In 20 years, we won't recognize the world. I'll be 71, and will hopefully enjoy the convenience of robot healthcare, robotic surgeons, robot home deliveries, robot garbage collection, robot housekeepers, and in-home robot care.
My parents' generation may be the last one to rely on humans for post-retirement assistance.
Here's a roundup of 10 recent AI robot stories from the news:
- Boston Dynamics unveils production-ready electric Atlas at CES 2026 — Atlas autonomously rose from a flat position using a non-human joint-flipping maneuver during the keynote, and Boston Dynamics announced a partnership with Google DeepMind to integrate Gemini Robotics AI. Initial units will deploy in 2026 at Hyundai's Metaplant in Georgia.
- NVIDIA declares "ChatGPT moment for robotics" — NVIDIA released new Cosmos and GR00T open models for robot learning and reasoning, partnered with Hugging Face on LeRobot, and unveiled the Blackwell-powered Jetson T4000 module with 4x greater energy efficiency. Partners including Boston Dynamics, Caterpillar, and NEURA Robotics debuted new robots built on NVIDIA tech.
- Mobileye acquires Mentee Robotics for humanoid AI — Mobileye entered a definitive agreement to acquire Mentee Robotics, an AI-first humanoid robotics company, combining Mobileye's autonomous driving expertise with Mentee's humanoid platform to create a leader in physical AI. First proof-of-concept deployments with customers are expected in 2026.
- Scientists create robots smaller than a grain of salt that can think — Researchers created microscopic robots so small they're barely visible, yet smart enough to sense, decide, and move on their own. Powered by light and equipped with tiny computers, the robots swim by manipulating electric fields.
- NASA's Perseverance rover drives Mars routes planned by AI — NASA's Perseverance rover made history by driving across Mars using routes planned by artificial intelligence instead of human operators. A vision-capable AI analyzed the same images and terrain data normally used by rover planners.
- EngineAI introduces the T800 humanoid at $25,000 — The full-scale humanoid stands 1.73 meters tall, weighs 75 kg, and is built on a magnesium-aluminum alloy frame with joint actuators delivering up to 450 Nm of peak torque. Powered by NVIDIA Jetson Thor with 2000 TOPS of AI compute, first shipments are scheduled for mid-2026.
- SwitchBot's Onero H1 wins Best Robot of CES 2026 — The chore-handling robot won Engadget's editors' pick for best robot of CES 2026, demonstrating its ability to pick up laundry and deposit it in a washing machine. SwitchBot plans to sell Onero in limited quantities by the end of the year.
- RobCo raises $100M to scale autonomous manufacturing — The industrial robotics company secured $100 million to scale its autonomous manufacturing operations, part of a broader wave of robotics funding in early 2026.
- Overland AI expands autonomous ground systems for the U.S. military — Overland AI is already working closely with formations across the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and SOCOM to provide autonomous ground systems.
- LEM Surgical showcases FDA-cleared surgical humanoid — The Dynamis system features a multi-arm architecture mimicking human bimanual workflows for spinal and orthopedic procedures with sub-millimeter accuracy. Already holding FDA 510(k) clearance and in clinical use, it leverages NVIDIA Isaac for Healthcare and onboard AI processing.