Robotics

The companies making China a robotics powerhouse

Last year marked a historic milestone for China’s robotics industry.

An android made by Unitree Robotics dancing at iREX 2025. When a robot-engendered crisis arises, there may be a temptation to frame the issue in the same terms as an immigration debate, says the writer.

The rise of humanoid robots threatens political disruption

Our delighted faith in automatons raises the question of how they will integrate into human society

Beijing also has designated the industry one of six new economic growth drivers, in guidelines for drafting China’s development plan for the five years to 2030.

China’s robotics stocks face investor scrutiny over bubble fears

Beijing has been on a so-called anti-involution drive which aims to curb destructive competition across industries

Goals for Elon Musk over the next decade include the company’s delivering 20 million vehicles, having 1 million robotaxis in operation, selling 1 million robots and earning as much as US$400 billion in core profit.

Tesla shareholders approve US$878 billion pay plan for Elon Musk

Tesla’s board had warned Musk could quit if the pay package was not approved

The chip will be used for processing data from cameras and sensors in a car with a single-chip computing power of around 500 to 700 tera operations per second (TOPS), Volkswagen said.

Volkswagen to develop chip for China smart cars with Horizon Robotics

The move would deepen the carmaker’s research and development capability ‘in China, for China’

ABB expects the deal with Softbank to close in mid- to late 2026.

SoftBank to buy ABB’s robotics business in US$5.4 billion deal

The deal means ABB has abandoned its original decision to spinoff and separately list the industrial automation business

Neptune Robotics' underwater robots automate the dangerous work of ship hull cleaning and reduce biofouling, which drives up fuel consumption.

Granite Asia leads Neptune Robotics’ US$52 million Series B funding round

NYK Line, a strategic investor, is rolling out the startup’s hull-cleaning system to its fleet

With a metallic, friendly voice, Waldog is about the size of a beagle and initiates conversations with children and adults about animal rights.

Robot dog in Mexico teaches animal kindness on the streets

Robot dogs have also been used in search and rescue missions following natural disasters

The silver economy market value in Asia is expected to surpass US$4 trillion this year, with a projected 7% compound annual growth rate through 2032.
THE BROAD VIEW

How tech can close the care gap for an ageing nation with dignity

Singapore’s aged care providers have the chance to transform a domestic necessity into global innovation leadership

Liang Liang, deputy director at the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, says robots will boost productivity and operate in hazardous environments.

China's humanoid robots will not replace human workers, Beijing official says

[BEIJING] China’s humanoid robots will not replace human workers and cause mass unemployment, according to a Chinese official who oversees a tech hub in Beijing, amid a rapid expansion of the sector a...