Top 10 robotics developments of January 2026

2. Boston Dynamics shows Atlas humanoid working at Georgia Hyundai plant in January 2026

On 60 Minutes, Boston Dynamics demonstrated how AI is enabling its Atlas robot to conduct tasks at new factory of parent company Hyundai near Savannah, Ga. As much as $4.6 billion was invested in humanoid developers in 2025. Read more.

1. Amazon acquires Rightbot, adds to Robotics Delivery and Packaging Innovation team

Truck loading and unloading is a task ripe for automation because it is strenuous and happens in all kinds of weather. However, competition is stiff. Amazon has acquired Rightbot, which has developed a robot for unstructured load handling. Read more.

About The Author

Brianna Wessling You can sell Boston Dynamics, but you can’t fully quit it. Nearly a decade after Google sold the robotics company to SoftBank, the two are working together again, announcing in January 2026 that DeepMind will help make the Atlas humanoid smarter with its Gemini Robotics foundation models. Read more.

3. Microsoft Research reveals Rho-alpha VLA model for robots

To be useful in more dynamic environments, robots need AI trained on a variety of sensory inputs. Microsoft announced Rho-alpha, or ρα, the first robotics model derived from its Phi series of models. Vision-language-action models (VLAs) enable physical AI systems to perceive, reason, and act with increasing levels of autonomy, noted Microsoft. Read more. In Episode 226 of The Robot Report Podcast, hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the latest robotics news and highlights from CES 2026. Steve attended the event, formerly the Consumer Electronics Show, and he shares his assessment of products demonstrated in Las Vegas. Read more.

5. Wing is bringing drone delivery to 150 more Walmart stores

Wing Aviation and Walmart plan to expand drone deliveries to 150 more Walmart stores over the next year. Wing said this will give more than 40 million Americans access to the service. The partners plan will establish a network of over 270 drone delivery locations by 2027. Read more.

4. Boston Dynamics, Google reunite on next-gen Atlas humanoid