Saturday's lineup leans into the hardware that makes robots useful in the real world: dexterous hands, tactile sensing, and the money and data racing to feed them. From Unitree's much-debated dominance to Monumental laying bricks and China's B-2-looking stealth drone, it's a spread of ambition and grounded engineering.

In today’s roundup

• I spent $4,000 on a robot dog from China — Ars Technica
  A hands-on with Unitree's robot dog doubles as a case study in why the Chinese firm has become such a pivotal player in consumer and research robotics.
• Why building a human-like robotic hand is so incredibly difficult — Interesting Engineering
  Humanoids can backflip yet still fumble everyday manipulation, and this piece unpacks why replicating the human hand remains robotics' stubbornest challenge.
• Ultrasound offers a scalable path to tactile intelligence for physical AI — The Robot Report
  UltraSense pitches ultrasound as a wear-free route to giving robotic hands the tactile perception that physical AI badly needs to scale.
• China’s mysterious ‘WZ-X’ stealth drone spotted again in clearest photos to date — Interesting Engineering
  The clearest photos yet of China's WZ-X reveal a B-2-style flying wing, offering rare detail on Beijing's stealth drone ambitions.
• One brick at a time: How Monumental uses robotics to build walls — The Robot Report
  Monumental's CEO explains how robots are taking on masonry, a labor-intensive trade that automation has long struggled to crack.
• Mecka AI nears $500M valuation in Sequoia-led deal amid rush for robot training data — TechCrunch Robotics
  Mecka's Sequoia-led round nearing a $500M valuation months after its Series A signals just how hot robot training data has become.
• Ferag to deploy Hai Robotics technology in Europe, Middle East, Africa — Automated Warehouse
  Ferag extends its five-year partnership with Hai Robotics to EMEA, a sign warehouse automation deals are increasingly built on proven track records.
• AirData brings DVR-style rewind to drone live streaming — DroneDJ
  AirData's DVR-style rewind lets remote decision-makers replay the key moment they missed, a practical fix as drone operations grow more distributed.

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The Daily Grind · RobotCafe · robotcafe.com