Automation

The first hotel run by robots is set to open its doors to the public next year. It comes as no surprise that it's happening in China – on the artificial island built for the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, the cross-sea megaproject in the Pearl River Delta.

From AI-generated garden makeovers to a voice assistant that actually remembers context, take a look at how local AI is transforming home automation. Privacy-first, open-source, and edging closer to Tony Stark territory.

My wife is old-school, stubborn, and suspicious of robots. So naturally, against her will, I brought home a Narwal Flow 2 robovac-mop to test in our beach-adjacent, kid-filled house. The results were genuinely surprising.

The next time you fly through Tokyo's Haneda Airport, your luggage might be taken care of by the dexterous hands of a humanoid robot. It's part of a pilot program to address a shortage of ground support staff in Japan.

Bosch and Ecovacs have unveiled a robot vacuum cleaner and mop that integrates directly into kitchen cabinetry. With a self-cleaning dock connected to water and power, it turns automated floor cleaning into a seamless, invisible part of the home.

iRobot has launched the Roomba Mini, a small robot that vacuums and mops. It maps spaces in 10 minutes, can squeeze into tight spaces, boosts suction on thick carpets, and auto-empties into a sealed bag that lasts for up to 90 days.

Pair fresh ingredients with the Nosh One – an AI robo-chef currently on Kickstarter – and the busy professional may never need worry about meals, aside from choosing a recipe from a menu of over 500 dishes spanning 11-plus international cuisines.

Coffee lovers distraught by the closing of several hundred Starbucks locations worldwide may not be crying in their mugs much longer, if G&A Robot installs one of its vending machines in their city. The units are billed as a smart cafe in a box.

Instead of going to the trouble of building tiny robots from scratch, some scientists are now turning insects into remote-control cyborgs. A new "assembly line" could help, by converting cockroaches into cyborgs far faster than can be done by hand.

Most modern cars offer automated ADAS tech that works to keep drivers safe. Some drivers find their winks and prods irritating and unnecessary, however. A recent study has shown that use of them also modifies driver behavior, sometimes for the worse.

From home-building micro-factories to wall-building excavators, robotic construction workers are coming on strong. Civ Robotics now brings bot benefits to the planning stage of the construction process with autonomous, battery-powered surveyors.

Meet the 2.4-ton electric robot armed with a 6'7" sawblade and 12' reach designed to slice through rock and concrete with sub-millimeter precision, it’s a clean, quiet(ish), and super efficient alternative to blasting or diesel-powered tools.