Today in Robotics — Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Today the humanoid housekeeper fantasy meets a reality check, while autonomy takes center stage in the sky, on the road, and on the battlefield. We've also got a bittersweet farewell to action-camera history and some quietly clever work making self-driving cars easier to trust.
- 01 The robot butler dream doesn’t have legs
A grounded look at why the humanoid home helper, showcased anew at IFA, still hasn't crossed from science fiction into your living room.
Read at source ↗ - 02 AIR to use Elmo Motion Control technology in uncrewed cargo aircraft
Elmo's compact, high-power servo drives heading into AIR's uncrewed cargo aircraft is a reminder that autonomy still lives or dies by its motion control components.
Read at source ↗ - 03 System helps humans predict when self-driving cars will make mistakes
MIT's CW-Net translates an autonomous vehicle's opaque reasoning into human-understandable concepts, a meaningful step toward predicting—and trusting—when the car might err.
Read at source ↗ - 04 DJI sets final support date for first Osmo Action camera
DJI setting a final support date for its trailblazing first Osmo Action closes a chapter on the front-display camera that shook up the GoPro-dominated market.
Read at source ↗ - 05 The GoPro you grew up with is disappearing
The company that convinced everyone to strap a camera to their helmet faces a sale and merger, marking the end of an era for action video.
Read at source ↗ - 06 The Army just used a 20-kilowatt laser to take out three drones
A 20-kilowatt laser downing three drones signals the counter-drone arms race is shifting from kinetic interceptors toward directed energy.
Read at source ↗ - 07 REWE uses Cimcorp automation, Success Services in produce supply chain
REWE's Berlin warehouse pairing Cimcorp automation with preventive maintenance shows that in logistics, keeping systems running matters as much as installing them.
Read at source ↗ - 08 Elon Musk’s heterodox robotaxi philosophy gets put to the test
With the Cybercab finally arriving, Musk's camera-only, no-lidar robotaxi bet faces its real-world reckoning after nearly two years of promises.
Read at source ↗
The RobotCafe digest — five minutes, the whole field.