Humanoid Robots: The future or a flash in the pan?

For over half a century, humanoid robots have been a staple of science fiction. From C3PO to Data from Star Trek, or going even further back, the Robots series of books by Isaac Asimov. That’s cool for science fiction, but what about science fact? On this week’s Tech Byte we do a deeper dive.

Aria is a humanoid robot that can do basic tasks like move its torso, hold a conversation, and possibly even walk.
Andrew Kiguel, Realbotix CEO says, “Aria’s been in development for several years. So our mission is to create robots that resemble humans that will be able to engage with humans in a far superior way than robots that look like cyborgs.”
Aria is one one of the more advanced robot human companions that have popped up in the last few years. She comes in several models including the full body one you see on screen. Starting cost is $125k. While it can move around, it can’t do complex tasks like the next example.

1X is a company that came out of nowhere, and is making big promises. They claim that their personal assistant robot can clean your house, do the dishes, and much much more. These robots are not all AI. They’re actually remotely controlled by an operator somewhere overseas. For just 500 bucks a month, the 1X neo can be yours, starting in 2026.

There have been many attempts to produce life-like humanoid robots over the last few years, but it looks like the tech isn’t quite there yet. Over in Moscow, the reveal of the Aidol robot fell flat on its face. Comrade robot was quickly whisked away.

In Beijing, the World Humanoid Games were a rousing success, although there were several flags on the pay for personal fouls, with the robots often tripping over their opponents… and themselves. 

So what do you think? Would you trust a robot to clean your house… or would you rather leave that task to the living?