Robotics Special: Sunday's new robot does your dishes

Welcome back, Superhuman. Just weeks after robotics startup 1X opened up pre-orders for its home humanoid Neo, another little-known startup has just emerged out of stealth with a home robot of its own — and this one might be better. It’s been another big week in robotics.

WHAT’S NEXT

The most important news and breakthroughs in robotics this week

1. Sunday Robotics’ new humanoid lends you a helping hand in the kitchen: The startup just unveiled Memo, a wheeled home robot that can make espresso, clear tables, and do your dishes. The startup trained the robot using its patented Skill Capture Glove, which has recorded 10M real-world household episodes from over 500 homes, teaching Memo to navigate unpredictable environments and complete multi-step tasks without standard teleoperation. You can see Memo in action here.

2. Figure AI retires battle-worn humanoid robots after BMW factory stint: The startup has retired its Figure 02 humanoid robots after an 11-month stint at BMW's South Carolina plant, where the robots helped build over 30,000 X3 vehicles. CEO Brett Adcock shared footage of the robots covered in scratches and grime — proof they endured real factory conditions. Lessons learned, especially around forearm failures, are now informing Figure 03's design for scaled deployment.

3. Chinese humanoid robot crushes world record: China's AgiBot A2 humanoid robot just walked from Suzhou to Shanghai (a 106-kilometer journey that took four days), setting a Guinness World Record for humanoid endurance. The robot never powered off during the trek across highways, bridges, and city streets, navigating changing light conditions and diverse terrain.

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ROBOTS IN ACTION

How robots are transforming the world around us

💊 Clot Buster: Swiss researchers have created tiny drug-delivery robotic capsules that can swim through blood vessels to deliver medication directly to stroke-causing blood clots. Doctors inject the microrobots via catheter, then use electromagnetic fields to steer them upstream against blood flow, releasing drugs precisely where needed and avoiding the dangerous side effects from whole-body dosing.

✈️ Welcome Aboard: A Russian airline has deployed a humanoid robot as cabin crew on a Moscow-bound flight, greeting passengers, delivering safety instructions, and posing for photos with excited travelers. Qatar Airways has previously unveiled AI-powered humanoid attendants in 2024, signaling aviation's growing interest in robotic assistance. You can see the robot in action here.

🌊 Deep Dive: Chinese researchers from Peking University have built a cable-driven knee exoskeleton that reportedly makes diving significantly less exhausting. Tests with six experienced divers showed the wearable device slashed air consumption by 22.7% and cut leg muscle activation by over 20%, extending dive times while improving safety. Potential applications can range from marine research to underwater construction.

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Everything else you need to know this week

Here are the biggest developments in the robotics space that you should know about:

• Google DeepMind has hired former Boston Dynamics CTO Aaron Saunders to help turn Gemini into a universal robot OS, deepening its push into robotics.

• Zoox has launched its Explorers program in San Francisco, offering free public rides in its fully driverless robotaxi as it ramps toward wider deployment.

• Physical Intelligence has picked up $600M at a $5.6B valuation to build a general-purpose “robot brain” and scale its robot training AI software.

• Elon Musk has predicted that robotics will make work optional within 20 years, predicting a post-scarcity future where money becomes irrelevant.

• Uber Eats is teaming up with Starship Technologies to roll out sidewalk delivery robots in the UK in December, with plans to expand to the US in 2027.

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ROBOT OF THE WEEK

A robot that caught our eye this week

No more lonely cooking sessions this Thanksgiving.

Vorwerk’s Thermomix TM7 isn't fully autonomous, but it's the closest thing to a reliable robot chef on the market. The countertop device blends, steams, bakes, proofs, weighs, and even orders your groceries via Instacart — all from a single touchscreen. However, the prep work and cleanup job will have to be all you (for now).

Check it out here.

ROBO REEL

Watch: World’s first driverless racecars go wheel-to-wheel at 155 mph in Abu Dhabi

Turns out autonomous cars can do more than just parallel park.

The world's first fully autonomous head-to-head race just wrapped up at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit, with Germany's Technical University of Munich claiming victory after a dramatic 20-lap battle. The six-team competition, now in its second season, serves as a high-stakes testbed for autonomous mobility research. See the race here.

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Until next time,

Zain and the Superhuman AI team