Robotics evangelist @ planet Earth 🌍

Robotics is one of the hottest markets right now.

I love talking to robotics founders about their vision for changing the world.

Their ideas are often spot on, but that's not always enough.

In the age of social media, it's very important for a company to have fantastic brand awareness and recognition.

Fortunately, how to make your robot or customized machine go viral is my job.

For over 3 years, I have been working with the world's largest companies in robotics to help them increase awareness of their products and solutions.

I work with Amazon, NVIDIA, Intel, Boston Dynamics, Universal Robots, KUKA, FANUC, Hugging Face, and many other awesome robotics companies.

Basically, I help high-tech companies with digital enablement (creating an audience in the digital world, generating leads, and building brand awareness).

Who am I? 

→ 1st World Content creator on Linkedin (+225k subscribers) & 100M views in robotics 
→ Elon Musk reposting an commenting my robotics news on X (+70M views annually on X)
→ Owner of the biggest robotics newsletter worldwide (in total 100K subscribers)

📬 Send a DM for business opportunities.

Is Zurich really the Silicon Valley of robotics? 

Well, if you look at their robotics ecosystem, it seems true! 

👀 SPOILER: Zurich robotics ecosystem is that BIG, that describing it I exceeded LinkedIn post standard length (some companies will be described in the comment section).

Zurich is a great place to start a robotics company because everything you need is close and well connected.

It has top engineering talent, mainly from ETH Zürich, one of the best robotics and AI universities in the world. 

Many successful robotics startups come directly from ETH research. Also, the presence of Disney Research and RAI Institute helps to be on the frontier of physical AI.

The city also has strong industry and customers nearby. Switzerland is home to global companies in robotics, manufacturing, and automation, such as ABB Robotics, which often work with startups as partners or early customers.

Zurich offers good access to funding, especially for deep-tech and robotics. Investors here are used to long development cycles and complex hardware products. 💰

Finally, Zurich is known for stability and quality of life. It is safe, well organized, and centrally located in Europe, making it easier to attract international talent and scale globally.

Listing some of the Zurich-based companies here:

→ ANYbotics -  builds autonomous four-legged robots for industrial inspection and maintenance, and has raised $150M+ (€127M+) in funding.

→ Gravis Robotics - develops AI-powered autonomy systems that turn heavy construction machines into self-driving robots, and has raised ~$27 M in total funding.

→ Verity - builds autonomous indoor drones for warehouse inventory tracking and has raised ~$60M+ in funding.

→ mimic - develops AI-powered robotic picking systems that enable fast, reliable item handling for warehouse and logistics operations.

→ Bota Systems AG - develops high-precision force-torque sensors and sensing software that give robots real-time tactile awareness for manipulation.

→ Duatic - develops advanced human-scale robotic arms and mobile manipulation systems.

→ RIVR - builds autonomous Physical AI-powered wheeled-legged robots for last-mile doorstep delivery and has raised about $22 M in seed funding.

→ Flexion Robotics - builds the autonomous AI “brain” and software stack for humanoid robots, and has raised about $50 M in funding.

→ FORGIS - develops AI-powered edge software that makes industrial machines and factory systems autonomous and intelligent, and has raised ~€3.8 M (~$4.5 M) in pre-seed funding.

→ Voliro - builds autonomous aerial robots for industrial inspection and maintenance and has raised ~$23 M in Series A funding.

→ Sevensense - built AI-powered 3D vision navigation tech for autonomous mobile robots and was acquired by ABB Robotics in January 2024. 

I'm aware that there might be some companies missing, and the map is not completed!

~~ 

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Lukas M. Ziegler

Robotics evangelist @ planet Earth 🌍 | Telling your robot stories.

A roadmap for learning robotics! 🔥

📌 If you’re self-learning robotics, this is genuinely one of the better repos to save for later!

This GitHub repo is basically a curated learning map for anyone trying to get into robotics without drowning in random bookmarks.

SOOOOO many free courses on almost every topic related to robotics, ⭐️ 3k+ on GitHub says it all...

If I had had this list during my studies, my career might have turned out differently.

But I didn't, so I the only thing I can do is to recommend it and give it to you now...

It’s a structured collection of links to:

→ robotics courses (online + university)
→ ROS / embedded / hardware basics
→ math & algorithms that actually matter for robots

A clean, opinionated list that helps you go from “where do I start?” to a real learning pipeline.

And it’s open-source, so you can contribute resources too.

🔗 Try it out here: https://lnkd.in/dnqBuXUQ

Do you have an awesome resource to learn AV and robotics? Share it with me, and I'm happy to put it on the spotlight.

Mithi Sevilla thanks for putting this together 🔥🔥  

~~   

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Dexterity is coming closer! 🪬

What a start to the new year.

During CES, Sharpa announced a tactile VLA for “last millimeter” manipulation called CraftNet.

Sharpa says the real bottleneck in robotics is hands.

Robots can dance, box, and run. But the moment they touch an object, they become clumsy, because most policies are trained on trajectories with no force or tactile feedback.

Their answer is CraftNet, a hierarchical VTLA model (Vision–Tactile–Language–Action) built specifically for fine manipulation.

Their architecture splits control into 3 layers:

→ System 2 (Reasoning Brain): vision + language planning (~1 Hz)
→ System 1 (Motion Brain): approach + pre-contact motion (~10 Hz)
→ System 0 (Interaction Brain): tactile + force-based micro-control during contact (~100 Hz)

That last part is the key.

They’re explicitly targeting what they call the “Last Millimeter Challenge”, those tiny contact adjustments humans do automatically: tightening grip, sliding fingers, re-grasping, correcting force.

CraftNet tries to turn widely available video, sim or tele-op data into manipulation data with tactile signals, so training doesn’t get stuck in the “data drought.”

One of the most awesome robotics dexterity showcases 🤯

~~ 

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Your most popular robotics influencer! 🌍

My LinkedIn brand is #1 worldwide in the robotics space. I work with some of the largest robotics companies in the world. I travel a lot (I love my job 💛)!

A content creator who is obsessed with technology, especially robotics & AI/ML! 🚀 

Basically, I help high-tech companies with digital enablement (creating an audience in the digital world, generating leads, and building brand awareness).

Who am I? 

→ 1st World Content creator on Linkedin (+180k subscribers) in Robotics 🤖 & AI 🧬
→ Elon Musk reposting an commenting my robotics news on X (+35M views annually on X)
→ University Lecturer in the field of Industry 4.0 technologies 🎓
→ +85M views annually on LinkedIn 📈

Twitter: 
https://twitter.com/lukas_m_ziegler

Be part of my community for free at → ziegler.substack.com

📬 Send a DM for business opportunities.

Sharpa

Søren .

Paris loves robots! 🫶🏼

... and of course, vice versa!

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Paris?

Probably warm croissants and the Eiffel Tower glittering at night.

What if I tell you, that it should be robotics? 🤯

Paris is a great place to launch a robotics startup because it mixes world-class tech talent, big startup energy, and strong public support for deep tech.

First, Paris has excellent research and engineers, coming from places like Inria (a major research institute in robotics and AI) and top schools around Paris/Saclay. 

This matters because robotics startups often start from research and need smart people who can build “real” systems.

Second, Paris is one of Europe’s biggest startup hubs thanks to STATION F (one of the world’s largest startup campuses). It gives founders access to mentors, partners, and lots of investors, which makes it easier to meet the right people fast. 

Third, France is unusually strong in government-backed deep-tech funding through programs like French Tech 2030 and support from Bpifrance. 

Robotics takes time and money (prototypes, hardware, testing), so this kind of support is a big advantage. 

Here's the landscape of robotics companies in Paris:

→ Genesis AI is a physical-AI lab building generalist robots + robotics foundation models, and launched with $105M funding. 

→ Stanley Robotics builds robotic “valet parking” systems that autonomously move and park cars. 

→ UMA is building general-purpose mobile/humanoid robots for industrial and real-world tasks. 

→ LeRobot (Hugging Face) is an open-source robotics stack with datasets, and models to lower the barrier to robot learning, they also have Pollen Robotics in their portfolio.

→ Enchanted Tools builds friendly humanoid robots (e.g., Mirokaï) for service environments and raised ~$17M seed. 

→ Fuzzy Logic Robotics makes a platform to quickly program/deploy industrial robots and raised €2.5M seed. 

→ Inbolt builds real-time 3D vision guidance for industrial robotic arms and raised ~$16–17M Series A. 

→ Heex Technologies builds “smart data” software that captures only the most useful edge data to improve AI systems and raised €6M seed. 

→ Wandercraft builds advanced robotic exoskeletons for mobility/rehab (and humanoid robotics R&D) and has $75M total funding. 

→ SoftBank Robotics UK Ltd (EMEA HQ) develops and commercializes service robots like Pepper and NAO for customer interaction and education. 

→ Galam Robotics builds modular warehouse storage automation robots/systems and raised €10M - Series A. 

→ Exwayz builds GPS-free 3D localization / SLAM software for autonomous robots and raised €1M. 

→ phospho (YC W24) builds tools/software to easily connect, control, and train AI models on real robots (“brains for robots”). 

I'm aware that there might be companies missing, and the map is not completed! More in comments...

~~ 

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🚨 BREAKING:

European humanoid with big announcements! 🤯

You can now get Porsche-designed humanoid in pre-sale for €98k.

NEURA Robotics just opened pre-orders for its next-gen humanoid robots at CES 2026, making it one of the first Western companies to offer humanoids for direct online purchase.

For a fully refundable €100 deposit, you can reserve the flagship 4NE-1 Gen 3.5 at €98,000 or the smaller 4NE-1 Mini at €19,999.

The full-size 4NE-1, designed in collaboration with Studio F. A. Porsche, stands 1.8 meters tall, lifts up to 100 kg, and moves at 5 km/h. 

What's inside? First of all, NVIDIA's Thor T5000 processor, built specifically for AI and robotics.  

David Reger says first units ship in June 2026.

It might be that the 4NE-1 Mini is positioned as "the West's answer" to affordable humanoids, priced competitively with China's Unitree G1. 

At 132 cm and 36 kg, it packs the same cognitive AI as its bigger sibling into a frame suited for research, education, and light office tasks. It has 25 degrees of freedom, 3 kg payload capacity, and runs for about 2.5 hours on battery. Mini ships even sooner, in April 2026.

Bold move from NEURA to go direct-to-consumer this early. The humanoid race is heating up! 🔥

~~ 

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Ostrich-like insane robot that ‘rides the wind’! 💨

Researchers in China are experimenting with a different way to improve legged robot locomotion: adding rotors.

This prototype is called KOU-III, is a bipedal robot developed at Shandong University that uses quadrotor assistance to stabilize walking and jumping. 

Instead of aiming for full flying capability, the rotors are used as an auxiliary system to smooth motion, counter disturbances, and reduce impact forces during contact with the ground.

What’s notable is that the gains don’t come from complex control tricks. Even with relatively simple control strategies, the rotors significantly reduce pitch oscillations, improve walking stability, and help manage landings after jumps. 

In tests, the robot reached walking speeds around 1.1 m/s and achieved higher, more controlled jumps compared to its non-assisted configuration.

Here's more about it: https://lnkd.in/d5Tqsfgv

~~

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Humanoid robots that can barely walk after 10 years of development, and grab a cup after 7th attempt.

Meanwhile: specialized robots that have been dominating their specific task since 2008.

That's one of the worst tasks to do!

~~ 

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🚨 BREAKING:

Microsoft's first robotics foundation model! 🤯

Microsoft just announced Rho-alpha (ρα), their first robotics model derived from the Phi series of vision-language models.

Rho-alpha translates natural language commands into control signals for robotic systems performing bimanual manipulation tasks. Commands like "push the green button with the right gripper," "pull out the red wire," "flip the top switch on," or "turn the knob to position 5" get executed directly by dual-arm robots.

What makes this different from standard vision-language-action (VLA) models is the additional modalities. Rho-alpha is a VLA+ model that adds tactile sensing to the perceptual mix, with plans to incorporate force feedback. 

On the learning side, the model is designed to continually improve during deployment by learning from human feedback.

The training approach combines trajectories from physical demonstrations and simulated tasks with web-scale visual question answering data. 

Since teleoperation data is scarce and expensive, Microsoft is using NVIDIA Isaac Sim on Azure to generate physically accurate synthetic datasets via reinforcement learning. These simulated trajectories get combined with commercial and open physical demonstration datasets.

The model is currently under evaluation on dual-arm setups and humanoid robots. Microsoft is opening an Early Access Program for organizations interested in evaluating Rho-alpha.

Robots that can adapt to dynamic situations and human preferences are more useful in real environments and more trusted by the people operating them.

Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dAzCUNWB

~~ 

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Microsoft

Linnea B.

The robotics algorithm library every engineer should know! 📚

PythonRobotics is an open-source collection of Python code and textbook for robotics algorithms, created by Atsushi Sakai. 

It has 27.2k stars on GitHub and 7k forks, so it's a no brainer to bookmark it! 🔖

The project covers everything from localization (EKF, particle filters, histogram filters) to SLAM (FastSLAM, ICP matching), path planning (A*, RRT*, Dijkstra, D*, potential fields, state lattice), path tracking (Stanley, LQR, MPC), arm navigation, aerial navigation, and even bipedal planning.

What makes this special? It's designed to be easy to read and understand, with minimal dependencies and practical, widely-used algorithms. 

Each algorithm comes with visual animations, mathematical explanations, and working code.

The documentation is essentially a full textbook on robotics algorithms, available free online at https://lnkd.in/dvuuVy6e.

Requirements are simple: Python 3.13+, NumPy, SciPy, Matplotlib, and cvxpy. 

That's it.

This a learning resource with 2,201 commits, contributions from 138 developers, and active maintenance. The animations alone (stored in a separate repo) are worth studying.

If you're learning robotics, building autonomous systems, or teaching algorithms, this is the resource. It's MIT licensed, so you can use it freely in research or commercial projects.

Here's the link: https://lnkd.in/dNX5JzkX

P.S. This is what good open-source looks like: educational, practical, well-documented, and community-driven. Bookmark it. 🔖

~~ 

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Abdulrahman S. Al-Batati

One tool to handle them all! 🧰

Traditional suction-based systems struggle with over 30% of SKUs. Mesh bags, loose apparel, and porous items often lead to failed picks or damaged goods.

Nexera Robotics is pushing that ceiling to more than 95% by innovating the hardware, not just the software.

Their solution? NeuraGrasp®. Instead of rigid fingers or air-dependent suction, NeuraGrasp uses a compliant membrane that conforms to any object. 

It creates a mechanical lock through friction and wrap-around contact, even on items that leak air or deform.

Pressure is distributed by the material itself, meaning no complex force-feedback loops are needed to prevent crushing. It’s single tool can lift heavy payloads, yet pick a single peach without bruising it.

A super important part is that no SKU-specific training and no tool changers required.

The industry has spent years optimizing robot “brains” while ignoring the hands. Nexera is perfecting the touch to make robots more capable.

Congrats Nexera Robotics team! 👏🏼

Roy Belak, Sepehr Sheikh, Herbert ten Have

~~ 

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Nexera Robotics

CEO; Nexera Robotics

Nexera Robotics - One gripper, Grasping Most Challenging Items

Serial Tech Entrepreneur | Board member | Advisor | Investor | Scaling ventures in AI, Robotics & 3D Computer Vision [Humanoid realist]

Amin Karimpour

Robo-slime! 🧽

Magnetic slime robots could grab objects inside your body.

Custard-like magnetic slime robots can navigate narrow passages, grasp objects, and fix broken electrical circuits. By deploying it inside the body, it could retrieve accidentally swallowed objects.

Researchers invented a robot at The University of Hong Kong. Although its magnetic particles show promise for medical use, safety concerns remain due to their toxicity.

An interesting field of robotics, indeed! 🧠

~~ 

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This is what open robotics actually looks like! 🔓

I was in Bordeaux, sitting inside Pollen Robotics, and had a chance to play around with their humanoid robot Reachy 2.

It’s expressive, modular, and can even bring you coffee, and of course runs Python or Rust.

I was talking with Reachy in 3 different languages, tele-operating it and manipulating kitchen stuff, and make it even mimic my gestures.

The best part is that there are no locked APIs, or hidden stuff, just an open platform that you can build upon.

The connection with Hugging Face makes it super easy to start, as the open source approach allows everyone to contribute, experiment and add their own things.

I already ordered his little brother Reachy Mini, let's see what a robotics rookie can do with that robot! 👀

~~ 

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Who is the favorite actor in the bakery business? 🥖

Bread Pitt.

Yeah I know it's a dad joke... 

Let's get more serious.

A preview of the pretzel-making process from FRITSCH Bakery Technologies shows that care is taken in every small detail of the processes so that ultimately every pretzel that comes out is identical. 🥨

Note the quick but very complex movements of the manipulator that form the shape of the baked product.

P.S. Handmade pretzels rock anyway! 🤘🏽

~~

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