Section

Robotics

The machines leaving the lab and walking into the real world.

The Four-Legged Robots Already Walking Into Places That Would Kill You

A quiet class of machine has slipped into some of the most dangerous workplaces on Earth — the radioactive room, the gas-filled mine, the collapsed building. They walk on four legs, and they don't need to breathe.

The Uncanny Valley Isn't a Law of Nature. It's a Design Decision

The Uncanny Valley Isn't a Law of Nature. It's a Design Decision

As humanoid robots pour into the world, an old dread is back: the queasy feeling when a machine looks almost human. We treat it as a fixed fact of the mind. It isn't — it's a trap engineers can choose to avoid.

2026 Is the Year Humanoid Robots Finally Clocked In

2026 Is the Year Humanoid Robots Finally Clocked In

For decades the walking, talking robot was always 'a few years away.' This year they started showing up on factory floors and in airports — as workers, not demos.

The Robot in Your Operating Room Doesn't Operate. A Human Does — For Now

The Robot in Your Operating Room Doesn't Operate. A Human Does — For Now

Millions of surgeries a year are now done 'by robot.' But the surgical robot doesn't make a single decision — every cut is a human hand, one step removed. The interesting question is what happens when that changes.

Robots Ace Chess but Can't Fold Your Laundry. Meet Moravec's Paradox.

Robots Ace Chess but Can't Fold Your Laundry. Meet Moravec's Paradox.

We assumed the hard stuff for machines would be logic and strategy. It's the opposite: the things a toddler does without thinking are what still defeat the world's best robots.

Amazon Just Passed One Million Robots. You'll Almost Never See One

Amazon Just Passed One Million Robots. You'll Almost Never See One

Amazon's warehouses now hold a workforce of over a million machines — approaching the number of humans working beside them. It's one of the largest robot deployments in history, and it's nearly invisible.

The New Bionic Limbs Don't Just Move When You Think. They Feel Back

The New Bionic Limbs Don't Just Move When You Think. They Feel Back

For decades the dream of the bionic limb was control — a hand that moves when you think. But the deeper problem was the opposite: getting the limb to talk back to the brain. Researchers are finally cracking it.

Self-Driving Cars Were 'Five Years Away' for Fifteen Years. Then, Quietly, They Arrived

Self-Driving Cars Were 'Five Years Away' for Fifteen Years. Then, Quietly, They Arrived

For fifteen years, fully autonomous cars were perpetually just over the horizon. Then, while everyone was being cynical, half a million people a week started climbing into cars with no driver.