Humanoid

Last August, Elon Musk announced that Tesla was working on a bipedal humanoid robot that could perform boring and/or dangerous tasks for humans. His company has now unveiled two prototypes, one of which can already walk on its own.

The West Japan Rail Company has released video of its new humanoid heavy equipment robot. Mounted on the end of a crane, this gundam-style robot torso mimics the arm and head motions of a human pilot, who sees through the robot's eyes via VR goggles.

We first heard about the iCub humanoid robot in 2011, when it was nominated to take part in the Olympic Torch Relay. The latest and greatest version, the iCub 3, was the star of a recently-announced (and pretty impressive) telepresence demonstration.

UK robotics firm Engineered Arts has offered a sneak peek at its new humanoid, presented as "the world's most advanced human-shaped robot," and a brief look at the "future face of robotics" suggests it might just live up to this claim.

At Tesla's AI Day presentation, Elon Musk has revealed that the company is working on its own AI-driven humanoid robot. The Tesla Bot is designed to "navigate through a world built for humans, and eliminate dangerous, repetitive, boring tasks."

Two-legged robot Cassie has recently developed an ability to run, something its developers have now shown off by having it complete what they say is the first 5-km (3.1-mi) jog by a bipedal robot.

Scientists in Italy have demonstrated the benefits of a form of robotic inner speech by getting a humanoid robot called Pepper to talk to itself as it solves problems, which also improved its ability to complete tasks.

Boston Dynamics’ nimble dog-like Spot robot is finally on sale as we are offered another spectacular look at the humanoid Atlas’ growing arsenal of skills.

​Advances in robotics are a constant, but every now and then the ingenuity of researchers crystallizes in maneuvers that are as awe-inspiring as they are terrifying. Here's some recent examples that will do the sleeping habits of those fearing a robotic apocalypse more harm than good.

​You might think that most new robots are designed to head off into factories or other workplaces, but the fact is that many of them are made to be used by robotics developers. That's the case with EVE r3, although its successor may find use in applications such as home care for the elderly.

A system combining robotics and animation software to create lifelike humanoid characters has been demonstrated in a new video by Engineered Arts. Dubbed Mesmer, the technology promises cheaper results by pulling disparate technologies into a single package.

​Toyota has unveiled an assistive robot test bed that builds on previous work undertaken by its Partner Robot wing. A human operator controls movement remotely in real time, with the T-HR3 busting moves like performing Tai Chi and building Lego-like structures with precision.​