🤖 Autonomous Copper Mine
Good Morning, Roboticists!
The robotic layer is spreading: dirt, skin, war, warehouses, patrol routes, service counters, even awkward human contact
Autonomous Copper Mine
TL;DR: Mariana Minerals, led by former Tesla battery metals manager Turner Caldwell, has launched an autonomous copper operation at its CopperOne mine in southeast Utah. The site uses automated Sandvik drills, Pronto robotic haul trucks, Boston Dynamics’ Spot, and MarianaOS software to coordinate extraction, haulage, inspection, and ore tracking across the 10,000-acre mine. Read more →
Skin Scans Go Robotic
TL;DR: SquareMind raised $18 million to prepare U.S. and European launches of Swan, its AI-powered robotic platform for full-body dermoscopic skin imaging. Built to ease dermatologist overload and long screening waitlists, Swan captures contactless standardized skin images in minutes, helping physicians track new or changing lesions while keeping clinical judgment human. Read more →
Humanoids Opens Up
TL;DR: Menlo Research has open-sourced Asimov v1, a 1.2-meter, 35kg humanoid robot with 25 actuated degrees of freedom, modular aluminum-and-nylon hardware, and MuJoCo simulation files for locomotion training. Developers can buy a $15,000 DIY kit or self-source parts from the open BOM, though full assembly remains technically demanding. Read more →
Robot Hug Goes Wrong
TL;DR: During a sports meet opening ceremony at Xi’an Eurasia University, a humanoid robot broke from its programmed dance routine and hugged a nearby female student before staff intervened. The supplier blamed drone-related signal interference, while expert Gao Huan said the episode exposed weak safety redundancy, not robot consciousness. Read more →
Spot Becomes Security Network
TL;DR: Asylon and Boston Dynamics are pushing Spot deeper into industrial security with DroneDog, an AI-powered patrol system built for continuous site monitoring, asset tracking, and alarm response. The setup combines Spot, PupPack, DogHouse charging, encrypted communications, cameras, DroneIQ software, and human oversight into a coordinated robotic security network. Read more →
Robot Brains Enter Warehouses
TL;DR: Sereact raised $110 million in Series B funding to scale Cortex 2.0, its “robotic brain,” and enter the U.S. market with a new Boston office. Built from real warehouse deployments, Cortex 2.0 uses a world model to plan before acting, aiming to run across arms, humanoids, and industrial robots. Read more →
Ukraine Robotizes Logistics
TL;DR: Ukraine plans to procure 25,000 unmanned ground vehicles by mid-2026 as it pushes to make frontline logistics fully robotic. After more than 9,000 ground-robot missions in March, systems like the NATO-standard Bizon-L are being used for ammunition delivery and medical evacuation, keeping soldiers away from high-risk frontline routes. Read more →
KAI Targets Service Robotics
TL;DR: Shenzhen startup Kinetix AI unveiled KAI, a full-size humanoid robot with 115 degrees of freedom, 36-DoF dexterous hands, tactile skin with 18,000 sensors, and a 1.7kWh semi-solid-state battery. Built by XPENG robotics veterans, KAI targets retail, concierge, and home assistance, with a planned sub-$40,000 price point. Read more →
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