The robotics and physical AI blog.
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The canon
The Robotics Canon
The textbooks, papers, software and courses that have stood the test of time.
The main event
Humanoid Robot Hardware
A teardown of what is actually inside a 2026 humanoid, with real DoF, mass and torque numbers, and why autonomy still lags the hardware.
Get into the field
The Robotics Career Roadmap
The disciplines, the maths and skills in order, the roles, and realistic salary bands.
Physical AI Labs
5- Physical Intelligence (π0.5): The Open Reference Point for Generalist Robot Policies
- Gemini Robotics: three models, and a published record with almost no numbers in it
- NVIDIA Isaac GR00T: The Open Humanoid Model That Ships With Its Own Compute Bill
- Wayve: the end-to-end driving bet, and what it has actually shown
- Waabi: a simulation-first bet on autonomous trucking
Rankings & Roundups
4Robot & Company Reviews
16- Unitree G1 Review: The Cheap Humanoid's Expensive Catch
- Boston Dynamics Spot Review: The Price Everyone Quotes Is Wrong
- Unitree Go2 Review: Which Tier Actually Does What You Want
- Universal Robots Review: The Lineup Is Two Ladders, Not One
- Franka Research 3 Review: The Lab Default, and Its Corporate Asterisk
- Tesla Optimus Review: The Scorecard, Not the Demo Reel
- Figure 03 Review: The Only Humanoid With a Repeat Customer
- Agility Robotics Digit Review: The Order Book Is One Contract for a Robot That Has Not Shipped
- ANYbotics ANYmal X Review: The Only Ex-Certified Quadruped, and the FCC Rule That Now Sits On Top of It
- DJI Matrice Review: The Enterprise Line an FCC Proposal Would Call Military-Grade
- Skydio X10 Review: The Failure Rate Skydio Publishes Where Nobody Looks
- KUKA LBR iiwa Review: The Cobot KUKA Stopped Modernising
- NVIDIA Jetson Thor Review: 130W Rated, 330W Transient
- Roborock Saros 20 Review: Strong Cleaning, a Bounded Support Horizon
- Symbotic Review: One Customer, and a Restatement Worth Reading
- Zebra and Fetch Robotics: The Acquirer That Walked Away
Motors, Actuation & Drives
9- Servo Motors: How They Work and How to Size One
- Brushless DC Motors for Robots: Kv, FOC and Sizing
- Brushed DC Motors: Torque-Speed Curves, H-Bridges and Sizing
- Stepper Motors and Drivers: Microstepping, Torque Curves, TMC
- Robot Actuators: Electric, Hydraulic & Pneumatic
- Motor Controllers & Field-Oriented Control (FOC)
- Motor Drive Power Electronics: Inverters, Gate Drivers, SiC vs GaN
- Pneumatics for Robots: Valve Sizing, Cylinders and Vacuum Grippers
- Hydraulic Robots: Pumps, Servo Valves and Force Density
Mechanical, Transmission & Materials
10- Robot Gearboxes: Harmonic & Cycloidal Drives
- Linear Motion Systems: Rails, Ball Screws & Linear Motors
- Choosing Robot Bearings: Types, L10 Life, Preload and Fits
- Belts, Pulleys & Chain Drives for Robotics
- Rotary Encoders: Incremental, Absolute & Resolvers
- Robot Wiring: Cable Sizing, M12 Connectors and Slip Rings
- Robot Structural Materials: Aluminum, Titanium, Carbon Fiber, Plastics
- 3D Printing Robot Parts: Processes, Materials and Strength
- IP Ratings for Robot Enclosures: Seals, Breathers and Cooling
- Robotic Grippers and End Effectors: Types, Force and Sizing
Power & Thermal
3Sensing & Perception
12- Robot Sensors: IMUs, Force/Torque & Proprioception
- LiDAR vs Depth Cameras for Robots: How Each Sees in 3D
- Depth Sensing: Stereo, ToF & Structured Light
- Machine Vision for Automation: Cameras, Lighting and Inspection
- Robot Perception & Object Pose Estimation
- IMUs and Inertial Navigation: Drift, Allan Variance and Grades
- Force/Torque Sensors for Robots: Six-Axis, Joint Torque and Calibration
- How Robots Feel Touch: Tactile Sensors and E-Skin
- mmWave Radar for Robots: Range, Doppler and Angle
- Event Cameras: How Neuromorphic Vision Works and When to Use One
- Ultrasonic and Proximity Sensors: Ranging, Blind Zones, Selection
- Thermal Cameras on Robots: Microbolometers, NETD and Emissivity
AI & Robot Learning
7- Reinforcement Learning for Robots: PPO, SAC and Sim-to-Real
- Vision-Language-Action Models: How Foundation Models Control Robots
- Imitation Learning for Robots: Behavior Cloning to Diffusion Policies
- Why Sim-Trained Robot Policies Fail on Hardware, and How to Fix It
- Behavior Trees for Robots: Nodes, Blackboards and Nav2
- Robot Teleoperation: Latency, Force Feedback and Shared Autonomy
- Sizing Onboard Robot Compute: MCU, GPU and Latency Budgets
Software, Networking & Systems
7- ROS 2 Explained: DDS, Nav2, MoveIt 2 and Production
- Robot Middleware: DDS, RTPS, QoS and the Alternatives
- Robot Networking: EtherCAT, TSN & Fieldbus
- Industrial Automation: PLCs, SCADA & Fieldbus
- Robot Simulation and Digital Twins: Gazebo vs Isaac Sim vs MuJoCo
- Robot Functional Safety: ISO 10218, STO, and PL vs SIL
- Robot Cybersecurity: ROS 2 Attack Surface, IEC 62443 and OTA
Robot Types
6- Inside Humanoid Robot Hardware: Actuators, Hands and Power
- Quadruped Robot Hardware: QDD Actuators, Legs and Gaits
- AMR vs AGV: How Mobile Robots Navigate and Stay Safe
- Industrial Robot Arms: 6-Axis, SCARA & Delta
- Cobots Explained: ISO/TS 15066 Modes and Force Limits
- Soft Robotics: Actuators, Fabrication and Where Softness Wins
Drones & UAVs
10- How Drone Hardware Fits Together: Motors, ESCs and Flight Controllers
- FPV Drones: Building, Flying & Digital Video
- Fixed-Wing and VTOL Drones: Why a Wing Flies for Hours
- Drone Navigation: GNSS, RTK/PPK & GPS-Denied Flight
- Drone Mapping, Surveying & Photogrammetry
- Agricultural Spraying Drones: Coverage Math, Drift and RTK
- Drone Delivery Economics: Airframes, Tether Drops and BVLOS
- Military Drones and Loitering Munitions: Groups, Roles and Mass Production
- Counter-Drone Systems: How C-UAS Detects and Defeats Small Drones
- Drone Regulations in 2026: Part 107, Remote ID, BVLOS and EASA
Applications & Industries
14- Warehouse Robots: AMRs, ASRS, Picking Arms and Cost per Pick
- How Surgical Robots Work: Teleoperation, FDA Clearance and Cost
- How Self-Driving Cars Work: The Stack, Sensors and Robotaxi Economics
- AUV vs ROV: How Underwater Robots Navigate Without GPS
- Space Robots: Rovers, Orbital Arms and Autonomy Under Delay
- Construction Robots: Bricklaying, Rebar, Layout and 3D Printing
- Agricultural Robots on the Ground: Tractors, Weeders, Harvesters
- Robotic Exoskeletons: Industrial, Rehab and the Evidence
- How Robot Vacuums and Domestic Robots Work: Mapping, Docks, Costs
- Inspection Robots: Drones, Crawlers and Quadrupeds on Hazardous Sites
- Security Robots: Patrol Bots, Quadrupeds and Drone-in-a-Box
- Multi-Robot Coordination and Swarms: Allocation, Formation, ORCA
- Robot Fleet Management: Dispatch, Traffic, Charging and VDA 5050
- Robot Maintenance: Failure Modes, Fault Codes and Early Warnings
Buyer's Guides
15- How to Choose a Drone
- How to Choose a Humanoid Robot
- How to Choose a Cobot (Collaborative Robot)
- How to Choose an Industrial Robot Arm
- How to Choose a Robot Dog (Quadruped)
- How to Choose an AMR or AGV
- How to Choose a Robotic Gripper
- How to Choose a LiDAR
- How to Choose a Servo Motor
- How to Choose a Machine Vision Camera
- How to Choose a Robotics Dev Board & Compute
- How to Choose a Robot Simulator
- How to Choose a Robot Vacuum
- How to Choose a 3D Printer for Robotics
- How to Choose an Exoskeleton
Learn, Careers & Industry
7- The Robotics Canon
- How to Build a Robotics Career: Skills, Roles and Pay
- Best Robotics Certifications & Courses
- How to Program a Robot Arm, From Teach Pendant to MoveIt
- Robotics Funding, Decoded: The Capital Cycle Behind the Boom
- Robotics Meets Crypto: DePIN & the Machine Economy
- The Next 10 Years of Robotics: A Grounded Forecast to 2036
