The Robot Report Podcast

In Episode 251 of The Robot Report Podcast, hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman are joined by special guest Sarah Wynn, Senior Editor for Packaging OEM, to recap their firsthand experiences on the show floor at Automate in Chicago. The conversation traces the industry's shift away from early-stage humanoid hype toward the practical, real-world deployment of Physical AI and edge computing. It then transitions into how software orchestration, digital twins, and advanced kinematics are solving labor shortages and preserving vital manufacturing knowledge.

The following innovators, executives, and organizations were highlighted or featured via interview vignettes during the episode:

Boston Dynamics & Agility Robotics: Discussed regarding the static floor displays of their respective industrial humanoids, Atlas and Digit.

ABB: Featured in a vignette with Craig McDonald (General Manager of Robotic Industries) discussing Physical AI, AI-powered palletizing, and collaborations with Nvidia.

FANUC: Highlighted for real-time motion tracking in assembly, protein processing automation, and natural language robot programming.

Sereact: Featured in an interview clip with Mason Coleman (Director of Sales, North America) addressing zero-shot picking, e-grocery trends, and workforce reallocation.

Schneider Electric: Discussed for their views on cloud latency limitations and their push for hardware-agnostic, open automation systems.

Rockwell Automation: Featured in an audio clip with Ara Surenian (Business Manager, Production Logistics) introducing FactoryTalk Orchestration following their acquisition of OTTO Motors.

SEW-EURODRIVE, Festo, & CODI Manufacturing: Noted for their compact, gantry-style robotic cells and packaging line solutions.

Vention: Recognized for their prominent and accessible automation platform demos.

Kassow Robots: Featured in an interview clip with founder Christian Kassow, who explained the strategic advantages of 7-axis cobots over traditional 6-axis configurations for mobile manipulators and confined spaces.

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Summary

In this episode, we explore the strategic acquisition of Kinisi by Bear Robotics, with Kinisi founder and CEO Bren Pierce. During the conversation, we talk about how this acquisition signals a new era of integration, innovation, and scaling in humanoid robotics and automation.
Bren discussed Kinisi’s acquisition by Bear Robotics as a natural fit, since Kinisi began inside Bear’s robotics headquarters and had already built on Bear’s ecosystem. He explained that the deal combines Kinisi’s humanoid robotics expertise, datasets, and manipulation technology with Bear’s mature fleet-management, cloud, manufacturing, and sales infrastructure.
A major theme was scaling humanoid robots from prototype to production. Bren emphasized the challenge of collecting affordable training data, which led to the development of a low-cost, robot-agnostic glove and gripper/data-collection system. He said the near-term focus is on making the KR1 reliable in real deployments and proving ROI in warehouses, hotels, restaurants, and other environments with repeatable tasks.
Overall, the interview framed the acquisition as a step toward a broader mobile-manipulation platform that could combine robots, AMRs, and WMS integration across multiple industries. Bren described the industry as moving from novelty to serious commercial momentum, but still needing to prove large-scale deployments before humanoid robotics can really take off.
Resources & Links:
Bear Robotics: https://www.bearrobotics.ai
Kinisi – About the acquisition ; https://www.bearrobotics.ai/blog/bear-robotics-to-acquire-kinisi-robotics

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This episode is brought to you by GreyOrange
If you're running a warehouse, your robots, people, and systems are only as powerful as their ability to work together.
GreyMatter by GreyOrange is the AI-powered warehouse orchestration platform that coordinates every agent on your floor in real time, with over a million optimizations per minute, and delivering up to 4x productivity gains.
GreyMatter works with the robots you already have, or with the ones you want.
Ready to go beyond your WMS?
LEARN MORE AT: https://www.greyorange.com/TheRobotReport/

Explore the cutting-edge developments in Arm’s physical AI space as Drew Henry, EVP of Arm’s physical AI business unit, shares insights on technology innovation, market trends, and the future of robotics and autonomous systems.
This episode provides a comprehensive look at how Arm is shaping the future of intelligent robotics, balancing innovative chip design, system architecture, and simulation to push the boundaries of what autonomous systems can achieve.
Drew explains that Arm created its new Physical AI business unit to focus on AI embodied in machines, including robotics, autonomous vehicles, trucks, and construction systems. The big idea is that these systems need computing designed around real-world constraints like latency, power, safety, and system-level coordination.

– SPONSORS –

This episode is brought to you by GreyOrange
If you're running a warehouse, your robots, people, and systems are only as powerful as their ability to work together.
GreyMatter by GreyOrange is the AI-powered warehouse orchestration platform that coordinates every agent on your floor in real time, with over a million optimizations per minute, and delivering up to 4x productivity gains.
GreyMatter works with the robots you already have, or with the ones you want.
Ready to go beyond your WMS?
LEARN MORE AT: https://www.greyorange.com/TheRobotReport/

In this episode, our guest is Akash Gupta, CEO and co-founder of GreyOrange, a company known for its innovative approach in the warehousing robotics market.
Akash discusses the strategic pivot from hardware to software, emphasizing the importance of focusing on fulfillment outcomes rather than just robotic uptime.
He explains how GreyOrange has evolved its Grey Matter software to support various warehouse processes and integrate with multiple technologies, highlighting the role of AI and machine learning in enhancing warehouse operations.
Akash also shares insights into the challenges and opportunities in the industry, including the importance of digital twins and predictive analytics in optimizing warehouse efficiency.
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– SPONSORS –

This episode is brought to you by GreyOrange
If you're running a warehouse, your robots, people, and systems are only as powerful as their ability to work together.
GreyMatter by GreyOrange is the AI-powered warehouse orchestration platform that coordinates every agent on your floor in real time, with over a million optimizations per minute, and delivering up to 4x productivity gains.
GreyMatter works with the robots you already have, or with the ones you want.
Ready to go beyond your WMS?
LEARN MORE AT: https://www.greyorange.com/TheRobotReport/

Winston Leung explains that QNX is enhancing safety for physical AI-based robots through its innovative microkernel architecture, which is designed for safety-critical applications. QNX architecture provides a reliable and deterministic platform, crucial for real-time control and decision-making in robotics. By partnering with industry leaders such as NVIDIA and Intel, QNX ensures its operating system is optimized for high-performance computing platforms, thereby enabling robust safety and security measures.
Additionally, QNX's focus on integrating cybersecurity with functional safety standards underscores its commitment to protecting robots operating in human environments.
Winston Leung is Senior Strategic Alliances Manager at QNX, where he manages key strategic partner relationships and programs to expand the company’s product portfolio and ecosystem. He delivers strategies and thought leadership in functional safety, real-time performance, and reliability for embedded systems across robotics, medical, and transportation sectors.

Download QNX’s Inside the Robot: https://qnx.software/en/reports/inside-the-robot?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=the-robot-report&utm_campaign=fy27-q2-inside-the-robot
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– SPONSORS –

This episode is brought to you by GreyOrange
If you're running a warehouse, your robots, people, and systems are only as powerful as their ability to work together.
GreyMatter by GreyOrange is the AI-powered warehouse orchestration platform that coordinates every agent on your floor in real time, with over a million optimizations per minute, and delivering up to 4x productivity gains.
GreyMatter works with the robots you already have, or with the ones you want.
Ready to go beyond your WMS?
LEARN MORE AT: https://www.greyorange.com/TheRobotReport/