Frontiers

Explore robotics.

Machines in the physical world, and what it takes to make them useful.

The big story

This Robot Watches Worms Age Through the Weekend

miniTower moved, illuminated and scored 36 dishes without changing the lifespan comparison. That makes it a promising laboratory method—not an anti-aging result.

2 Oct 2026 3 min read

Read article

Robotics

This robot fixes the experiment when the light goes out

MIT’s optical robot places components, measures the beam and adjusts again. Its laser demonstration explains why recovery matters more than a perfect first move.

Robotics 30 Sep 2026 3 min read

Robotics

A robot can ace the lab and still fail the library

Three years of tests in parks, an underpass and a library show why task scores, interaction, safety and economics must be judged together.

Robotics 30 Sep 2026 4 min read

Latest in Robotics

Robotics

This robot learned from demonstrations humans kept failing

GLIDE writes code that filters difficult teleoperation before it becomes training data. Three lab tasks improved sharply, but the guardrails remain part of the deployed capability.

Robotics 22 Sep 2026 4 min read

Robotics

Digit 5’s most important move may be stopping

Agility’s next humanoid is designed to work close to people. Safe interruptions and predictable behavior will matter as much as lifting ability.

Robotics 16 Sep 2026 2 min read

Robotics

One video can teach a robot. The whole shift is another matter.

Skild and Generalist are making robots faster to teach. Their results reveal why learning a task and delivering reliable work are different engineering problems.

Robotics 14 Sep 2026 5 min read

Robotics

Musk Took Away the Steering Wheel. Now Comes the Trust Test.

Two seats. No steering wheel. As Cybercab reaches paying passengers, Elon Musk’s boldest design choice puts the entire service on trial.

Robotics 8 Sep 2026 4 min read

Robotics

A Missed Pick Shows What Useful Robots Need to Do Next

A September humanoid study makes a practical point: a robot needs to detect a failed action, recover and give its operator a useful way to intervene.

Robotics 5 Sep 2026 3 min read

Robotics

Boston Dynamics Atlas Is Where AI Leaves the Screen and Meets the Factory Floor

Atlas is exciting because it points to a different frontier for AI: intelligence that has to stand up, lift, adapt, recover and keep working when the world pushes back.

Robotics 16 Jun 2026 6 min read

Robotics

China’s Robotics Strategy Is About Industrial Power, Not Humanoid Hype

China’s robotics push is easier to understand as industrial strategy: embodied AI, supplier depth, factory deployment and state-directed modernization moving into one frame.

Robotics 27 May 2026 5 min read

Robotics

Humanoid Robots Are Entering the Uptime Race

Figure's F.03 livestream is not proof that humanoids are ready for every warehouse. It is proof that the robotics benchmark is changing.

Robotics 21 May 2026 6 min read

Robotics

Humanoid Robot Safety Standards Have a Domestic Problem

Humanoid robots are getting better at moving through homes. The harder question is whether safety standards can prove they belong there.

Robotics 19 May 2026 7 min read

The Vastkind Briefing

A little
perspective.

Technology and science, with the evidence and consequences explained.

Occasional editions. Free to subscribe.
Unsubscribe anytime.

Explore robotics.

This Robot Watches Worms Age Through the Weekend

This robot fixes the experiment when the light goes out

A robot can ace the lab and still fail the library

Latest in Robotics

This robot learned from demonstrations humans kept failing

Digit 5’s most important move may be stopping

One video can teach a robot. The whole shift is another matter.

Musk Took Away the Steering Wheel. Now Comes the Trust Test.

A Missed Pick Shows What Useful Robots Need to Do Next

Boston Dynamics Atlas Is Where AI Leaves the Screen and Meets the Factory Floor

China’s Robotics Strategy Is About Industrial Power, Not Humanoid Hype

Humanoid Robots Are Entering the Uptime Race

Humanoid Robot Safety Standards Have a Domestic Problem

A little
perspective.

Check your inbox.

Explore Vastkind

Your reading list

Latest in Robotics

A littleperspective.

Check your inbox.

A little
perspective.