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Robotics & Autonomy·September 21, 2026·1 min read

Boston Dynamics opens Metaplant Application Center to train Atlas humanoid robots

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A dedicated Metaplant Application Center for Atlas inside Hyundai’s Georgia facility is a clear step from demo robots to production-line labor. Manufacturers should start mapping which tasks in their own plants could be standardized enough for humanoid deployment within a few years — and what data those robots would need from existing systems.

Robotics & Autonomy

Nine drone startups, including Eric Schmidt-founded Perennial, will split US DoD orders for 60,000 drones in a competition that requires no China-made parts

DoD’s 60,000-drone order split across nine startups with a strict no-China-parts rule is industrial policy by procurement—seeding a domestic supply chain at scale. If you build components, software, or manufacturing for small UAVs, this is your cue to align sourcing and compliance for defense-grade demand.

Robotics & Autonomy

Quote of the day by Figure AI founder and CEO Brett Adcock: 'We're building a new species here' — an audacious vision to replace manual labor with humanoid AI

Framing humanoids as a "new species" is a narrative shift that will accelerate both capital inflows and labor pushback around physical AI. If your operations rely on repetitive manual work, start mapping which tasks could move to general-purpose robots versus specialized automation so you’re not reacting to someone else’s deployment timeline.