New robots, new capabilities. Tracking what's coming for the workforce.
Robotics Agility Robotics unveiled Digit 5 on September 15. The new legs lift 50 lb repeatedly, a band Jonathan Hurst says covers single-person lift tasks in OSHA-regulated facilities, and the robot no longer needs a physical barrier to work near people.
Robotics On September 15 Einride and Lidl put a cab-less SAE Level 4 truck into daily operation on a German public road, with no driver and no safety operator aboard. Lidl's stated reason is 「driver shortages」.
Robotics Universal Robots launched its seventh-generation platform at IMTS in Chicago on September 14: three higher-payload arms, a controller with 40% more compute in a 30% smaller box, and a tool flange that carries data, power and safety signals all the way to the wrist.
Robotics China's National Data Administration said it will develop standards for embodied-AI data, ten days after seven companies asked it for exactly that. CAICT estimates these models need roughly 10 million hours of real-world data. Between 100,000 and 1 million hours exist worldwide.
Robotics UBTech said on September 13 that its Liuzhou super smart factory has started production, designed for annual capacity above 10,000 industrial humanoids, with one unit rolling off every 10 minutes. The 14,000-square-meter plant was built jointly with Siemens Digital Industries Software.
Robotics Maven Robotics came out of stealth on September 10 with $100M and a plan to build 250 third-generation machines. The station it takes over is the most labor-dense job in a retail distribution center: breaking inbound pallets apart and rebuilding them to each store's order.
Robotics Reports on September 9 say the CSRC has informally raised the bar for humanoid IPOs. The number disclosed the same day matters more: under 10% of Unitree's 2025 revenue came from industrial applications.
Robotics On September 9 Zurich Airport said two shuttle buses now run on airport grounds with no safety driver aboard, monitored from a remote cockpit. The former safety drivers were not cut. They were retrained to watch the buses from a screen.
Robotics Samsung SDS entered the robot transformation business on September 8 with a 2027 orchestration platform. The load-bearing number is 430: the manufacturing clients already on its books.
Robotics XPeng started its humanoid robot line on September 8, with IRON walking off it after assembly. The load-bearing number is 80: the share of core processes on that line that run without a person.
Robotics Agility Robotics filed its S-4 on September 7, disclosing $1.8M in 2025 net sales and a $140M operating loss. The same document lists Digit v5 at about $8,500 a month.
Robotics A KOSDAQ disclosure on September 7 does what almost no automation contract does: it names the work. Busbar feeding, heat-staking, laser welding, electrical test, weld vision inspection, chained into one line.