With stats like that, one can’t help but suspect that the first country to have a million humanoids will be China.

The idea of a humanoid robot building an airplane may sound far-fetched, but a new deal between the European aviation giant Airbus and Chinese robot specialist UBTech suggests that such a scenario could be on the cards.

Airbus ordered UBTech’s Walker S2, a full-size humanoid that stands 176 cm tall (5’9"), weighs 70 kg (154 lbs), and walks at about two meters/second (4.5 mph). It has dextrous hands with 11 degrees of freedom and tactile sensors, and can hold 7.5 kg (16.5 lbs) in each hand and 1 kg (2.2 lbs) with each finger.

Humans are desperate to put the robots to work. The only problem is, the robots don’t “work” to any degree. These humanoid bots are interesting. Some are even cute. Few, if any, are anywhere close to prime time. It was a dour scene at CES 2026, so much so I can’t help but wonder if they ever will be.

Many researchers agree that there has been a step change in humanoid capability over the past five years, owing to cheaper parts as well as innovations such as improved battery power and artificial-intelligence algorithms, which allow for better perception and autonomy.

Humanoid robots will be able to recharge just by stepping on this new inductive charging platform, says Figure CEO Brett Adcock.

Early demos relied heavily on remote human operators for Neo, but the man behind the machine says Neo is getting better at doing things on its own.

Raj Subramaniam said "super humanoid robots" with a "couple of elbows" would be better at automating deliveries.

By Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor's labour union in South Korea warned the automaker on Thursday against deploying humanoid robots without union approval, saying the robots would bring "employment shocks".

Researchers in China have unveiled a soft humanoid robot that can shapeshift, float, swim,