Physics World

Ukraine has announced a large-scale programme to build an 'army of robots', described by officials as a 'Manhattan Project for physical AI'. The initiative aims to develop autonomous ground and aerial systems at scale for battlefield use, drawing comparisons to the World War Two atomic research effort. The announcement has drawn international attention given Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia and the growing role of drones and robotics in modern combat.

Bloomberg reports that driverless trucks may provide a model for how autonomous AI systems can be deployed safely without harming people. The argument is that self-driving freight has operated under strict testing, regulation and limited-use conditions, offering a template for governing more advanced robots. The piece adds to ongoing debate about how to manage AI risks as automation expands into physical industries.

South Korean robotics company Angel Robotics has launched PHAI-X1, a wearable robot platform aimed at physical AI research. The system is intended to give researchers a hardware base for developing and testing AI that interacts with the physical world, such as exoskeleton control and human-assistance applications. Details on pricing and availability were not included in the initial announcement.

Nvidia has reached a settlement in a trademark lawsuit concerning its 'Modulus' AI software, according to a Reuters report. The dispute centred on Nvidia's use of the Modulus name for its framework for building physics-based machine learning models. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed in the report, and the company has not issued a detailed public statement on the outcome.

Gecko Robotics' chief executive is arguing that humans must remain in control as artificial intelligence moves into the physical world through robots and industrial automation. The company builds robots used to inspect critical infrastructure such as bridges, power plants and pipelines. The intervention adds a robotics industry voice to the ongoing debate over how much autonomy should be granted to AI-driven machines in safety-critical settings.

A project called Roboharm is asking whether frontier robot policies actually refuse unsafe instructions. The work examines how AI systems controlling robots respond to harmful commands, a safety question increasingly urgent as AI models are deployed in physical robotics. Discussion is focused on how well current safeguards carry over from language models to embodied systems.

Niantic Spatial says its spatial AI technology is being applied to real-world robots, extending the company's geospatial mapping work beyond games and consumer apps into robotics. The move signals the firm's push into physical-world AI, where spatial understanding helps machines navigate and interact with their surroundings.

An AI system has reportedly set a record by independently computing a 9-loop physics amplitude, a Feynman diagram calculation far beyond typical human work. Most real-world perturbative calculations in quantum field theory stop at 2 or 3 loops due to their complexity. The result highlights how machine learning is beginning to automate some of the most demanding mathematical tasks in theoretical physics.

The Albuquerque Journal takes readers inside Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine in New Mexico, the world's most powerful pulsed-power facility. Originally built to study materials under nuclear weapons conditions, the device is now central to research on fusion energy, exploring how the same physics that powers warheads could one day deliver clean, abundant power.

A British startup is turning video game controller inputs into training data for AI models designed to navigate the physical world. The idea is that human gameplay, including mistakes and clumsy manoeuvring, offers rich examples of how people learn to control complex systems, which could help robots and other embodied AI improve. The approach is drawing attention as a cheaper alternative to real-world data collection.

The US National Science Foundation is moving forward with a plan to build the world's most powerful laser. The facility would push the frontiers of high-energy physics, supporting research into matter under extreme conditions. UC Irvine reported on the development, and scientists in the physics community are watching closely as the project advances toward construction.

Researchers report a DNA-based computing system that settles into thermodynamic equilibrium, a development discussed by Physics World. The work points to molecular computing approaches in which DNA strands carry out computations governed by physical laws of energy and entropy. Observers in the physics community are weighing what equilibrium behaviour means for the reliability and scalability of DNA computers.

Bloomberg Tech reports that AMD has acquired World Labs, the spatial-intelligence startup founded by AI researcher Fei-Fei Li, in a deal valued at $8.2 billion. The move signals AMD's push beyond chips into AI systems that understand 3D space and the physical world, a technology many see as a possible stepping stone toward more general artificial intelligence and advances in robotics.

Startup Midcentury has raised a $15 million seed round to build training data for physical AI systems such as robots and autonomous machines. The funding signals continued investor appetite for startups supplying high-quality data to the physical AI sector, where collecting real-world sensor and motion data is considered a key bottleneck for training capable models.

Tech workers in San Francisco connected ChatGPT to a Toyota Corolla and had it navigate a parking lot using an off-the-shelf language model with no prior driving training. Only one model managed to complete the course. The experiment is drawing attention for showing both the potential and the limits of using general-purpose AI for real-world control tasks.

AMD is acquiring a startup outside its core chipmaking business in an all-stock deal valued at $8.2 billion, a move driven by CEO Lisa Su's push into physical AI, technology that connects artificial intelligence to robots, sensors and real-world systems. The deal signals AMD's ambition to compete beyond traditional semiconductors as demand for AI applied to hardware and machines accelerates across the industry.

Cash hoarding is on the rise in the UK, and commentators argue it shows people still want money they can hold and use without asking permission from banks or authorities. The claim ties the surge in physical banknote holding to broader scepticism about financial institutions and renewed interest in alternative, permissionless forms of money.

A question is being raised in academic circles: could international relations be understood as quantum holographic? The discussion, hosted on the E-International Relations platform, applies concepts from quantum physics and holography to the study of global politics, inviting debate about whether such frameworks can genuinely explain state behaviour and world order or remain metaphorical speculation.

Researchers unveiled Uni-VLaT, a framework that adapts vision-language-action policies with whole-body tactile sensing so humanoid robots can perform loco-manipulation — walking while handling objects. By combining touch feedback across the robot's body with vision-based policies, the system aims to make humanoids steadier and more capable in physical tasks. Details remain limited to the paper listing so far, with little public reaction or performance data yet available.

AMD has agreed to acquire the startup founded by AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li in a deal worth $8.2 billion, part of a broader push into physical AI technology. The acquisition signals AMD's ambition to expand beyond chips for data centers into AI systems that operate in the real world, intensifying competition with Nvidia and other rivals in the rapidly growing physical AI sector.

Industry commentary argues that physical AI — robotics and intelligent machines moving from pilots to real-world deployment — still lacks a repeatable, reliable path to production. Writers in the manufacturing press say companies need standardized processes to take AI-powered systems out of demos and into factories at scale, echoing broader debate about how fast embodied AI can be industrialized.

ExhVerse has extended access to temporary art exhibitions by putting them online, allowing audiences to view shows that would otherwise close after a limited run. The move points to a broader effort in the art world to make time-limited exhibitions available to viewers beyond their physical venues and opening dates.