I recently attended the Humanoid Robot Forum in Seattle, where industry leaders, innovators, and investors gathered to discuss the rapidly evolving field of humanoid robotics. While the headlines often focus on robots that mimic human motion in dazzling ways, the conversations at the summit revealed a deeper truth: meaningful innovation in humanoid robotics will come from engineering rigor, system-level thinking, and carefully targeted applications.
The event was packed with technical discussions and real-world deployment experiences about the future of humanlike machines. Below are some of the key discussions from the summit and what they might mean for engineers designing next-generation robotic systems and the future of product development.
Image: A3 Association for Advancing Automation
Humanoid Humanlike Form: Useful or Limiting?
One of the most debated questions at the conference: should robots strive to look and move like humans?
While humanoid robots can integrate into existing human-centric environments, questions were raised about modular designs, rolling bases versus legs, and multi-arm configurations. Some argued against forcing the human form factor. Could a larger, purpose-built robot with a different form factor outperform a humanoid in specific tasks? Others highlighted that humanoid robots fit seamlessly into human-designed environments without requiring costly infrastructure redesigns.
Designing for a humanlike form may enable easier integration into existing settings, but it can also impose unnecessary complexity if the task doesn’t demand it. Whether designing a robotic arm for a lab automation system or a workflow robot for a factory floor, identify the application first, then optimize the design for performance, efficiency, and manufacturability.
Image: A3 Association for Advancing Automation
Commercialization Strategies
Hai Robotics’ CEO, Adrian Stoch, delivered a practical framework and offered a playbook for companies looking to commercialize robotics technology. He started out by saying his view may not be the most popular, but his points were nonetheless valid.
- Focus on a well-defined, high-ROI use case. Don’t try to boil the ocean by creating a robot that tries to “do everything” and then try to find an application for it.
- Target an industry that is less regulated for faster adoption. The more hurdles you put in front of yourself the harder it will be to get there. Medical and food handling are tougher than e-commerce or retail product handling.
- Develop strong, long-term partnerships that have shared investment. These will be engagements that last years rather than treating customers as one-off buyers. Without these strong partnerships there is little chance of getting to an end goal.
- Target something that is already semi-automated. Trying to replace a full human operation with robotics is a huge undertaking. Modifying an existing automation infrastructure is much less challenging.
Combining early-stage prototyping expertise with end-to-end design for manufacturing can help bring focused, viable robotics solutions to market while avoiding wasted effort.
Avoid Gimmicks and Focus on Utility
The conference drew a clear line between robots built for spectacle and those designed for real-world value. Building a robot without a useful application leads to the impression that things are much more advanced than they really are. Demonstrations of violin-playing or kung-fu kicking robots may generate media buzz, but many leaders emphasized they distract from the hard engineering work required to create practical, deployable solutions.
It is one thing to have robots do certain tasks in a very controlled environment, but very different than what would happen if they were placed in the true setting they depict. The true ROI of employing a robot for those applications instead of humans is not always addressed. It’s exciting to see that a humanoid robot CAN do these things, but SHOULD it be doing those things is another matter.
Innovation without a clear application can consume resources while failing to deliver impact. Ensure that every design decision is grounded in how the product will succeed in its intended environment.
Deployment Challenges and System Integration
Multiple speakers highlighted that real-world deployments often fall short of lab expectations, highlighting that simply “inserting” robots into a supply chain often leads to new bottlenecks if the broader infrastructure isn’t considered.
Instead, successful integration requires a holistic view of infrastructure.
Key challenges that stood out include:
- Safety: One speaker believes we may see fully self-driving cars in 10 years but cannot yet imagine humanoid robots working side-by-side with you in the kitchen in this timeframe. There is still too much in the way of inputs, perception, etc. that needs to be worked through to create a safe deployment in most settings. An autonomous surgical robot that can be instantly trained by downloading a procedure and never suffers from fatigue is very enticing to the medical field, but the potential impacts of a single failure would be devastating.
- Failed Deployment: Companies invest huge amounts to deploy robots for a portion of their supply chain, perhaps only to find that it creates an unwieldy log jam at the next stage that they didn’t anticipate. The infrastructure as a whole needs to be considered, not just sticking robots in to solve a piece of the puzzle.
- Power: A major consideration that is sometimes overlooked. Tethered power, swappable batteries, and charging docks have all been used and must be considered from the earliest design phases. While each may have their place, they are highly dependent on the overall infrastructure and use model. Stationary position operations can easily use half of a robot’s power. System integration: Robotics solutions must be compatible with the broader workflow—not just a single task.
Prosthetics and Tactile Feedback
While many industrial debates centered on cost and efficiency, the prosthetic applications stood in a category of their own. Aadeel Akhtar, CEO and Founder of PSYONIC, the world’s first touch-sensing bionic hand, shared powerful videos demonstrating how advanced prosthetics are transforming lives. Attendees saw amputees returning to the sports they loved before their injuries, spinal patients using brain-connected electrodes to feel and manipulate artificial limbs, and other examples showing how these technologies are restoring mobility and enabling people with physical limitations.
A crucial enabling technology in this field is tactile feedback. Psyonic noted that one of the biggest challenges is sourcing components that combine both robustness and sensitivity while still fitting within the tight constraints of a prosthetic form factor. One of the key advantages of tactile feedback systems is that they can eliminate the need for other types of inputs, such as cameras, to provide the robot with environmental information. Achieving this is not especially difficult when working within a large form factor, but it becomes significantly more challenging when the sensors and actuators must fit within individual fingers and similarly small structures.
Image: A3 Association for Advancing Automation
Final Thoughts on the A3 Humanoid Robot Forum
The Humanoid Robot Forum highlighted both the promise and the challenges of humanoid robotics. While humanoids capture the imagination, the path to widespread adoption will require careful consideration of practicality, safety, and system-level integration.
The future of robotics will not be defined by flashy demos, but by deliberate, system-level engineering that balances ambition with practicality. The quickly changing world of AI will play a major role in the future of this space as well, and it’s difficult to predict how much the development trends will change in response.
From debates on form factor to commercialization strategies, safety concerns, and breakthroughs in prosthetics, the event reflected a field that is advancing quickly while still grappling with practical realities.
Software: Design Complete
Hardware: Pre-production units for design verification
MFG. Readiness: CM schedule and budget, Unit build tracking