Robotics · Ukraine
Erik Prince's Swarmer Buys Ukraine's Ratel Robotics for Up to $224M
Nasdaq-listed Swarmer, chaired by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, is buying Ukraine's Ratel Robotics for up to $224 million, mostly in stock.
Robotics
News, deep dives, and analysis — every Robotics story, newest first.
114
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Sep 10
Last updated
Drone robotics coverage sits underneath the finished product: the autonomy, sensing and manufacturing systems that make a drone work, or that stretch what a drone even looks like.
Sensing research is finding real alternatives to cameras and LiDAR: a Duke University drone tracks another drone using only its sound, an autonomy approach that keeps working when visual tracking is blocked or when a target is actively trying to avoid detection.
The manufacturing side of robotics matters just as much as the flying hardware. Corvus Robotics drones cut GNC backorders to 98 a day, a production-automation story about the supply chain behind drone components rather than about any single finished aircraft.
Experimental builds outside the standard rotor-and-camera format get coverage too: Cuddle-Fish is a soft, floating helium robot built to keep you company, a project that pushes the definition of “drone” well past its usual boundaries. The broader drone technology desk and artificial intelligence desk cover related autonomy work. Every drone robotics story is in the feed below.
Key facts
- What this covers
- The robotics layer of drones: autonomy research, sensing systems, and manufacturing robotics that support production at scale
- Autonomy edge case
- Research is pushing drones past camera and LiDAR sensing entirely, toward alternative methods like acoustic tracking
- Manufacturing angle
- Robotics coverage extends to the production side, where automation is cutting order backlogs for drone component makers
Start here
- Duke University Drone Tracks Another Drone Using Only Its Sound — August 18, 2026
- Corvus Robotics Drones Cut GNC Backorders to 98 a Day — June 27, 2026
- Cuddle-Fish: The Helium Robot Built To Keep You Company — July 16, 2026
Last updated September 10, 2026 — the feed below updates with every new story.
Department of Defense
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Department of Defense
XTEND Hits the NYSE Friday Before the Pentagon Scores It
XTEND AI Robotics starts trading on the NYSE as XTND on September 4. The Pentagon has not yet scored the Gauntlet II contest the valuation rests on.
RESEARCH
Duke University Drone Tracks Another Drone Using Only Its Sound
Duke's SonicFly follower quadcopter chases a leader drone with a 10-gram microphone array, no GPS sharing, no radio link, and no camera.
DJI
Ex-DJI Executive Warns The FCC Drone Ban Buys American Makers Time, Nothing More
Michael Perry ran DJI's U.S. business for four years. Now building American robots, he says the FCC drone ban buys time and regulation is no moat.
Companion
Cuddle-Fish: The Helium Robot Built To Keep You Company
Keio University researchers working with collaborators including the MIT Media Lab have built Cuddle-Fish, a soft helium floating robot that hovers silently indoors for hours, nudges users awake, delivers reminders, and invites touch instead of fear.
DJI
FCC Import Cutoff For Legacy Huawei Gear Shows Exactly How DJI Grandfathering Could End
The Federal Communications Commission prohibited the continued importation and marketing of previously authorized equipment from Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua on June 26, 2026, closing a nearly four-year window in which older, pre-approved models from Covered List companies could keep entering the United States legally. The decision does not touch drones. DJI and Autel…
Autel Robotics
Autel’s Corporate Sibling Files Again for Hong Kong IPO, and Drones Are Part of the Pitch
Autel Intelligent Technology, the Shenzhen company that shares its founder and brand name with drone maker Autel Robotics, has refiled for a Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing. The Shanghai-listed firm (688208.SH) submitted its application to the HKEX Main Board on June 30, 2026, with CICC as sole sponsor, after its first attempt, filed December 19,…
Frequently asked questions
What is the Duke University sound-tracking drone research about?
A Duke University drone tracks another drone using only its sound, an autonomy approach that doesn't depend on cameras or LiDAR at all, useful in situations where visual tracking is blocked or where a target drone is specifically trying to avoid visual detection.
Does drone robotics coverage include manufacturing automation, not just the drones themselves?
Yes. Corvus Robotics drones cut GNC backorders to 98 a day, a supply-chain and manufacturing robotics story rather than a story about a specific consumer or enterprise drone product, reflecting how automation affects the whole production pipeline, not just the finished aircraft.
What kind of experimental or unconventional robotic builds get covered here?
Genuinely novel designs outside the standard quadcopter mold. Cuddle-Fish is a soft, floating helium robot built to keep you company, an experimental robotics project that stretches what counts as a drone well past the conventional camera-and-rotors format.
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