New robot skin that 'feels' pain

Good morning, robotics enthusiasts. UK researchers have engineered an artificial skin that’s soft, flexible, and doesn’t rely on embedded sensors.

This skin can ‘feel’ pressure, heat, and even pain across its entire surface. The result? A leap toward robots and prosthetics that can respond to their environment more like we do.

In today’s robotics rundown:

• New artificial robot skin can ‘feel’ pain

• Softbank eyes $1T robotics complex in Arizona

• Germany’s Neura to raise $1.15B for humanoids

• China’s mosquito-sized drone for military

• Quick hits on other robotics news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

👉🏼 New artificial robot skin can ‘feel’ pain

The Rundown: University of Cambridge and University College London researchers just developed a stretchy artificial skin that allows robots to detect pressure, temperature, and maybe even pain.

The details:

• This next-gen skin is made from gelatin-based hydrogel that’s soft, stretchy, and electrically conductive, allowing it to transmit signals across its surface.

• Just 32 electrodes are embedded at the wrist, enabling the skin to capture over 1.7M data points across its surface.

• The skin can sense pressure, shear forces, temperature, and even damage (like cuts or burns), all with a single, unified material.

• The team is using advanced AI to interpret this flood of sensory information, allowing the skin to distinguish between different types of touch in real time.

Why it matters: Traditional sensor arrays might be pricey and fragile, but this new hydrogel skin is built to flex, stretch, and take a beating — all while costing less to produce. Its rugged resilience and adaptability might unlock new frontiers in lifelike robotics, next-gen prosthetics, and smarter, safer factories.

SOFTBANK

🤑 SoftBank eyes $1T robotics complex in Arizona

The Rundown: SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is reportedly planning to fund a $1T industrial complex in Arizona. Dubbed “Project Crystal Land,” it aims to replicate the scale of China’s Shenzhen, but with a laser focus on next-gen robotics and AI. 

The details:

• The complex is planned as a self-contained ecosystem with semiconductor fabs, robotics R&D labs, logistics hubs, and even residential zones for workers.

• The project is designed to emulate the success of Shenzhen, renowned for its dense network of manufacturers, suppliers, and innovators.

• Central to the project is to build production lines for industrial robots, drawing on the expertise of major chipmakers and tech giants — most notably TSMC.

• A $1T commitment would represent twice the investment of the $500B “Stargate” project, backed by SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle.

Why it matters: If realized, the project promises to boost high-end robotics manufacturing on U.S. soil but also foster a vibrant innovation environment where startups and established firms collaborate to push the boundaries of what robots can achieve — all while positioning Arizona as a new epicenter for global robotics.

NEURA ROBOTICS

🔥 Germany’s Neura to raise $1.15B for humanoids

The Rundown: German startup Neura Robotics reportedly aims to secure up to €1B ($1.15B) in fresh funding as it gears up to launch its next-generation humanoid robot, the 4NE-1, designed to take on established players like Tesla, 1X, and Figure.

The details:

• According to Bloomberg, the Metzingen-based company is actively courting investors to fuel its entry into the fiercely competitive bipedal robotics market.

• Neura’s vision is to create robots capable of lifting heavy objects and automating repetitive tasks, positioning itself as a European leader.

• The startup has an order book valued at €1B and more than 300 employees, and is riding a wave of momentum after a recent €120M Series B round.

• Neura Robotics is also collaborating with major tech firms, including Nvidia for its robotics tools, and has secured orders with Kawasaki and Omron.

Why it matters: Neura Robotics, which achieved a 10x revenue increase in the past year, is positioning itself as a major contender in the global humanoid sector — a market currently dominated by well-funded competitors from the U.S. and Asia. It has already launched its cobot MAiRA, with the 4NE-1 in the works.

MICRODRONES

🦟 China’s mosquito-sized drone for military

The Rundown: A robotics lab at China’s National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) in Hunan just unveiled a mosquito-sized drone — designed specifically for covert military missions — on national television.

The details:

• This microdrone measures just 1.3 cm in length and features two tiny, leaf-like wings and three ultra-thin “legs” for perching or landing. 

• Researchers showed that it can be controlled via smartphone, highlighting its ease of deployment and advanced remote operation capabilities.

• The device is specifically engineered for reconnaissance and special missions, making it a potentially powerful tool for intelligence gathering and surveillance.

• NUDT also showcased various robotic innovations, including humanoids and other miniature drones, on CCTV 7’s military channel.

Why it matters: Like Harvard’s RoboBee and Norway’s Black Hornet, China’s version takes miniaturization to the extreme and is nearly undetectable — making it ideal for military operations, search and rescue, and electronic surveillance. Of course, drones like these raise a host of uneasy questions about the future of privacy and warfare.

QUICK HITS

📰 Everything else in robotics today

Nvidia and its contract manufacturer, Foxconn, are in advanced discussions to deploy humanoids at Foxconn’s plant in Houston to assemble Nvidia’s GB300 AI servers.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in an interview with Bloomberg that he envisions a future in which the highest-tier ChatGPT subscription could include a humanoid.

A Florida surgeon used a robot to remotely perform prostate surgery on a cancer patient in Luanda, Angola, some 11K miles away.

Tokyo-based H2L shared a demo of a woman using a smart chair to control an H1 humanoid from Unitree.

Tesla officially rolled out its robotaxi service in Austin, offering driverless rides via a small fleet of 10 Model Y SUVs.

Chinese tech giant Baidu is reportedly preparing to introduce its Apollo Go autonomous ride-hailing service in Singapore and Malaysia.

UK researchers developed tiny robots called “Pipebots” that can fix leaky water pipes without having to dig up roads and sidewalks.

Beewise, makers of AI-powered robotic beehives, is reportedly transforming almond pollination in California by providing 24/7 automated care to bee colonies.

Last-mile delivery company Veho said its trial program with RIVR’s robots saw a 95% delivery success rate and required limited human intervention.  

The KUKA Catonator robotic saw, newly developed, effortlessly slices through steel and concrete with precision automation, all controlled via a wireless joystick remote.

Carnegie Mellon University developed “Zippy,” said to be the smallest self-contained bipedal robot that can walk at a speed of over half a mile per hour.

COMMUNITY

🎥 Join our next live workshop

Join our next workshop on Wednesday, June 25th at 3 PM EST with Max Brodeur-Urbas, Founder & CEO at Gumloop. By the end of the workshop, you’ll know how to build production-grade AI agents that combine context, reasoning, and actions with Gumloop.

RSVP here. Not a member? Join The Rundown University on a 14-day free trial.

See you soon,

Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team