It's time for some big announcements at Weekly Robotics. I've started refactoring the newsletter, which you can already see in the online version at weeklyrobotics.com. The e-mail newsletter refactor is still on my plate, but I should be able to finish it within the next 1-2 weeks. There are still quite a few things to update, and I will do so through small iterations.
Another part of this kick-off is the revamped sponsorship structure, which aims to provide greater value to companies and build stronger collaborations. It's my pleasure to welcome Hello Robo, a company developing astonishing robotics interfaces that also designed a new look for our website (also check out this sick demo reel for WR 2.0).
Foxglove has been supporting Weekly Robotics ever since I joined them back in June last year. If you need to manage and visualize your robotics data, seek no further, and feel free to get in touch if you need help wrangling your bagfiles/logfiles!
LinkForge
LinkForge is an open-source Blender extension for robotics. It will allow you to sculpt your robot relatively easily and guarantee a simulation-ready output via URDF/XACRO export. The tool supports many sensors (LiDAR, IMU, depth cameras, GPS, contact). To learn more about this project, check out this Open Robotics Discourse announcement or read the docs.
Neo Gear
This website is a free parametric gear generator that runs in your browser and exports to STL or 3MF. I love everything about this tool!
Driverless vans in China are facing all sorts of challenges
This Reddit video shows some driverless delivery vehicles in China not having the easiest time. I find many of these behaviors quite concerning.
The Coming Insurance Layer in Robotics
Aaron Prather made an interesting piece about insurance in robotics and how it’s the insurance that will actually enable widespread robotics adoption, meaning the more boring and most-likely-less-flexible designs will continue to win in the industry.
Beating The World Record For Fastest Flying Drone Once Again
Were you aware of a hobby-grade drone arms race? Back in the issue 300, I’ve featured a video from Luke Maximo Bell about his and his father’s multirotr design (a good in-depth video about it can be found here). This time, the father-son duo reached a top speed of 659 km/h (409 mph). Nice!
I Forced 15 Engineers to Build Battle Bots
Engineezy put together three teams of YouTube DIY legends to fight against each other through battlebots and gingerbread fortresses. Each team had 24 hours to complete their designs, resulting in some interesting outcomes. This video gave me a hackathon FOMO.
Oscilloscope Basics for Beginners
Robonyx made an excellent guide to Oscilloscopes. If you didn’t have a chance to use one, this should be a great starting point.
Skild AI raises $1.4B to build ‘omni-bodied’ robot brain - The Robot Report
To get to a general-purpose robot, developers need a unified robotics foundation model, according to Skild AI. The company yesterday said it has raised close to $1.4 billion, bringing its valuation to more than $14 billion. It is building the Skild Brain, which it claimed is “the industry’s first unified robotics foundation model.”
Events
- FOSDEM 2026: Jan 31 - Feb 01, 2026. Brussels, Belgium
- Embedded World 2026: Mar 10 - Mar 12, 2026. Nuremberg, Germany
- European Robotics Forum: Mar 23 - Mar 27, 2026. Stavanger, Norway
- Commercial UAV Forum: Apr 22 - Apr 23, 2026. Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Open Hardware Summit: May 22 - May 23, 2026. Berlin, Germany
- ICRA 2026: Jun 01 - Jun 05, 2026. Vienna, Austria
- 2026 Energy Drone & Robotics Summit: Jun 22 - Jun 24, 2026. Houston, Texas, United States of America
- Robotics: Science and Systems: Jul 13 - Jul 16, 2026. Sydney, Australia
- Open Source Summit: Oct 07 - Oct 09, 2026. Prague, Czechia
For more robotic events, check out our event page.
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