HAPPY NEW YEAR
from New York Robotics
🎉As we kick off 2026, the momentum across the robotics ecosystem is unmistakable — from breakthroughs happening here in New York, to growth and collaboration accelerating regionally, nationally, and around the world. The year ahead brings even more opportunities for collaboration, deployment, and impact as the community continues to mature. 2026 is already shaping up to be a big one for builders, operators, researchers, and companies turning robotics into real-world impact. New Year, New You? If a new year has you thinking about a new role, this issue includes more than 50 job openings & internships across robotics and automation. Sometimes the most practical way to move forward is a change of position — and we’re glad to help make those connections. If 2026 is about leveling up, consider this your sign! 🍎 🤖
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NY ROBOTICS NEWS
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Boxing Humanoids Come to ManhattanIn late November, Shayla Lee (NYR's Director of Community Engagement), attended a REK (Robot Entertainment Kombat) event in Manhattan where VR-piloted humanoid robots battled in a boxing ring, creating an uncanny and thought-provoking spectacle that blurred the line between sport and science fiction. Shayla wrote about her experience, how the crowd responded, the unique challenges of controlling robots in real time, and what this emerging form of high-tech entertainment could signal for the broader future of robotics. Have a read and dive into the experience and the deeper questions it raises about human-machine interaction and the evolution of robot-driven events. |
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Free Online Robotics Courses by IEEEThe IEEE Robotics and Automation Society has launched RAS University (RAS-U), a free, web-based global education platform designed to make high-quality robotics and automation learning accessible to everyone. RAS-U offers structured, interactive lessons for self-learners, students, industry practitioners, and educators, combining video lectures, in-depth explanations, and hands-on exercises across foundational and advanced topics. The platform debuts with 15 lessons on robot perception, control, and learning, with an additional 20 advanced courses — spanning areas from humanoids to sustainable robotics — planned for release in Summer 2026. |
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As Industrial Robots Become Autonomous, NJIT Helps Keep Them ConnectedResearchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology are working to make industrial robots more autonomous by keeping them reliably connected to wireless networks as they move through complex, real-world environments. By applying reconfigurable intelligent surfaces—software-controlled reflectors that dynamically shape wireless signals—the team aims to maintain connectivity even in coverage gaps, rather than relying solely on adding more access points. Their work, recognized with a Best Paper award at the ACM Mobile Ad Hoc Networking Symposium, could pave the way for more resilient communications in smart factories, warehouses, and beyond. |
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SUNY Delhi plans $32M Mechatronics Facility
Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced a $32 million investment in a new state-of-the-art Applied Technology Facility at SUNY Delhi, located on the site of the university’s North Hall. The 15,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in 2030 to support SUNY Delhi’s mechatronics program, which prepares New Yorkers for careers in advanced manufacturing including machining, pneumatics and hydraulics, CADD, welding instrumentation controls, robotics, 3D printing and programmable logic controls.
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