Today in Robotics — Sunday, September 27, 2026
Sunday's slate leans philosophical and practical at once, from a fresh look at why Asimov's tidy Three Laws don't map onto real AI safety, to the messy supply-chain reality of rare earths that make robots possible. We've also got a Chinook refueling from an uncrewed barge, an FDA-cleared exoskeleton, and a modular take on robot intelligence.
- 01 Asimov’s laws are not enough to keep robotics and AI safe
A useful reality check that fictional safeguards, however elegant, don't translate into engineering practice for governing today's robotics and AI.
Read at source ↗ - 02 5 companies working to expand America’s rare earth processing capacity
Robotics runs on rare earths, so this look at US processing capacity matters for anyone worried about where the raw materials come from.
Read at source ↗ - 03 First for US Army: MH-47G Chinook helicopter refuels from autonomous barge at sea
An Army first that hints at how autonomous surface vessels could reshape logistics and refueling far from traditional bases.
Read at source ↗ - 04 FDA-cleared exoskeleton puts spinal-cord patients back on their feet
FDA clearance moves a self-balancing exoskeleton from lab promise to real independence for people with spinal-cord injuries.
Read at source ↗ - 05 General Robotics is betting on modular intelligence, not one robot brain
A bet that composing specialized skills, rather than chasing one all-knowing model, is the better path to robots that adapt across tasks and form factors.
Read at source ↗
The RobotCafe digest — five minutes, the whole field.