What To Know
- From the busy halls of the CES in Las Vegas, where Asian innovators really stole the show, to the quiet precision of new medical systems in Vietnam, the story is clear.
- Japan is betting on a future where making clean-energy vehicles is as automated as the cars themselves are becoming by restructuring their factories with high-density robotics (which are among the best in the world).
The last week has been buzzing in our region. From the busy halls of the CES in Las Vegas, where Asian innovators really stole the show, to the quiet precision of new medical systems in Vietnam, the story is clear: we are moving from “automation” to “embodiment.”
Robot with a Soft Touch
Tomo, a humanoid robot made by the Singapore-based Emage Group, was one of the most talked-about things in the past week. Tomo isn’t your typical rigid machine; it was shown off on the world stage. It is a flexible humanoid made for tasks that need a lot of accuracy. What caught my attention was not only its ability to pack boxes but also its potential in healthcare. It can handle medical parts as small as a needle. This means that “general purpose” robots will be able to help in clinics and pharmacies without the need for a complete overhaul of the current infrastructure.
The Smart Terminal Comes to Aviation
This week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and partners at Changi Airport gave updates on the progress of Terminal 5. We are seeing the first real steps toward a system where bags can be handled by themselves. These aren’t just “tugs” on a track; they are smart systems that use predictive AI to figure out when flights will be late and change ground operations in real time. The goal is to reduce fatigue and ensure that travelers only worry about their passports.
AI Consolidation
Grab’s purchase of Infermove, an AI robotics company, this week is a big step forward for the “super-app” ecosystem. This acquisition tells us everything we need to know about how logistics will work in the future in ASEAN. AI is leaving the cloud and going into the cars and delivery bots that drive around our streets.
Vietnam’s Digital Health Milestone
The Ministry of Health in Vietnam announced a big step forward this week: 130 healthcare facilities have now fully switched to electronic medical records (EMR). It’s not just about going paperless; the backend AI now has the data to do predictive diagnostics for heart and cancer issues. Vietnam is slowly becoming a leader in the region when it comes to using technology to make high-quality care more accessible in remote areas.
The 10% Milestone for South Korea
January 12, 2026, is likely to be a day that people remember. South Korea is now the first country in the world to have 10% of its workers be robots. This is a giant change. The use of automation in restaurants, hospitals, and electronics factories has reached a critical point, with about 1,102 robots for every 10,000 human workers. It’s a risky test of how to fix demographic changes with steel and silicon, and the whole world is watching.
The “Kickboxers”
The world saw how balance has changed at the CES event that ended this Friday. Unitree Robotics showed off humanoid models doing complicated kickboxing moves. It may look like a show, but the truth is that the AI that controls these machines has finally solved the “balance problem.” This lets robots work in places that aren’t level, like construction sites or areas where people are recovering from disasters, where older models would have just fallen over.
Japan’s Car Industry Comes Back to Life
This week, Japan’s car industry reported a big increase in the number of robots installed, specifically for their new hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric production lines. Japan is betting on a future where making clean-energy vehicles is as automated as the cars themselves are becoming by restructuring their factories with high-density robotics (which are among the best in the world).
Cybersecurity: The Move to “Agentic” Defense
This week, we’ve seen a big change in terms of security. The industry is moving away from passive firewalls and toward agentic AI.
What does this mean for you? Security operations centers are now using “agents” that not only let people know about problems but also “reason” and act at machine speed to find and resolve technical problems. We are also seeing a new focus on prompt injection as a major technical risk. The issue is ensuring that AI systems only do what we want as we use them more in business.
AI, automation, and humanity
Embodied AI is the clear “theme of the week” when you look back at the news from the last seven days. We aren’t just talking to a screen anymore; we’re also talking to machines that can move around in the real world.
The goal is to improve the human experience, not replace it, whether it’s a robot in a Singaporean clinic or an autonomous baggage handler at Changi. When used correctly, technology should feel like an extension of what we can do. The line between the digital and the real world is getting smaller as we move deeper into 2026.
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