It’s 1774, and Pierre-Jacquet draws from the Prince-Bishopric of Basel, invents some of the first programmable machines. His writer automaton, built with 6,000 pieces, uses input devices to program its movements into memory via 40 cams. Additionally, his draftsman, assembled with 2,000 pieces, draws four separate pictures using XYZ coordinates and blows off pencil dust, while his musician plays a total of five melodies from memory. It’s 1928, and Captain William Richards from the United States creates Eric the Robot, which demonstrates its ability to sit, stand, and move its arms up and down. Additionally, Eric relays speech live via radio signal to give the impression of dynamic conversation, while its physical operation uses a series of pulleys and cranks hidden in its torso.

It’s 1939, and Westinghouse Corporation from the United States begins touring with its new electrohumanoid. This 210-centimeter tall humanoid weighs 120 kilograms and is able to walk by voice command, speak 700 words via an onboard record player, move its head and arms, inflate balloons, and even smoke cigarettes. In fact, electro is even equipped with photoelectric eyes that can distinguish between red and green light, but another group of researchers across the world are about to push the envelope even further. It’s 1967, and Waseda University from Japan starts its Wabot One project, which ends in 1973, culminating in the world’s first intelligent robot.

But the Wabot One doesn’t just walk and speak Japanese, because it also measures distance and directions to objects using external receptors. Plus, it features a breakthrough ability to grip and move objects with its hands, setting the stage for a new use case for robots in the next few years. It’s 1983, and the United States unveils its Green Men Remote Presence Demonstration System. It’s 1984, and Waseda University from Japan is back on top with the release of its newest Wabot Two humanoid, which has been upgraded to communicate with humans in Japanese, and it can even read a musical score with its eyes to autonomously play an electronic organ, and this is where the pace of technological improvement starts to accelerate quickly.

It’s 1986, and Honda from Japan has just released its new E0 humanoid as their first bipedal walking robot. This expedited development continues into 1987, when Honda releases its breakthrough E1 humanoid with improved balance. Then in 1988 they further perfect their ability to balance with the release of the E2, and yet again in 1991 with their E3 learning how to climb over stairs. In fact, Honda’s humanoid project progresses to E5 in 1992, and ends in 1993 with their E6 humanoid, giving rise to a superior class of robots. It’s 1993, and Honda from Japan is still dominating robot development with the introduction of its new P1 humanoid, which now features arms and grippers that can open doors and flip switches for the first time.

But that’s only the beginning, as this 195kg form factor standing 191cm tall is about to prove its ability to work in the real world. It’s 1996, and Honda from Japan unveils its P2 humanoid, which is now able to push carts and even climb or descend stairs, plus it’s capable of lifting 2kg with each arm and features a 15-minute battery runtime, paving the way for the next breakthrough. It’s 1997, and Honda delivers another smash hit with its compact P3 humanoid, showcasing seemingly effortless walking and stair climbing abilities for the first time, as well as a pair of grippers for object manipulation tasks in the real world, then a pause for almost three years.

It’s now the year 2000, and Honda is still leading robotics with the release of its newest Asimo model, featuring a walking speed of 1.6kmph and a running speed of 2.7kmph to start, plus a computer housed in its torso that allows it to respond to voice commands. And while Asimo continues leading through 2001, it’s about to be displaced. It’s 2002, and the Manufacturing Science and Technology Center in Japan steals the show with its full-sized HRP-2 intelligent humanoid. This is the first robot to use computer vision software to identify objects and then plan its future actions around accomplishing certain goals.

Such abilities included kicking a ball and using tables to balance or lean on them with its weight, then everything changes. It’s 2003, and Kokoro from Japan unveils its reply EQ1 at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo as the most realistic-looking female humanoid. Featuring silicone skin and 42 points of articulation in its upper body for lifelike movements throughout its arms and waist, consumers start asking when they can buy theirs. It’s 2004, and Kondo Kagaku from Japan introduces the cheapest bipedal humanoid at a cost of just $1,600. This 34-centimeter tall robot has 17 degrees of freedom and performs agile movements such as Kung Fu kicks, leading to a new kind of robot use case.

It’s 2005, and Kokoro from Japan raises the bar of realism yet again with its newest Q2-actroid female humanoid, which now features 47 points of articulation and a sensory system to imitate motions and expressions with extreme realism. However, it’s artificial intelligence that seems to be the real next big breakthrough. It’s 2006, and PAL Robotics from Spain releases its Remay humanoid with onboard AI, featuring a chess engine called Hydra, as well as a platform for locomotion, speech and vision system development. And the race begins. It’s 2007, and Tozy Robotics from Vietnam demonstrates the topio robot playing ping pong and winning against humans.

It’s 2008, and the German Aerospace Center creates Justin, a multi-armed humanoid robot and development platform for mobile manipulation. It’s 2009, and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology showcase the first humanoid to incorporate a realistic female form factor with realistic locomotion. By using 30 motors throughout its body, the HRPC-4 uses artificial intelligence to respond to speech, recognize ambient sounds, and sing. It’s 2010, and NASA collaborates with General Motors in the United States to build the Robonaut 2, which automates various tasks in space and assists humans via telepresence. It’s 2011, and Boston Dynamics in the United States unleashes its Petman Robot, a full-sized humanoid with an industry-leading ability to walk and balance itself despite external disruptions.

It’s 2012, and the German Research Foundation funds the development of Nimbro, which plays soccer with other robots. It’s 2013, and Pal Robotics from Spain reveals its newest Rheem C humanoid as a research platform for AI navigation, vision, and interaction. It’s 2014, and the Nanyang Technical Institute of Singapore unveils its female humanoid named Nadine, which can converse with humans in multiple languages, hold eye contact, gesture, and replicate facial expressions. It’s 2015, and Boston Dynamics takes the robotics world by storm with its updated Atlas humanoid, which now uses a combination of hydraulics in its legs and electronics in its arms.

And in 2016, Atlas is updated again with the ability to pick and place objects in the real world, avoid falling, open doors, and even stand up on its own. It’s 2017, and Pal Robotics from Spain releases its fully electric Talos humanoid with joint torque sensors and strength to lift up to 6kg of weight with each of its grippers. It’s 2018, and Boston Dynamics’ newest Atlas update showcases unprecedented levels of agility and balance as the robot runs through uneven terrains and jumps over obstacles. It’s 2019, and Uptech from China reveals the first walker-home robot with onboard artificial intelligence and an obstacle detection system, as well as the ability to manipulate and carry objects.

It’s 2020, and Agility Robotics reveals their digit robot as the first humanoid that’s ready for actual work in the real world, with the immediate ability to lift, carry, and place boxes. Its 2021, and Engineered Arts from the UK shocks the entire world with their Ameka humanoid, which demonstrates the most realistic facial expressions yet. Plus, the robot has the ability to imitate and recognize human emotions to bring conversations to the next level of authenticity. It’s 2022, and Tesla previews its first Optimus humanoid designed in just over a year to feature a host of proprietary motors and sensors.

However, the world is still skeptical of the road ahead. It’s 2023, and Figure Robotics just unveiled its 01 humanoid with onboard open AI for seamless conversation. The robot responds to voice commands to execute long-form tasks in the real world, like preparing coffee. It’s 2024, and Tesla unleashes a bombshell with its Optimus Gen 2 humanoid, which has progressed by leaps and bounds, featuring smooth walking and dexterous manipulation, but its true level of AI autonomy is still in question. And that brings us to 2025 and beyond. So which robots do you think will dominate the market, and can we maintain control over machines that surpass us both physically and intellectually? Let us know in the comments below, and click here to learn about what to expect from robots in the future.

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