Guides
The reference shelf behind the newsletter: what things cost, how to compare them, and how to check a vendor’s claim.
Buying & operating
Uptime math, rental contracts and safety standards: how to check a vendor claim before you sign.
Toolkit · Coming soonOEE, MTBF and Availability: How to Check a Robot’s Uptime ClaimThe three numbers plants run on, with worked examples and calculators.
Explainer · Coming soonWhat OEE Should You Expect From a Robot?Realistic OEE ranges by type of application, from high-repetition cells to full automation.
Explainer · Coming soonWill Robots Take Our Jobs? What the Evidence Actually ShowsWhich work changes, which jobs grow, and what plants are actually seeing.
Explainer · Coming soonRobots-as-a-Service, ExplainedHow robot rental works, and what to check in the contract.
Explainer · Coming soonISO 10218 and Robot Safety Standards, ExplainedWhat changed in 2025, and the gap humanoids still fall into.
From the newsletter Oct 19 — Uptime Is the Pitch Now
Humanoids & legged robots
What humanoids and robot dogs cost, who is actually shipping them, and what they do on a real floor.
Price guideHumanoid Robot Prices in 2026: What Each One Costs, and What You Actually GetList prices run from about $5,000 to over $100,000, and many of the numbers in headlines are targets, not prices. Here is what each model costs, how it's sold, and what the sticker leaves out.
Tracker · Coming soonHumanoid Robot Companies: Who’s Shipping, Piloting and DemoingThe major players, sorted by deployment evidence instead of video views.
Price guide · Coming soonRobot Dog Prices: Spot, ANYmal and UnitreeWhy an industrial quadruped costs so much more than a consumer one.
From the newsletter Oct 19 — Uptime Is the Pitch Now
Factory & warehouse automation
Cobots, industrial arms, mobile robots and unattended production, compared on the numbers that matter.
Comparison · Coming soonCobot vs. Industrial RobotWhat “collaborative” really means since 2025, and which one fits the job.
Comparison · Coming soonAMR vs. AGVFixed paths or planned routes, and when each one wins.
Explainer · Coming soonLights-Out ManufacturingHow close anyone actually gets to a factory with no people.
Construction & field robotics
Robots on jobsites, in inspection routes and in the factories that build homes off-site.
ExplainerConstruction Robots in 2026: What's Actually Working on JobsitesThe construction robots earning their keep do narrow jobs: layout, drilling, rebar, earthmoving and factory-built components. Here's what each type does, what the evidence looks like, and why jobsite downtime is the real number you need to ask about.
Price guide · Coming soonRobot Dog Prices: Spot, ANYmal and UnitreeWhy an industrial quadruped costs so much more than a consumer one.
From the newsletter Oct 19 — Uptime Is the Pitch Now
Physical AI
The models behind the new robots, in plain English, with the questions that separate a demo from a deployment.
ExplainerWhat Is Physical AI? A Plain-English Guide for People Who Buy EquipmentPhysical AI is AI that senses the real world and acts on it through machines. Here's what the term covers, how it differs from embodied AI, and which parts are working in plants today.
Deep dive · Coming soonSim-to-Real and Robot Foundation Models, in Plain EnglishHow robots are trained now, and how to read the claims made about it.