In Episode 220 of The Robotic Report Podcast, hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the most important robotics information of the week. This week on the present, we additionally welcome Dhaval Jadav, CEO of alliantgroup, and Dr. Robert Ambrose, professor at Texas A&M and director of robotics and synthetic intelligence at alliantgroup, to debate STEM schooling.
This episode digs into the challenges and alternatives in fostering a various and expert workforce, in addition to how robotics competitions function a gateway to STEM (science, know-how, engineering, and arithmetic) careers. Find out how STEM-related packages from Ok-12 after which neighborhood schools and universities are making ready the following technology of engineers, technicians, and different professionals essential to help the rising fleets of robots and autonomous methods.
Dr. Robert Ambrose, chairman of robotics and AI at alliantgroup; affiliate director of the Texas A&M Area Institute.
Ambrose’s profession spans greater than 20 years throughout educational analysis, federal service, and startup innovation, giving him a novel perspective on what it takes to drive robotics from the lab to real-world affect.
As chief of software program, robotics, and simulation at NASA from 2000 to 2021, Ambrose led a staff on the Johnson Area Middle that developed pioneering robotic platforms and applied sciences that proceed to form the way forward for human and robotic area exploration.
Dhaval Jadav, CEO of alliantgroup and a STEM schooling knowledgeable.
Jadav is the co-founder and CEO of alliantgroup, a nationwide companies agency primarily based in Houston that educates and helps small and midsized U.S. companies declare government-sponsored tax and credit score incentives.
Jadav acquired his Grasp of Legal guidelines (LLM) diploma in taxation from Georgetown College Legislation Middle.
Present timeline
- 8:45 – Information of the week
- 37:29 – Interview with Dr. Rob Ambrose and Dhaval Jadav of alliantgroup
Information of the week
Teradyne Robotics lays off one other 14% of workforce
Roughly 9 months after lowering its world workforce by 10%, Teradyne Robotics lower about one other 14% of its workers worldwide. The unit of testing firm Teradyne stated income progress has not matched expectations.
Teradyne owns collaborative robotic arm maker Common Robots (UR) and autonomous cellular robotic developer Cellular Industrial Robots (MiR). Each UR and MiR are primarily based in Odense, Denmark.
It’s unclear precisely what number of workers had been affected by the layoffs, however the firm stated reductions occurred throughout its world groups. Previous to the January 2025 layoffs, the Teradyne Robotics web site stated it had greater than 1,400 workers worldwide.
If the present 2025 revenue-per-quarter tempo continues, UR’s 2025 income would attain roughly $232 million — a decline of about $100 million, or 28%, from its 2022 peak.
iRobot income continues to drop with ‘no sources’ of extra capital
iRobot Corp. shared its Q3 2025 monetary outcomes. The Roomba maker introduced in $145.8 million in income, a 24.6% drop from the $193.4 million it introduced in in Q3 2024.
This continued a downward pattern for the corporate. Final quarter, iRobot’s income was down 23.3% yr over yr. iRobot has struggled financially in recent times as a result of decrease demand, elevated competitors, and a failed Amazon acquisition.
As of Sept. 27, iRobot stated it had $24.8 million in money and money equivalents available, a $15.8 million drop from the $40.6 million it had on the finish of June. Much more dire, iRobot stated in a Type 10-Q submitting with the U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee that it “has no sources upon which it could possibly draw for extra capital.” The report stated administration had “substantial doubt” concerning the firm’s “skill to proceed.”
Aaron Saunders to hitch Google DeepMind
Aaron Saunders, former chief know-how officer at Boston Dynamics, introduced on LinkedIn that he has joined Google DeepMind‘s robotics group. He had labored at Boston Dynamics from September 2003 to July 2025.
XPENG unveils female version of IRON humanoid
Xpeng unveiled the newest version of its IRON humanoid robotic this week. The robotic has distinct feminine options, albeit with a generic head/face, so it’s not supposed to be hyper-realistic.
Most notable is the gait of the robotic, which Xpeng claimed is the smoothest, most pure of any humanoid launched so far. In a video, the robotic seems to stroll a stability beam or tight rope with one foot in entrance of the opposite.
