Humanoid Robots to Watch in 2025 – Video

We saw a lot of advancements in humanoid robotics this past year, and companies are looking to push the technology even further in 2025. Here are some of the trends we’ll be tracking in humanoid robotics over the next year.

Humanoid robots are so hot right now, with several companies in fierce competition, including Titans of tech, we’re exploring what the future could hold for these marching metallic mechanisms made in our image. Let’s get into it. This year, Boston Dynamics introduced an all new all electric Atlas, finally retiring its iconic acrobatic hydraulic Atlas, now called HD Atlas. Boston Dynamics says this new robot is a key stepping stone in the road to commercializing this technology. The all new Atlas is capable of moving in what I would call superhuman ways, which is one thing I suspect we’ll be seeing more of as humanoid robotics technology advances. Just because these robots are shaped like humans doing jobs traditionally performed by humans and operating in environments made for humans doesn’t mean they have to be limited in the same way as human beings are limited. For example, if it’s more efficient to turn your torso and legs in different directions, I think we’ll see robots doing that. It’s also an eye catching way for companies to prove their capabilities and make them stand out from the competition. We can see this clearly in the Unitree G1, a smaller, more affordable humanoid robot starting at $16,000 that folds up to less than 3 ft in size, presumably for things like storage and shipping. Unitree is a Chinese company that distinguishes itself in the crowded field of robotics by producing more affordable robots on both 2 and 4 legs. Other companies stand apart from the crowd by targeting the home as opposed to the warehouse. 1X’s latest humanoid robot, NIO, is shown in its announcement video with its arm around a person. That’s something we don’t see often from robotics companies, perhaps attempting to portray the robot as something that can be trusted as a home helper. Then there’s the issue of autonomy. To be truly useful, robots will have to be able to learn new skills with as little help as possible. Perhaps by observation and mimicry, learning and simulation, tele operation, or some combination, some companies are clearly labeling their demos autonomous or fully autonomous, while others are less upfront about the degree of human assistance behind the scenes. Tesla’s Optimus robot was performing tasks at the company’s Wii Robot event but was reportedly not working autonomously, perhaps due to the low light and crowded environment. The company later shared video of its robots autonomously performing similar tasks in a controlled lab environment. If a company isn’t telling you clearly that what you’re seeing is autonomous, autonomy should never be assumed. A lot can be hidden behind that shiny robotic front. Another big question I’ll be asking in 2025 is what is the best approach to actually building robots that work? We’ve already seen several robotics companies partnering up with companies like Nvidia and OpenAI using their hardware and software as a jumping off point to get their robots talking, learning, and performing tasks faster than if each company had to do it all from scratch. At the same time, you’ve got a company like Tesla that basically said, hey, the self-driving we’re developing for our cars is kind of like what you need to control a humanoid robot. So instead of starting from scratch, they took advantage of all the data, hardware, and AI they were already developing to put it to work in a new form factor with Optimus. We also saw Boston Dynamics announce a deal with Toyota Research Institute, which has been working to develop a large behavior model similar to a large language model that generates human-like behaviors instead of text. Toyota Research Institute has also been working on developing self-driving and self-drifting cars. It’ll be interesting to watch if more partnerships emerge between the self-driving space and the humanoid robotic space. So I’m expecting more feats of hypermobility, more industry partnerships, and more companies seeking to distinguish themselves from the army of humanoid robots marching into the future. As always, thanks so much for watching. I’m your host Jesse Orrell. See you next time with the fan.