robots

Last year, almost no robots finished the Beijing half marathon. This year one has broken the human world record by seven minutes

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The half marathon world record is held by Jacob Kiplimo with a time of 57:20 achieved just a month ago in Lisbon. This Sunday a humanoid robot called Lightning ran that distance in 50:26achieving for the first time a milestone that had never been achieved. Robots seemed clumsy and unable to outrun humans, but that is no longer true. And it’s just the beginning. Robots are already faster than humans. In the half marathon held on Sunday, April 19, 2026 in Beijing, the absolute dominators were the humanoid robots. Lightning not only broke the human world record by almost seven minutes: he managed to arrive 17 minutes before the first human runner to cross the finish line. The first three classified They were also Lightning models developed by Honor. From disaster to excellence. The first edition of this same event, the Beijing E-Town Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon, It was an absolute disaster for humanoid robots. Only a third of those who ran it managed to finish the race, they were controlled remotely and ran at a pace much lower than that of human runners. This year things were very different: more than 100 robots were presented and most finished the test, but also almost half ran autonomously and several managed to surpass even the best human runners in the world. This is Lightning. The winning robot measures 169 centimeters, weighs 45 kg and was specifically designed to adapt to complex terrain and move at high speed. Its legs measure about 95 cm and its proportions are designed to imitate the stride of elite human runners. It has a liquid cooling system which curiously has been adapted from the one found on Honor smartphones. Du Xiaodi, engineer in charge of this project at Honor, explained that “Running faster may not seem significant at first glance, but it allows technological transfer, for example in structural reliability and cooling, and eventually in industrial applications“. Not everything went well. The race, however, also had moments in which the robots failed. One of them collided with a nearby vehicle although he managed to stabilize himself and continue walking. The H1 model from Unitree, the most famous humanoid robot manufacturer in China, collapsed as it approached the finish line and had to be removed from the road. One of the Lightning models hit a barrier after crossing the finish line, and some other robots they had difficulties with the curves and unevenness of the route. The event also served as a test bed for batteries, joints, motors and algorithms that control these machines. Industrial applications. Xiaodi mentioned it but also Liu Xiangquan, professor of robotics at the University of Science and Information in Beijing. According to him, these long-distance races allow the resistance and behavior of these robots to be evaluated, something essential for their application in industrial environments. Here not only speed is evaluated, but also the aforementioned resistance, stability or the capacity for autonomous navigation in uncontrolled environments. But a key component is missing. Although the demonstration and milestone is fascinating, what this field needs most is other things. For example, advance manual dexterityperceive the real environment in unforeseen situations and be able to perform varied tasks and not focus so much on repetitive movements. Industrial robots are already good at that, but here we are looking for much more versatility because at the moment these robots They are not able to fold clothes or put the plates and cutlery in the dishwasher with sufficient speed and dexterity. China continues to set the robotic pace. The Asian country has completely devoted itself to the world of robotics. Dominate this segment and its companies They manufacture 80% of global production. In recent months we have seen spectacular demonstrations such as the one Unitree carried out with a dozen humanoid robots at a martial arts show. Sunday’s half marathon is one more element of that narrative and that message that China is leaving to the world: robots are our thing. And in a year, what? Breaking the world record is very striking, but this event tells another story: that of how in just one year Chinese manufacturers have managed to improve their models in an amazing way. If everything continues to improve at this rate, it is difficult to predict what the robots that run the next marathon will be capable of, but it seems logical to think that at this point the athletic ability of robots will be absolutely amazing. Image | CGTN In Xataka | In China they are not satisfied with creating advanced robots: a company has developed a head that gestures like a human

China and the US have focused on the race for humanoid robots. Now China is clear about which ones make money: dogs

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It is difficult to talk about all the open fronts that China and the United States have. The technological war covers everything and, if there is a race for artificial intelligencethere is one just as fierce in the field of robotics. The two powers are focusing on the humanoid robots to put them in factories or in customer service, but the market is talking and it turns out that they prefer dogs. Robot dogs, specifically. In short. Right now, China is the summit of robotics. Not only because of how advanced their robots are, but because they are already putting them to work. work in factories, stores either museums. They are not theory, they are practice due to government support and, above all, because the components to make a robot are manufactured… in China. This advantage is something that no other country has and that is essential (let them tell the eTSMC’s 60 minutes strategy in Taiwan). There is multitude of robotics startups and, although the humanoids are the most striking, the robodogs are the ones that make money. In an article by SCMP They explain how quadruped robots are preferred by robotics companies because they are becoming business drivers. AgiBot is one of those companies, and has just expanded its robot portfolio with the creation of a subsidiary -AgiQuad- focused exclusively on quadruped models. Their justification is that they consider that it is what is going to boost the robotics business and they do not want their robodog to live “in the shadow of a humanoid robot.” That is, instead of launching under the same brand a humanoid robot and a quadruped one and that customers have to choose (and compare), they prefer to ensure that each branch of the business operates a different type of robot. Projection. AguQuad plans to become a 500 million yuan (about $73 million) business by this year, scaling to 10 billion yuan by 2030 with 300,000 annual robot shipments. At the moment, they say that they have everything sold and that they continue producing units because they are completely out of stock in the warehouse. And they are not the only ones. Other companies like Amap or the giant Alibaba They want to get into this robot fight to stand up to Unitreebut in the field of four-legged robots. Speaking of the dancing queen, it is estimated that Unitree’s quadruped robot division generated 490 million yuan in revenue in the first three months of 2025 alone. That is, in just three months, it generated as much as what AgiQuad expects to generate this year. Already Deep Robotics He is also doing well in this field. Deployment. According to IDC analyses, the quadruped robot market generated $180 million in 2024 and is expected to generate $700 million this year. The estimate is that the segment will reach 50,000 million yuan, about 7,329 million dollars. And the question is… where are these robots going? Many go to exhibitions and fairs in which the robotic muscle of Chinese startups is shown, but there are others that are already operating on the ground. China wants ‘civilian’ quadruped robots, like assistance for blind peoplebut there is also deploying units among firefighters and, as we said a few days ago, within the Chinese army with support, reconnaissance and attack units. The race doesn’t stop. This scenario makes sense if we take into account several details. The first is the most practical: quadruped robots have years of analysis behind them and have already proven to be very useful in various scenarios. the chinese army He’s not the only one who has them. and, for example, in the United States they are beginning to be deployed in data center surveillance tasks. And the second reason is because those years of research and development have led to them becoming increasingly cheaper to produce, allowing their manufacturing to scale and leaving more margins for manufacturers. Prices are also falling and it is easier for different actors to integrate them into their workforce. Precisely for this reason, quadruped robots can be a viable commercial product for those same companies that continue to push the development and commercialization of humanoid robots. The Unitree itself that we talked about before just started to sell its R1 model through AliExpress with a planned launch for the United States, Japan or the United Arab Emirates. Price? $8,200, but you start somewhere. In Xataka | China will bring together more than 300 humanoid robots in a half marathon. The goal goes beyond running

China will bring together more than 300 humanoid robots in a half marathon. The goal goes beyond running

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Seeing more than 300 humanoid robots preparing to run a half marathon in Beijing has something of a futuristic image, yes, but also quite a declaration of intentions. The appointment, scheduled for April 19 within the framework of The Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon in 2026 is not presented as a simple flashy exhibition, but as an event in which China will bring together dozens of brands, teams and systems to test them before the public. What we have before us is not just a race: it is another way of showing us to what extent humanoid robotics has become an area that the country wants to take very seriously. New edition. Last year, Beijing had already held a half marathon of humanoid robotsbut now the leap is evident: preparation has mobilized dozens of teams and has forced the organization of large-scale night tests to check that everything works on the ground. Xinhua reported that more than 70 teams participated in the last comprehensive test held between the night of April 11 and the early hours of the 12th. More than resistance. The interesting thing about this appointment is not only in seeing which robot can withstand the distance better, but in observing how it travels it. Both autonomous navigation and remote control equipment participated in the previous tests, which will allow different technical architectures to be shown. That nuance matters a lot, because it shifts the focus from the simple spectacular image to something more useful for reading the moment of humanoid robotics in China. What is at stake is not only completing the journey, but also checking what degree of autonomy and what type of control can be sustained in an open environment. The names of this edition. If there are robots that help to better read the level of this appointment, those are the ones that arrive with clearer objectives and a more recognizable profile. The Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center has confirmed the participation of Tiangong Ultra and Tiangong 3.0, with three units of the former competing completely autonomously, without human navigators or external guidance signals. Unitree has also confirmed the return of the H1, in a version adapted for long distances. Added to this is the presence of Lightning and Yuqi Boy, the two models with which Honor enters this race. What China wants to teach. This race can also be read in a much broader way. It is not only about seeing dozens of humanoid robots facing a half marathon, but also about interpreting the message that China projects with that image. Humanoid robotics has become one of the areas in which the country wants to make its position clear.. And few formulas are as effective to do so as taking that bet out of the laboratory, turning it into a public event and showing it on a stage capable of attracting attention inside and outside its borders. Images | Beijing Government In Xataka | Anthropic was the “don’t be evil” of AI for developers. Now he’s squeezing them all

Mova Rover X10, the “what do you want me to beat you” of pool robots

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Mova has just landed in Spain con a lot of devices. One of them is the Mova Rover X10, a pool cleaning robot that costs more than 2,000 euros, but that is a lot more than just a ‘Roomba’ for the pool: It is a cleaning submarine. Last year we already analyzed the Dreame Z1 Pro (Mova’s sister company) and although it made my life much easier with pool maintenance, there were things that could be improved to make the experience better, such as the control system and charging. And here comes Mova with the “what do you want me to beat you” of pool cleaning robots. Let’s go with the main features and get into detail. Mova Rover X10 technical sheet Mova rover x10 Dimensions and weight 540 x 460 x 320mm 15.8kg Mapping and navigation 29 sensors Surface and wall mapping Real time control Obstacle Avoidance Dynamic Suction power Maximum of 38,000 L/h Cleaning surface Up to 500 m2 Brush type Two central rollers Two side rollers Filter 3 micron particles 5 liter capacity Control With mobile Battery 6 hours of floor cleaning 12 hours of surface cleaning 6.5 hours of charge Wireless charging Price 2,099 euros Design with multiple brushes There is not much room for innovation when it comes to pool cleaning robots. It’s like the robot vacuum cleaner: There is an almost standardized design because it is ideal for attaching brushes, moles, navigation system and tank. In the case of a pool robot, the same thing happens, although with some extra elements such as the propulsion system. However, Mova has gone all out and he thought that two central brushes for the background were not enough and he attached two smaller ones to the sides. With them you make a first pass by scratching the wall, but they have another function that we will get into later. Something fundamental in a robot vacuum cleaner is the navigation system. The more complete it is, the fewer passes it makes over the surface and the more efficient it is in cleaning. Mova calls theirs ‘360-degree AquaScan’, but basically it is a front sensor, one top and one side to know at all times both the distance from the walls and if there are any obstacles. In the upper backpack we have the reusable filter and Mova ensures that a load of its 15,000 mAh battery It allows six hours of floor cleaning, being compatible with fiberglass, tile, concrete, marble, stainless steel, ceramic and PVC pools. Submarine So far, a “conventional” robot vacuum cleaner. However, there are three features that are really crazy and that we can’t wait to try. One is the propulsion system. The pool cleaner robot has jet propulsion, as this is what allows it to both move forward and stick to the surface and walls. However, the Mova adds another four propellers at the base. So that? To make a ‘jump’ and go up to another platform. Instead of going up, moving close to the wall, he directly pushes himself off. That’s it, an underwater ‘rover’ that solves a problem that some of the competition has: underwater navigation. Other robots have an app that allows very intuitive control and mapping, but once they are submerged, the connection is lost. Some have a knob for basic control, but depending on the water conditions, it may go… or not. What the Rover X10 includes is a beacon. It is connected by WiFi and allows us to have constant communication with the robot. If we want to pause work or change the plan, we simply do it from the app without having to go to the edge of the pool to try to get the remote control right. It also, obviously, allows us to see the work in real time. Surface vacuum cleaner And those two side brushes that we mentioned before are the last trick of this model. Because It is not just a pool cleaner robot, but a surface cleaner. It has a front nozzle that works like a home robot vacuum cleaner: it sucks up dirt thanks to both its advance and what the side brushes attract. According to the manufacturer, it has 12 hours of autonomy in this mode. To charge it, instead of by cable, we have an IPX8 certified base for wireless charging. Mova Rober X10, price and availability Given the characteristics of the Mova Rover X10, it’s time to talk about the price. And as you’d expect, packaging all this technology doesn’t come cheap. The device can now be purchased for 2,099 euros on your website. In the end and as happens with other similar ones such as lawnmower robotsit all depends on the desire you have to automate unpleasant tasks that are not usually pleasant. In Xataka | 3D printing has three big problems. Mova has solved them in a very curious way: with a nozzle roulette

the “wolf pack” robots with all kinds of autonomous weaponry

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China has turned robotics into a state issue. In the last five-year plan, the country made clear its total commitment to autonomous robots, agentic AIthe development of your semiconductor industry and 6G as the great ‘cloud’ to give life to Physical AI. Within the technological commitment, we already knew that robot dogs were of great importance. What we didn’t expect is that they already had packs of robodogs ready to go into action. And all this under a brain that makes them work like a swarm. Robowolves. The Asian giant has been performing simulations with these robot dogs armed. The advantage of these units is that the base is the same for all, but they can be customized so that they carry whatever is needed: from weapons to sensors of all kinds. Each one weighs about 70 kilos and can carry another 25 kilos, so the versatility when it comes to having ‘extras’ for attack, reconnaissance, transportation and supplies is maximum. And they can be operated remotely by humans, but the key to the Chinese system presented by the state channel CCTV (as stated SCMP) is that they can also be under the control of a central AI. Herd. We have already mentioned that one of China’s objectives is physical AI, AI being the software that controls – the brain – and the robot the hardware that has contact with the real world -the dog-. Within a show of force, television highlights operations such as “urban cleanup” in which a pack of ‘wolves’ operates through a shared detection network that acts as a collective brain. It is an autonomous mode and decision-making is joint within the group. As in a pack of flesh and blood wolves, each one has different roles. And they have names. ‘Shadow’ is the recognition, giving information about the situation to the rest of the group. ‘Polar’ is the one that offers logistical support and ‘Bloody’, as its name suggests, is the one that can carry weapons such as grenade launchers, missile launchers and automatic rifles. What’s scarier is that the group can automatically maneuver into tactical formations thanks to that swarm control system to surround targets, block them, and ultimately open fire. One of those responsible for researching the Atlas weapons system in China pointed out that these drones “understand” the intentions of others and can execute collaborative actions even in the absence of communication signals with the command. Utility? Operate in situations where satellite signals are not available. An example of one of the ‘Polar’ Limitations. Although it may seem like science fiction – and it is – these units are not perfect. The army itself has revealed on occasion that robodogs lack armor, so they are easily shot down even with light fire. They have recognized that the idea is no longer to achieve perfection, but to advance in the demonstration that they can replace human troops with robots, minimizing casualties in the event of open conflict. There is also something more underlying: as in a pack, the strength is not in the individual, but in operating together as CCTV claims these swarms of robots can do. And another limitation (and thank goodness) is that, although robots are capable of identifying and focusing on targets autonomously, they cannot attack without human confirmation. And a ‘Bloody’ show of strength. The reports shared by CCTV indicate that the algorithms of this system allow collaborative tasks to be carried out between different types of weapons. For example, coordinating attacks between ground and aerial drones, but also guiding laser weapons. One case is an algorithm that allows robots to prioritize targets, such as neutralizing the most threatening ones first, leaving less important targets aside. And Zhang Wei, a researcher at the China Electronics Technology Group corporation, pointed out that the goal is to achieve robots with “full autonomy on a large scale”, a scenario in which many different drones operate collaboratively without human intervention, achieving objectives and making decisions in complex missions autonomously. Total commitment to robotics. As always, you have to take anything that comes from any government with a grain of salt when talking about this type of thing, since (and even more so now) propaganda is super important. However, it is undeniable that China is betting heavily on the development of robotics and that these robowolves are not a render like the ‘space destroyer’ that they showed a few weeks ago. They are already carrying out simulated missions and we have seen them in other scenarios, such as in the daily life of different firefighting units. helping carry out reconnaissance missions and firefighting. And, deep down, I can’t get out of my head how cool these things were when we saw them in the movies and how scary it is when they seem to be one step away from becoming a reality. Image | CCTV/China In Xataka | China has asked Russia for an airborne battalion and training. That can only mean one thing: they are preparing a landing

Amazon was already using robots like crazy. Now you have a 42-inch humanoid robot that dances and picks up toys from the floor

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Amazon has been using robots in its logistics centers for years, but although these robots have demonstrated a brutal automation capacity for certain processes, they were “limited” to moving boxes and managing orders. Last week this technology giant took another step in this area: acquired the company Fauna Roboticsa New York startup developing a humanoid home robot called Sprout. Now the question is: what will Amazon do with it? Hello, Sprout.. The Fauna robot has a very different profile from the industrial robots that until now dominated Amazon’s logistics centers. It is not designed for factories, but for living rooms and kitchens. The startup describes it as a housework assistant. If the children don’t clean up the room, he will do it. Sprout is able to pick up toys from the floor, bring food from the pantry, and interact with children and pets. It works when you call it by name, it recognizes faces, it creates a memory over time and it has an interchangeable battery with an autonomy of about three hours. Its current price: $50,000, and its “heart” is NVIDIA’s Jetson Orin robotics platform. From Astro to Sprout. In September 2021, Amazon presented AStro, a home robot that I wanted to be more than just an Alexa on wheels. That model hardly caught on and in fact raised certain suspicions about the threat posed to privacy. The difference with Sprout is that this robot has limbs and instead of “rolling” it walks. It also has social interaction capabilities that Astro did not have. Alexa+, candidate to be part of Sprout. Amazon has been trying to boost its ecosystem with AI solutions for a long time, and its latest attempt is Alexa+an intelligent assistant whose deployment is being especially gradual. Months after its launch, it is still available on a limited basis in some company products such as your Echo speakers or your Echo Show smart displays. The question is whether this new assistant will be an integral part of Sprout. An increasingly lively race. The acquisition of Fauna makes Amazon the latest major protagonist in a race in which more and more large technology companies are involved. Tesla has Optimus, for example, while others like Figure AI or Boston Dynamics are aiming high. Apple, Meta and Google have expressed interest in this field, although none have presented specific projects and they are all rumors. A decade ago everyone wanted to have smart speakers. Now everyone wants to have humanoid robots, but there is a problem. China. Although Western companies are advancing, those that are clearly leading the way in this market are Chinese humanoid robots. The Asian giant manufactures 90% of the world’s humanoid robotsand the spectacular demonstrations that we have seen in recent months seem make clear that their progress is really promising. Unknowns. At the moment Amazon does not seem to be clear about the marketing of these robots. Fauna will maintain its name and apparently some independence. Its 50 employees will join Amazon, but Amazon will not use Sprout for its logistics operations and has not confirmed whether it will be sold to end users. It seems more of a bet on the technology of Fauna and his team, and a more defensive move. If humanoid robots end up taking off, Amazon has a good starting point here. Image | Wildlife Robotics In Xataka | We have been living with robots for years that beat us at chess. Now we have robots that beat us at tennis

that humanoid robots controlled by a central AI work

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Samsung has planted itself in the MWC 2026 with one objective: to demonstrate that it is a ubiquitous company. What does this imply? Well, let them gain muscle with your screens everywherebut also show a powerful commitment to artificial intelligence in all links of the chain: from mobile phones to Samsung Galaxy S26 to the factories. And as a result of that intention for AI to be the pilot of everything, they have shown a science fiction plan: that robots and a central AI control their factories. And they want it the day after tomorrow. Independent. He concept of “agent AI” It’s one that we’re going to have to become familiar with because companies are going to put a lot of effort – and money – into this. It is an AI that no longer only responds to what we need, but can carry out actions autonomously. In a releaseSamsung assures that that agent principle that has been introduced in the Galaxy S26 It will be what dictates the future of its factories. The South Korean company wants these artificial intelligence agents to be the ones that “optimize workflows in production, predictive maintenance, repair operations and logistics coordination” in its factories, but an AI cannot execute things outside of the software. Need a physical interfaceand that’s where the other leg of the plan comes into play. Robots. They are the body of the brain and something that many companies are already exploring. A few months ago I traveled to China and came across the first store run by a robot. It is very simple and I described it as a “glorified vending machine”, but it meets the objective of these companies: to have spaces in which robots take care of everything. They don’t rest, they don’t have agreements and they don’t complain. And if companies like BMW either Xiaomi is already testing robots in its factories, Samsung does not want to be left behind. In the statement, the South Korean company states that they are already progressively introducing highly specialized humanoid robots for various tasks. For example, robots for facility management operations, others for the next steps of the production line, others in logistics, others for the transportation of materials, and precision robots for manufacturing. They point out that they are ideal in environments where human access is limited or dangerous and they are clear that it is something that will grow, with other robots dedicated to monitoring plant conditions, identifying risks and mitigating them before they occur. Total bet. In the end, it is about fully integrating AI across the entire manufacturing value chain: from logistics to production; from quality inspection to final shipment. They are designing a “next-generation autonomous production environment,” and they want to have it soon. The plan is that by 2030, “all manufacturing operations” will have completed the transition to this agentic and robotic AI. They are already at it, as we say, adding robots to production chains, but Samsung’s Executive Vice President and Head of Global Technology Research points out that the next phase is the “construction of autonomous environments where AI understands contexts in real time and executes optimal decisions.” NVIDIA. It sounds like science fiction, especially because of the deadlines they have, but they will not be alone in this adventure. Who is going to be by your side? Indeed: NVIDIA. At the end of last year, both they signed an agreement collaboration that includes the deployment of more than 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs and the use of the platform Omniverse to carry out the infrastructure of digital twins in semiconductor manufacturing. This is key to achieving that goal that Samsung seeks and as important as the AI reasoning systems in real time for robots. And for this they are also using the Jetson Thor platform from Jensen Huang’s company. Alternative to TSMC. That is the goal that Samsung wants to reach. Because right now they are one of the largest factories in the world (they have their Exynos processorsbut also its camera sensors that are in various devices, as well as its division of memory that powers NVIDIA GPUs), but what they want is to become an alternative to the undisputed queen: TSMC. To do this, Samsung is moving, opening factories in several countries around the world and investing enormous sums of money to be one of the legs of the business in the United States which also pursues this agentic AI and the end with haste and a good wad of cash: general AI. There are four years left to see if this objective, which seems like science fiction, is met. Images | Samsung, Xiaomi In Xataka | I have seen the result of a crazy night between a mobile phone and a robot: the Honor Robot Phone dances to your music as well as takes photos of you

The big problem with putting robots everywhere is that they get lost. An engineer from Elche believes she has the solution

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It is no surprise that we see more and more robots in our daily lives: in a restaurant bringing orders to the table, in the field as a seasonal workermaking him courier delivery competition…and that’s not to mention its applications in automation on an industrial scale. Robots don’t need to rest, they don’t have labor rights, and they don’t complain. But they get lost. And that is a real, very common problem for which a research team from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche has found solution. The context. Autonomous robots need to know where they are to function and that does not always happen: when the location reference is lost, either because someone moves it, it is turned off or the environment changes without warning, the robot is unable to recover its position. Something as normal as running out of battery can be a technical drama. This phenomenon is not something isolated, in fact it even has a name in robotics: the “kidnapped robot problem“. Although we see more and more robots everywhere, this incident is a pending issue that has not been resolved in a robust way for decades. Without going any further, because resorting to GPS is something that can fail in settings such as indoors or near tall buildings. As deepens Míriam Máximolead author of the article: “It is a classic problem and very difficult to solve, especially in large environments.” The solution. What the team from the University of Elche has implemented is MCL-DLF, the acronym for Monte Carlo Localization – Deep Local Feature, a system that combines two technologies: on the one hand, a 3D LiDAR that emits laser pulses to draw a three-dimensional map of the environment similar to that of robot vacuum cleaners. On the other hand, an artificial intelligence that learns which elements of the environment are most useful for orientation. Why is it important. Because having a reliable location system is essential for any robotic deployment in real life: autonomous vehicles, delivery and logistics, assistance… its presence may be increasingly common, but it is still tremendously dependent on supervision: knowing where it is is essential for it to operate safely. The implemented method also introduces an important change: it is independent, in that it does not require external infrastructure to function like GPS, so its base is more robust and versatile in the face of different use scenarios in the real world. How it works. Its approach is hierarchical, so it first recognizes large structures and then fine details, similar to how people do. When you arrive at an unknown place, first you keep the essentials: what neighborhood you are in, for example. Then you look for more specific references to refine further. Furthermore, the system does not play everything on one card: it maintains several position hypotheses simultaneously and discards or refines them as the sensor captures more information. Tests carried out for months on the university campus with different lighting conditions, vegetation or simply the weather have shown more consistency than conventional methods. A good start with pending subjects. Beyond its promising results, the most striking thing about this research is its commitment to sensory autonomy: it does not depend on networks of beacons or GPS, but on its own sensors. This makes it a potentially more versatile system. However, it faces the great historical challenge of robot placement: how fragile it is in the face of changing environments. It is true that they have tested it in different conditions, but it has been within the campus: making the leap to more complex and constantly changing environments is their litmus test, in addition to additional validation in extreme conditions. Finally, before an eventual real commercial deployment, we will have to see how it integrates with other navigation systems and its computational cost. In Xataka | Tesla has been building the Optimus for years. China has just presented itself with fifteen companies and factories already set up In Xataka | We already have so many “humanoid” robots that it is difficult to differentiate one from the other. This graph fixes it Cover | Enchanted Tools

15 Chinese car manufacturers are going to produce humanoid robots. They will use the same advantage that made them leaders

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China is not late to humanoid robotics: it arrives with factories, suppliers, engineers and software already amortized, an advantage that is difficult to overcome. The supply chain of an electric car (sensors, motors, batteries, chips, perception algorithms…) overlaps by more than 60% with that of a humanoid robot, according to CITIC Securities estimates. XPeng, one of the most technological manufacturers in the sector, It also ensures that its robot reuses 70% of the same AI software as its cars.. If those numbers are real without many asterisks, the Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles are not that they are aspirants to robotics, it is that they are clear favorites. The panoramic. Fifteen Chinese car brands have announced humanoid robot programs, according to the analysis firm Kaiyuan Securities. China already manufactures 70% of the components of “classic” industrial robotics, and the jump to humanoids takes advantage of the same factories, the same suppliers and the same talent that have given it leadership in electric vehicles. The parallel with what Tesla is doing with Optimus is inevitable, but China is running it with dozens of companies in parallel, at a speed that no single company can match. Between the lines. The bets diverge as much as the companies: Yes, but. There are dark clouds on the sunny day that is humanoid robotics for China. XPeng’s IRON robot crashed in a shopping mall in Shenzhen a few days ago. The company has been in robotics for six years. Driving on roads and moving through the rooms of each parent are very different problems. Roads have lanes, signs, and fairly predictable physics. The rooms have stairs, dozens of small objects, people moving, doors to open, intricate locations or chargers with a cable on the floor. The manual dexterity and dynamic balance required by a humanoid robot have no equivalent in the control architecture of any car. And the most talented engineers in the sector know it: several former XPeng executivesLi Auto and Huawei have left their companies to found their own robotics startups. When the path seems clear, the best are not afraid to go it alone. The contrast. Unitree, a pure robotics company with no ties to the automotive industry, distributed 5,500 robots in 2025. Agibot is approaching 1 billion yuan in revenue, about 122 million euros. These companies built from the ground up for robotics are already delivering their product while car manufacturers are still in the reorganization phase. The technological overlap between cars and robots is real in sensors and perception software, but it quickly thins out when the robot has to manipulate objects with great precision, maintain balance on uneven terrain, or work alongside humans. That last “frontier”, the 30% that does not transfer, may be where it is decided who dominates the industry. In Xataka | China manufactures 90% of the world’s humanoid robots and the reason is not its industrial policy: it is crossing the street Featured image | Xpeng

Europe has thought of throwing three robots into a volcanic lava tube and now colonizing the moon or Mars is closer

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While the mission Artemis II Its objective is for human beings to return to the moon after more than half a century later, space agencies continue to investigate how to reach other planets and there space robotics is essential because well: space in general and places like Mars are the most inhospitable for life. So a European research group in which, among other entities, the European Space Agency participates, has introduced an autonomous robotic system inside a volcanic lava tube in Lanzarote, like collects this paper published in Science Robotics. Their conclusions bring us closer to a future colonization of the Moon or Mars. The context. Neither Mars nor the Moon have a flat desert surface, but rather they constitute volcanic worlds where there are underground cavities formed millions of years ago by liquid lava. We are not talking about small cavities precisely: there is space for a city to fit in as long as low gravity allows sizes of kilometers, how this study explains. Lava tubes are present on the Moon, on Mars and also on Earth, without going any further we can find some in Hawaii or the Canary Islands, precisely where the research was carried out: The lava tube of La Corona de Lanzarote has sections that reach 30 meters wide and high, come on, that It’s a cave like a cathedral. Why is it important. Because the space environment is harsh: there are extreme temperatures, radiation and meteor showers, a crude combination that makes it difficult for life to exist or simply to establish an eventual foundation for human civilization. On the other hand, if there is any remains of life or frozen water left, these caves are the ideal place to look for it. These structures are strategic because they function as natural shielding against ionizing radiation, extreme thermal flows and meteorites. So the next generation of robots will have the mission of exploring those underground lava tubes on Mars and the Moon to see what their conditions are like. The Lanzarote experiment. Anyone who has been to Lanzarote will know that it has places that seem taken from outer space. That is where the La Corona lava tube is where three different robots with different roles began their characterization mission without GPS or sunlight: The lookout stays outside mapping the entrance. The Explorer: It is essentially a cube full of cameras that you drop into the hole to look before anyone else. The speleologist, who rappels down to enter the darkness at a depth of 235 meters. The discovery. That they did 3D mapping as they progressed was just one of the objectives of this mission, led in the technical section by the German Center for Artificial Intelligence. But what is as important as how: the robots were not controlled with a remote control, but rather functioned autonomously, making their own decisions on the fly. Their performance in collaborative tasks is essential since in space the radio signal takes minutes to arrive from Earth. First Lanzarote, then Mars. The test carried out on heterogeneous and cooperative space robotics was a success, although there is still room for improvement regarding navigation without light and how the sensors respond to interference from the environment. In Xataka | Mars has just entered the exclusive club of planets with rays. This is discouraging news for NASA. In Xataka | We knew that Mars has gravity. Now we have just discovered the unexpected effect it has on the Earth’s climate Cover | dfki

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