virginia Tech), Rina Dechter (University of California, Irvine), Ioannis Erripis (AIhub), Sabine Hauert (University of Bristol), Ella Scallan (AIhub), and Marija Slavkovik (University of Bergen). Lucy Smith: There have been huge advancements in humanoid robots over the past couple of years. Today’s topic is particularly timely, as RoboCup 2026 recently took place. I thought it would be interesting to start with an overview of recent developments at RoboCup. Joydeep Biswas: This all started snowballing a couple of years ago, and we suddenly started to see this huge inflection on the capabilities. New humanoid robots were showing up at RoboCup that did...

The annual ARM Institute member meeting takes place in Pittsburgh. Source: ARM Institute The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing, or ARM Institute last week said that that its member consortium has grown to include more than 500 organizations nationwide, with thousands of individual subject matter experts represented within these organizations. The organization collaborates with its consortium and the U.S. government to promote the U.S. as leading nation in manufacturing output through the adoption of robotics and AI. “We are proud to work with our consortium to build a resilient, secure, and bright future for U.S. manufacturing,” stated Jorgen Pedersen , CEO of the ARM Institute. “Our member consortium is the foundation of our Institute and integral to our mission.” “Our members have collaborated with us on hundreds of technology projects, helped us launch major initiatives, including our national workforce resource RoboticsCareer.org , supported manufacturers through th...

High-precision manufacturing was once considered something exclusive to large corporations. However, advances in robotic integration and automated manufacturing have changed this perception. Sophisticated capabilities are becoming accessible to midmarket and smaller operations. This shift has led to a more even competitive landscape. Smaller manufacturers have an opportunity to reach new levels of accuracy and efficiency. Today’s robotic systems can help these producers modernize targeted workflows without overhauling their entire production operations. Robotic innovations drive efficiency for manufacturers The evolution of robotics has led to more democratized precision manufacturing processes. This is evident across industrial robots and agile collaborative robots . Key benefits of these innovations can include: Cost and footprint: The potential for lower investment costs and compact designs can make robotic systems economically viable. It can also simplify integration in...

The new Stretch features an updated modular design that enables “plug and play” part swaps. | Source: Boston Dynamics Boston Dynamics Inc. this week unveiled Stretch Gen 2, the latest generation of its autonomous mobile trailer unloading robot. With over 100,000 operating hours and tens of millions of boxes handled under its belt, the company built the updated robot to maximize uptime and streamline maintenance. Brian Donnelly, the vice president and general manager of logistics robotics at Boston Dynamics, told  The Robot Report that the company has been working on the new version of Stretch for around two and a half years. “When we made the first generation of Stretch, we were focused on trying to get a product out into the market as fast as possible and really get it in customers’ hands and get it operational,” he said. “It was not the easiest to manufacture; there were a lot of components.” “[With Stretch 2], we really were focused on simplification, h...