Top 10 robotics developments of December 2025 - The Robot Report
Humanoid, a London-based robotics developer, in December 2025 announced the HMND 01 Alpha Bipedal. This is the company’s first humanoid robot, which it built from an initial design to a working prototype in just five months. Read more. #### 9.
Key takeaways
The most recent coverage of humanoid robots shows the technology moving quickly from factory floors to consumer markets and high‑profile showcase events. At CES 2026, Boston Dynamics unveiled a production‑grade version of its Atlas robot, which Hyundai Motor Group said it will begin deploying in its Savannah, Georgia car plant from 2028 to handle repetitive and high‑risk tasks, with a plan to produce 30,000 units annually. Chinese firms continue to dominate global shipments, with Omdia reporting that 2025 deliveries of humanoid robots rose nearly six‑fold to 13,318 units, led by companies such as AGIBOT, Unitree and UBTECH. The same trade show highlighted a range of new humanoids: Unitree displayed a running model capable of 11 mph; EngineAI presented its T800 “boxing‑ring” bots; and Booster Robotics demonstrated football‑playing humanoids aimed at sports and industrial use. Consumer‑focused robots also entered the market: the New York Post noted that 1X Technologies’ NEO Gamma and Agility Robotics’ Digit v4 are being sold for about $20,000 with deliveries later in 2026, while MediaPost reported that Zeroth Robotics’ M1 home‑assistant humanoid is available for pre‑order at $2,899. Finally, London‑based startup Humanoid accelerated its development cycle, taking its HMND 01 Alpha biped from concept to functional prototype in seven months using NVIDIA’s Isaac platform, positioning the robot for both industrial and future household applications.
Humanoid, a London-based robotics developer, in December 2025 announced the HMND 01 Alpha Bipedal. This is the company’s first humanoid robot, which it built from an initial design to a working prototype in just five months. Read more.
9. Researchers create programmable, autonomous robots smaller than a grain of rice
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan have created what they claimed are the world’s smallest fully programmable robots. The robots are microscopic swimming machines that can independently sense and respond to their surroundings, operate for months, and cost just a penny each. Read more.
8. Digit humanoid joins Mercado Libre warehouse #### 8. Digit humanoid joins Mercado Libre warehouse
Mercado Libre, a leading commerce and fintech ecosystem in Latin America, has signed an agreement to integrate Agility Robotics’ Digit humanoid into its facility in San Antonio, Texas. Mercado Libre uses other types of warehouse robots at its facilities, but this appears to be its first foray into humanoids. Read more.
7. iRobot to enter Chapter 11 and be acquired by Chinese creditor
As expected, iRobot announced that it has entered into a restructuring support agreement with its creditor Santrum Hong Kong Co. and primary contract manufacturer Shenzhen Picea Robotics Co. The Chinese companies plan to acquire the robotic vacuum cleaner pioneer through a court-supervised bankruptcy process. Read more. The Robot Report
Top 10 robotics developments of December 2025
By Brianna Wessling |
Despite the usual lull around the holidays, the robotics industry continued to move at a quick pace. In December 2025, we saw pillars of the robotics community face difficult times, new positions for leaders in industry, and even some new robot releases.
Here are the 10 most popular articles on The Robot Report in the past month. Subscribe to The Robot ReportNewsletter and listen to The Robot Report Podcast to stay up to date on the latest commercial robotics developments.
10. Humanoid says its first bipedal robot can start walking just 48 hours after assembly
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