KinetIQ framework from Humanoid orchestrates robot fleets - The Robot Report

Humanoid robots are moving from showcase demos to early industrial and commercial deployments, with the most recent developments highlighted at CES 2026 and in February 2026. At CES, Figure AI’s Figure 02 units completed 10‑hour shifts on BMW’s X3 line, handling 90,000 sheet‑metal parts, while Unitree Robotics displayed modular G1, H2 and R1 platforms aimed at research and entry‑level commercial use, and Tesla began training its Optimus model at the Austin Gigafactory using imitation learning. Boston Dynamics unveiled a production‑ready Atlas, announced a partnership with DeepMind’s Gemini Robotics AI to boost perception, and demonstrated the robot performing a backflip combined with a cartwheel, underscoring rapid advances in dynamic locomotion. Hyundai plans to scale Atlas production to tens of thousands of units per year by 2028, and Siemens and Schaeffler have completed logistics proof‑of‑concepts and announced multi‑year deployments of hundreds of humanoids in factories starting in 2026‑2027. LimX Dynamics secured a $200 million Series B round to accelerate whole‑body motion control and cognitive planning for its TRON 2 and COSA systems, while the KinetIQ framework from Humanoid was introduced to orchestrate fleets of robots across different embodiments. In China, Unitree, Galbot, Noetix and MagicLab will appear in the upcoming Lunar New Year CCTV gala, and Agibot is preparing an IPO after showcasing over 200 robots in a prior performance. Service‑oriented designs also gained attention: Fauna Robotics introduced Sprout, a compact, safety‑first humanoid for homes, schools and retail, and Faraday Future’s FF AI‑Robotics division announced three new robots—including a full‑size humanoid for public spaces—set for delivery in late February. Finally, researchers at NUS and SMART revealed a neural‑blueprint that gives soft‑robotic systems human‑like intelligence, promising more adaptable, general‑purpose humanoid platforms for future manufacturing, logistics and healthcare applications.

Mentioned in this article