Robots that resemble humans – once they were only in movies and books. But thanks to the rapid development of technology, this is a reality that is about to come. Soon we may have a mass of "mechanical assistants" to help in various industries, such as logistics, the service sector, etc.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang believes that in less than five years, humanoid robots will be actively used in production - the industry has clearly defined tasks that robots can handle in a controlled environment.
The topic is attracting the attention of many, including Apple. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the tech giant is considering the possibility of producing anthropomorphic robots. Everything seems to be in the initial stages of research, and mass production could start in 2028.
Another example is the company Meta. According to Bloomberg, it plans to develop a robot to perform household tasks. In addition, the possibility of creating its own humanoid, as Western media claim, has been studied for some time at OpenAI.
While some companies are only planning, others are already actively engaged in relevant activities. Among them are Agility Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Figure AI, and Tesla. The editorial staff of Mezha decided to find out what successes they have achieved in their developments and what to expect next.
Agility Robotics
This American company is one of the major players in the robotics industry. In 2016, it introduced the bipedal robot Cassie, and in 2017, it introduced the humanoid Digit v1. In 2019, Digit v2 appeared, in 2021, Digit v3, and in 2023, Digit v4.
"For starters, Digit is the only humanoid robot currently being used commercially in a production environment. If you look at the humanoid robot industry, many companies are more interested in creating carefully directed videos than doing the hard work of creating a humanoid that can be used commercially. That's not what Agility is interested in," Agility Robotics CPO Melony Wise told Frontiers.
Digit has a unique leg design that allows it to move almost like a human. This allows Digit to perform a variety of complex tasks and is a strong reason why Agility Robotics is able to commercially use its robots today.
Agility Robotics’ CPO emphasizes that currently Digit is designed to work in industries with large logistics and warehousing operations, such as 3PLs, automakers, and e-commerce providers. But in the future, the company sees a move from industrial spaces like manufacturing and logistics to light industrial, and then to public spaces.
“Light industrial spaces are places like the back of a grocery store, hotel, or hospital. Examples of public spaces are the front of a hotel or the front of a grocery store, where Digit will move through public spaces with consumers,” emphasizes Melonie Wise.
Maloney Wise also notes that over the next five years, the company plans to focus primarily on safety when it comes to humanoid development. One of the main goals is complete shared safety, where Digit can work side by side with humans in production.
“For this to happen, new standards need to be written. There are some standards for humanoids, but more are needed. We are working closely with standards bodies to develop these standards. We are also working to expand Digit’s payload and charging capacity,” she emphasizes.
Boston Dynamics
The American giant is the creator of several interesting projects. In 2004, the company introduced BigDog, its first four-legged robot that "left the laboratory and entered the real world."
Another four-legged robot from Boston Dynamics is Spot. It can navigate rough terrain and first became commercially available in 2020. In addition, the company created a specialized robot for warehouse operations, Stretch, which appeared in 2021.
One of the company's most ambitious projects was the Atlas humanoid, the first generation of which was presented in 2013. It is a bipedal robot that can move over uneven terrain. Its arms can be used to carry loads or overcome vertical obstacles.
Boston Dynamics has been developing the project for years and demonstrating what it can achieve. For example, the latest generation hydraulic Atlas (HD Atlas) could lift and maneuver objects of various shapes and sizes. But in 2024, the company retired the hydraulic version and introduced an all-electric humanoid.
At the time, the manufacturer promised that the new product would be more capable than its predecessor. Now Boston Dynamics calls the electric Atlas "the world's most dynamic humanoid robot" designed for use in real-world conditions.
"An advanced control system and state-of-the-art hardware provide power and balance to demonstrate advanced athleticism and agility. We are using Atlas to explore the potential of the humanoid form factor, using the robot's entire body for graceful, fast, and agile movement," the description on the American company's website says.
In confirmation of this, Boston Dynamics regularly publishes videos in which the humanoid performs various movements and acrobatic elements. For example, Atlas's push-ups from the floor look spectacular. And recently a video appeared where the humanoid not only walks, runs, crawls, but also does some dance moves.
Boston Dynamics draws attention to some of the capabilities of the humanoid robot:
· High power – a special battery and advanced actuators provide Atlas with high power;
· Dynamics – Atlas’ advanced control algorithms allow the robot to plan complex whole-body movements, taking into account the surrounding environment;
· Lightweight – Atlas uses a combination of titanium and aluminum 3D printed parts to provide an impressive strength-to-weight ratio.
Among other things, in March 2025, Boston Dynamics announced an expanded collaboration with NVIDIA to create the next generation of artificial intelligence capabilities for humanoid robots.
“With the current generation of our electric Atlas, we are creating the world’s most powerful humanoid robot, and working with NVIDIA to integrate Jetson Thor means the robot now has the highest-performance computing platform. Isaac Lab allows us to develop cutting-edge AI capabilities, and the early results are exciting,” Boston Dynamics CTO Aaron Saunders was quoted as saying.
Figure AI
This American startup also develops humanoid robots. The company aims to develop general-purpose humanoids that "will have a positive impact on humanity and create a better life for future generations."
One of Figure AI's developments is the Figure 01 robot, a prototype of which was presented in 2022. One of its tasks was to perform dangerous work that humans are not capable of. In addition, the project is aimed at reducing the labor shortage.
Last year, Figure AI introduced Figure 02, which features built-in microphones and speakers to listen and talk to people. The robot weighs 20 kg and stands 167 cm tall. It can lift objects weighing up to 20 kg, reach speeds of up to 1.2 m/s, and work for up to 5 hours on a single charge.
The company's website says that in three years it has created two generations of robots, and now they are inviting anyone interested to join the development of Figure 03.
Among the company's achievements is a partnership with automotive giant BMW to introduce humanoid robots to car factories, which was announced in 2024. Figure AI has just published a video with an update on how the project is unfolding.
Interestingly, the capabilities of this robot will not be limited to manufacturing processes.
"Expect Figure to wash dishes, do laundry, unpack groceries, and perform other household tasks 100% autonomously," the company's website says.
As for future steps, in March this year, Figure AI introduced a new large-scale production of humanoid robots BotQ. It is planned that the first production line will produce up to 12 thousand robots here annually. But the startup assures that this is just the beginning and there will be much more.
Tesla
The company is developing a humanoid robot called Optimus. Its prototype was unveiled by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in 2022. It happened during the annual Tesla AI Day event in Palo Alto, California. Then the robot walked around the stage, waved its "hand" and tried to depict something resembling a dance.
In December 2023, the company showed off a new generation of humanoid. At the time, Tesla reported that Optimus Gen 2 is 10 kg lighter than its predecessor and has a 30% faster walking speed. It also has an improved balance and full-body control system.
Shortly after, a video emerged of Optimus folding a T-shirt – but it turned out that he wasn't doing it autonomously.
The "autonomy" of the robot has repeatedly raised many questions. For example, at the Tesla presentation in October 2024, the humanoid made a great impression on visitors. Until it turned out that the robots were probably controlled by people from behind the scenes.
By the way, during the presentation, Elon Musk stated that Optimus can "do anything," such as walk dogs, take care of children, mow lawns, serve drinks, etc. "In the long term," its price will be from $20,000 to $30,000.
Tesla periodically shares updates on Optimus. Last fall, the company announced that thanks to neural networks, the humanoid can move, avoiding obstacles in its path.
Elon Musk also recently announced that Tesla plans to complete its first production run of 5,000 Optimus units this year, with the potential to increase significantly in the years to come.
Development difficulties and prospects for use
In addition to the aforementioned, there are other companies working on creating humanoid robots. What they have in common is the complexity of developing their products. This is primarily a matter of technical challenges.
The first vice-rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), Yaroslav Prytula, draws attention to the difficulty of ensuring the versatility of robots, in particular realistic motor skills and adequate perception of the environment.
According to him, it is also currently practically impossible to avoid erroneous decisions by robots, in particular, hallucinations of artificial intelligence, when the model generates false or illogical information and acts accordingly.
"Artificial intelligence hallucinations are also among the ethical challenges, since the question of responsibility for the robot's actions remains. Other important ethical challenges are the risks associated with the privacy of data collected by the robot. Potential social challenges associated with the replacement of human labor and the further isolation of people are also possible - loneliness is already a major challenge for humanity," says Yaroslav Prytula.
He believes that the technical challenges in developing humanoids can be overcome within the next 10–20 years, but the ethical and social issues, in his opinion, will be more difficult to solve. It will take generations to adapt.
"I am not sure that in the next 5 years humanity will be able to actively use universal humanoid robots. I believe more in robots with more limited functions that are capable of performing a certain narrow range of tasks," adds the first vice-rector of UCU.
He believes that such robots have great potential in healthcare, particularly in patient care, physical rehabilitation, etc. Other areas include logistics and service, such as warehouse operations, stores, and restaurants, which can make good use of robots to automate routine work.