F or decades, humanoid robots lived in science fiction and in high-tech labs. That’s changing. Engineers and companies across the world are now building human-shaped machines that walk, grasp, and collaborate well enough to start showing up in factories and warehouses, and potentially in daily life.

In hazardous settings —such as disaster zones, mines or biohazard facilities—humanoids can undertake dangerous tasks, thereby reducing the risk to humans. In industries where labor is both scarce and high-stakes, humanoids could redefine how we think about resilience and risk.

China’s Unitree Robotics, best known for its nimble quadruped robots, has unveiled something that’s turning heads: the Unitree R1.

Elon’s Tesla Optimus 🤖🔥 is here! Dawn of the physical Agentforce revolution, tackling human work for $200K–$500K. Productivity game-changer! Congrats @elonmusk, and thank you for always being so kind to me! 🚀 #Tesla #Optimus pic.twitter.com/bA5IYIylE1 September 3, 2025