Daily Technology
·16/12/2025
Humanoid robots have stopped being mere spectacles - in 2025 they are tools that work. Factories and shops now use them for everyday jobs. Ten clear trends each backed by recent numbers plus deployments, show how those machines affect business and technology leaders this day.
Agility Robotics’ Digit humanoid shifted more than 100,000 totes at a GXO warehouse in Georgia. That steady repetitive output proves the robot lifts real labour from people but also marks it as a dependable part of daily operations, not a one off prototype.
Sanctuary AI's Phoenix humanoid carried out 110 separate retail jobs during a week long pilot inside a Mark's store. The trial left the lab - the robot restocked shelves, wiped surfaces and handled other irregular tasks inside a live shop pushing general purpose automation closer to reality.
Figure withdrew its Figure 02 model after it released Figure 03. The company now refreshes whole robot fleets the way phone makers release new handsets each year forcing users to upgrade as well as keeping hardware on a rapid innovation cycle.
Mercedes-Benz runs Apptronik's Apollo humanoid at plants in Germany besides Hungary. Workers teach new skills through remote control - the robot stores the motions and repeats them elsewhere. The practice embeds humanoids inside complex global production lines.
Hyundai will buy tens of thousands of Boston Dynamics machines and has pledged more than six billion dollars to advance factory automation. Spot robots already inspect sites - the humanoid Atlas will soon share floor space with people turning advanced robotics into a routine plant fixture.
More than 150 Chinese firms now build humanoid robots. State planners warn that output has outrun demand also that a bubble could form. Competition rises - yet officials urge companies to scale only when real orders appear.
Unitree prices its G1 humanoid at $13,500. Small firms can buy the unit outright. The debate has shifted from cost to usefulness - managers now ask which tasks repay the purchase.
AgiBot's A2 humanoid walked 66 miles in three days on Chinese roads and set a world record. The feat shows that batteries, joints next to control software can run for days without human help, a prerequisite for wide deployment.
Twenty-one humanoid robots started the Beijing E-Town half marathon with human runners. The fastest machine finished far behind elite athletes - yet the event exposed both gains plus gaps in balance, agility and terrain handling.
The first World Humanoid Robot Games took place in Beijing. Two hundred eighty teams from sixteen countries entered races, obstacle courses but also practical skill contests in Olympic-grade arenas. The turnout signals that governments, universities and firms now treat robotics as a serious global contest.
Humanoid robotics has entered a stage judged by profit as well as reliability, not by stage shows. Tasks and industry roles will keep changing fast through 2026 or beyond.









