Robotics leaders address US government, UC Davis opens research facility on raptors and robots
Pi releases multi-scale embodied memory, Manipulation Net benchmarks dexterity
UC Davis opens research facility on raptors and robots
Leveraging UC Davis’ historic strengths in veterinary medicine and engineering, the Center for Animal Flight and Innovation is the only facility of its kind in the United States and one of very few in the world capable of capturing images of birds in flight in exquisite detail. It will use state-of-the-art technology to get new insights into how birds — specifically, hawks and other raptors — maneuver in the air.
Some raptors are among the fastest birds in flight; many have a great ability to maneuver in tight spaces or around obstacles to track and seize prey. Understanding how the birds perform these feats could lead to improvements in uncrewed aerial vehicles, also known as UAVs or drones, as well as in understanding how to treat and rehabilitate injured birds.
The Center for Animal Flight and Innovation was hatched from a collaboration between Christina Harvey, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and Professor Michelle Hawkins at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill School of Veterinary Medicine and the California Raptor Center. A grant from U.S. Army Combat Capability Development Command Army Research Laboratory equipped the center with cutting-edge technology to capture detailed images of birds in flight to advance UAV research. Read more here
Christoph Schell on Robotics 2.0: Ai, India and the new global factory
00:00 - KUKA’s CEO on the changing face of robotics
01:10 - The evolving robotics and automation picture
05:42 - Globalisation and robotics
07:33 - KUKA in the US
11:07 - KUKA’s China opportunity
14:19 - Europe’s competitiveness in the robotics age
15:55 - The changing face of employment in the robotics age
Eric Schmidt says “The AI future will be physical.”
Today in TIME, Selina Xu and I outline how we’re heading into a new chapter of embodied intelligence.
Imagine streets filled with robotaxis and delivery robots. Imagine general-purpose humanoids becoming as ubiquitous as smartphones, doing household chores, taking care of our parents, and taking over tasks that humans don’t want. Imagine 24/7, fully automated “dark factories” producing more robots without human workers. And imagine nations commanding drone swarms and robot dog packs capable of making decisions and executing missions without human intervention.
We are on the cusp of this future—and much of it is currently driven by China.
While American frontier labs are battling each other across large language model leaderboards, China’s AI capabilities are showing up in physical ways—leaving screens and entering our daily lives. We’ve lived through over a decade of “software eating the world.” Now, metal and mathematics have converged: hardware is eating the world.
Read the full op-ed here:
Lior Susan on “The Industrial Moment”
For a decade, the most celebrated companies in tech made things you couldn't touch. Software. Ads. Feeds. The returns were great. The products were weightless.
Meanwhile, the stuff that actually holds civilization together — chips, engines, medicines, energy, ships — got offshored, hollowed out, forgotten. We called it efficiency. We called it globalization.
It wasn't progress. It was a bet that the world would stay stable and someone else would always make the hard stuff for us.
That bet is over. Read more here.
Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?
Many companies are reaching out about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.
Would you be interested in having a company table at next Bots, Bevs & Devs or at the Robotics Career Fair on March 24? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!
He built the ultimate test for humanoid robots, and they beat it in months - Scientific American
Physical Intelligence releases MEM (Multi-scale Embodied Memory)
We've been able to teach robots individual skills for a while now — wash the pan, fold the shirt, flip the sandwich. The harder problem has always been: can a robot do a job?
At Physical Intelligence we just released MEM (Multi-scale Embodied Memory), our approach to giving robots genuine long-horizon task capability. The core insight: real-world tasks require two fundamentally different types of memory operating simultaneously. Read more here via Adnan Esmail
‘Whether robots can learn useful manipulation tasks’
I’m very concerned about widespread claims that humanoid robots will “soon” replace human workers. Significant advances are being made, but robots have nowhere near the dexterity of kitchen workers, car mechanics or construction workers.
There is a vast gap between the amount of data available for training large language models such as ChatGPT and the amount of data available to train robots. Researchers around the world, including my own lab, are working on this, and I’m watching for breakthroughs in how to close this data gap.
— Ken Goldberg, professor of engineering
ManipulationNet
A global group of robotics researchers has introduced ManipulationNet, a new infrastructure designed to measure how well robots can manipulate objects in the real world. The effort aims to solve one of the most persistent problems in robotics: the lack of a common benchmark for dexterous manipulation.
The research team includes scientists from institutions such as Rice University, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, and ASTM International, among others. Their work introduces a shared testing platform where robots can be evaluated on standardized real-world tasks.
Read More at Aaron Prather’s Six Degrees of Robotics
Humanoid Robots vs. Specialized Automation: A Lesson from the Origins of Kiva
via Matthew Wicks
I recently watched a video of collaborative robots and automated machinery assembling sandwiches. Multiple robots. Purpose-built equipment. Conveyors and pick systems.
The line produced sandwiches with impressive speed and consistency. And it made perfect sense… if you’re making thousands of sandwiches.
Automation thrives in environments like this. When tasks are repeatable, inputs are predictable, and demand is high, specialized equipment can be engineered to deliver exceptional throughput, reliability, and efficiency.
But watching that video also made me think about something we’re hearing more and more about lately: Humanoid robots.
A humanoid robot could absolutely make a sandwich. In fact, it could probably make many different kinds of sandwiches, just like a person. But should it? Read more here
Jeff Gee on Tally achieving full UL 3300 certification
UL 3300 independently validates product-level safety for real-world retail deployment, evaluating the robot and its charging dock as a complete system operating around the public.
Alongside our SOC 2 Type II and ISO/IEC 27001 certifications, this milestone reinforces a simple belief: when robots operate in everyday life, trust must extend both physically and digitally. Read more here
“Less Hype, More Help: AI That Improves Safety, Productivity, and Care”
Damion Shelton, Co-founder and Chairman at Agility Robotics addressed the Senate Subcommittee on Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness on 3/3. Read the full Statement here
The global stage for startup founders
Enter with your 3-minute pitch to win a $1,000,000 investment for your startup. The Pitch is a global tournament built to reward the world’s best founders.
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Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database
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If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!
Robotics News
Robot Bees Can Pollinate Crops - Offrange
Compostable soft robots for plant monitoring - Nature
Robots with fingernails can grasp thin edges - ScienceNews
SkyMul is revolutionizing remote concrete work with drone technology - Equipment Journal
Home-building robots could help fix the housing crisis - CNN
‘It’s not just all the big companies’: Warehouse robotics use expands - SupplyChainDive
LG Group Affiliates Build Physical AI Ecosystem - The Chosun Daily
Texas Instruments accelerates the next generation of physical AI with NVIDIA - TI
Qualcomm CEO sees robotics as a ‘larger opportunity’ within 2 years - CNBC
Lenovo Leads Push at MWC to Humanize AI With Friendly Robots - Bloomberg
A closer look at Honor’s Robot Phone - Engadget
Xiaomi trails humanoid robots in its EV factory - says they’re like ‘interns’ - CNBC
Over 300 Humanoid Robot Models Released in China in 2025, Accounting for Over Half of Global Total - Gasgoo
China prioritizes rare earths, robotics in manufacturing agenda - Bloomberg
What’s Missing in Robotics Investment Discussions - Forbes
Amazon cuts jobs in strategically important robotics division - Business Insider
California politics could cause a reversal on autonomous trucks - Politico
Armed robots take to the battlefield in Ukraine war - BBC
Pentagon’s chief tech officer says he clashed with AI company Anthropic over autonomous warfare - Newsday
DeepMirror Integrates OpenClaw With Robots to Bridge AI’s “Reasoning-to-Action” Gap - Street Insider
Send me your 2026 progresss, plans and posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups.
Robotics Events
Bots, Bevs & Devs at Foxglove SF
March 11 from 6pm to 8.30pm
ROS by the Bay - GTC edition - with SVR at Circuit Launch
March 18 from 6pm to 8.30pm
Nvidia GTC - San Jose - March 15-19 - use GTC26INCP for 25% discount
Bay Area Material Handling & Robotics Expo, Career Fair and Reception at Cavalla Industries in SF
March 24 from 5pm to 9pm
RSVP on Eventbrite (or Luma) to attend the event
RSVP on Eventbrite to reserve a demo or recruitment table or short talk spot
Bots, Bevs & Devs at SVCTE in San Jose
April 1 from 6pm to 8.30pm
Details still tbc but see them first on the SVR Luma Calendar
SVR Leaders Circle in SF
April 6 - by invitation only
If you are CEO, CTO, Founder, Chief Scientist or Senior Researcher in a robotics company this is our peer networking event for robotics leaders. Save the date!
IEEE Hard Tech Venture Summit and Robotics Manufacturing Workshop at SRI International - April 16-17 - use “Csvrobo” for $90 discount - plus early bird rates end on March 13
AMBayArea Summit 2026 (from the Association of Manufacturers Bay Area) - Chabot Space & Science Center - April 21
Keynote Speaker Andra Keay on Humanoids, Humans, and the Workforce
Revolution No One Is Talking About
Robotics Invest - Boston - May 26-27
ICRA 2026 - Vienna, Austria - Jun 01 - Jun 05
Automate
Deep Tech Week - SF - Jun 21 - Jun 25
Robotics: Science and Systems - Sydney, Australia - Jul 13 - Jul 16
IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1
IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9
The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.
Join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org
