If you’re worried that humanoid robots will take your job in 2025, rest assured. Some models on the market are slow and heavy, making them perfect for menial tasks that humans don’t like. Consider lifting a 20 pound (9 kilogram) object onto a conveyor belt.
However, things are changing. By the end of this decade, many experts believe that humanoid robots – if that’s the right word – will have evolved into truly useful members of the workforce. They will likely be faster than humans, work longer hours, and have better reasoning abilities than the best AI chatbots. The annual cost is also lower.
If you’re cynical about all of this, you’re right. Until now, companies have struggled to meet many demands. Additionally, only one humanoid robot in our seven-strong list is currently in active duty.
Nevertheless, in five years, a humanoid robot could be released that combines the dexterity of Atlas, the emotional connection of America, the hand skills of Phoenix, the brains of Figure 02, and the style of Optimus. Still high. Here are 7 robots that are pushing the boundaries in 2024.
7: General-purpose robot, Apollo
Apptronik’s co-founders worked on NASA’s Valkyrie robot project from 2012 to 2013. From that star-studded tradition comes Apollo, a 5-foot-8-inch (1.73-meter) tall general-purpose humanoid robot.
What makes this “universal” is that Apollo could care for the elderly as easily as working in a factory, and in partnership with NVIDIA, it uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help humans do the work. This is so they can learn skills just by watching them do it. But that’s the future. For now, Apollo is in the pre-production stage, but Apptronik is partnering with Mercedes-Benz to test scenarios at the factory.
6: Working robot, digit
Like many products on our list, Agility Robotics’ Digit is built to perform repetitive tasks in industrial environments such as warehouses. However, unlike its rivals, this robot is already in use. Head into GXO Logistics’ facility in Flowery, Georgia, to see tireless robotic workers moving boxes weighing up to 35 pounds (16 kg) from autonomous mobile delivery units to conveyor belts. I can see it.
However, Digit isn’t the most elegant robot. Most of the 5-foot, 9-inch (1.75 m) frame is taken up by rear-facing legs that allow you to stand close to the rack, but the only concession to a more friendly design is the pair of rectangular ‘s LED “eyes” (actually, it uses lidar and an Intel RealSense depth camera to detect its surroundings). Digit can be ordered for $36,000.
5: Phoenix, an excellent robot that clicks with your fingers
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While other robot manufacturers focus on speed and strength, Sanctuary AI’s Phoenix is all about the fingers. In December 2024, the company unveiled a robot with tactile pads on each finger and extremely dexterous fingers that can manipulate dodecahedral dice when needed.
Sanctuary AI focuses a lot of its efforts on intelligence, with the goal of building modular robots that can add new skills through hardware and hands-on learning. However, the Phoenix is still a prototype, and so far it has only been officially operational for a week-long trial run in its home country of Canada, where it did tasks such as packaging products at retail stores.
4: Figure 02, Talking robot
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Like Tesla’s Optimus bot, Figure 02 could be straight out of a science fiction movie. Add laser beam eyes and it’s going to be scary. That is, until you see this 5-foot-6-inch (1.68 m) robot walk, or more accurately shuffle, and talk.
Figure 02 is the only conversational robot on the list that applies OpenAI’s Large-Scale Language Model (LLM). This means that if you ask for something to eat, you can give them an apple and talk to them just like in ChatGPT.
With dexterous fingers and the ability to learn from mistakes, this is one of the most advanced humanoid robots. However, we do not yet know when we will move beyond the prototype stage.
3: Ameca, the friendly robot
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Created by Engineered Arts, Ameca takes a different approach than the others on this list, with realistic hands and a face that can express emotions. With flexible skin and realistic eyes, plus a choice of onboard or cloud-based AI, you can greet them with a satisfying smile and respond to questions almost instantly. Another important difference is that Ameka cannot walk yet. Instead, it’s designed to be modular, so you can mount it on wheels or buy (or rent) just the torso and head.
2: Atlas, the scary robot
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Don’t mess with Atlas. This 5-foot-tall (1.5 m) humanoid robot from Boston Dynamics has amazing balance abilities and can even move from a prone position to standing up with (relatively) grace. Cyclops-like eyes dominating the head probably won’t help with human interaction skills.
Adding to this robot’s list of terrifying skills, it can run at 9 km (5.6 mph), jump, and even perform backflips. Unlike other robots on this list, its incredible balance also means it can overcome tough terrain.
With AI-enhanced vision and simple but flexible claw-like hands to complete tasks autonomously, it’s easy to imagine Atlas performing a wide range of tasks. However, this robot is currently in the prototype stage, so we will have to wait.
1: Optimus Gen 2, smooth robot
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Tesla wowed attendees at its “We, Robot” evening event in October 2024, with its latest generation of stylish humanoid robots serving drinks to attendees. However, it only turns out that a human was controlling the robot’s hand. cocktail.
But with a combination of AI and advanced sensors, it’s only a matter of time before these 5-foot-8-inch robots live up to the hype, with plans to deploy them in Tesla factories sometime in 2025 . With Tesla’s deep pockets and access to cutting-edge AI, battery technology and components, we believe Optimus Gen 2 deserves to be recognized as the most complete and advanced humanoid robot today.
