The Current State and Challenges of Humanoid Robots

When humanoid robots arrived at the Humanoids Summit at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, on December 11, the registration line had already extended downstairs to the lobby. Controlled by human handlers, the robots were herded into the elevator to avoid stairs, illustrating their ongoing developmental hurdles.

Stairs and Terrain Navigation

Abhinav Gupta, co-founder of Skild AI, commented during a presentation that robots don’t typically climb stairs, though he demonstrated how the Skild foundation model can enable robots to ascend stairs and navigate uneven terrain in a video.

Is Locomotion Truly Solved?

Modar Alaoui, chair of the summit and founder of ALM Ventures, claimed, “Locomotion is a solved problem,” but this is an overstatement. While robots show impressive abilities in promotional material and testing environments, large-scale commercial deployment faces significant challenges—technical, financial, and social.

Technical and Cost Limitations

The technology isn’t mature enough for mass-market use, costs remain prohibitive, and organizations are still figuring out application scenarios. Safety considerations and public acceptance also lag behind technological advances.

Industry Growth and Investment

According to McKinsey & Company representatives Ani Kelkar and Mikael Robertson, interest and investment in humanoid robotics are rising sharply. Today, around 50 companies are actively developing this technology—primarily in China, North America, EMEA, and other parts of Asia. Kelkar emphasized that innovation is approaching a point where solutions will be feasible, but widespread deployment remains distant.

Robotics and Human Labor

Kelkar highlighted that successful robot integration might depend more on managing human workers than replacing them outright. For example, high turnover rates in warehousing slow productivity, and robots are seen as tools to complement human labor rather than substitutes.

Human-Robot Relations and Workforce Dynamics

Robot advocates often aim for a cooperative relationship, but many workers see robots as threats to their jobs. Jeff Pittelkow from Roboworx noted that companies are motivated primarily by ROI, expecting robots to perform all tasks humans can at a comparable cost. Human workers, however, tend to resist or sabotage robot integration, leaving robots unattended, neglecting updates, or even sabotaging them.

Practical Challenges and Maintenance Issues

Living up to expectations is difficult. Pittelkow shared anecdotes about robots malfunctioning due to everyday problems—like popcorn ingestion in a theater robot or damage from pests in a restaurant—highlighting real-world usability issues. Downtime and maintenance costs threaten the robots' ROI and operational viability.

Technical Limitations in Dexterity and Data

Experts agree that dexterity remains a critical frontier. Joe Michaels of 1HMX cautioned against overestimating current robot capabilities, urging scrutiny of the manual interactions depicted in promotional videos. Alaoui echoed that dexterity is the last major hurdle.

Future Prospects

Slow at performing tasks like folding shirts, robots still need extensive data and training to improve. The path toward robots that can handle complex manual tasks involves ongoing trial and error, social acceptance, and addressing safety concerns.

Conclusion

Humanoid robots are still in a nascent stage, regarded more as novelties or experimental tools rather than ready-for-market solutions. While rapid progress continues, widespread adoption faces technical, economic, and societal obstacles that will take years—if not decades—to overcome.