Episode 235 of The Robotic Report Podcast options Ed Mehr, co-founder and CEO of Machina Labs. As well as, Eugene Demaitre, editorial director for The Robotic Report, is again from a weeklong journey to Seoul.
Gene shares some takeaways from Automation World, or AW 2026, and discusses what he realized from the worldwide firms exhibiting in South Korea.
Mehr joins the present to debate how his firm is altering {hardware} manufacturing via versatile, robotic-powered factories that change merchandise on the click on of a button. He affords insights on software-defined factories, superior automation, and strategic partnerships shaping the way forward for {hardware} manufacturing.
Ed Mehr, co-founder and CEO, Machina Labs
Mehr is an entrepreneur and engineer specializing in superior manufacturing, robotics, and synthetic intelligence. At Machina Labs, he leads efforts to combine AI-driven robotics into versatile, on-demand manufacturing programs.
Beneath his management, the firm is reshaping how industries comparable to aerospace, protection, and automotive strategy metallic forming and trendy manufacturing. Earlier than founding Machina Labs, Ed held key roles at a number of main expertise firms.
At Relativity House, he helped develop the world’s largest metallic 3D printer, supporting the corporate’s mission to remodel rocket manufacturing and allow long-term area exploration.
Previous to that, he served as chief expertise officer and was a founding member of Averon, a cybersecurity agency that created totally automated web authentication expertise. Ed’s profession additionally consists of engineering positions at SpaceX, Google, and Microsoft, the place he labored on aerospace, software program, and automation tasks.
Present timeline
- 0:30 – Eugene Demaitre recaps AW 2026
- 9:43 – Information of the week
- 26:27 – Ed Mehr, co-founder and CEO of Machina Labs
Information of the week
Teradyne Robotics sues Chinese language cobot maker over UR software program
Teradyne Robotics, the Odense-based father or mother firm of Common Robots and Cell Industrial Robots, has escalated a copyright infringement dispute towards the German subsidiary of Chinese language cobot maker Elite Robots by submitting a lawsuit in German courts.
Teradyne transitioned to authorized motion following a cease-and-desist letter it alleged was ignored. The corporate additionally urged European policymakers to extra aggressively defend their mental property towards non-European rivals.
This authorized battle unfolded as European producers more and more prioritize robotics for 2030, even because the VDMA warned that Germany is shedding floor to low-cost Asian competitors. Moreover, the litigation highlights a tightening marketplace for UR, which faces mounting aggressive strain.
Zoox begins testing purpose-built robotaxis in Phoenix and Dallas
Zoox is increasing its robotaxi operations to Dallas, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona, the place it plans to open new depots alongside a Fusion Middle in Scottsdale and launch a brand new partnership with Uber. These two cities be part of an present testing footprint that features the San Francisco Bay Space, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C., bringing the corporate’s presence to 10 distinct markets.
Following its normal protocol, Zoox plans to initially deploy a small fleet of retrofitted SUVs in central neighborhoods to concentrate on handbook mapping. It should then transition to autonomous testing with a security driver current to handle AI disengagements.
As soon as these preliminary steps are full, the corporate intends to deploy its purpose-built robotaxis for additional testing in these new markets.
OpenAI robotics head resigns over Pentagon deal
Caitlin Kalinowski, the pinnacle of OpenAI’s {hardware} and robotics staff, resigned final weekend as a result of governance considerations relating to the corporate’s latest settlement to make generative AI programs obtainable inside U.S. Division of Warfare computing programs.
Kalinowski, who joined OpenAI in November 2024 after main Meta’s augmented actuality glasses staff, said on social media that the announcement was rushed with out outlined guardrails or adequate deliberation on points like surveillance and deadly autonomy.
Whereas expressing deep respect for Sam Altman and delight in scaling the robotics group, she mentioned that her resignation was a matter of precept. Kalinowski argued that such high-stakes nationwide safety offers require higher judicial oversight and human authorization than the present settlement offered.
Humanoid developer Agility Robotics rebrands
Agility Robotics has rebranded to “Agility,” dropping the “Robotics” suffix to create area for progress as the corporate explores new use circumstances, providers, and industries past its present deployments. Accompanied by a refreshed brand and verbal id signifying movement, innovation, and reliability, this model reboot is meant to match the maturity of the corporate’s expertise and its industrial momentum in main humanoid adoption.
Regardless of the title change, Agility stays on monitor to ship the primary cooperatively secure humanoid in 2026, with Chief Enterprise Officer Daniel Diez noting that the brand new id indicators a readiness to scale into actual operations throughout various sectors.
Agility Chief Know-how Officer Pras Velagapudi will likely be a featured panelist on the “State of Humanoids” keynote session on Might 27 on the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston. Podcast co-host Mike Oitzman will average this panel with Alberto Rodriguez, director of robotic conduct for Atlas at Boston Dynamics, and Aaron Prather, the director of robotics and autonomous programs applications at ASTM Worldwide.
