Today in Robotics — Friday, October 16, 2026
Today's spread runs from the playful to the strategic: humanoids learning to rally in table tennis doubles while a former Nvidia insider argues robotics is still assembling its Lego bricks. Elsewhere, lasers, counter-drone networks, and warehouse shuttles remind us that the field's center of gravity remains firmly in defense and logistics.
- 01 Two humanoid robots team up to play table tennis doubles, rally for over 10 shots
PingpongDuo pushes humanoids past solo stunts into coordinated teamwork, with two robots sustaining rallies over ten shots—a neat test of fast perception and shared timing.
Read at source ↗ - 02 A Nvidia insider-turned-VC on why robotics hasn’t hit its ChatGPT moment, yet
A VC with seven years inside Nvidia's robotics platforms frames the field's "Lego era," where actuators, hands, and software are still being snapped together toward a breakout moment.
Read at source ↗ - 03 Physical AI is more than robots, says the Nvidia veteran now investing in it
The same Nvidia veteran broadens the lens in podcast form, arguing physical AI extends well beyond robots themselves into a wider ecosystem of building blocks.
Read at source ↗ - 04 US Army’s new laser weapon plan aims to turn ordinary vehicles into drone killers
The US Army wants high-energy lasers mounted on ordinary vehicles to down drones, signaling a push toward cheaper, mobile counters to the cheap-drone problem.
Read at source ↗ - 05 Robot Talk Episode 166 – Evolving robot bodies and brains, with Rika Antonova
Cambridge's Rika Antonova discusses co-evolving robot hardware and algorithms, a reminder that smarter machines may come from designing bodies and brains together rather than separately.
Read at source ↗ - 06 Fortem’s DroneHunter nets a bigger role in allied air defense
Fortem and MBDA deepen their partnership to fold DroneHunter's net-based autonomous interceptors into European and allied air defense networks, pushing counter-drone tech into formal military systems.
Read at source ↗ - 07 FCC adds Pentagon letters to DJI and Autel drone ban records
The FCC quietly folds Department of War letters into its DJI and Autel ban proceedings, another procedural step in the long squeeze on Chinese drone makers.
Read at source ↗ - 08 NAPA Auto Parts picks warehouse automation from Hy-Tek Intralogistics
NAPA Auto Parts turns to Hy-Tek and Hai Robotics' storage system, a workaday but telling sign that automated fulfillment keeps spreading through parts distribution.
Read at source ↗
The RobotCafe digest — five minutes, the whole field.