ABB Robotics and NVIDIA said they are integrating Omniverse libraries into RobotStudio and plan to ship RobotStudio HyperReality in the second half of 2026. They claim 99% sim-to-real correlation and say the platform can cut engineering time, reduce deployment cost, and speed factory rollout.
At MWC 2026, HONOR debuted its long-teased Robot Phone featuring a 200MP camera on a 4-DoF gimbal that physically nods and reacts to gestures, alongside a choreography-demonstrating humanoid robot.
Huawei spinoff Honor has unveiled its first humanoid robot, demonstrated with a 'feet slide' moonwalk dance performance. The launch signals Honor's entry into the growing Chinese humanoid robotics race.
Alphabet's robotics software company Intrinsic moved from 'Other Bets' into Google proper on February 25, gaining direct access to Gemini models, Google Cloud, and DeepMind research. The strategy mirrors Android: one platform running across FANUC, KUKA, and Universal Robots hardware.
BMW Group announced on Feb 27 it will deploy Hexagon Robotics' AEON humanoid at its Leipzig, Germany plant—the first Physical AI deployment in European automotive production. The robot targets high-voltage battery assembly, with a full pilot launching summer 2026.
China's Agibot and Unitree dominate early humanoid robotics, shipping the vast majority of 2025's 13,317 global units. Faster model cycles, lower costs, and EV-derived supply chains give Chinese firms a structural edge over US rivals like Tesla Optimus.
Chinese smartphone maker Honor unveiled its first consumer humanoid robot and a motorized camera Robot Phone at MWC 2026 in Barcelona, backed by a $10 billion AI investment as part of its ALPHA PLAN initiative.
Google pulled Alphabet's Intrinsic robotics software from Other Bets into the main company, pairing it with Gemini AI and DeepMind to create a common software platform for industrial robots.
At CES on January 5, 2026, NVIDIA introduced new AI foundation models under Cosmos and launched DGX Spark and DGX Station. The announcement links synthetic world modeling for robotics with desktop-to-datacenter AI compute.
On 2026-02-25, Google announced that Intrinsic is joining Google, and Intrinsic said it will operate as a distinct group inside Google. The companies positioned the move as a way to combine Intrinsic robotics software with Gemini models, Google Cloud, and close work with Google DeepMind for faster industrial deployment.
Google DeepMind has opened applications for a Europe-focused robotics accelerator. The three-month program combines technical mentorship, product support, and potential cloud credits up to $350k for eligible startups.
A new MIT Technology Review investigation reveals that humanoid robot companies routinely obscure the scale of human teleoperation and data collection labor behind their demos, risking a repeat of AI's early automation-washing scandals.