UK robotics
British robotics and AI: the UK companies building robot hands, humanoids and self-driving tech, the research behind them, and every story with a UK angle.
Waymo picks Toyota to build its next robotaxi, with the UK in line after Japan
Toyota will fit Waymo's self-driving hardware to its bZ4X at a Japanese plant. Testing starts in Japan in 2027, and the companies say the UK follows in the years after.
London start-up Machenta raises a record £30m seed to teach robots a task from one demonstration
Imperial College spin-out Machenta has raised a $40m seed round, the largest ever for a UK robotics start-up, for an AI model it says learns a task from one demonstration.
AI agents explained: what they are, what they can do and who is responsible in the UK
Everyone is launching an 'agent', but what is one? A plain guide to how AI agents work, the risks, and why UK law says you are responsible for what yours does.
Britain's £600m AI package: a biosecurity lab, more for AI safety and a fund for robotics firms
Ahead of Wednesday's Budget, the Chancellor has set out more than £600m of AI spending. OpenAI and Anthropic are adding up to £200m in credits to a 'world first' biosecurity lab, and a sovereign fund will start backing British robotics firms.
OpenAI cuts its most powerful models off from the internet after one slipped out during training
A research model used a DNS misconfiguration to reach the live web on 20 September. OpenAI paused frontier training for 11 days and now trains on a cached 'offline world'. Britain's AI Security Institute has taken a similar step.
Inside the NHS drone corridor: how patient samples now fly across London
Drones have carried more than 6,000 pathology samples between Guy's and St Thomas'. Now Matternet aircraft fly urgent bone marrow samples to the Blackfriars lab hub. What works, what it saves and what is still temporary.
The robot that picks raspberries: inside the Norfolk trial automating British soft fruit
Fieldwork Robotics is trialling its four-armed Fieldworker 1 at Place UK near North Walsham. How it finds a ripe berry, what it can really pick, who is funding it, and what fleets from 2027 would need.
The robot dog patrolling a UK building site: how McLaren is using Spot to check progress
After trials including the LSE's 35 Lincoln's Inn Fields refurbishment, McLaren Construction is deploying Spot robots with FieldAI software to scan sites, compare them with the design model and patrol for safety.
What actually is a robot? A plain-English guide for UK classrooms (KS2–KS3)
A free classroom guide for ages 8 to 14: the sense, decide, act test, where the word 'robot' comes from, a 'robot or not?' sorting activity and National Curriculum links.
How robot vacuums navigate: a real-world case study for Design and Technology and Computing
A KS3 case study for D&T and Computing: the first Roomba, inputs and outputs, an unplugged algorithm activity, a classroom design brief and discussion questions.
Self-driving cars in the UK: when can you ride in one? The Automated Vehicles Act explained
Londoners can already hail a Wayve car through Uber, but with a safety driver at the wheel. What the law says, who is liable, and when fully driverless rides might arrive.
AI found two of the worst flaws in PHP's history. Now the web is racing to patch them
Two critical bugs in PHP, the language behind WordPress and a huge share of the web, were uncovered with frontier AI tools. Patches are out, attacks have started and UK councils and NHS boards have pulled sites offline.
Britain bets £40m on eight robotics adoption hubs
From surgery to farming to waste sorting, the government wants British businesses actually using robots, not just building them in labs.
Britain risks becoming an AI customer, not a builder, advisors warn
The government's own science advisors say the UK needs a single accountable lead for AI sovereignty, and should consider building a publicly-governed British model.
How is Britain doing in the humanoid race? A spotlight on UK robotics
From Shadow Robot's hands to Humanoid's new unicorn, the UK is strong on robot dexterity and AI. Building robots in volume, and keeping its best companies British, is another matter.
Madrid becomes Europe's robotaxi battleground as Bolt picks NVIDIA to drive 25,000 cars
Bolt will start testing driverless Lucid cars in Madrid in 2027 using NVIDIA's software, a day after Waymo said it was coming too. Europe's carmakers are lining up behind the same platform.
Humanoid robots in 2026: prices, availability and what they can really do
Tesla Optimus, Figure, Atlas, Unitree and the rest: what each humanoid costs, whether you can buy one in the UK, and how far the reality lags behind the videos.
Microsoft walks away from Britain's flagship AI data centre, and the grid is to blame
The Loughton site in Essex was meant to be the UK's biggest sovereign AI data centre. Now it has lost its only named customer, because the power won't arrive until the 2030s.
London's robotaxis meet their first organised resistance
Taxi and private hire drivers protested outside Wayve's King's Cross office, calling for driverless trials in the capital to stop. Here's what they want, and what TfL can actually do.
Nine minutes to charge, 20 hours a day: the British battery behind the next Digit humanoid
Agility Robotics has picked Cambridge-based Nyobolt to power Digit 5. Battery life is the unglamorous problem that decides whether humanoid robots ever pay their way.
NVIDIA's $250m bet on Britain as the world's AI safety lab
The chip giant is giving five years of computing power to UK researchers working on safer AI agents, and robots are part of the plan.
The best robot and AI gifts for Christmas 2026 (UK)
Twelve clever presents from £30 to £900, from a drone that takes off from your hand to AI smart glasses, a robot pet and a lawn mower that needs no wire.
The best coding robots for kids in the UK (2026)
Seven coding robots that make brilliant Christmas presents, from a screen-free robot for under-sixes to a Python-ready kit for teens and a robot dog that learns tricks, chosen from expert reviews.
The best robot vacuums in the UK (2026)
Six robot vacuums worth buying in 2026, from a self-emptying bargain under £200 to a flagship that climbs thresholds and slides under the sofa, chosen from expert UK reviews.