Automation World

Pharmaceutical company Roche has outlined plans to move towards autonomous, AI-driven laboratories. According to a Reuters report, the Swiss drugmaker intends to use artificial intelligence and robotics to automate research workflows, accelerating drug discovery and reducing the need for manual lab work. The announcement highlights how major pharma firms are adopting AI to speed up experimentation and research.

A new report confirms that China continues to hold its position as the world's largest market for industrial robots, maintaining its lead over other major economies in industrial automation. The finding underscores the country's sustained investment in robotics across manufacturing sectors, reinforcing its central role in the global robotics industry.

China installed 354,000 industrial robots in 2025, accounting for 59% of global installations, according to figures reported by TechNode. The United States overtook Japan to become the world's second-largest robot market, highlighting the scale of Chinese manufacturing automation and shifting rankings among major industrial economies.

Chinese state media reports that embodied AI robots developed in China are increasingly being deployed in real-world workplaces rather than remaining confined to research and classroom settings. The feature highlights how the country's robotics sector is pushing humanoid and intelligent machines into practical jobs, reflecting China's broader push to lead in embodied artificial intelligence and industrial automation.

Maersk is highlighting how artificial intelligence is transforming global ocean shipping networks, from route optimisation to supply chain planning. The Danish shipping giant says AI adoption is changing how cargo moves across the world's maritime trade routes. The piece adds to a wider industry conversation about automation and efficiency in logistics as companies seek resilience after years of disruption.

Bloomberg reports that driverless trucks may provide a model for how autonomous AI systems can be deployed safely without harming people. The argument is that self-driving freight has operated under strict testing, regulation and limited-use conditions, offering a template for governing more advanced robots. The piece adds to ongoing debate about how to manage AI risks as automation expands into physical industries.

Gecko Robotics' chief executive is arguing that humans must remain in control as artificial intelligence moves into the physical world through robots and industrial automation. The company builds robots used to inspect critical infrastructure such as bridges, power plants and pipelines. The intervention adds a robotics industry voice to the ongoing debate over how much autonomy should be granted to AI-driven machines in safety-critical settings.

Google is using AI tools together with differential fuzzing to rewrite critical C dependencies in Rust, aiming to keep behavior identical while removing memory-safety issues. The approach lets automated comparison between old and new implementations verify correctness, and it marks another step in Google's broader push to move security-sensitive infrastructure from C to memory-safe Rust.

At KDE's annual Akademy conference, a presentation proposing an "AI-native KDE" sparked debate among developers, leading KDE developer Nate Graham to open a discussion about proposed restrictions on AI-generated contributions. KDE and GNOME communities are now weighing how to handle code and other contributions produced with AI tools, balancing enthusiasm for automation against concerns over quality, licensing and maintainability. The debate has drawn attention across the free software world.

An AI system has reportedly set a record by independently computing a 9-loop physics amplitude, a Feynman diagram calculation far beyond typical human work. Most real-world perturbative calculations in quantum field theory stop at 2 or 3 loops due to their complexity. The result highlights how machine learning is beginning to automate some of the most demanding mathematical tasks in theoretical physics.

Cognex Corporation has agreed to acquire RealSense, a 3D camera spinout from Intel, for roughly $500 million. The deal aims to expand Cognex's machine vision business into robotic perception, addressing a basic weakness in factory automation: robots struggle when objects arrive even a few centimetres off-target, since reliable real-world automation requires machines that can see in 3D.

Bethel presented its new robot joint modules for the first time at the 2026 World Manufacturing Convention, marking its entry into the robotics components market. The debut drew attention from the manufacturing and automation sectors, with observers watching how the modules could serve the fast-growing demand for humanoid and industrial robot parts.

JRACE, a running track manufacturer, is promoting World Athletics-certified track systems for professional stadiums and schools. The company highlights certification standards, different track system options, quality testing procedures, automated manufacturing, and completed installations on projects worldwide. The discussion centres on what separates a competition-grade surface from one suitable for everyday school use.

The International Federation of Robotics reports that the United States has moved ahead of Japan in robot automation, with food and logistics sectors driving the surge in installations. The shift marks a notable change in the global robotics landscape, as Japan has long been the world's largest market for industrial robots.

Hyundai Motor Group has published a feature on the robotics race, detailing how Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot Atlas is being trained to operate in real-world environments rather than staged demos. The piece highlights progress in getting Atlas to perform practical tasks, as Hyundai integrates the robot into its vision for advanced automation and manufacturing.

Tom's Hardware reports on how agentic AI is being integrated into chip design tools in 2026, examining the current capabilities of autonomous AI agents in semiconductor engineering workflows. The piece looks at where AI-driven automation stands in the chip design process and what progress is expected next.