K-Scale Labs is quietly reshaping robotics’ future in an unassuming Palo Alto garage. Their goal? To roll out a fully open-source humanoid robot for just $999—a steal that beats most high-end smartphones. This is essentially Z-Bot, a developer-friendly platform built to bring embodied intelligence to everyone.
Hayward, California, might not top your list for the next big leap in transportation, but Zoox’s brand-new 220,000-square-foot facility is proving otherwise. Unveiled on June 18, 2025, this vast plant—spanning the length of three and a half football fields—is the first in the U.S. crafted specifically to mass-produce robotaxis.
Humanoid robots have mostly been stuck with walking, grabbing, or at best, tripping through obstacle courses. But the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa smashed that limit with iRonCub3, the world’s first jet-powered humanoid robot to nail controlled flight.
Photo credit: AEMotion
Paris in June hums with innovation during Vivatech 2025, and this year, a peculiar vehicle steals the spotlight. AEMotion’s Dual, a four-wheeled micro EV, zips through the city’s narrow streets, tilting like a motorcycle yet promising the safety of a car. This prototype has been a decade in the making, and designed to turn heads.
Tesla’s Optimus, and other humanoid robots, may soon be able to feel, literally. How so? A newly developed robotic skin capable of mimicking human touch. This marks a sensory leap forward, as in a single-material marvel that detects pressure, shear, and temperature in one seamless package.
