Ready For Tomorrow #79

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Last week in robotics was all about money flowing and new gear dropping. Billions raised, fresh machines unveiled – and plenty to talk about. Let’s get into it!

#1 We start in the UK.

The startup Humanoid has unveiled its first industrial robot – the HMND 01 Alpha. It’s a wheeled autonomous manipulator with two arms, designed for factory and plant work in repetitive and hazardous tasks.

Specs are solid: 220 cm tall, speeds up to 7.2 km/h, and payloads over 15 kg. The business model? Not sales, but robots-as-a-service – rental and support bundled together.

What’s next? HMND 01 Alpha heads into industrial trials, with a refined Beta version scheduled for 2026. Backing it all up: $50 million in funding and a team with experience from Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, and Boston Dynamics.

Clear signal here: humanoid robotics is gaining momentum, and the UK is throwing its hat into the global race for the future of industrial automation.

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#2 And since we’re on the topic of humanoids…

Over in the US, Figure AI just pulled in a massive $1 billion Series C round, shooting its valuation up to $39 billion.

The investor list reads like a who’s who of tech: NVIDIA, Intel Capital, LG, Salesforce, T-Mobile, Qualcomm – all betting big on humanoids.

Where’s the money going? First, to scale up humanoid production. Second, to push its Helix AI platform – the brains that tie together data, simulation, and real-time learning. And third, to build in-house manufacturing lines, so Figure can move from prototypes to hundreds, even thousands, of robots.

Why does it matter? Because this isn’t lab play anymore – investors are betting that humanoids will soon show up in warehouses, factories, and eventually homes. Figure’s ambition is clear: not just to build a robot, but to own the full stack – hardware, software, and data in one ecosystem.

#3 Back to the good old industrial robots – because life isn’t just about humanoids.

Here comes ABB Robotics, announcing an investment in LandingAI, the company founded by Andrew Ng. The goal? Radically speed up and simplify vision AI for robots.

Today, training a vision system takes weeks and a team of experts. With LandingLens™ – a no-code platform with pre-trained models – that process can shrink by up to 80%. These pre-trained models are basically vision algorithms that don’t start from scratch. Users just adapt them to their parts and processes: upload a few sample images, and the system fine-tunes itself to new tasks.

The impact? Operators will be able to reprogram robots for new jobs in just hours. Plus, integration with RobotStudio and ABB’s digital twins means scenarios can be simulated, tested, and then deployed straight onto the line.

And the use cases go beyond factories – think logistics, quality inspection, depalletizing, food, and even healthcare.
ABB’s bigger picture? Democratize advanced robotics so even companies without in-house AI teams can retrain intelligent vision systems on the fly.

#4 From humanoids and factories, let’s move… to rooftops.

Gecko Robotics, together with NAES (North American Energy Services – specialists in power plant operations and maintenance), has launched StratoSight – a drone and AI-powered system for large-scale roof inspections.

Here’s how it works: drones fly over commercial rooftops capturing high-resolution images, 3D scans, and thermal data. That data is then processed in the cloud by AI, which spots cracks, leaks, poor insulation, or energy losses long before the human eye would. Gecko claims StratoSight can detect up to 10 times more issues than traditional inspections.

The big wins? First, safety – no more people climbing dangerous structures. Second, scale – hundreds of sites can be inspected quickly and consistently. And third, planning – owners get actionable reports, so repairs can be scheduled proactively instead of reacting to costly emergencies.

It’s a perfect example of robotics and AI stepping outside the factory floor and automating tasks in places where, until now, the only tools were a ladder and a pair of binoculars.

#5 And to wrap up, we’re hitting the American highways.

Houston-based startup Bot Auto just pulled off something that sounded like science fiction not long ago – the first truck run without a human in the cab. No driver, no remote operator – just an autonomous system hauling between hubs in Houston.

The truck handled normal traffic, both at dusk and after dark, all under strict safety protocols with redundant systems and emergency fallback procedures. Bot Auto now plans to extend routes, including commercial runs between Houston and San Antonio.

This marks another step toward Level 4 autonomy – a world where trucks drive themselves while humans just monitor. Lower costs, fewer errors, greater scale. The future just merged onto the highway.

And truckers? Don’t worry – AI might take the wheel, but it still can’t tell a joke about the mother-in-law on the CB radio.

That’s it for today’s edition of Ready for Tomorrow.
I know – it landed a bit later than usual. Yesterday I escaped to my beloved mountains to clear my head, and once I got back… well, my body refused to cooperate.

See you in the next issue – and as always, let’s keep looking ahead, ready for tomorrow.