Boston Dynamics Atlas Moves Like the Future at CES 2026
CES 2026 had no shortage of flashy tech, but one moment cut through the noise instantly. When Atlas stepped onto the stage, the room went quiet. Not because it looked intimidating, but because it moved with a level of confidence and control that felt undeniably different.
This was not a humanoid robot wobbling through a scripted routine. Atlas stood up smoothly, adjusted its posture, turned its head with intent, and walked with a fluid rhythm that felt purposeful. Every motion looked deliberate. Balanced. Calm. It felt less like a demo and more like a glimpse of something already working.
Why Small Companion Robots Will Explode in 2026
Humanoids are coming, but the first true mass market robotics wave will start with small rolling companions. These cute, mobile, personality driven robots that follow you, talk to you, and blend into daily life are becoming the R2 D2 robots of the home. They do not need complex arms or heavy hardware. They win through charm, mobility, intelligence, and presence.
Families want them. Kids love them. Seniors benefit from them. And AI gives them more personality every month.
Below is the full landscape of this emerging category, including the most adorable AI companions of 2025.
Sunday Robotics Memo Signals a New Direction in Personal Robotics
A growing number of robotics startups are stepping into the humanoid race, but few are capturing attention as quickly as Sunday Robotics with its emerging platform known as Memo. While the humanoid sector has been dominated by giants and well funded newcomers, Sunday Robotics is carving its own lane with a design philosophy focused on simplicity, intelligence, and everyday usability.
The Rise of Home Robots and What It Means for the Future
The global robotics sector is shifting fast, and home robots are becoming one of the most compelling frontiers. The recent surge in AI capabilities, especially large language models (LLMs), has opened the door for robots that understand natural language, follow complex instructions, and integrate smoothly into daily life. Investors are taking notice, and momentum across the entire industry is accelerating.
How Humanoids Should Enter Our Lives: Quietly, Helpfully, and With Our Dignity Intact
AI and humanoid robots are approaching a cultural crossroads. For years, headlines have framed them as looming threats. We hear warnings about runaway AGI. We hear fears about mass layoffs. We hear dystopian predictions that paint robots as inevitabilities to endure rather than innovations to welcome.
But that is not how this technology has to enter our lives.
In reality, the most profound shift will not be loud or disruptive.
It will be quiet. Helpful. Human centered.
America Turns to Robots: Trump Administration Signals a National Robotics Strategy
The United States just took a major step toward embracing robotics as a cornerstone of national competitiveness. Five months after launching an AI acceleration plan, the Trump administration is now shifting its focus to robots, signaling what could become the country’s first coordinated federal robotics strategy.
According to multiple industry sources, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been meeting with robotics CEOs and is fully committed to accelerating the sector. The administration is weighing an executive order on robotics for early next year, a move that would mirror China, Japan, Singapore, Germany, and Australia, which already operate national robotics plans.
Sharpa: The Humanoid Housebot That Can Transform Into a Chef and Full-Time Butler
Sharp Robotics just unveiled Sharpa, a next-generation humanoid Housebot built for real domestic work. These new close-ups highlight its human-level dexterity, soft-touch grippers, and high-precision manipulation, showing off a robot that can prep a holiday feast one minute and manage household tasks the next. This Housebot is designed for real life!
Sunday Robotics Unveils Memo: A Glimpse Into the Future of Autonomous HouseBots
The home robotics race just accelerated again. Sunday Robotics has released new details on Memo, their rapidly advancing household robot designed to perform real, meaningful tasks in unstructured home environments. With every update, Memo inches closer to becoming the most capable autonomous home assistant on the market.
Newton Beta: A New Era in Robot Physics Simulation
A powerful new open-source robotics platform, Newton Beta, has been unveiled — co-developed by NVIDIA, Google DeepMind, and Disney Research | Walt Disney Imagineering, and managed under the Linux Foundation. This collaboration represents a major leap forward in the simulation and training infrastructure for embodied AI and robotics.
LimX Dynamics’ OLi Achieves True Whole-Body Autonomy
LimX Dynamics' Oli humanoid robot demonstrated a new level of autonomy by successfully completing a complex task chain: identifying, tracking, retrieving, and placing a tennis ball. The entire sequence, which included walking, bending, and squatting, was achieved through Whole-Body Loco-Manipulation with Active Perception. Critically, the operation was fully autonomous, relying on zero motion capture data and no remote control.
Tesla’s Optimus Robots Now Power the Majority of Factory Operations
Tesla has reached a new milestone in its journey toward full automation: Optimus humanoid robots are now performing the majority of physical work inside Tesla’s manufacturing facilities.
Ant Group Backs AheadForm’s Vision to Give Robots Emotional Intelligence
In a major vote of confidence for emotion-aware AI, AheadForm has closed a new funding round exceeding 100 million RMB, led by Ant Group with Jinqiu Fund joining as co-investor. The capital injection will accelerate the development of AheadForm’s Emotional Foundation Model, a next-generation system designed to enable robots and digital entities to understand and express human emotion.
OMNIHEAD: The Modular Future of Humanoid Robotics
Imagine upgrading your humanoid robot the same way you upgrade your computer. Need more vision? Snap in a new module. Want stronger processing power? Slot in the next chip. That’s the disruptive promise behind OMNIHEAD from LANXIN Robotics, the world’s first truly modular head for humanoid robots.
From Folding Laundry to Redefining Home Life: The First Real Use Cases for a HouseBot
When most people imagine humanoid robots, the vision tends to swing between science fiction fantasy and industrial utility. But the first frontier where humanoids will quietly, and profoundly, enter our lives is far closer to home: folding laundry, loading the dishwasher, vacuuming floors, and tidying spaces.
These are not trivial tasks. They are repetitive, time-consuming, and yet essential to daily life. And they represent exactly the type of “structured chaos” humanoids are uniquely suited to handle, environments where objects vary slightly, but the end goals remain consistent.
Meet SAO2: ENGINEAI’s Lightweight HouseBot Companion for the Next Generation
ENGINEAI is set to launch one of the most anticipated humanoid robots of the year, the SAO2, a compact, intelligent, and affordable robotic companion built for a new generation of users.
Designed with young people in mind, the SAO2 redefines what it means to have a personal robot in your life. Standing approximately 1.25 meters tall and weighing just 25kg, it’s one of the lightest full-body humanoids on the market. But don’t let the size fool you — this little robot is packed with next-gen features that make it feel more like a friend than a machine.
Skild Breaks Stealth to Unveil Vision of “One Brain” for Every Robot
After months of silence following its stealth debut in July 2024, robotics startup Skild has resurfaced with a bold vision and a glimpse into its rapid progress: a unified foundation model for general-purpose robotics, One Brain for any task, on any robot.
HouseBots App: The Smarter Way to Manage Your Home
HouseBots Inc. is building a next-generation smart home platform designed to centralize and simplify how people interact with their living environments. Founded by a visionary team combining expertise in AI, IoT, and consumer software, the company recently opened its doors to private beta sign-ups and is already generating buzz for its intuitive and comprehensive feature set.
China Debuts First Humanoid Robot “Swarm” in Car Factory
China's UBTech has recently achieved a major milestone: deploying a coordinated fleet of its Walker S1 humanoid robots at Zeekr’s 5G-enabled smart factory in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. This marks the world’s first multi-task, multi-scenario training of humanoid robots collaboratively performing real industrial workflows.
Jensen Huang Predicts Billion-Robot Future at GTC Paris: “Humanoid Robotics Could Be One of the Largest Industries Ever”
At the GTC Paris 2025 keynote, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang offered a bold and compelling vision for the future of robotics, declaring that “humanoid robotics is going to potentially be one of the largest industries ever.” His remarks electrified the tech and automation communities, pointing to a near-future where humanoid robots become as ubiquitous as smartphones — with a potential billion robots deployed globally.
EstunCodroid Launches Codroid2: Smart, Powerful Humanoid Robot for the Future of Industry
EstunCodroid, the robotics arm of industrial automation leader Estun, has officially launched its latest innovation—the Codroid2 humanoid robot. Developed in Nanjing, the second-generation Codroid is designed to bring advanced automation capabilities to industrial environments, combining physical strength with intelligent task execution.