Robotics roadmaps from around the world spotlight of the month: United States of America

Robots are a crowd-pleasing example of American innovation and global technological leadership. The latest press release of Boston Dynamics' executing the'Ghost Rabona' soccer kick highlights the increasingly natural movements of humanoids ( 1). At the other end of the spectrum, academic researchers are redefining the limits of miniaturization and building robots at the micrometer scale ( 2). Private and government funding propel foundational research forward, leading to breakthroughs in both hardware and software across U.S. labs and corporations ( 3, 4). Such progress reaffirms the U.S. as an intellectual and innovative powerhouse, a reputation that carries large geopolitical weight.