The race to put humanoid robots into mass production has intensified over the past week, as companies in both the US and China made a string of announcements that convinced analysts the technology is maturing more rapidly than many expected.
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Investor excitement has been building in recent months about the potential of humanoids – artificial intelligence-powered robots with humanlike forms – with one Chinese CEO predicting that robotics could soon be bigger than the car industry.
Though humanoids have yet to be mass-produced – let alone commercialised – several companies now appear to be on the cusp of overcoming that barrier.
On Tuesday, the American robot maker Figure AI unveiled a groundbreaking automated production line that it claims is capable of manufacturing 12,000 of its humanoids per year.
The same day, home appliance giant Midea Group became the latest Chinese company to jump into the industry, when it unveiled a prototype for a self-developed humanoid.
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Chinese robotics start-up Unitree, meanwhile, generated headlines on Wednesday when it announced its acrobatic humanoid – widely nicknamed the “kung fu bot” – had completed the industry’s first ever side flip.