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Robotics and automation news covering Houston, Texas, and the industry at large.

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Industrial June 24, 2026

Houston's Intuitive Machines Scales Up Its Lunar Robotics Operation With a New Center of Excellence

Intuitive Machines, the Houston Spaceport-headquartered lunar lander company, is expanding its dedicated robotics operation with a 69,000-square-foot Mechanisms and Robotics Center of Excellence, backed by a $1 million Maryland state grant. The team builds the robotic mechanisms behind the company's Nova-C Moon landers.

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Houston Is Mission Control — and a Robotics Lab: Inside Space Robotics at Johnson Space Center

NASA's Johnson Space Center has spent decades building some of the most advanced robots ever made — Robonaut, the Valkyrie humanoid, the free-flying Astrobee. That work is now a talent engine for Houston's commercial robotics industry, with JSC-trained engineers building the robots that work in space, on the Moon, and in Gulf Coast energy facilities.

Houston Robotics Staff Jun 24, 2026

Persona AI Teams With Under Armour to Armor Its Humanoid Robots for the Shipyard

Houston humanoid robotics startup Persona AI has partnered with Under Armour to adapt the sportswear maker's performance textiles into protective skins for robots working in hazardous industrial environments like shipyards — a novel crossover between athletic apparel engineering and industrial robotics.

Houston Robotics Staff Jun 19, 2026

The Woodlands Is Ground Zero for Energy Drone and Robotics This Month — Inside the 10th Annual EDR Summit

The 10th Annual Energy Drone & Robotics Summit convenes June 22–24 at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott, bringing 1,500+ energy industry professionals together for three days of keynotes, live demos, and operational sessions on drones, robotics, and AI across oil and gas, utilities, and infrastructure.

Houston Robotics Staff Jun 10, 2026

Stord Raises $250 Million to Build the Robotics-Powered Amazon Alternative

Fulfillment tech company Stord has raised $250 million at a $3 billion valuation — backed by Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, and Franklin Templeton — while simultaneously launching Stord Labs, a dedicated robotics and physical AI facility that tests autonomous systems against real warehouse orders before deploying them across its 100-facility network.

Houston Robotics Staff May 29, 2026

Persona AI Teams with Under Armour to Build Performance Gear for Industrial Humanoid Robots

Houston humanoid robotics startup Persona AI has announced a research collaboration with Under Armour to develop advanced performance textiles for its industrial humanoid robots — addressing thermal regulation, abrasion resistance, and mobility in the punishing environments where Persona's robots are designed to work.

Houston Robotics Staff May 29, 2026

Unitree Built a 9-Foot Piloted Mech You Can Buy for $574,000

Unitree — the Chinese robotics company that shipped more humanoid robots than anyone else in 2025 — has unveiled the GD01: a 500kg, 2.8-meter piloted mech that transforms between bipedal and quadruped forms, priced at 3.9 million yuan ($574,000) and classified as a civilian vehicle.

Houston Robotics Staff May 25, 2026

Rocket Lab Acquires Motiv Space Systems, Bringing Mars Robot Heritage In-House

Rocket Lab announced the acquisition of Motiv Space Systems — the Pasadena robotics firm whose arms and actuators flew on NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover and CADRE lunar rovers — bringing proven deep-space robotics hardware into Rocket Lab’s spacecraft manufacturing stack.

Houston Robotics Staff May 18, 2026

Mind Robotics Hits $1 Billion Raised in 60 Days, Deploying AI Robots Inside Rivian's Factory

Mind Robotics — the industrial AI robotics company spun out of Rivian and chaired by CEO RJ Scaringe — closed a $400 million round led by Kleiner Perkins, bringing total funding past $1 billion in less than 60 days as it actively deploys robots inside Rivian's manufacturing plant.

Houston Robotics Staff May 18, 2026

Figure AI Raises $1 Billion at $39B Valuation — Then Runs Its Robots for 81 Hours Straight

Figure AI closed a $1 billion Series C at a $39 billion valuation this week, backed by Nvidia, Qualcomm, Salesforce, and others — then immediately ran three of its humanoid robots autonomously for 81 consecutive hours, sorting over 101,000 packages without human intervention.

Houston Robotics Staff May 18, 2026

Robot Orders Are Holding Steady — But the Mix Is Shifting Fast

North American companies ordered 9,055 robots worth $543 million in Q1 2026, according to new A3 data. Automotive is slumping, but cobots are up 55% and life sciences, semiconductors, and food manufacturing are driving a broadening of automation demand.

Houston Robotics Staff May 14, 2026

Tesla Is Building Its Robot Factory in Texas — 10 Million Optimus Units a Year

Tesla has begun Optimus humanoid robot production at its Fremont facility and is breaking ground on a Texas Gigafactory line targeting 10 million units annually — phasing out car production lines to make room for what it calls a robotics-first future.

Houston Robotics Staff May 14, 2026

Humanoid Robots Are Headed to Real Factory Floors — Schaeffler Just Proved It

UK startup Humanoid signed one of the largest humanoid robot deployment deals ever announced, committing to put thousands of wheeled robots into Schaeffler's live manufacturing operations across Germany by 2032 — with first units running before year-end.

Houston Robotics Staff May 14, 2026

Persona AI Taps Amazon Robotics Veteran to Lead Global Manufacturing

Houston humanoid robotics startup Persona AI has hired Brian Davis — a former Amazon Robotics and Dell Technologies manufacturing executive — as its head of global manufacturing, signaling a push to scale production of its industrial humanoid robots.

Houston Robotics Staff May 10, 2026

Autonomous Trucks Are Now Hauling Freight on the Dallas-Houston Corridor

Kodiak AI's self-driving trucks began commercial freight runs between Dallas and Houston in April 2026, marking a milestone for autonomous logistics on one of Texas's busiest industrial corridors — with full driverless operations targeted by year end.

Houston Robotics Staff May 9, 2026

Port Houston's Automation Push: What It Means for the Gulf Coast Economy

As global ports automate at record speed, Port Houston is investing in intelligent cargo handling systems to stay competitive — and the ripple effects will be felt across the region's supply chain.

Houston Robotics Staff May 3, 2026

Building a Moon Suit: Inside the Robotics and Engineering of Axiom Space's AxEMU

Houston's Axiom Space has entered production on the AxEMU — the next-generation spacesuit that will carry astronauts back to the lunar surface on Artemis III. A look at the suit as a wearable life-support machine, and the robotic systems, like the Argos gravity-offload crane, used to test it.

Houston Robotics Staff Mar 18, 2026