Glossary
Humanoid robot
A robot with a roughly human body shape, typically with two arms and two legs, designed to work in human spaces.
Humanoid robots are built to resemble people in form, so they can, in principle, use tools, stairs, and workplaces designed for humans. Many companies are developing them for warehouses, factories, and eventually homes, often using AI models to control them.
Demonstration videos can show impressive abilities, but they are often edited, staged, sped up, or partly controlled by remote operators. Deployments described as commercial are frequently small pilots.
Look for how many robots are working, for how many hours, doing what task, with how much human help, and whether a customer has paid for more than a trial.
Read more: our explainer