Robotics

News, deep dives, and analysis — every Robotics story, newest first.

111

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Aug 18

Last updated

Two research quadcopters flying one above the other against a blue sky with cumulus clouds

Robotics · 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.

Haye KestelooAug 186 min read

Michael Perry on stage at the launch of the DJI Mavic Air in 2018

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.

Haye KestelooJul 30

Soft floating helium robot shaped like a small white whale hovering indoors

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.

Rafael SuárezJul 16

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr climbs 2,000-foot tower, and it looks like a drone captured the whole thing

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…

Haye KestelooJul 5

Congress Mandates Security Evaluation of DJI and Autel Drones in FY25 NDAA Bill

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,…

Haye KestelooJul 4

Amazon

Corvus Robotics Drones Cut GNC Backorders to 98 a Day

At a GNC nutritional supplement warehouse in Whitestown, Indiana, four small drones fly overhead every day. They count more than 2,000 plastic-wrapped pallets nobody wanted to count by hand. The aircraft come from Corvus Robotics, a startup building autonomous indoor flyers tuned for warehouse inventory work. Since GNC brought the program online two years ago,…

Rafael SuárezJun 27

Overhead black-and-white view of a DJI Phantom quadcopter surrounded by folding DJI Mavic drones and other multirotors arranged on a white surface

Department of Defense

ABSI Hosts Hive Mind Robotics Team for Counter-UAS Tour

Members of growingSTEMS Robotics Team 836A, known as The Hive Mind, toured ABSI Aerospace and Defense in California, Maryland this month to see how the company builds the expendable unmanned targets the U.S. military uses to train against hostile drones. The Hollywood, Maryland team had just returned from the VEX IQ World Championship in St.…

Rafael SuárezJun 26

FAA's Bold BVLOS Proposal: End Waivers, Ignite U.S. Drone Innovation Boom

FAA

FAA Awards SMART Air Traffic Contract to Air Space Intelligence, Beating Palantir and Thales

The FAA awarded Air Space Intelligence an $875M, 12-year contract for SMART air traffic AI, beating Palantir and Thales. What it means for BVLOS drones.

Haye KestelooJun 26

Robotics

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