IEEE survey sheds light on how AI and humanoids will affect robotics in 2026

But of course, that depends on how we define “commonplace.” That’s the first thing. So let me explain what I meant by that. Right now, humanoid robots are moving rapidly from the research stage into early pilot deployments. You have companies like Agility Robotics, Figure AI, and Tesla, all building general-purpose humanoids that can operate in a human environment. As humanoid robotics start entering more social and collaborative environments, like offices, hospitals, and retail spaces, the human experience becomes part of the success metric. So, I do believe the fun factor can accelerate early adoption. When a humanoid robot greets people with natural gestures, humor, or expression, it helps overcome the initial discomfort that humans often feel around autonomous systems. Now, if you think back to how industrial robots spread, they started in automotive plants in the 1960s and were commonplace across manufacturing by the 1990s. The adoption curve for humanoids will likely be much faster, mainly because now we have AI, we have sensors, and we have computing power that is evolving at exponential rates. We have also learned a lot about human-robot safety and regulation over the past decade, which helps this accelerated integration.