AZoRobotics

According to a new research report from the IoT market research firm Berg Insight, the humanoid robotics industry has entered an early phase of long-term commercial growth. Berg Insight estimates that annual shipments of humanoid robots will grow from 16,000 units in 2026 to 26.0 million units by 2040, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 63.7 percent. During the same period, the global humanoid robotics market value is forecast to increase from US$ 890 million to US$ 554 billion.

Reviewed by Sarah Kelly *Important notice: This news reports on an unedited version of an accepted paper and is awaiting final editing. Therefore, the paper should not be regarded as conclusive or treated as established information. The effects of humanoid robot touch on humans’ mood, distress, self-compassion, attitudes toward and rapport with robots, and linguistic expression have been investigated in a recent study.

A new program from the Adelaide University’s Computer Science Education Research (CSER) Group will upskill teachers in the ways of Artificial Intelligence (AI). CSER, based in the School of Computer Science, has provided open, online professional learning in digital technologies, AI, cybersecurity and mathematics for Australian teachers since 2014. Now, CSER is partnering with the global charity the Raspberry Pi Foundation to bring the Experience AI program to Australia.

Reviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc. Lights-out manufacturing refers to a plant that continues producing even when no one is on the floor. The lights go out because robots, sensors, and software operate everything without any human intervention. In 2026, the term spans a broad spectrum of practice, and that spectrum rewards careful mapping before anyone calls the idea finished.

Reviewed by Sarah Kelly *Important notice: This news reports on an unedited version of an accepted paper and is awaiting final editing. Therefore, the paper should not be regarded as conclusive or treated as established information. Researchers have presented a smart waste management system for the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) Ganesha Campus that combines physical bin sensors with robotic process automation (RPA) to capture contextual data, such as academic calendars, weather, and events.

Reviewed by Sarah Kelly A vision-driven robotic navigation framework combining spatial-frequency perception, dynamic feature selection, and global environment modeling has been introduced in Scientific Reports. Termed SFPathFormer, it targets perception noise, feature redundancy, and weak structural modeling in complex scenes, aiming to improve path safety, obstacle-avoidance success, and planning stability compared to existing methods.

Reviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc. Reading the Muscles Building the Hand Itself Giving the Sensation Back A robotic prosthetic hand replaces a missing hand with a powered mechanism that reads signals from the body and converts them into finger motion. Its commands originate in the muscles of the residual limb, which still produce electrical activity when the user attempts to close, open, or rotate the absent hand.

Reviewed by Sarah Kelly A generative artificial intelligence (AI) model, Evo 2, has been used to design novel bacteriophage genomes to kill Escherichia coli (E. coli) in a proof-of-concept study. The team synthesized and tested nearly 300 AI-generated phages, ultimately identifying 16 that were exceptionally effective. Study: Generative design of bacteriophages with genome language models.

Reviewed by Sarah Kelly *Important notice: This news reports on an unedited version of an accepted paper and is awaiting final editing. Therefore, the paper should not be regarded as conclusive or treated as established information. A two-stage planning method has been developed that enables continuous multi-robot inspection in simulations of underground coal mines.

Reviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc. Mars is, on average, 140 million miles from Earth, making real-time steering commands impossible. For 28 years, human route planners have adapted by working in careful cycles. Latency significantly influences mission design. Perseverance receives instructions every 1 to 3 days, requiring additional planning sols, with driving limited to nearly 3 hours per sol. Each hour of waiting translates to lost scientific opportunities.