The 11 weirdest things humans did to robots in 2024

Robots have progressed over the years from clunky hunks of metal to complex, AI-enabled machines capable of running, speaking, and even painting pictures. But even with all those advances humans still can't help but place robots in bizarre and uncomfortable situations. This year, researchers took advanced robots and had them clean up karate-chopped Coke cans, suck up cigarette butts, wear a fleshy, lab-grown face, and pick up dog poo. Two-legged, humanoid robots, which could one day work on factory floors, were gut-punched and forced to wear festive clothes while performing acrobatics. Here are just a few of the oddest things we did to robots this year.