Artificial Intelligence
How Amazon and Walmart Are Rewiring Retail With Robotics
Competition comes best in twos. Think Apple and Microsoft, Coke and Pepsi, McDonald’s and Burger King and many other famous pairings.
It’s because a dose of healthy competition ultimately benefits the end consumer, and nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in the ongoing battle between retail titans Walmart and Amazon.
The two mega retailers have evolved far beyond price wars and delivery speed, although those twin pillars remain key goals, and competition today plays out across artificial intelligence (AI), automation and robotics, and omnichannel ecosystems.
Dexterity partners with Kawasaki to produce robot arms for Mech
Mech is a mobile, two-armed robot built for industrial use with physical AI.
Innovation
robots, AI & humans co-exist at venice architecture biennale 2025
At the Arsenale of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, robots and AI exist for and with humans, a glimpse at everyday life in future cities. These humanoids and robotics at the international exhibition, which runs until November 23rd, display their growing role in reshaping how structures and wearables are designed, built, and used, both on Earth and in space.
They support human exploration and survival out of Earth, form part of construction tasks, and bear systems that allow them to adapt to the environment and collaborate with humans to perform different tasks.
Vulcan Robots: Amazon's Stowing Game-Changer
At an event in Dortmund, Germanytoday, Amazon announced a new robotic system called Vulcan, which the company is calling “its first robotic system with a genuine sense of touch—designed to transform how robots interact with the physical world.”
In the short to medium term, the physical world that Amazon is most concerned with is its warehouses, and Vulcan is designed to assist (or take over, depending on your perspective) with stowing and picking items in its mobile robotic inventory system.
Hyundai Mobis bets on robotics as Atlas mass production looms
Hyundai Mobis, the automotive parts manufacturing arm of Hyundai Motor Group, is poised to develop robotics joints for Atlas, the flagship humanoid robot produced by Boston Dynamics, the automaker’s robotics subsidiary.
China's AI-powered humanoid robots aim to transform manufacturing
In a sprawling warehouse in a Shanghai suburb, dozens of humanoid robots are manoeuvred by their operators to carry out tasks like folding a T-shirt, making a sandwich and opening doors, over and over again.
Operating 17 hours a day, the site's goal is to generate reams of data that its owner, Chinese humanoid startup AgiBot, uses to train robots it hopes will become ubiquitous and change the way humans live, work and play.
Shenzhen-based Huawei, UBTech join forces to bring humanoid robots to factories and homes
The partnership aims to establish smart factories, leveraging Huawei’s strengths in self-developed AI processors
Technology
Walgreens doubles down on robots to fill prescriptions amid turnaround
As struggling drugstore chains work to regain their footing, Walgreens is doubling down on automation.
The company is expanding the number of retail stores served by its micro-fulfillment centers, which use robots to fill thousands of prescriptions for patients who take medications to manage or treat diabetes, high blood pressure and other conditions.
France Wants to Roll Out Robot Army by 2040
With so many startups and defense conglomerates pitching all kinds of buzzy hardware, it's getting pretty difficult to predict what the future of warfare is going to look like.
That isn't stopping countries like France from taking a guess, however. General Bruno Baratz, commander of future combat programs for the French Army, recently announced the country's intent to deploy robot warriors to the front lines as soon as 2028.
Ping pong bot returns shots with high-speed precision
In addition to training future players, the technology could expand the capabilities of other humanoid robots, such as for search and rescue.
Cartwheel Robotics' Social Humanoid for the Home
The main assumption about humanoid robotics that the industry is making right now is that the most realistic near-term pathway to actually making money is in either warehouses or factories. It’s easy to see where this assumption comes from: Repetitive tasks requiring strength or flexibility in well-structured environments is one place where it really seems like robots could thrive, and if you need to make billions of dollars (because somehow that’s how much your company is valued at), it doesn’t appear as though there are a lot of other good options.
Trends
Australia has been hesitant – but could robots soon be delivering your pizza?
While there have been concerns over the safety and legal status of the technology, working models from local startups are showing its benefits