What we’re watching next in china
Beijing is building a self-reliant robot stack, not just buying more machines. The latest wave of policy signaling from MIIT and reinforcing coverage in China Daily Technology suggests a deliberate shift: the focus is no longer only on how many robots roll off the line, but on whether the components
Samsung's AI-Driven S26 Debuts in 2026
Samsung kicks off 2026 with an AI-powered Galaxy S26 reveal. The February 25 Unpacked in San Francisco is billed as the start of a new phase where intelligence becomes truly personal and adaptive, according to the company’s teaser language on the invitation. Samsung has locked in a keynote time of 1
Mitsubishi Electric Forges Digital-First Drone Logistics
Drone logistics finally comes with a data backbone. Mitsubishi Electric United States is doubling down on a digital-first approach to air mobility, building software-as-a-service platforms, data-driven tools, and AI-powered systems that bridge the physical and digital worlds. The centerpiece is AnyM
Sony WF-1000XM6 Underwhelms on ANC
Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM6 fall short on ANC and voice quality, revealing a tight market gap nobody can ignore. In hands-on testing summarized by Engadget, the XM6 remains a polished好-sounding earbud but fails to pull away from rivals where it matters most: active noise cancellation and call quality
Toyota Deploys Digit Humanoids in Canada
Three Digit robots just earned a full-time shift at Toyota Canada. Production data shows a year-long pilot at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) validated Digit’s ability to move bins and load/unload totes in a manufacturing-adjacent workflow. After that proof-of-technology phase, the automake
Lab-Tested Robovacs Dominate the Home
Two robot vacuums just won a CNET Lab Award, and your pet hair finally has a challenger. Testing shows that the latest lab-tested lineup didn’t just skim the surface—they cleaned hard floors and carpets with real muscle, and the winners stood out for navigation and obstacle avoidance as much as for
AI & Machine Learning
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Microsoft’s plan to prove what’s real online
Microsoft bets on a digital passport for truth online. A new blueprint from the company aims to separate real from AI-generated deception by standardizing how online content carries verifiable provenance. In a briefing shared with MIT Technology Review, Microsoft’s AI safety researchers outline a pa
Microsoft Unveils Blueprint to Prove What's Real Online
Microsoft just unveiled a blueprint to prove what's real online, a direct response to AI-enabled deception that now drifts through feeds with alarming plausibility. The plan, shared with MIT Technology Review and rooted in the company’s AI safety research, asks: how do we document digital manipulati
Microsoft pushes standards to prove reality online
Microsoft unveiled a blueprint to prove what's real on the web. The plan, circulated to MIT Technology Review, comes from a dedicated AI safety team and targets a problem that has grown fast: AI-enabled deception now hides in plain sight across feeds, videos, and posts. The core idea is not a single
Industrial Robotics
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Swiss Warehouse Goes 100-Robot Exotec Upgrade
A Swiss warehouse just swallowed a hundred Exotec Skypods. Dosenbach-Ochsner, the sportswear and equipment retailer within the Deichmann Group, has turbocharged its Solothurn-based logistics with Exotec’s Skypod system. The Luterbach site now runs a scalable intralogistics network where more than 10
Robots Move into Auto Parts Fulfillment With NAPA
Brightpick and NAPA ink a robot-powered leap in auto parts logistics. Brightpick, the AI-driven warehouse automation company, disclosed a strategic partnership with NAPA, the nationwide distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories, to deploy its robotic solutions across NAPA’s distri
Toyota Canada Deploys Digit Humanoid on Plant Floor
Digit walks in—the factory just got a humanoid coworker. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada has signed a commercial agreement to deploy Agility Robotics’ Digit after a successful pilot, with plans to extend the robot’s duties across manufacturing, supply chain, and logistics tasks. Tim Hollander, pre
Brightpick taps NAPA for auto parts automation
Brightpick's robots head into NAPA's warehouses—CFOs want the payback. Brightpick, a maker of AI-powered robotic automation for warehouses, has struck a strategic pact with NAPA to deploy its systems across the auto-parts distributor’s distribution centers. The partnership signals a clear bet that a
Humanoids
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Soft Robots Learn on the Fly, No Retraining
Soft-robot arms just learned a wide repertoire of tasks and adapt on the fly—without retraining. The MIT-led team behind a neural blueprint for human-like intelligence in soft robots has demonstrated a control approach that lets flexible, compliant arms acquire a broad set of skills in a single lear
Unforgeable IDs on a Chip, No Server Needed
Two chips share a fingerprint and authenticate each other—without storing any secret. MIT engineers have devised a manufacturing trick that turns an on-chip fingerprint into a self-authenticating duo. By splitting a specially designed CMOS chip during fabrication, each half ends up carrying an ident
Toyota Deploys Digit Humanoids at Canadian Plants
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada's largest operation outside Japan is adding Agility Robotics’ Digit to its line, turning a year-long pilot into a formal deployment to move bins and unload totes in the factory. The announcement follows a pilot that used three Digits at TMMC and reached a positive v
Humanoid Demos: Dance Meets Reality
On video, humanoids dance; in the real world, hands tremble. IEEE Spectrum’s Video Friday roundup this week stitches together clips from several players chasing more lifelike motion and autonomous perception. The showpiece is a chorus of demonstrations that suggest humanoids are closing in on “peak
Consumer Tech
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Kindle Paperwhite 2024: Best E-Reader Yet
The best Kindle Paperwhite yet nails the reading experience. In a market crowded with screens and gimmicks, The Verge unearthed a simple truth: the Kindle Paperwhite (2024) remains the strongest all-around choice for most readers. The centerpiece is a seven-inch display with a sharp 300 ppi, describ
Samsung Sets Feb 25 Unpacked for AI-Powered S26
Samsung just set a date for its AI-powered flagship on February 25, 2026. Samsung announced its first Galaxy Unpacked of the year will take place in San Francisco, with a 10 a.m. PT keynote and an online livestream on Samsung.com, the company’s newsroom, and YouTube. The organizers are leaning into
Instagram on Trial: Useful, Not Addictive?
Instagram is on trial, and Zuckerberg swears it’s useful, not addictive. In the latest turn of a high-stakes reckoning over how social apps shape our attention, Meta’s chief executive argued that Instagram’s aim is to be useful rather than engineered to siphon time. The courtroom backdrop, captured
OpenAI's Camera Speaker Signals Hardware Push
OpenAI's first gadget could be a camera-wielding smart speaker, priced between $200 and $300. That device would mix a home camera with a voice assistant, according to reporting tied to The Information and summarized by The Verge. The device is said to be able to recognize items on a nearby table and
China Robotics & AI
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Analysis
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What we’re watching next in other
A wave of AI rules is cresting in Washington. Regulators are turning talk into texture. The Federal Register is lighting up with AI-related notices, signaling a shift from debate to potential mandates, even as other bodies publish guardrails and guidance. Meanwhile, NIST’s latest AI risk-management
Sovereignty Gap in U.S. AI Statecraft
The U.S. is selling sovereignty in AI abroad, promising deployment control through American tech while partners chase independence to curb U.S. policy leverage. Policy analysts say the core tension isn’t about who builds the code, but who can steer it once it’s deployed. In a Lawfare op-ed published
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