Open Robotics

Black Forest Labs has announced Flux 3 Action, a 7-billion-parameter open-weight world action model aimed at robotics. The model is described as combining world modelling with action generation so robots can perceive and act, and its weights are being released openly on Hugging Face. Discussion so far centres on what an open-weight entry from the Flux image-model team could mean for robotics research.

The Discovery Centre in Paignton, Devon, has announced it will be open to visitors on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd October 2026, from 10am to 3pm. The centre focuses on STEAM activities, including robotics, Lego Technics, motors and engineering, and promotes weekend learning clubs for families and hobbyists looking for things to do.

Saildrone, the uncrewed surface vehicle company, is recruiting a Director of Fleet Services, a role advertised via the Ocean Career jobs board. The position would oversee operations and maintenance of the company's global fleet of autonomous ocean research drones. The listing is being shared among professionals in the oceans and offshore environment sector tracking new career opportunities in the growing marine robotics industry.

Google is positioning its robotics strategy as an open, Android-style platform, in contrast to Tesla's tightly controlled, Apple-style approach with its Optimus humanoid robot. The comparison suggests the two tech giants are taking opposite paths to dominate the emerging robotics market, with Google favouring broad ecosystem adoption and Tesla betting on a closed, vertically integrated model.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is advertising a robotics software engineer position, listed through Ocean Career on EC Magazine. The opening reflects continued demand for engineers who can develop autonomous underwater systems and software for ocean research vehicles. Such roles support WHOI's work in deep-sea exploration, underwater robotics and marine science instrumentation.