Dreaming of a Truly Helpful Home Humanoid Robot? CES Will Bring Us All a Reality Check - CNET
Just a week after the study was published, startup Figure AI was sued by a whistleblower, who warned that the company's humanoid robots could "fracture a human skull." As compelling as they are to observe, robots such as Elon Musk's Tesla Optimus and Boston...
Key takeaways
The most recent headlines show a surge of commercial momentum for humanoid robots in 2026. At CES, Nvidia highlighted that its robotics platform is now powering a wave of new humanoids from companies such as Boston Dynamics, Caterpillar, LG Electronics and NEURA Robotics, while also unveiling a next‑generation vision‑language‑action model for self‑driving cars. Boston Dynamics announced a strategic partnership with Google DeepMind to embed DeepMind’s foundation‑model AI into its Atlas humanoid, and confirmed that the new Atlas is already in production and slated for deployment in a Hyundai factory, with a dedicated Robot Metaplant Application Center to collect real‑world data and an ambition to manufacture up to 30,000 units annually by 2028. Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics unit also revealed an upgraded Atlas designed for repetitive assembly tasks in its car plants, with an initial rollout planned for 2028 at a Savannah, Georgia facility and broader capabilities expected by 2030. Meanwhile, consumer‑focused humanoids are nearing market launch: the New York Post reported that the NEO Gamma robot from 1X, priced at $20,000, is taking early orders with delivery expected later in 2026, promising household functions such as folding shirts, answering doors and serving coffee. Together, these developments indicate that humanoid robots are transitioning from laboratory prototypes to both industrial workhorses and near‑term home assistants.
Just a week after the study was published, startup Figure AI was sued by a whistleblower, who warned that the company's humanoid robots could "fracture a human skull."
As compelling as they are to observe, robots such as Elon Musk's Tesla Optimus and Boston Dynamics' stable of bots can be a little unnerving. But if those sorts of robots are on display at CES this week, the focus will likely be on the skills they can bring to industrial settings rather than to the home. Still, some are trying. The team at Sunday Robotics, based in California, is training its humanoid robot, Memo, with data provided by families across the US that use high-tech gloves to capture the intricate movement of their hands as they carry out household tasks. It's an ambitious approach to preparing robots for family life, and if Sunday Robotics can stick to its desired timeline, it could well be one of the first companies to deploy non-teleoperated humanoids in people's homes. It's possible that this year at CES, we could see a company integrate more advanced AI into a robot concept it has already showcased, said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. He suggested Samsung could build on its rolling projector robot, Ballie, by working closely with Google -- as it already does on phones -- to create a next-generation version equipped with Gemini, for example.
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