The Briefing
This week in the humanoid supply chain.
Hand-picked component and supplier news from the humanoid.guide desk — the same signals we track for the report.
ManufacturingSchaeffler puts six humanoids on a joint-module line in Taicang
Image © Humanoid Guide — Schaeffler has opened its 7,500 m² Taicang Humanoid Lighthouse, where six humanoid robots work on a joint module assembly line while the site also produces robot components and trains robots for factory tasks, humanoid.guide reports. Schaeffler positions it as a platform for Chinese robotics firms to test humanoid deployment in a real factory.
Nyobolt to supply Digit 5's nine-minute battery
Agility Robotics has picked Cambridge, UK-based Nyobolt for the Digit 5 battery, which Agility says delivers 90 minutes of runtime and recharges in nine minutes, a 10:1 run-to-charge ratio versus 2:1 on Digit 4. Agility says early access starts in the first half of 2027, according to The Robot Report.
End EffectorsBoston Dynamics cuts the pinkie from Atlas's new hand
Image © Boston Dynamics — Boston Dynamics has unveiled a four-fingered Atlas hand with 13 degrees of freedom, directly driven by a single actuator type and lined with dense tactile sensors on fingertips and palm. The company says it dropped the pinkie because the extra dexterity was not worth the added complexity, and designed the modular hand for low-cost mass manufacturing.
View the full Briefing archive →
Curated by humanoid.guide · Latest briefing: 20 Oct 2026 · Sources linked on each story.