In this episode we move far beyond the hobby corner of 3D printing. From LAIKA’s Oscar-winning “replacement animation” technique, to surgeons rehearsing operations on 3D-printed heads, to the wild world of five-axis printers and Arduino’s big bet on ZephyrOS — the frontier of making is shifting again. We’ll also peek into the latest Home Assistant release, where AI moves from novelty into full-blown automation.
Buzzing, Hissing, and Thinking: The Future of Autonomous Robotics
In Episode 15 of the IoT Forge News Digest, we journey into the wilder side of robotics and IoT. From swarms of insect-brained drones zipping through cluttered spaces, to hissing cockroaches turned into first-responder cyborgs, to robots learning to understand their own bodies—autonomy is evolving in unexpected ways. We revisit the self-modeling robot research we covered in Episode 12 and explore why giving robots a “sense of self” is becoming a hot topic in the field. Plus, we wrap up with a real-world smart home showcase from the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, where Home Assistant proves that local-first automation is king.
Driver Assist, Fishbots & AI for Tiny Chips
In this episode, we explore the Comma 3X and whether 20Hz is fast enough for highway driving, the new ESP-Hosted-MCU mode for real-time connectivity, and AutoML for Embedded from Analog Devices. Plus: tinymcp lets LLMs control your microcontrollers, and we bring you weird and wonderful highlights from Open Sauce 2025—including a goldfish that drives.
When Chips Talk and Homes Listen: PRS, Pi Radios, and HA 2025.7
In this episode, we explore the Peripheral Reflex System (PRS) — a hidden gem inside Silicon Labs chips that enables ultra-low-power, high-speed hardware reactions without waking the CPU. We look at Raspberry Pi’s new $4 certified radio module that can save you thousands in wireless certification costs, and meet Walter — a powerful ESP32-S3 + 5G module built for cellular-connected IoT in the field. Finally, we dive into Home Assistant 2025.7, with its redesigned tablet-friendly dashboards, fully local conversational voice assistant, and cleaner, modular device integration.
From Game Console to Robot Boss
What if your gaming handheld could run your next robot prototype? This episode takes you from Steam Deck-powered edge control to neural nets upgrading legacy manipulators—with stops at smarter ROS search, and fresh updates from the Home Assistant and ESPHome front lines. Future’s getting weird… in the best way.
Smarter Machines, Simpler Tools
From AI-powered drones that learn in-flight to open-source PCB designs anyone can build on — this episode explores how intelligence and accessibility are reshaping robotics and embedded development. Whether you’re designing the next manipulator or just wiring up your first board, there’s something here to spark your next idea.
Local Intelligence and Smarter Control in IoT
In this episode of IoT Forge Unplugged News Digest, we take you on a journey from the fields of smart agriculture to the burning front lines of wildfire robotics — exploring how small ideas, when localized and scaled, reshape the landscape of IoT. We cover the new Packet Transport feature in ESPHome and how it transforms sensor networks in the field, dive into a DIY LoRa-powered soil monitor that spans a kilometer, and look at a custom remote that’s smarter than the TV it controls. Plus: a look at The Guardian — a robot built for wildland firefighting, and some quick updates from Homey Pro mini and SmartThings Dev Portal. If you’re an engineer, tinkerer, or tech-savvy manager — this one’s packed with practical insight, architectural ideas, and a glimpse into the near future of embedded intelligence.
Touchy Robots and Tricky Prompts
We’ll talk about robots that can be tricked by language alone—yes, even the physical ones that move and grab. We’ll look at a new robot from Amazon that can actually *feel* what it touches. After that, we’ll jump into the world of 3D printing—both inside the human body and outside, with massive walls printed in just hours. And finally, there’s a cool new product from M5Stack that I’m seriously thinking about getting, even though my workbench is already full of half-finished projects.
Robots That Stumble, Roombas That Rise: IoT in Motion
In this episode of IoT Forge Unplugged, we explores the edge of innovation — from a full-stack Golioth Cloud demo and Reolink’s seamless Home Assistant integration, to Arduino’s eco-friendly PCB initiative and Hugging Face’s leap into open-source robotics. Plus, what happens when humanoid robots try to run a marathon (spoiler: it's not pretty), and how old Roombas are being transformed into clever household helpers.
GR00T, Bluetooth to Cloud, Home Assistant Dashboards, Hackster Contests
In this episode of IoT Forge Unplugged, we explore NVIDIA’s Project GR00T and its impact on robotics, Golioth’s new Bluetooth-to-cloud feature, Home Assistant’s latest dashboard upgrades, and two exciting Hackster contests.