Launch Sanctuary AI A San Francisco resident has begun renting a humanoid robot for $30 an hour to clean her apartment, marking an early real-world deployment of teleoperator-controlled domestic robotics. A San Francisco woman hires a humanoid robot for $30 an hour to clean her apartment while controlling it · The Times of India
Launch Critical Point Critical Point's dexterous hand won three gold medals on the opening day of the World Humanoid Robot Games, establishing itself as a leading contender in fine-motor robotics. Opening Day of Dexterous Hand Special Event at World Humanoid Robot Games: Critical Point Wins Three Golds · Gasgoo
Launch Waymo Waymo plans to begin driverless operations in Germany in 2027, expanding beyond the United States and Japan to its third international market. Waymo to launch driverless rides in Germany in 2027, entering third market outside U.S. · CNBC
Launch Waymo · Transport for London Waymo's London robotaxi launch faces delays as Transport for London signals uncertainty over regulatory approval. Launch date for London robotaxis slips amid TfL uncertainty · Financial Times
Launch Michigan Dealership Group · Drone Technology Partners Michigan Dealership Group and Drone Technology Partners launched a state-funded autonomous delivery program to shuttle car parts by air. Michigan Dealership Group and Drone Technology Partners Launch State-Funded Autonomous Parts Delivery Program · PR Newswire
Launch Ford Ford is testing autonomous F-250 trucks equipped to hunt drones for the U.S. Army, marking an expansion of the automaker's military robotics portfolio beyond traditional vehicles. Autonomous, Drone-Hunting Ford F-250s Are Undergoing Tests With the U.S. Army · autoevolution
Launch Neuralink Neuralink's brain-computer interface restored communication and control to an ALS patient, marking the first human implant deployment of the neural technology. How Neuralink brain chip transformed life of ALS sufferer | Katie Pavlich Tonight · NEWS10 ABC
Launch Paradromics · University of Michigan University of Michigan implanted the first human brain-computer interface from Paradromics, a wireless system aimed at restoring communication in patients with paralysis. University of Michigan implants first-in-human Paradromics wireless brain-computer interface, designed to restore communication · Michigan Medicine
Launch China China has completed the world's first commercial brain-computer interface implant, marking a significant milestone in the field of neural technology. Brain-chip milestone: China completes world’s first commercial implant · South China Morning Post
Launch Figure Figure exits stealth with Index, a crowdsourced robot training dataset built by forty-four thousand weekly contributors across a hundred countries, and commits to spending over a billion dollars on data and compute in the next year. Introducing Index: Building The World's Largest and Most Diverse Physical Dataset · Figure
Launch Wisk Aero — Annie Cheng Wisk Aero broke ground on a 100-by-100-foot vertiport at Hollister Municipal Airport to test autonomous aircraft landing systems and feed data to FAA certification efforts. Wisk Breaks Ground on On-Airport Vertiport for Autonomous and Piloted Aircraft at Hollister Municipal Airport · Wisk Aero
Funding Mara Mara, an autonomous drone-interception startup, raised $7 million to develop counter-drone technology for military and security applications. Autonomous drone intercept startup Mara raises $7M to secure the modern battlefield · SiliconANGLE
Funding Airbound Airbound, an Indian logistics-drone startup, raised $37 million to build rocket-shaped aerial vehicles aimed at replacing truck deliveries. India’s Airbound bags $37M to take on trucks with rocket-like drones · TechCrunch
Funding Brain-Device Era Brain-Device Era, a Chinese brain-computer interface company, has closed a seed round worth tens of millions of yuan. Seeds | Brain-Device Era Completes Tens of Millions of Yuan Seed Round · Gasgoo
Research Chinese manufacturer (humanoid robot) A Chinese humanoid robot has broken its own 100-meter sprint record, running faster than Usain Bolt's benchmark time. Chinese humanoid robot that beat Usain Bolt’s 100-meter sprint record does it again, but even faster · NBC News
Research University of Michigan · National Science Foundation · Center for Connected and Automated Transportation University of Michigan researchers accelerated self-driving vehicle training by focusing algorithms on rare near-miss scenarios rather than routine driving data. Near-Miss Data Can Expedite Self-Driving Vehicle Algorithm Training: Study · Carrier Management
Research Texas senators praised early safety data from self-driving vehicles operating on state roads, citing the results as evidence that autonomous testing is proceeding without incident. ‘Quite a success’: Texas senators praise early self-driving vehicle data · KXAN Austin
Research Nvidia · Center for Strategic and International Studies — Tetiana Bubynets, Oleksii Svirin, Roman Karpii Ukrainian investigators recovered readable code from an unencrypted Nvidia AI chip in a Russian Molniya drone that autonomously selected and killed three civilians near a gas station. A Russian drone chose its own target and killed three. The code that told it what to look for was readable · Euromaidan Press
Research A paralyzed man regained tactile sensation through a brain implant that decoded neural signals into feeling. Brain Implant Lets Paralyzed Man Feel Again · NewsForKids.net
Research Ability Neurotech · University Medical Center Utrecht — Rotem Kopel, Shannon Cuthrell Ability Neurotech's brain implant uses infrared light instead of radio waves to stream neural signals, preparing for European clinical trials in paralyzed patients. Brain Implant Uses Infrared Light to Send Neural Signals · IEEE Spectrum