Physical AI is the thread running through today's digest, from fresh funding for vision-force-action models to Europe's push for homegrown humanoid data. We've also got firmware housekeeping from DJI, a ramjet-powered answer to the drone problem, and a reminder that FCC rules now shape what warehouse robots you can actually buy.

In today’s roundup

• Eka Robotics raises $150M to scale its vision-force-action model for robots — The Robot Report
  A $150M round backs the bet that robots can learn physical intuition through reinforcement learning, folding force into the usual vision-action loop.
• Generative Bionics to launch Physical AI Data Factory in Italy — The Robot Report
  By generating humanoid training data on Italian soil, Generative Bionics frames robotics data as a matter of European sovereignty, not just scale.
• Sereact and Teradyne Robotics scale physical AI in logistics, retail — Automated Warehouse
  With hundreds of UR cobots already handling European returns, this partnership shows physical AI earning its keep in the unglamorous world of logistics.
• DJI Avata drone owners have a new firmware update to install — DroneDJ
  A fresh firmware update lands for DJI's gap-swooping FPV drone, though the sparse release notes leave Avata pilots guessing at what changed.
• DJI RC, RC 2, and RC Pro 2 get new firmware updates — DroneDJ
  DJI's rollout extends to three screen-equipped controllers, with routine bug fixes and, in one case, a new feature worth a look.
• US Army’s new interceptor targets drones with ramjet propulsion, seeker tech — Interesting Engineering
  L3Harris is developing a longer-range, ramjet-powered interceptor for the Army, signaling that counter-drone defense is becoming its own arms race.
• Flexible robot arms learn to predict their next move — TechXplore Robotics
  Teaching trunk-like soft arms to predict their own bending tackles the core challenge that makes these flexible manipulators so tricky to control.
• Webinar: What buyers need to know about the FCC robot ruling — Automated Warehouse
  The FCC's restriction on certain foreign-made mobile robots is now a real procurement headache, and this webinar unpacks what buyers must weigh.

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The Daily Grind · RobotCafe · robotcafe.com