Neura and TUM open €17M RoboGym and introduce 4NE1 Gen 4

Neura and TUM open €17M RoboGym and introduce 4NE1 Gen 4

2 min read•Oct 30, 2026•
David Kim
David Kim

Neura Robotics and the Technical University of Munich opened a €17 million robotics research and training center near Munich Airport, first reported by Roboticsandautomationnews. The facility combines research, training and industrial applications, giving companies a place to bring real industrial tasks into a setting where robots can learn and test new skills.

The TUM RoboGym powered by Neura covers more than 2,300 square meters at LabCampus and was built with TUM’s Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI). Companies from more than ten industries are already involved, including automotive, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, packaging, logistics, agriculture and care.

Tasks being trained include handling cardboard boxes, filling bottles, and loading and unloading wooden components. Neura founder and CEO David Reger said companies’ accumulated know-how matters to physical AI: “People know how to work materials, assemble components and master difficult processes.”

The RoboGym generates physical-AI training data through real-world robot operation, human demonstrations and simulation. Human workflows can be captured using sensor-equipped data suits, motion capture and teleoperation, while virtual environments provide additional variations that can later be validated using physical robots. Neura’s Neuraverse connects the training infrastructure with the company’s software and AI tools.

Together, the methods span physical robot operation, human demonstrations and simulated variations, with physical robots used to validate those variations.

Neura also introduced 4NE1 Gen 4, the latest version of its humanoid. The company says it is 20 percent lighter than its predecessor, with a slimmer body, sensorized textile outer skin, more advanced hands and Smart Limbs capable of responding independently to their surroundings.

4NE1 Gen 4 runs Neuron AI, Neura’s Perception-Language-Action model, which uses inputs including vision, touch, force and sound to translate perception into movement. The humanoid is being prepared for series production and is already being used at Neura Gym facilities.

The initiative is initially planned to run for three years. Neura and TUM are investing around €17 million, with approximately €11 million coming from Neura. The RoboGym is intended to become the first in an international network of Neura Gyms, with further locations being established in Europe, the United States and China. Another German facility is being developed with RWTH Aachen.

Plug-in vehicles reach 32% of global registrations in September

Plug-in vehicles reached 32% of global registrations in September, first reported by Cleantechnica. Battery-electric vehicles accounted for 23% of registrations and set a record at 1.54 million, up 8% year over year, while plug-in hybrids fell 9%; year to date in 2026, BEVs were up 12% and PHEVs down 10%.

Global plug-in registrations rose 3% year over year to around 2.16 million in September, close to the all-time record of 2.17 million set last December.

Year to date, plug-in registrations were up 4% year over year: BEVs grew 12%, while PHEVs fell 10%. Their combined share for 2026 stood at 25%, with BEVs at 18% and PHEVs at 7%. The overall growth rate therefore hides a clear split between the two categories.

The Tesla Model Y led the model rankings with a record 165,000 registrations, up 17% year over year. Tesla Model 3 came second with 65,000, enough to move ahead of Geely Xingyuan and BYD Song despite a 4% annual decline.

BYD Song finished fourth at 54,519 registrations, up 19% and the fastest growth rate among the top five. An export push and the new-generation Ultra body helped lift the model.

At the make level, Tesla had a record 232,000 registrations, up 9% year over year. Toyota reached 61,332 for its fourth record in a row, finishing ahead of Volkswagen’s year-best 58,000 to become September’s best-selling legacy make.