AIhub coffee corner: Are humanoids the future of embodied AI? This month we ask whether humanoids are the future of robotics. How has the technology evolved recently, and what can we expect in the years to come? Joining the conversation this time are: Joydeep Biswas (University of Texas at Austin), Sanmay Das (Virginia Tech), Rina Dechter (University of California, Irvine), Ioannis Erripis (AIhub), Sabine Hauert (University of Bristol), Ella Scallan (AIhub), and Marija Slavkovik (University of Bergen). There have been huge advancements in humanoid robots over the past couple of years. Today's topic is particularly timely, as RoboCup 2026 recently took place. I thought it would be interesting to start with an overview of recent developments at RoboCup. This all started snowballing a couple of years ago, and we suddenly started to see this huge inflection on the capabilities. New humanoid robots were showing up at RoboCup that didn't fall down as much. Suddenly we were able to deploy robots without humans following them around. I want to highlight that this is not just one key technical innovation, it required the confluence of a wide number of things: much better hardware, significant advances in algorithms, and advances in how we train and learn. Once upon a time, humanoid robots required classical control. However, most modern humanoid robots are using learned controllers for walking.

The Robot I Didn't Expect to Build Our articles, videos, and infographics inform our readers about developments in technology, engineering, and science. A public charity, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Access to Spectrum's Digital Edition is exclusive for IEEE Members Create an account to access more content and features on IEEE Spectrum, including the ability to save articles to read later, download Spectrum Collections, and participate in conversations with readers and editors. For more exclusive content and features, consider Joining IEEE . Join the world's largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences and get access to all of Spectrum's articles, archives, PDF downloads, and other benefits. Join the world's largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences and get access to this e-book plus all of articles, archives, PDF downloads, and other benefits.

Chinese robots have quickly entered global public consciousness in recent years, appearing as background robo-dancers in pop concerts and as humanoid marathon and sprint runners outpacing elite athletes ( 1). Domestically, robots are deployed as traffic guides and restaurant service staff, while swarms of drones entertain audiences in urban light shows or deliver takeout to high-rises ( 2, 3). These public debuts serve to both normalize automation in everyday civilian life ( 4) while projecting international soft power. Behind the public spectacle lies a bold agenda for global economic dominance. In its geopolitical contest with the United States, Beijing sees robotics as the core engine to project power and dictate the future of global supply chains ( 5).

If you see what looks like an ambulance with a set of flashing lights weaving through Tokyo traffic, it might not be rushing to save a human. GMO Internet Group is unleashing what it calls Japan's first "humanoid ambulance" on the streets of Tokyo this month. A maintenance van designed to make house calls when humanoid robots break down, the ambulance carries diagnostic equipment, spare parts, repair tools and engineers to wherever a robot has stopped working. If a robot can't be fixed at the roadside, there's a spare humanoid on board ready to be subbed in and take over on the spot. Meanwhile, the broken unit is ferried back to GMO's repair base at its Humanoid Lab in Shibuya, Tokyo.

In early August, The Information published an article that claimed U.S.-based founders, investors and startups, are travelling to an electronics market in Shenzhen to buy servomotors, sensors, controllers and gimbals. The report also claimed that Unitree and Zhiyuan robots are being bought intact, then stripped down into parts and carried back to the USA in suitcases. By late August, in a separate development, reports emerged that a US Department of Energy lab is investigating whether Chinese LiDAR sensors pose a security risk, if widely used on vehicles in the United States. According to TechCrunch, the research is being funded by one or more companies in the electric and autonomous vehicle industries. Don't cancel any Shenzhen travel plans just yet, but engineers at Princeton have unveiled a motorless, origami-inspired robot that can roll, crawl, and change shape through a combination of magnetic control and multistable geometry.

The five-day robot Olympics staked out China's claim as the undisputed leader in humanoid robotics. The five-day robot Olympics staked out China's claim as the undisputed leader in humanoid robotics. Faster, higher, funnier: what we learned from China's robot games With exploding pelvises, enough comic pratfalls for a Buster Keaton show reel and the odd moment of ruthless violence, the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing gripped the world this week with an unsettling mixture of hilarity, trepidation and relief. The five-day showcase staked out China's claim to undisputed leadership in humanoid robotics as android martial artists landed knockout roundhouse kicks and robot teams marched into the arena heralded by flag-waving captains astride giant robotic dogs. The games' blue-riband event, the 100m, did not disappoint when the robot-sprinters ran quicker than Usain Bolt before slamming mindlessly into a padded wall in a blaze of sparks, flames and flying mechanical limbs.

Plus: No one really knows how to safely test frontier AI models. Chatbots took schools by surprise. Suddenly, students carried an app in their phones that could magically answer almost any homework question or spin up an essay in seconds. Organizations ranging from OpenAI to UNESCO encourage AI use in the classroom, but many teachers aren't sure how to handle it. Yet some promising approaches are emerging. At Cheshire Academy, for example, teachers are trained on general techniques for using AI rather than prescribed tools.

I spent a day at a robot "carnival" in Shanghai. Humanoids are becoming a popular form of public entertainment here. "Look, it is trying to do a handstand!" The toy pet is a gift his mom just bought him at a robot "carnival" held by an R&D center on the outskirts of Shanghai, and he can't stop showing it off to passersby. It's a public holiday, and curious families are pouring in to the event to see what's on display. This busy hub houses more than 100 companies that research, develop, manufacture, and market robotic technologies and equipment.

Is Shipyard Welding the Right First Job for Humanoid Robots? Our articles, videos, and infographics inform our readers about developments in technology, engineering, and science. A public charity, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Access to Spectrum's Digital Edition is exclusive for IEEE Members Create an account to access more content and features on IEEE Spectrum, including the ability to save articles to read later, download Spectrum Collections, and participate in conversations with readers and editors. For more exclusive content and features, consider Joining IEEE .

Trump's AI protectionism has come for robotics The FCC has banned foreign-made humanoids, making a fragile, nascent sector part of America's AI industrial policy. Humanoid robots usually elicit more cringe than awe: They stumble, kick children, and despite advances are still worse at using their hands than my toddler. It's a nascent industry, and such robots are more commonly seen in viral videos than real workplaces or homes. It was a surprise, then, when last week the Federal Communications Commission issued a sweeping ban on foreign imports of advanced robots, including humanoids, quadrupeds, and wheeled robots. The decision, made by an increasingly partisan and Trump-aligned FCC, cites two reasons. One is that foreign-made humanoids will collect so much data--in homes but also potentially at sensitive facilities--that they'd pose a threat to national security.