The Top 6 Robotics Stories of 2025

Typically, I start these yearly highlights articles by claiming that it was the very best year ever before for robotics. Yet this year, I’m not so certain. At the end of 2024, it actually appeared like AI and humanoid robotics were positioned to make a transformative quantity of development in the direction of some type of usefulness. While it’s absolutely real that development has actually been made, it’s tough to justify what’s in fact taken place in 2025 with the quantity of cash and buzz that has actually perfused robotics throughout the year. And for much better or even worse, humanoids are eclipsing every little thing else, questioning regarding what will certainly occur if the firms constructing them inevitably do not be successful.

We’ll be entering into 2026 with both positive outlook and apprehension, and we’ll maintain doing what we constantly do: talking with the professionals, asking as numerous tough inquiries as we can, and ensuring to share all the amazing robotics, also (or particularly) the ones that you will not see anywhere else.

So many thanks for analysis, and to all you amazing robotics people around, many thanks for sharing your deal with us! IEEE Range has a lot of interesting brand-new things prepared for 2026, and as we liquidate 2025, right here’s a glance back at several of our finest robotics tales of the year.

1. Reality Is Ruining the Humanoid Robot Hype

Eddie Individual

Humanoid robotics are hard, and they’re tough in great deals of various methods. For several of those methods, we at the very least comprehend the issues and what the services will likely include. Yet there are various other issues that have no clear services, and a lot of humanoid firms, particularly the well-funded ones, appear quite happy to wave those problems away while remaining to elevate remarkable quantities of cash. We’re mosting likely to maintain calling this out whenever we see it, and anticipate a lot more apprehension in 2026.

2. Exploit Allows for Takeover of Fleets of Unitree Robots

CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty Pictures

Safety is among those pesky little points that is extremely essential in robotics yet that early-stage robotics firms usually deal with as an afterthought due to the fact that it does not drive financial investment. Chinese producer Unitree is actually the one business with humanoids robotics that are readily available sufficient and cost effective sufficient for smart individuals to carry out a safety and security audit on them. And to the shock of nobody, Unitree’s robots had serious vulnerabilities, which since yet have actually not all been dealt with.

3.Amazon’s Vulcan Robots Now Stow Items Faster Than Humans

Amazon

Things I value regarding the people at Amazon Robotics is just how unrelenting they remain in discovering innovative services forproblems at scale Amazon just does not have time to play around, and they’re making robotics to do what robotics do finest:specific repetitive tasks in structured environments In the existing environment of robotics buzz, it’s rejuvenating, truthfully.

4. Large Behavior Models Are Helping Atlas Get to Work

Boston Characteristics

Did I point out that humanoids robotics are tough? Whether any individual can provide on the pledges being made regarding them (and directly, I’m leaning an increasing number of highly in the direction of not), development is being made in the direction ofhumanoids that are much more capable and versatile than they ever have been The partnership in between Toyota Research and Boston Dynamics on big habits versions is simply one instance of how far we’ve come, and just how much we still need to go.

5. iRobot’s Cofounder Weighs In on Company’s Bankruptcy

Lindsey Nicholson/Universal Images Group/Getty Pictures

My the very least preferred tale to compose taken place right at the end of the year–iRobot filed for bankruptcy This was not a complete shock; regulatory authorities closing down a purchase by Amazon in 2024 basically gutted the business, and it’s been hopping along in the direction of the unavoidable ever since. Right after the information was revealed, we consulted with iRobot founder and ex-CEO Colin Angle, that had plenty to share regarding where points failed, and what we can pick up from it.

6. How Dairy Robots Are Changing Work for Cows (and Farmers)

Evan Ackerman

My preferred tale of 2025 was as much regarding cows as it had to do with robotics. I was amazed to discover simply the amount of totally self-governing robotics are tough at the workplace on dairy farms around the world, and entirely pleased to additionally discover that these robotics are proactively enhancing the lives of both dairy products farmers and the dairy products cows themselves. Dairy products farming is countless effort, yet many thanks to these robotics, tiny family members ranches have the ability to maintain themselves lasting (and rational). Everyone success, many thanks to the robotics.