Humanoids: their time has come
The world of robotics is changing. The humanoids are coming! And they are coming in hot. They already work in leading car manufacturers' pilot projects behind closed doors. And: They will become an increasingly important part of our everyday lives.
We are currently witnessing impressive leaps in the development of human-like robots. The growing capability of artificial intelligence lets humanoids achieve previously unimaginable performance levels. For example, the android Sophia by Hanson Robotics is now a very popular guest in talk shows. The first digital citizen of the United Arab Emirates never fails to surprise popular US TV host Jimmy Fallon with her dry sense of humor. She is a prime example of sophisticated AI.
From stage to factory
While Sophia is capable of having all kinds of deep philosophical discussions, humanoids like Optimus, Atlas, Figure 1, Apollo, and many others are of an entirely different breed. They were created to take on strenuous, boring, dirty, and even dangerous work that people used to do. Contrary to the widespread opinion that this is a vision of future technology, leading companies such as amazon, Tesla, BMW, and Mercedes demonstrate that it is has already become reality.
Let’s take amazon as an example: Their department stores in the US rely on Digit by Agility Robotics. This lean and compact humanoid’s large battery capacity is just one factor that makes it perfect for physically demanding tasks such as handling and transporting containers.
The car manufacturer Tesla enjoys the privilege of deploying humanoids from its in-house development. And their second-generation Optimus allows this American company to test a sophisticated humanoid as it takes on various tasks in their own car production facilities. Tesla has another advantage: Their battery-powered vehicle business offers the required battery expertise and lets Optimus draw on the most advanced battery technology available.
Chat GPT as a communication platform
BMW is currently testing a high-performance humanoid called Figure 1 at their South Carolina plant. This bot’s great advantage: It uses Chat GPT to communicate and is already capable of having fluent conversations with humans. If Open AI introduces Chat GPT next later this year as announced, it will mark another performance leap for Figure 1.
Mercedes is another prominent company taking initial steps towards humanoid deployment, for example at its Hungary plant. The company uses Apollo by Apptronik: a humanoid with a body height of 1.72 meters weighing in at 72 kg that can carry 25 kg. That makes it perfect for relieving human employees of physically strenuous tasks, thus making them available for tasks that generate greater value. Despite the advancements seen in the recent past, Jörg Burzer, member of the Management Board at Mercedes Benz Group AG, takes a realistic stance on the use of humanoids in automotive production plants: “We are just starting out on this exciting technological journey as we shape the future of production with the help of robots and AI.”
China joins the party: humanoid boom expected
China wants to take the lead on this journey and has announced its goal to become the global market leader in the field of humanoid robots in the coming three years. Five percent of all jobs in the People's Republic are scheduled to be taken over by humanoids in the medium term. This is equivalent to the deployment of around 35 million units.
Tesla also expects a great surge in demand if and when Optimus reaches series production maturity in the near future. Elon Musk commented on X: "There is no real limit to the deployment of humanoids as economic output is defined as per capita productivity. And intelligent humanoid robots can be used to increase this figure at will." The Optimus population could grow by up to the power of ten every year. Insiders have already projected a production volume of 100,000 Tesla bots in 2027.
At such volumes, Elon Musk estimates Optimus' unit cost to be around half the cost of a car. Based on the price of a Model 3, the price point of Optimus would be around 25,000 euros. If and when the capital costs for humanoids fall this low, sales will see an additional boost. Even more so as less sophisticated China bots will be available at significantly lower rates than Tesla bots.
It’s all about the hand
The more human these humanoids are required to appear and function, the more challenging and expensive their development and production become. This is evident not only in the use of AI and its computing power requirements, but in the mechanics as well. Perfect example: the hand. While it is sufficient to equip simple humanoids with grippers from a standard kit of components, best-in-class models now feature hands with five fingers and 22 degrees of freedom, thus fully matching the human hand.
And it is worth the effort because sophisticated humanoids now achieve degrees of flexibility that had been unthinkable until recently. In comparison, a conventional industrial robot can be considered a rather inflexible piece of special-purpose mechanical engineering. The humanoids of the future will exceed humans in terms of flexibility. AI enables them to learn and they will never forget anything. They can be trained to perform any task and: They are more nimble than humans.
Beyond the limits of human motion
The new Atlas by Boston Dynamics demonstrates just how nimble humanoids can be. The company, which is considered a pioneer of humanoid robotics, has now introduced a new electric version of its Atlas robot to replace their older hydraulic model with a quieter, smoother motion system. Robert Playter, CEO Boston Dynamics, comments: “The electric Atlas version is stronger, more nimble, and offers greater agility. Atlas is capable of performing motions far beyond anything that humans can do.”
The company backs up this claim with a demonstration video showing Atlas standing up from a lying position. No human could ever move with such ease as human joints simply do not allow for such mobility. Turning the torso or head by 360 degrees will forever remain a privilege of humanoids.
And Boston Dynamics has improved the new Atlas in another way: The humanoid makes a much friendlier impression than its martial predecessor. That is good because: Humanoids’ acceptance in everyday life will significantly depend on how they are perceived by humans. Many androids have something scary about them. An excessively human appearance is often considered unpleasant. The French company Enchanted Tools shows how to do it better: Their Miroki robot never fails to impress with its appealing design reminiscent of a mythical creature.
Skill shortages are a thing of the past
The current state of development in the humanoid sector clearly suggests that their deployment in industrial environments is imminent. This is an enormous market in the making. Thanks to AI, humanoids will soon be ready to take over a large proportion of the tasks that required human labor so far.
This development will also have an impact on industrial robotics. Humanoids are incredibly flexible, do not require complex programming, can be easily trained for all kinds of tasks, and the associated capital cost is quite reasonable. Of course, there is a variety of tasks for which industrial robots will remain indispensable, however: The range of applications where the suitability of humanoids and industrial robots overlap is not to be underestimated. Handling tasks, assembly applications, loading and unloading tool machines – there certainly are lots of possibilities.
automatica, the world’s leading exhibition held at the Munich exhibition center from June 24 to 27, 2025, will reveal whether and how manufacturers from the industrial robotics sector are going to react to the rising competition. And it is an exciting prospect that, after the Neura Robotics 4NE-1 made its debut at automatica 2023, more humanoids may be on display in Munich this year.
Text: Ralf Högel on behalf of Messe München