robots

We still don’t know if humanoid robots will be the next great technological revolution. Yes we know that China will lead it

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There are a lot of companies determined to sell us the idea that, in the not too distant future, everyone we will have a humanoid robot at home. We have many doubts that they will be the revolution that they promise (and there are reasons for this), but in China they have it very clear. Patents. They count in South China Morning Post that Morgan Stanley has published volume 3 of its series ‘Robot Almanac‘, which details some key data on the state of the humanoid robot industry. China is far ahead when it comes to patents, having registered 7,705 patents in the last five years, while in the United States they have registered 1,561, almost five times less than its technological rival par excellence. Dependence. It’s not just about patents, China has another key advantage and that is that its production lines are much more efficient from a cost point of view. This causes the rest of the companies that manufacture humanoids to depend on them if they do not want their production costs to skyrocket. The cost of building a supply chain in which China was left out would raise prices exponentially. The report estimates that manufacturing the Tesla Optimus Gen 2 without China’s participation would raise the cost from about $46,000 to $131,000. Obsession with robots. Humanoid robots from companies like Unitree or Deep Robotics have been in the public eye for a long time. We have seen them participate in the first robotic olympics, fight, play soccer and how dance corps in macro concerts. They are appearances clearly focused on going viral, showing their capabilities to the world and, ultimately, making people see them as something cool and want to buy one. However, although humanoids take all the spotlight, they are only the tip of the iceberg of a strategy that goes much further. Personified AI. In English it would be ’embodied AI’ and it is the approach that China has taken in his particular AI career. The government included the term in his job report this year, which highlights its strategic importance. More than large language and software models, China wants AI that is present, whether in the form of humanoid robots, drones, autonomous vehicles or industrial robots. Speaking of industry, guess who has 51% of all industrial robots in the world. Exactly: China. Industrial robots. According to data from Financial TimesChina installs 280,000 robots a year in its factories with a clear objective: automate to achieve greater efficiency and power continue being the factory of the world. Now that workers’ salaries are higherthe way they have found to remain competitive against markets like India or Bangladesh is automation. Image | Andy Kelly in Unsplash In Xataka | I have asked for water from the first humanoid robot working in Beijing. It’s a weird vending machine.

put UBTECH’s most advanced humanoid robots to work

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In Fangchenggang, where control windows and cargo trucks outline the routine of a border with Vietnam, an experiment is being prepared that will not take place among laboratory prototypes, but among travelers, agents and logistics workers. China has chosen this place to test humanoids in real situations, with deliveries scheduled from December and very specific functions: guiding movements of people, supporting logistical tasks, participating in certain commercial services and carrying out inspections both at border posts and at industrial facilities. An ambitious contract. The agreement signed between UBTech and a center specialized in robotics in this border city amounts to 264 million yuan, about 34 million euros, and establishes the deployment of the model Walker S2 in different types of scenarios: border crossing, logistics zones and industrial complexes. According to the company, the humanoids will be intended to guide flows of people, organize internal transportation operations and carry out structured inspections in facilities linked to steel, copper and aluminum. From prototypes to 800 million. UBTech arrived at Fangchenggang with a model that is no longer presented as a prototype, but as an industrial product. The Walker Series accumulate valued orders by 800 million yuan by 2025, not including educational and research models. UBTech assures that it has already begun to deliver the first industrial batches of the Walker S2 and that its objective is to accelerate production at scale, with a view to manufacturing thousands of units and reducing costs so that humanoids enter real environments. Robotic administrations. The rollout of UBTech fits into a broader trend within the Chinese public sector. The Zhejiang immigration office already uses robots for daily tasks, such as support in people flows and information services. At Hangzhou airport, one of these systems answers simple questions to passengers, while at the top of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, held in Tianjin, a multilingual robot developed by iBen Intelligence was used for protocol assistance. The Fangchenggang initiative is part of a coordinated strategy from the State to organize the humanoid sector in China. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology created a national committee specific for this type of robots, chaired by the organization itself and made up of companies, innovation centers and relevant technical figures. It includes executives from UBTech, Unitree, AgiBot and representatives of the Shanghai innovation center. The goal is to set standards and accelerate the transition from laboratory to commercial and administrative applications. What is relevant is not only that the humanoids have contracts and assigned functions, but also the place where they are going to test them. A border is a regulated space, with people in transit, goods, controls and tight times. If they work there, it will be easier to propose new applications in other public contexts. The Fangchenggang Pass serves as a laboratory, but also as a stage to observe what sharing tasks between machines and human workers entails. Images | UBTECH In Xataka | NVIDIA is the most valuable company in the world because it had no competition. Until Google started making chips

China does not want to give up ground as the world’s factory. Their plan involves deploying a legion of industrial robots with AI

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For years, looking at the label of any device, garment or charger has been almost a formality. The answer used to be the same: “Made in China“. That phrase became silent proof that the Asian giant had managed to establish itself as the factory of the world. From American brand mobile phones to small components of European appliances, much of what we use every day has come from Chinese production lines. But that reality is beginning to change. China’s industrial leadership is no longer sustained solely by abundant labor and low costs, and the model that dominated the last decades needs to be transformed. The shift is not only economic, but also social. Fewer and fewer young Chinese want to work in factoriesa phenomenon that in the United States follows similar patterns: physical jobs, long hours and little professional projection. In both cases, the industry is no longer synonymous with progress for many and is perceived more as a destiny from which one tries to escape. Even so, both China and the United States consider that manufacturing remains strategic, either to maintain global influence or to reduce dependence on foreign countries. Everything indicates that none of them are trying to recover the model of the past, but rather to build a new one based on automation and artificial intelligence. Robots and factories to avoid losing “Made in China” When the Chinese Vice Minister of Industry, Zhang Yunming, said that Adopting artificial intelligence is a necessary and not optional task, I was not speaking only in technological terms. He was referring to protecting one of the country’s great assets: its manufacturing industry, which represents around 25% of the national economy, well above the world average. China remains the world’s largest producer, but it can no longer rely solely on volume or labor. The challenge now is to maintain that leadership by manufacturing with fewer people and more artificial intelligence. In this context, China is responding decisively. The pace at which it is deploying industrial robots is unmatched. Last year alone it installed 295,000 units, almost nine times more than the United States and more than the rest of the world combined. according to the International Federation of Robotics. In some facilities there is already talk of “dark factories”, operations so automated that the plants can operate with minimal human intervention. The Wall Street Journal mentions the Baosteel caseone of the largest steel plants in the country, where workers only intervene every half hour, when before they did so every three minutes. Automation no longer consists only of mechanical arms that repeat movements, but of connected plants, capable of making decisions. The aforementioned newspaper points out how Midea uses an AI system that coordinates robots, sensors and virtual agents to detect failures, assign tasks and adjust processes without human intervention. In the textile industry, Bosideng uses AI models developed with Zhejiang University to conceptualize and design garments, reduce development times and cut costs. This type of solutions not only speeds up production, it also generates a competitive advantage over Western manufacturers that implement changes more slowly. Where China’s industrial ambition is also clearly seen is in the ports. In Tianjin, a fleet of autonomous trucks moves containers without visible human presencewhile artificial intelligence optimizes variables such as ship arrival times and crane capacity. The system, called OptVerse AI Solver, has compressed planning tasks that previously took 24 hours to about ten minutes. PortGPT, a system developed together with Huawei to analyze images and monitor security operations, has also been deployed. The American discourse is based on the idea of ​​sovereignty: manufacturing more within the country to depend less on the outside. The Trump administration has raised that strategy through tariffs on China, Vietnam and other Asian economieswith the aim of attract factories and rebuild supply chains. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick maintains that automation is not incompatible with employmentbut it can generate better-paid technical professions. In an interview he stated that “it is time to train people for the jobs of the future, not for those of the past,” and defended that these factories could support families for several generations. One of the differences between the two models is clearly seen in the ports. While China has deployed autonomous trucks, AI-based planning systems, and tools like PortGPT without significant union opposition, in the United States automation is subject to collective bargaining. The International Longshoremen’s Association and port operators they agreed to veto new automated terminals until the end of 2030, also limiting the use of artificial intelligence in administrative tasks. For unions, automation means losing jobs and bargaining power. For China, it is a national strategy. China wants to continue being the world’s factory, but not exactly the same. It is no longer about cheap labor, but about factories capable of producing more with fewer people and with more artificial intelligence. The United States seeks its own path, with more work conditions and a different rhythmbut with the same objective of not depending on the outside. What is at stake is not just where it is manufactured, but how. And it is possible that, in a few years, the label we find will not only be “Made in China”, but a different form of manufacturing where robots will no longer be accessories, but protagonists. Images | Homa Appliances | Xataka with Gemini 3 In Xataka | Nexperia China has been trying to contact the Dutch headquarters for days. The only response has been absolute silence

When we thought we had seen all kinds of rehearsals for an invasion, China makes science fiction: robots taking over an island

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At the end of 2024, several military studies from Beijing were published outlining six different scenarios if future unification with Taiwan goes awry. So we tell that the Second World War I advised against all them because, in essence, there was talk of an invasion of the island. From then until now so much China as Taiwan have carried out all kinds of drills under the war scenario background. What you haven’t seen until now is that China has a plan B: robotic wolves. Mechanized herds. This week and through images and videosChina has shown to the world a new generation of autonomous combat systems in an exercise that simulated an invasion of Taiwan. On the landing beach, the traditional “human waves” of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were replaced by swarms of machines: suicide drones and well-known robotic quadrupeds like mechanized wolves. These units, developed by the state-owned China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC), represent the first attempt to convert amphibious operations into a scenario dominated byor artificial intelligence. The broadcast images State television CCTV showed these metal “wolves” running across the sand ahead of human troops, detecting obstacles with LiDAR sensors, thermal cameras and autonomous navigation algorithms. Wolf specification. Of 70 kilos of weight and capable of carrying 20 more, these robots were divided into attack, transport and reconnaissance variants, managing to reduce the time between detection and destruction of the target to less than ten seconds. In fact, in one symbolic sequencea single human operator simultaneously directed nine robots and six drones from a 3D interface, while the devices cleared barbed wire and trenches for infantry. @elsa50356 “Breaking from China! The PLA’s latest amphibious landing drills—drones take the lead, and robotic ‘wolf packs’ rush the beach! The future of warfare is here!” 🚀🪖 #PLADrills #ChinaMilitary #Drones #RobotArmy #MilitaryTech ♬ 原创音乐 – Elsa Swarm intelligence. The training, called “Landing Operation in Taiwan” was part of an assault test coastal exercise carried out by the PLA 72nd Division, under the Eastern Theater Command, the unit operating in front of the Taiwan Strait. For the first time, quadruped robots performed as a spearheadfollowed by waves of FPV drones bombing simulated enemy fortifications. In total, the attack cycle was cfour times faster than that of a conventional square. This deployment is part of the EPL’s strategic shift from mass doctrine (the so-called human wave tactics) towards what Beijing calls “smart sea and land tactics,” a doctrine that prioritizes automation, cooperation between unmanned systems and data-driven decision making. The buts. However, the exercise itself revealed vulnerabilities: these wolf robots They lack armor, are easily detectable in open fields and one of them was destroyed by light fire. Chinese analysts they recognized limitations, but they stressed that the goal was not perfection, but rather to demonstrate that the army is willing to progressively replace human soldiers with swarms of coordinated machines. Ukraine in the shadows. The Chinese Army has incorporated direct lessons from the Ukrainian war into its maneuvers, where drones have redefined tactical and logistical effectiveness. According to Chinese military media like Daiwanthe PLA is applying the knowledge extracted from that conflict in its ground training, anticipating a future where hundreds of robots advance at 30 or 40 km/h in coordinated waves. The parallel is clear: if Ukraine demonstrated that a cheap drone can destroy a tankChina wants to prove that a network of smart machines can break coastal defenses in a matter of minutes. The current exercises, which until recently were limited to traditional landings, are already a general rehearsal of algorithmic warfare, where the human decision is reduced to an initial order and autonomous systems execute the rest. Strategic competition. Plus: The accelerated development of these systems occurs while the United States reinforces your deterrence strategy in the Indo-Pacific. According to the CIAan eventual Chinese invasion of Taiwan could occur before 2027, and the Pentagon has designed the so-called hellscape strategy: Saturate the strait with thousands of drones, submarines and unmanned vehicles to slow down Chinese forces and buy time for reinforcements to arrive. Beijing, aware of this, is creating units specialized in war against swarms, equipped with software capable of detecting, tracking and attacking targets without human intervention. Companies like Norincoanother state giant, have presented vehicles like the P60powered by the DeepSeek AI model, which can recognize targets, avoid obstacles and operate in logistics support or combat missions. A future of machines. He China’s advance towards an AI-powered war demonstrates both its technological ambition and its practical limitations. The images of robots breaching simulated beaches are as revealing as their failures in the face of enemy fire. However, beyond immediate effectiveness, Beijing’s message is unequivocal: the future of the war in the strait of Taiwan will be decided by the speed of the algorithms, not the number of soldiers. In that race, China seeks to transform mechanized warfare in smart warreplacing brute force with computational precision. The question is no longer whether robots will be present in the next invasion, but how many will be able to think, coordinate and eliminate before the first human makes landfall. Image | CCTV/China In Xataka | Less than 150 kilometers from Taiwan, the US does not stop accumulating missiles. It’s the closest thing to preparing for war. In Xataka | China has asked Russia for an airborne battalion and training. That can only mean one thing: they are preparing a landing

30 cents per item sold and many robots

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Amazon has taken a new step in its strategy extreme optimization of its infrastructure, and has put automation at the center. According to leaked internal documents to The New York Timesthe company seeks to automate up to 75% of its global operations by the end of this decade, a measure that could have a direct impact on the employment of its logistics and delivery centers. The economic logic behind robots. In the leaked Amazon documents it is estimated that with the introduction of new generations of rautonomous robots In its facilities, it will be possible to eliminate up to 160,000 direct jobs in the US by 2027, and avoid hiring more than 600,000 additional workers that the company estimates it would need to meet its objectives in 2033. Amazon’s internal calculations detail that automation would allow an average saving of 30 cents on each item purchased in the Amazon store until 2027 and they expect to sell twice as many products by 2033. Which according to estimates, could mean a saving of about 12.6 billion dollars for the next two years, improving the initial forecasts of 10 billion dollars. Logistics centers 2.0. The Amazon work documents you’ve had access to The New York Times indicate that the plan not only aims at direct cost savings, but also aims to achieve these savings by carrying out a complete restructuring of the warehouses. Amazon has tripled its workforce since 2018, and currently has 1.2 million employees. Many of them are busy in their logistics centers in repetitive areas such as packaging. Amazon’s intention is automate all these processes with robots and leaving humans only the tasks of technical development and supervision. According to estimates, only with the implementation of robots in these positions, current sales volumes could be maintained using 40% fewer staff. “No one else has the same incentive as Amazon to find a way to automate. Once they figure out how to do it profitably, it will spread to others as well,” he told The New York Times Daron AcemogluNobel Prize in Economics in 2024. The Canary in the Mine: Shreveport. Amazon’s obsession with robotizing all its processes is not new. In 2012, Amazon paid 775 million dollars by Kiva Systems, a company that was then dedicated to manufacturing mobile robots to move shelves in warehouses. With them, it applied a first layer of automation to its logistics centers between 2018 and 2019, so that its employees no longer had to walk kilometers between shelves preparing orders. Now orders arrived on robots to the packing points. In 2023 Amazon inaugurated your most advanced warehouse in Shreveport (Louisiana) as a laboratory for what all Amazon’s robotic logistics centers will be in the future. in that warehousewhen a product goes into an order, humans barely touch it again. To do this, Amazon has designed an infrastructure with a thousand robots that have allowed it to operate with 25% staff. As shown by the documents to which he has had access The New York TimesBy increasing the number of robots, the number of employees could be reduced by 50%. Amazon plans to bring the Shreveport model to 40 of the company’s fulfillment centers by 2027, dramatically reducing staffing needs at those locations. Who will work at Amazon? amazon claims to have a million robots of different nature deployed in their logistics centers. If these robots are going to take the place of a human, will theywho is going to work at Amazon? Andy Jassy, ​​CEO of the company, is clear: the humans who program, care for and repair them will be the employees of the future. According to the American media, in the Shreveport center there are more than 160 people dedicated to these robotics tasks, and their salaries start at $24.45 per hour. In contrast, the more than 2,000 employees who manage and pack orders have a salary of $19.50 per hour. That is, Amazon aims to be a job center not for low-skilled workers, but for robotics engineers and technicians. Amazon’s response. Given the news, Amazon spokespersons have rushed to qualify the information from the Times claiming: “Leaked documents often present an incomplete and misleading picture of our plans, and that is the case. In our written narrative culture, thousands of documents circulate throughout the company at any given time, each with varying degrees of accuracy and timeliness,” declared to The Verge Kelly Nantel. The Amazon spokeswoman added: “We are actively hiring at operating facilities across the country and recently announced plans to fill 250,000 positions for the holiday season.” In Xataka | While companies boast of efficiency due to AI. Generation Z only sees temporary contracts and closed doors Image | amazon

be the Android of the robots thanks to the software

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There are many reasons to think that Humanoid robots They will have a key role in the future. They could take care of household chores, attend at a hotel or assume risk work. However, not everyone sees it possible: Irobot’s co -founder insists that all this is a fantasy. But if that future ends up, the doubt is inevitable: what companies and countries will mark the pattern? If we had to give names, Tesla (United States) and Unitree (China) would be among the candidates, but there are many other companies in the race. Goal, known for its empire in social networks, wants to make their way in this field with a different strategy. His bet does not only go through hardware, but by something that could make a difference: the software. Goal wants to be the Android of Robotics Rumors about finishing plans In humanoid robotics they began earlier this year, and the company ended up confirming them. Recently we knew more details thanks to Andrew Bosworth, his cto, which showed In an interview with The Verge that the play is quite like What Google did with Android. Although Bosworth prevents direct comparison, which poses goal follows that script. They will continue to develop their own humanoid robots, but the differential movement is to put their software within reach of other manufacturers through licenses. The condition: comply with specific specifications, as is the case in Android. The executive makes clear why this can work. In his opinion, the true obstacle of humanoid robotics is not in the hardware, but in the software. Especially what he calls “skilled manipulation”Robots are already able to move quickly and Even giving somersaultsbut they continue to fail something as basic as holding a glass of water without spilling it. One of the central pieces of the goal strategy is in the simulation. His superintelligence laboratory works on what they call a “World Model”, a world model capable of recreating in a digital environment how a human hand should move and react. The objective is to train robots in virtual stages until they acquire sufficient skills to manipulate objects with precision. The company has also managed to bring together a singular team, with figures such as Marc Whitten, who was previously a director in Cruise, or Sangbae Kim, considered one of the great Referents in advanced robotics. Internal profiles with long experience are added to them. A mixture of external and veteran specialists of the house that reflects the ambition of the bet. The landing of humanoids will not be immediate or universal. An analysis of Bank of America details a three -phase deployment. Most likely, we will see them in controlled environments before they terrify in our homes massively. Between 2025 and 2027 humanoids will begin in very limited environments, such as factories or logistics centers, with repetitive manipulation, assembly or quality control tasks. The objective will be to accumulate real data to improve your models. By 2028–2034, with more refined designs and more reliable algorithms, they will open their way in commercial services, education or light engineering. Integrated with language models, they can interact in real time and exceed one million annual shipments. From 2035 a massive adoption is expected in homes and care to adults, with more affordable costs and much more complete functions, capable of developing in unstructured environments. The business mmodel if the CUAJA platform If the Meta Prospera Plan, the company will sell its own robots, also will license its platform. In this way, we could see the goal technology behind robots of a wide range of manufacturers. From there, plausible scenarios are opened although not yet confirmed. One of them is that complement the licenses with cloud services for training or maintenance, or even that an ecosystem of “skills” discharged as applications arises. It is a reasonable hypothesis: the more robots the system use, the more data the company would get to improve the product, creating a virtuous circle Difficult to replicate for their competitors. We will have to see if it finally advances in that direction. Google’s strategy with Android has worked. Images | Apple (series ‘Sunny‘of Apple TV+) | Dima Solomin | Mika Baumeister In Xataka | Alibaba is winning the career of the IA Open Source models. Its strategy is simple: to be tired

There are more robots working in Chinese factories than in the rest of the world together. Beijing’s strategy is already a blow of global authority

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Close your eyes for a moment and imagine The country with more robots in its factories. The logical thing would be to think of Japan, and not a few would also include the United States in the quiniela. However, the most recent figures point out another destination and do it clearly: China, where robotics has ceased to be an experiment to become the daily pulse of production. It should be specified from the start: we do not talk about showcase humanoids, but of industrial welding robots, manipulation and assembly, which are transforming how it is already manufactured what speed. The last report From the International Robotics Federation offers the clearest photograph of this phenomenon. In 2024 alone, Chinese factories installed about 300,000 industrial robots, a figure higher than the rest of the combined world. In parallel, the total park exceeded two million active units, well above any competitor. In contrast, the United States added 34,000 new robots in its production and Japan lines around 44,000, confirming the magnitude of the Chinese jump. China not only competes, already dominates China’s hegemony in industrial robotics has not appeared out of nowhere. Since 2017, its factories have installed Between 145,000 and 295,000 annual robotswith a especially strong jump from 2021. Pandemia barely slowed that progression, and in 2024 the figure was again located around 300,000 units. In contrast, the United States, Japan, South Korea and Germany not only started from much more modest volumes, but also registered declines in the last statistics. The next step in the Chinese strategy was not only to install robots, but to manufacture them on a large scale. For the first time, Chinese suppliers sold more than foreigners in their own market: 57% of the 2024 facilities were of local origin. On a global scale, Japan remains the main manufacturing country (around 38% of the world supply, according to IFR). This turn reduces dependence, although it does not equals full technological autonomy Chinese industrial policy has been decisive to accelerate the transition to automation. The initiative Made in China 2025 marked the first great milestone in 2015, with the aim of REducate dependence of imports in key sectors. Six years later, in 2021, the country adopted a specific plan to multiply the deployment of industrial robots. This planning added loans at low interest from state banks and support for technological purchases abroad. The result has been a fertile terrain for the expansion of Chinese robotics. When talking about robotics, the most common image is that of humanoids as Optimus either Figure. However, the figures that place China in the lead correspond only to industrial robots: mechanical arms that weld, assemble or move materials in the production line. The report leaves humanoids out, still in an experimental phase and with very small sales. Even so, the state impulse has generated an ecosystem of humanoid -centered startups, such as UNITREEalthough its weight in the industry remains marginal. The figures that place China in the lead correspond only to industrial robots. The integration of artificial intelligence into the factory is not exclusive to China: Japan, South Korea, Germany or the United States also apply with vision systemsautomated failures and quality control algorithms. What distinguishes Beijing is the scale with which this practice has spread, until it becomes a usual component of its industrial strategy. In many plants, the AI ​​monitors real -time machines, anticipates breakdowns and adjusts processes. This broader and more coordinated deployment has multiplied the impact of automation. The technological jump also depends on the people who make it possible. China has a large number of specialized technicians, from programmers to industrial electricians, capable of installing and maintaining robots in complex environments. Even so, the demand exceeds the supply and salaries of the installers have shot, already around $ 60,000. This talent gap reflects a global bottleneck: automation does not advance with capital and machines, it needs professionals who integrate it into the factory. Chinese leadership in industrial robotics still has clear borders. Although the country already manufactures a third of world robots, it continues to depend on foreign supplies for some key components. High precision sensors and advanced semiconductorsfor example, they are still domain from Japan and Germany, with decades of technological advantage. This deficit limits China’s ability to assemble higher range robots, especially humanoids. Even with a thriving ecosystem, technological autonomy is not yet complete and marks one of Beijing’s pending challenges. Although China continues to depend on foreign suppliers, the weight of its market already conditions global dynamics. By producing and installing more robots than anyone, it achieves economies of scale that reduce automation projects and pressing international prices. Its volume also gives it the capacity to influence technical standards and equipment interoperability. In the supply chain, the center of gravity moves to Asia, forcing other countries to adapt to an ecosystem in which China marks the rhythm, even without still controlling all technology. The map of industrial robotics is no longer understood without China in the center. In the next two years, the attention will be to verify whether to reduce its dependence on key components and if it maintains the rhythm of 300,000 new annual facilities. Beijing does not hide that he wants to extend this model to emerging sectors such as humanoids and reinforce their weight in global chains. For the rest of the world, the question is not whether China will continue to lead in volumebut how to respond to a strategy that combines scale, industrial policy and technological ambition. Images | Simon Kadula | Arthur Wang In Xataka | Qualcomm believes that the 6G will be the final network for AI and has already set it: the reality is that 5G is still in diapers

A new generation of robots promises precision and efficiency. It also opens the door to cyberspage risks

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The movement of the robotic arm seems impeccable: each turn, each clamp, each displacement occurs with the accuracy of a metronome. However, while these actions convey confidence in a hospital or a factory, another story is drawn in the background. The commands, although encrypted, let rhythms and pauses In the traffic that travels through the network. These patterns, invisible to the naked eye, in many cases allow to deduce the task executed. The same accuracy that we applaud in the robot can become a trace for external observers. Over the last years the interest in collaborative robots has shot himself. Hospitals are used as surgical assistants for their ability to make fine movements without fatigue, and in factories they have become allies for repetitive or risk tasks. Not only do productivity improve, they also reduce accidents by replacing the operator in hostile environments. The connectivity that drives its expansion, however, is also the one that can expose them to new vulnerability scenarios, According to a study in the University of Waterlooin Canada. Precision that dazzles in hospitals, a trail that can be interpreted The investigation did not focus on real -time robots by means Preprogrammed scripts. These systems receive an orders sequence and execute them with minimal human intervention, which reduces direct supervision and expands automation possibilities. At the same time, the way in which these systems structure high -level commands generates regular traffic patterns, and that regularity opens opportunities for analysis. The work was designed with a very concrete scenario: a passive attacker, someone who only observes the network traffic between the robot and its controller without deciphering it. The experiment was carried out with an arm Kinova Gen3a light robot usually used in research environments. The controller executed preprogrammed commands and the communications were protected with TLS encryption. With this assembly, the researchers registered 200 network traces corresponding to four different actions, looking for a varied and representative set. The authors began by converting network catches into temporary signals: instead of looking at the content of the packages, they analyzed when each one was sent and with what separation. Those time series were treated as acoustic signs, which allowed to apply classic signal processing techniques, such as correlation and convolution, which seek similarities and patterns in pulses and rhythms. From this transformation they trained a classifier that, in the closed environment of the test, assigned an action to each trace. The experiment used 200 traces on four actions and showed that, even with activated TLS, temporary subpatrones were detectable. Kinova Gen3 The trials showed that the method worked with remarkable efficiency: in most tests the system was able to identify the robot action with a success level close to 97%. This means that, although the orders travel encrypted by TLS, the observation of the intervals and the cadence can allow to rebuild what task it is executed. In a hospital, that could give clues about the nature of an intervention; In a factory, on the production sequence. A complete deduction is not always achieved, but the finding shows that the encryption alone is not enough. Although orders travel encrypted by TLS, the observation of the intervals and cadence can allow to rebuild what task it is executed. The finding acquires relevance to extrapolating it to real environments. In health, an attacker could identify details of a surgical intervention without the need to access the medical history, only observing the robot communication flows. In the industry, the patterns themselves could reveal assembly steps or Characteristics of a patented process. It is not an isolated failure of a specific model, but an alert signal on how connectivity multiplies the exposure. Each connected robot becomes a possible observation point. The researchers did not limit themselves to pointing out the problem: they also explored possible defenses. One of them is to modify the timing of the robot programming interface, so that the commands do not follow such a regular and predictable pattern. Another is to apply package filling and timing manipulation to hide the real rhythms. These measures could reduce the inference capacity of an attacker, although with a cost: lower network efficiency and, in some cases, more latency in the execution of the robot. Technological innovation always advances in parallel to the need to protect it. Cobots exemplify that balance: they promise efficiency and new forms of work, but also force rethink defense measures. It is not about stopping its adoption, but about doing it with a conscious look of the risks. Security and development are not opposite paths; They must travel together if you want the future of robotics to be sustainable and reliable. Images | Kinova Robotics (1, 2) | Freepik In Xataka | Alibaba is becoming the Ai Open Source sponator. Your family of Qwen models is putting the market above

China is selling us a future full of humanoid robots. We have (many) doubts

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The first “Olympic Robots Games” Humanoids in Beijing held last month put the focus on one of China’s most aggressive technological bets. And it is that between sports exhibitions and industrial demonstrations, the Asian giant demonstrated Your muscle in the creation of robots Humanoids However, we are at a point where robotics faces various problems that must be solved to count on the market with a reliable solution and worthwhile. And not everything is valid with promises. The strategy from China. Beijing has converted humanoid robotics into state priority. Its five -year plan for the robotic industry set at 2021 An annual growth greater than 20%, backed by a state fund of 140,000 million dollars for technological startups. The objective is none other than leading a sector that they consider “the next great technological revolution” after smartphones and electric vehicles. This year They hope to produce more than 10,000 robots Humanoids, with cities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing concentrating investment and development. The perfect showcase. The recent “Olympic Games” for robots served as a demonstration of strength. One of the most prominent moments was when Unitree’s H1 robot completed 1,500 meters In 6 minutes and 34 seconds, reaching 4.78 m/Sy surpassing the Atlas of Boston Dynamics. But the detail that many overlooked is the fact that these robots did not operate autonomously, but were controlled by human operators. The blow of reality. While China exhibits records and opens “robot mall” in Beijing, The first 4S store For humanoids that promise in the same place sales, spare parts, service and monitoring, many experts prefer to be cautious. “I don’t think anyone has found an application for humanoids that requires several thousand robots by installation,” Point out Melonee Wise, former product director in Agility Robotics, for IEEE. There is a real lack of demand, and that is the first obstacle to large -scale manufacture of humanoid robots. Rpending technical etos. Energy autonomy remains another problem. Agility Digit Robot You need 9 minutes of charge For every 90 minutes of operation, and in practice you must stop every 30 minutes to maintain a security reserve. Industrial reliability requires levels of 99.99%, far from current standards in multipurpose applications. And in terms of security, unique problems arise in this segment, since if for example we disconnect the feeding of a bípedo humanoid robot, which collapse an armatos of several tens of kilos complicates things. A market that It still does not exist. Although signatures like Bank of America Global Research They have predicted that 18,000 units will be sold in 2025 or that the figure reaches 1,000 million robots by 2050 in a 5 billion market, according to Morgan Stanley Researchthe reality is that today there are barely real commercial deployments. Even the most advanced companies in the sector only have a handful of robots that work in very controlled pilot tests. The applications that would justify these figures are, for now, speculative. The closest commercial launch of Europe. Faced with Chinese optimism, the European Neura Robotics also has an approach in that segment with 4ne1a domestic robot that the firm intends to launch for about 60,000 euros and is scheduled for 2026. Its CEO speaks of “doing robotics what the iPhone did for smartphones.” The domestic market, of course it is the one that until now could benefit from this type of robots, but an investment of that caliber is not something that anyone does. Known companies that bet in the long term. Chinese companies like Xiaomi and Honor They already diversify Towards the humanoid robots segment following the Amazon model: Lose money now to dominate later. Given a sector as saturated as that of smartphones, it is a strategy that makes all the meaning, although it requires that promises end up materializing in useful and profitable products. Hype or revolution? China is massively investing in creating a market that still does not exist, trusting that artificial intelligence will solve the problems of autonomy, reliability and practical utility of robots. “The reality is that AI is not robust enough to meet market requirements”, assures Wise It is clear that today the ability of humanoid robots is very limited, but time will say if its evolution will end up awakening a current market. Cover image | China Daily In Xataka | You cannot climb to the Madrid subway with an electric scooter. In China’s, robots are already a passenger

The Ukrainian army that is not afraid of Russia. They arrive as outdated machines and become robots for war

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The year 2025 has been a radical change in the Ukraine War. We had seen drones with shotguns of double cannonrobots Lanzaluelaunmanned vessels With missilesairplanes With shotguns or even devices with kilometer cables of optical fiber Looking for its goal through algorithms. However, in recent months a change in trend has been accelerated. Because soldiers are no longer recruited, they are recruited directly robots. Even if they are antiques. Improvising on the front line. It Forbes counted. In an abandoned Soviet warehouse in Donetsk, Ukrainian soldiers and engineers transform old vehicles into non -manned combat systems, the called UGV. Under the command of Oleksandr, head of the Robotic Unit of the Antares Battalion, the workshops work thanks to raffles, donations and volunteer networks that Finish pieces and spare parts. Robots arrive with analog communications vulnerable to Russian electronic war and are completely comforted: new chassis, digital systems, StarlinkLte or encrypted links. Each conversion costs Between 750 and 1,000 dollarswithout counting satellite equipment, and requires maintenance after each mission. Once ready, the UGV are mostly destined for tasks logistics and evacuationtransporting ammunition, food or injured under enemy fire, although some are equipped with turretsmortars or electronic war modules. The speed remains limited and unstable connectivity, which forces them to use them mainly at night or in discretion conditions to avoid Russian kamikaze drones. Robots against the death zone. The proliferation of drones in Ukraine has extended The Russian “Kill” More than 15 kilometers behind the front line, causing entering or leaving positions to be one of the most lethal maneuvers. In fact, up to a 80% of the casualties Russians are already attributed to unmanned systems, and losses of Ukrainian logistics vehicles have forced multiply the use of UGVS for supplies and evacuations. The need is so high that in December 2024 the first compound Ukrainian assault was documented entirely by robotsand in July 2025 the 3rd Assault Brigade achieved an operation with Russian surrender Without own casualties. However, the UGV follow being vulnerable: day they are easy prey of FPV drones, and any signal failure can leave a wounded in the open field. Given this, some units are used as suicidal vehicles, launched against trenches, bridges or mined fields to detonate loads and open path. Another UGV development An accelerated race. Both kyiv and Moscow They experience With fleets of terrestrial robots, aware that the future of combat will depend on the mass integration of autonomous systems. Ukraine aspires to deploy 15,000 UGV By the end of 2025, supported by The Brave1 programwhile Russia shows prototypes With thermobáric launchers in their state media. The analysts They point That kyiv maintains advantage thanks to a decentralized network of start-ups and creative brigades, while Russia still depends on fragmented and volunteer efforts. At the same time, other global actors Like China They observe carefully the Ukrainian innovations to incorporate them into their own war doctrines. The test terrain in Donbás is accelerating a cycle of military innovation that in peace times would have been. Of logistics to direct fire. Ukrainian brigades already work for prototypes that They go further of the simple delivery of supplies: anti -aircraft turrets, UGVs kamikaze with Starlink to attack tanks, and modular platforms that can be adapted according to the mission. The main challenge is to reduce costs and simplify the operation to massify its deployment. The 28th mechanized brigade even presented a UGV equipped with A manpads Iglacapable of folding drones or low -level helicopters keeping operators covered. The vision is clear: an army in which the machines do the most dangerous work and the soldiers are preserved for control and supervision missions. The role of civil innovation. The rapid evolution of this robotic war It would not be possible without the direct intervention of Civil engineers and entrepreneurswhich have created a unique ecosystem of warlike innovation. Organizations as dignitas Ukraine They drive the Victory Robots programThey train soldiers in the management of UGVs and spread best practices among brigades. These initiatives They seek to build a “technological shield” that reduces human casualties and accelerates the adoption of autonomous systems. The next phase, they anticipate, will be the integration of artificial intelligence into terrestrial robots, multiplying their autonomy and efficiency in the battlefield. A robotic army. The Ukrainian bet for the UGV is not conjunctural, but part of a long -term strategy to compensate for demographic inferiority against Russia. If they manage to industrialize their production and stabilize the supply chain, these robots could become In spine From a hybrid army in which humans and machines fight side by side. Thus, the perspective of a future where entire brigades are accompanied by swarms of aerial drones and autonomous land vehicles no longer belong to science fiction, but to everyday reality of the Ukrainian front. For kyiv, robotics is more than a tool: it is the key to resist for years in a wear war and, perhaps, to define what the wars of the 21st century will be. Image | TV Zvezda, Gopua In Xataka | Something unprecedented in Ukraine is happening: combat drones do not need humans to coordinate and attack In Xataka | We had seen the drones of Ukraine do everything, but this is new: they are arriving lost to countries outside the war

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