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Robotics survey highlights autonomy, digital twins, humanoids and ethics as key 2025 trends

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A new survey of more than 200 robotics product developers and industrial designers suggests the industry is at a turning point, with advances in autonomy, digital twins and humanoid robots balanced against persistent challenges around cost, safety and ethics.

The study, published by design firm StudioRed, found that robotics development is currently most concentrated in consumer electronics (55.7 percent), manufacturing (52.7 percent) and biotech (51.7 percent).

Respondents said robotics is moving beyond the assembly line, with applications in smart homes, logistics and life sciences. [Read more…] about Robotics survey highlights autonomy, digital twins, humanoids and ethics as key 2025 trends

Alibaba leads $140 million funding round in Chinese humanoid robot start-up X Square Robot

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X Square Robot, a Shenzhen-based humanoid robotics developer, has raised the equivalent of between $100 million and $140 million in its latest financing round, according to multiple reports.

Alibaba Cloud, the artificial intelligence and cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, led the round, which the South China Morning Post reported as a 1 billion yuan (about $140 million) Series A+ investment. CNBC, meanwhile, cited the figure as $100 million.

Other backers include CAS Investment, China Development Bank Capital, HongShan Capital Group, Meituan, and Legend Capital. The deal marks Alibaba Cloud’s first direct investment in the field of embodied intelligence. [Read more…] about Alibaba leads $140 million funding round in Chinese humanoid robot start-up X Square Robot

PAL Robotics brings TIAGo Pro and Kangaroo to Asia

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PAL Robotics, a pioneer in humanoid and service robotics, is taking part in two of the most important robotics events in Asia this fall: the 8th Conference on Robot Learning (CoRL 2025) from September 27-30 in Seoul, South Korea, and the 24th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots (Humanoids 2025) from September 30 to October 2, also in Seoul.

These events are an opportunity to showcase TIAGo Pro, PAL Robotics’ versatile mobile manipulator, and Kangaroo, the company’s latest humanoid platform.

Advancing robotics research towards industry

PAL Robotics has spent over 20 years developing humanoid and mobile platforms that support researchers and companies worldwide.

Today, its robots are used to explore fields such as locomotion, grasping, human-robot interaction, and assistive robotics, bridging research and deployment across healthcare, industry, and education.

TIAGo Pro, the user-friendly mobile manipulator, is meant for Human-Robot interaction (HRI). Its advanced navigation and perception makes it an ideal platform for embodied AI and robot learning.

At the same time with Kangaroo, PAL Robotics introduces an agile humanoid robot designed as a legged manipulator for dynamic tasks and advanced locomotion research.

Showcasing innovation in Seoul

PAL Robotics will highlight how both TIAGo Pro and Kangaroo act as platforms for robot learning. Visitors will not only see but also try TIAGo Pro’s teleoperation demo, guiding the robot’s movements in real time.

This hands-on experience demonstrates how teleoperation enables intuitive control, provides valuable data for training robot learning algorithms, and connects AI models with real-world interaction.

At Humanoids 2025, under the global theme “Humanoids Moving Towards Industry”, Kangaroo will appear in live demonstrations, including the first edition of the Robot Fashion Show, walking the runway to showcase its unique design and architecture.

Expanding presence in Asia

By bringing these robots to Asia, PAL Robotics underlines its commitment to strengthening collaborations with researchers, universities, and businesses across the region.

These events are not only an opportunity to demonstrate technological progress, but also to connect with the local community.

Robot ethics: Bias, accountability, and the impact of robots becoming more intelligent and more involved in human society

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Artificial intelligence is now embedded in robots that are not only assembling cars or moving pallets, but also serving food, delivering parcels, assisting the elderly, and even teaching children.

As these systems grow more autonomous, the ethical stakes become unavoidable: what happens when a robot makes a decision that has moral, social, or legal consequences?

Robots powered by advanced AI are no longer passive tools. They perceive, interpret, and act in ways that increasingly resemble human decision-making. That raises pressing concerns about bias, accountability, and the broader societal impact of machines that operate with growing independence. [Read more…] about Robot ethics: Bias, accountability, and the impact of robots becoming more intelligent and more involved in human society

RealMan launches humanoid robotics data training center

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Humanoid robots, widely recognized as one of the most promising carriers of artificial intelligence, are moving rapidly from the lab into everyday life and industry.

To accelerate this transition, a large-scale Humanoid Robotics Data Training Center has officially been launched in Beijing, creating an innovative hub that unites core technology R&D, scenario-based application testing, operator training, and ecosystem collaboration.

As a core technology and equipment provider, RealMan Robotics plays a central role in both the deployment and daily operations of the center. [Read more…] about RealMan launches humanoid robotics data training center

Natural language processing and voice control for robots: The conversational robot

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Robots are steadily becoming easier to interact with. For decades, programming a robot meant learning a proprietary interface or mastering complex code.

Now, thanks to advances in natural language processing (NLP) and voice control, operators can instruct machines using everyday speech.

This shift promises to make robots more accessible to non-technical users, expand their applications, and ultimately accelerate adoption across industries. [Read more…] about Natural language processing and voice control for robots: The conversational robot

Japanese scientists develop ‘quantum computer-based robot control’

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The researchers say the new system enables ‘smoother, more complex movements for next-generation robots’

Scientists in Japan, working in partnership with Fujitsu, say they have developed “an innovative method for efficiently controlling robot posture using quantum computing technology”.

The scientists involved are from the Shibaura Institute of Technology (Associate Professor Takuya Otani, Faculty of System Science and Engineering – Human Robot System Laboratory), and Waseda University (Professor Atsuo Takanishi, Faculty of Science and Engineering).

This new approach facilitates the efficient and accurate calculation of inverse kinematics; that is, determining joint angles from a target end-effector position, for multi-joint robots by leveraging qubit-based position representation and quantum entanglement. [Read more…] about Japanese scientists develop ‘quantum computer-based robot control’

Techman Robot unveils humanoid prototype, aims for 2026 launch

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Techman Robot, a maker of collaborative robotic arms and a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Quanta Computer, has unveiled its first humanoid robot prototype, the TM Xplore I, and plans to bring it to market in 2026.

The robot was introduced last week at the Taipei Automation Intelligence and Robot Show, where the company described it as a “next-generation humanoid platform” designed for industrial and service applications.

Unlike bipedal humanoids being developed by companies such as Tesla and Unitree, Techman’s robot uses a wheeled base for stability and efficiency in factory and warehouse environments. [Read more…] about Techman Robot unveils humanoid prototype, aims for 2026 launch

Unitree dominates inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games with four gold medals

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Unitree Robotics has emerged as the standout performer at the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games (WHRG) in Beijing, taking home four gold medals across some of the event’s most competitive categories. (See video below.)

The Chinese robotics company clinched victories in the 1500 m race, 400 m race, 100 m obstacle course, and 4×100 m relay, marking a historic sweep at the debut competition.

A highlight of the Games was the speed milestone achieved by Unitree’s humanoids, which clocked 4.78 m/s during competition, with the company noting that its latest internal tests have already surpassed 5 m/s – a benchmark that sets a new pace for humanoid robotics. [Read more…] about Unitree dominates inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games with four gold medals

Galbot becomes first company ‘in the world’ to integrate Nvidia Jetson Thor into a humanoid robot

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Galbot has integrated Nvidia’s Jetson AGX Thor platform into its G1 Premium humanoid robot, aiming to accelerate performance and expand commercial deployment across retail, healthcare, and logistics. The company claims it is the “first in the world” to use the new Nvidia chip tech in a humanoid robot. 

Unveiled at the World Robotics Conference (WRC), the G1 Premium now delivers 7.5x the AI compute of Nvidia Jetson Orin and 3.5x greater energy efficiency. The upgrades enable faster, smoother motion, real-time reasoning, and higher-precision autonomy.

Professor Wang He, founder and CTO of Galbot, says: “Our G1 Premium, now running on Nvidia Jetson Thor, has already demonstrated remarkable advancements in speed and improved real-time reasoning capability. This early adoption empowers us to push our proprietary VLA models to new levels of real-world capability.” [Read more…] about Galbot becomes first company ‘in the world’ to integrate Nvidia Jetson Thor into a humanoid robot