On Wednesday, Clone Robotics released video footage of its Protoclone humanoid robot, a full-body machine that uses synthetic muscles to create unsettlingly human-like movements. In the video, the robot hangs suspended from the ceiling as its limbs twitch and kick, marking what the company claims is a step toward its goal of creating household-helper robots.
Poland-based Clone Robotics designed the Protoclone with a polymer skeleton that replicates 206 human bones. The company built the robot with the hopes that it will one day be able to operate human tools and perform tasks like doing laundry, washing dishes, and preparing basic meals.
The Protoclone reportedly contains over 1,000 artificial muscles built with the company's "Myofiber" technology, which builds on the McKibbin pneumatic muscle concept. These muscles work through mesh tubes containing balloons that contract when filled with hydraulic fluid, mimicking human muscle function. A 500-watt electric pump serves as the robot's "heart," pushing fluid at 40 standard liters per minute.
Figure founder and CEO Brett Adcock Thursday revealed a new machine learning model for humanoid robots. The news, which arrives two weeks after Adcock announced the Bay Area robotics firm’s decision to step away from an OpenAI collaboration, is centered around Helix, a “generalist” Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model. VLAs are a new phenomenon for robotics, leveraging […]
The Roomba Combo i5 can vacuum and mop for just $189, which is a 40 percent discount.
Looking for a robot vacuum or mop that won’t set you back a few hundred dollars? Right now, Verge readers can pick up the Roomba Combo i5 — the upgrade to our top budget pick, the Roomba i3 Evo — from Wellbots for a new low of $189 ($160 off) with offer VERGE160. The Roomba Combo j5, which is nearly identical to the i5, is also down $239 ($290 off) at Wellbots when you use promo code 210VERGE. Both deals run through the end of tomorrow, February 15th.
Like the aforementioned Roomba i3 Evo, both robot vacuums offer wide, dual rubber brushes that do a terrific job of sucking up dirt and debris from both hardwood and carpets. They’re also packed with features that speed up and simplify the cleaning process, even if they lack the optional auto-empty dock. For instance, both offer vSLAM mapping tech and room-specific cleaning, which lets you program them to clean specific rooms at specific times. You can also control them using either an app or your voice, thanks to their support for virtual assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant. And, like all Roombas, they’re relatively easy to repair, so you don’t have to worry about buying a new model each time you run into an issue.
Additionally, both the Combo i5 and j5 offer basic mopping capabilities, though you’ll need to swap out the rear dustbin for one that includes a water tank and a reusable pad when it’s time to do so. The Combo j5 offers a few other enhancements — including AI-powered obstacle avoidance, which is typically reserved for higher-end Roombas like the Roomba Combo j9 Plus. The step-up model also allows for keep-out zones and no-mop zones, two features the i5 and i3 Evo lack.
A few more deals and discounts
You can currently pick up the 8BitDo Pro 2 Bluetooth Gamepad starting at $38.39 ($11 off) at Amazon, which is an all-time low. The excellent wireless controller features drift-free Hall effect sticks and boasts two customizable paddles, along with three custom profiles and USB-C for relatively fast charging. It also supports Bluetooth connectivity, meaning you can pair it with consoles like the Nintendo Switch, PC, Android, and plenty of other devices.
The Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam is available for $59.99 ($20 off) from Amazon, Best Buy, and Ring, which is $10 shy of its best price to date. It features a rotating head that automatically tilts and offers 360-degree panning, ensuring you can see every corner of your room. The wired 1080p HD camera also features support for two-way talk, color night vision, a built-in siren, and a manual privacy shutter that blocks all audio and video. You can also get motion alerts with person detection and recorded video if you opt for a Ring Protect Plan, which starts at $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year. Read our hands-on impressions.
JBL’s Tour Pro 3 are on sale for $249.95 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and directly from JBL, which matches their lowest price to date. The wireless earbuds offer good sound and noise cancellation, though it’s the included charging case that differentiates them the most. The latter features a 1.57-inch touchscreen display that lets you see who’s calling or the current song, along with other info; it also doubles as a Bluetooth transmitter, so you can pair the earbuds with in-flight entertainment systems or other wired sources.
Meta is planning to design the hardware and software for humanoid robots, according to a report from Bloomberg. Sources tell the outlet that a newly formed team within Meta’s Reality Labs division will start by working on “humanoid robot hardware” capable of completing household chores.
Bloomberg notes that Meta has broader goals of making “the underlying AI, sensors and software for robots that will be manufactured and sold by a range of companies.” That means the company might not make a Meta-branded robot to start. It’s in discussions with robotics companies like Unitree Robotics and Figure AI about its plans, Bloomberg reports.
“The core technologies we’ve already invested in and built across Reality Labs and AI are complementary to developing the advancements needed for robotics,” Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s chief technology officer, wrote in a memo seen by Bloomberg. “We believe that expanding our portfolio to invest in this field will only accrue value to Meta AI and our mixed and augmented reality programs.”
Tesla already showed off humanoid robots of its own, while other tech giants have begun to dip into the robotics industry. Recent research conducted by Apple gave us a glimpse at a Pixar-style lamp that interacts with users through voice commands and gestures. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the company is exploring “both humanoid and non-humanoid robots for its future smart home ecosystem.” Nvidia also has big ambitions for the future of robotics.
As Meta continues to dive deeper into AI with a $65 billion investment, it’s also ramping up its efforts to sell its smart glasses. Bloomberg reports that Meta has hired John Koryl, the former CEO of The RealReal — a site where users can buy and sell luxury items — to serve as its vice president of retail.
Apptronik, a University of Texas spin-out that was quietly building humanoid robots before it became quite so fashionable, on Thursday announced a $350 million Series A round of financing. B Capital and Capital Factory co-led the round, which also featured participation from Google, whose DeepMind division is partnering with Apptronik to deliver embodied AI for […]
Apple is exploring both humanoid and non-humanoid robotic form factors, according to a new scoop from longtime Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The intel comes on the heels of a research paper from the iPhone maker that explores human interactions with “non-anthropomorphic” robots — specifically a Pixar-style lamp. While Apple’s research paper highlights elements that could […]
Last month, Apple offered up more insight into its consumer robotics work via a research paper that argues that traits like expressive movements are key to optimizing human-robot interaction. “Like most animals,” starts the report, “humans are highly sensitive to motion and subtle changes in movement.” To illustrate its point, Apple pays homage to Pixar, […]
Figure AI, a robotics company working to bring a general-purpose humanoid robot into commercial and residential use, announced Tuesday on X that it is exiting a deal with OpenAI. The Bay Area-based outfit has instead opted to focus on in-house AI owing to a “major breakthrough.” In conversation with TechCrunch afterward, founder and CEO Brett Adcock […]
Roboforce raised $10 million in funding to make an AI robotic workforce.
The startup, founded in 2023, develops robots for manufacturing and outdoor tasks.
The funding will be used to expand the team, scale robot development, and launch pilot projects.
Robotics startup Roboforce has raised $10 million in an early-stage funding round led by Nobel laureate economist Myron Scholes. Gary Rieschel, who previously spearheaded Softbank's U.S. venture capital group, and Carnegie Mellon University, the alma mater of Roboforce co-founders Leo Ma and Calvin Zhou, also participated in the round.
The Milpitas, Calif.-based startup, which launched in 2023, makes AI-powered robots that carry out manufacturing tasks. The company's robots use artificial intelligence to move themselves and perform duties that require fine motor skills, like screwing in nuts and bolts, with one millimeter of accuracy, Ma told Business Insider.
The robots are also capable of working on physical projects in tough outdoor conditions, like installing solar centers in deserts, he said. They are controlled by an AI model, developed in-house at Roboforce, and some human intervention, though the company intends for the robots to reach full autonomy.
The 15-person company will use the funding to double the size of its team, scale its robot development, and roll out pilot projects with early customers. Currently, Roboforce has a fleet of under ten robots and hopes to reach double digits this year. Veeral Hardev, who runs business development, said the robots will be leased to customers through a subscription model.
Ma previously co-founded and led engineering at Cyngn, an autonomous industrial vehicle company that went public in October 2021. "Building AI robotics is all I do," Ma said. "My heart is in building AI robotics."
Ma, whose parents work in manufacturing, has been interested in automating production since childhood. Over the past decade, he has visited over 200 factories to study industrial automation. "The most tedious, demanding, repetitive, and dangerous work—we really shouldn't have to have a human do it," Ma said.
Ma and Roboforce's co-founder and vice president of engineering, Calvin Zhou, met while they were studying computer science at Carnegie Mellon. Zhou previously worked at Cruise, a self-driving robotaxi subsidiary of General Motors.
A handful of other companies are also developing robots with human-like capabilities. Elon Musk unveiled his robot, Optimus, at Tesla's Robotaxi Day in October 2024. Figure, which raised a $70 million Series A in 2023, builds robots that can complete general tasks autonomously. And Sanctuary AI, another labor market-focused robot startup, is on the market for more funding, The Logic reported on Tuesday.
Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck Roboforce used to raise $10 million.
Safety is often overlooked in the rush to bring humanoid robots to the workplace. As high-profile corporations ranging from retailers like Amazon to carmakers such as Mercedes and BMW have announced humanoid pilots for factories and warehouses, conversations around worker safety are regularly buried beneath industry hype. One Bay Area robotics firm is hoping to […]
Like anything in life, the secret to becoming Steph Curry or Sabrina Ionescu is practice, practice, and more practice. You practice when it’s too hot, too cold, you’re tired, or you’re sick. Finding a willing one-on-one partner through all of that is, however, another question entirely. The good news is that later this year, you […]
Robotics have been a foundational element of Nvidia’s stratospheric growth in recent years. When the chip maker announced GR00T in March of last year, it was heralded as a watershed moment from humanoid robotics. Most of the category’s biggest names were available from launch, including, 1X Technologies, Agility Robotics, Apptronik, Boston Dynamics, Figure AI, Fourier […]
Tech companies love rolling a robot out onstage. These systems serve as shorthand for consumer electronics brands branching out into a more bleeding-edge category. On occasion we get an Amazon Astro or Sony Aibo that actually hit the market in some form. More often than not, however, the robots only exist in the land of […]
Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday that it has become the largest shareholder of South Korea-based robotics maker Rainbow Robotics, increasing its stake from 14.7% to 35% for KRW 267 billion (about $181 billion). The electronics giant, which paid KRW 86.8 billion (about $59 billion) for the 14.7% stake in 2023, said it is acquiring the […]
The chipmaking giant Nvidia is leaning more heavily into robotics in 2025. More specifically, in the first half of the new year, confirms the Financial Times, Nvidia is launching a new generation of compact computers for humanoid robots called Jetson Thor. The move, which was expected, is part of an evolving, years-long strategy. Nvidia doesn’t […]
A little early holiday surprise from Boston Dynamics this week, as Santa suit-wearing electric Atlas performs a backflip. The feat occurs about 13 minutes into a new video, showcasing yet another trick in the humanoid robot’s arsenal. It’s worth noting that — unlike with humans — a robot performing a backflip isn’t necessarily more complicated […]
Colin Angle, one of the co-founders of Roomba maker iRobot, is raising cash for a home robotics venture. A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveals that Angle’s new company, Familiar Machines & Magic, is trying to raise $30 million. So far, it has raised $15 million from a group of eight investors. […]
