The competition in humanoid technology is intensifying to the point that it can be described as a 'war.' Among new technologies referred to as 'dream technologies' that could transform human life-such as autonomous driving, quantum computers, and solid-state batteries-humanoids are currently considered to have the highest potential for commercialization. The humanoid industry widely agrees that this year will mark the beginning of commercialization. Starting this year, leading robot manufacturers in the United States and China have begun small-scale mass production, and Hyundai Motor Group plans to pilot the deployment of humanoid robots made by its affiliate Boston Dynamics on the production line of its U.S. car factory as early as October this year. As of 2025, with global companies including Hyundai Motor Group pushing forward with humanoid commercialization, what is the current level of technology at each company? Let’s examine the state of the art among major players.

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The core technologies for developing humanoid robots can be divided into three main areas: △hardware technology for precise robot movement, △artificial intelligence (AI) that perceives, judges, and autonomously thinks about the external environment, and △a control system that integrates these two technologies.

First, hardware technology requires a precise drive mechanism and advanced actuators. The actuator, a core component, serves as the 'muscle' of the robot. It receives signals from the control system and converts electrical energy into physical movement. The degree to which a robot can move like a human is determined by its 'degrees of freedom' (the number of directions or axes its joints can move). The higher the degrees of freedom, the more complex and human-like the robot's movements become. The most challenging area for humanoid companies in hardware development is the 'robot hand.' Humans perform most tasks with their hands. Only a humanoid capable of delicate hand movements requiring fine force control can truly replace a human.

The second key is AI technology that enables the robot to think and reason like a person. To understand its surroundings and make context-appropriate decisions and actions, a sophisticated AI is essential-one that integrates data from multiple sensors, including vision, hearing, touch, and positional information, in real time. In particular, 'autonomy,' where the robot improves itself through reinforcement learning without human instruction, is at the core of humanoid AI technology. The ultimate goal is for humanoid robots to make decisions and act on their own, even in unexpected situations.

The final core technology is the control system that connects precise hardware and the AI brain. This system delivers the AI's decisions to the actuator controller while quickly transmitting various hardware information, such as sensor and motor status, back to the AI. In human terms, it functions like the 'central nervous system' connecting the peripheral nerves and the brain.

Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot Atlas is opening a closed box by itself and continuing the task of organizing parts. Photo by Boston Dynamics

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The company currently demonstrating the fastest technological progress is Boston Dynamics (BD). In a video uploaded on the 21st, the current capabilities of BD's 'Atlas' are on display. Atlas uses a gripper with three fingers (a device similar to a human hand) to pick up parts from a box and place them into another box. If the box lid suddenly closes, Atlas checks, reopens the lid, and continues the task. When a part being moved falls to the floor, Atlas recognizes this, adjusts its posture, and picks up the dropped part. If a long part appears not to fit on a shelf, Atlas folds it to organize it properly. This video is significant as it is the first released since BD announced its collaboration with Toyota Research Institute (TRI), an advanced technology research subsidiary of Toyota Group, last year.

Within the robotics industry, BD has long been recognized as the 'industry leader' in hardware. The previous hydraulic version of Atlas demonstrated remarkable athletic ability, including backflips and high jumps. Such athleticism and balance indicate that the robot possesses real-time environmental awareness and highly precise, rapid control technology. However, in manufacturing settings, a robot capable of backflips may be over-engineered, resulting in higher costs and heavier equipment.

To address this, BD introduced a lighter, electric-powered new Atlas last year. By simplifying the equipment, they improved cost competitiveness and, through joint research with TRI, are advancing AI and robot control technology. TRI applied its proprietary LBM (Large Behavior Model), enabling Atlas to autonomously make decisions and perform complex manipulations in various scenarios. If LLMs (Large Language Models) are massive neural networks that learn vast amounts of language data to understand text and generate new sentences, LBMs are neural networks that learn and understand a wide range of behaviors and then execute new actions based on that knowledge. The combination of BD's superior hardware and TRI's LBM technology has the industry on edge over Atlas's rapid technological advancement.

Humanoid robots equipped with FigureAI's machine learning AI model for humanoid robots, 'Helix.' Two robots are cooperating to perform tasks together. FigureAI YouTube

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US-based humanoid company FigureAI has introduced Helix, a machine learning AI model for humanoid robots. The key feature of this AI is its ability to enable collaborative work among two or more robots. Previously, the company had partnered with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, for humanoid development, but this year announced its intention to pursue an independent path. The result was Helix, the first humanoid AI learning model unveiled by the company. Applied to the humanoid robot 'Figure 02,' Helix utilizes a VLA (Vision-Language-Action) model. The robot recognizes its surroundings with cameras, understands natural language commands from humans, and performs corresponding actions.

For example, when objects such as eggs, ketchup, apples, and cookies are placed before a robot powered by Helix and the command "Please organize these items" is given, two robots begin sorting the items into refrigerated and room-temperature categories. The most impressive scene is when one robot hands an item to the other. The two robots look at each other as if making eye contact and pass the item back and forth. When handling fragile items like eggs, they adjust the force of their grip and carefully place them in the refrigerator. When one robot searches for a place to put an apple, the other hands over a bowl. After organizing, the robots close the refrigerator door and drawers, concluding the video.

Robots equipped with Helix collaborate by sharing visual information, action plans, and the status data of their fellow robots in real time. To prevent delays in communication, dedicated protocols and high-speed wireless communication technology are used, and a 'fault-tolerant mechanism' is in place to adapt to potential network failures. Based on the currently released technical capabilities, humanoids powered by Helix are considered among the smartest in terms of natural language understanding, situational awareness, and responsiveness. However, these robots are still only able to move their upper bodies.

Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus is performing tasks using its hands. Tesla YouTube

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Elon Musk is the figure who brought widespread attention to humanoids as the next-generation innovation technology. Musk first announced the development of the humanoid robot 'Optimus' at 'Tesla AI Day' in 2021. Tesla unveiled a prototype of Optimus in September 2022, introduced the first-generation Optimus in mid-2023, and revealed the second-generation Optimus in April 2024. The third-generation model is currently in development. What surprises people most is Tesla's development speed. When the project was first announced, it was dismissed as a joke, but Tesla produced a finished product in just two years.

Optimus's greatest strength is that Tesla's proprietary autonomous driving AI technology can be applied to humanoids. Tesla has accumulated vast amounts of autonomous driving data through its Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature and is considered one of the leading companies in the field. The core of autonomous driving AI is its ability to perceive the environment, assess the current situation, and appropriately control devices-a technological connectivity that is fundamentally the same as robot control technology.

Another strength for Tesla is its mass production capability. Leveraging manufacturing know-how gained from automobile production, Tesla is well-positioned to rapidly establish a mass production system for robots. Additionally, if some production lines at Tesla's global factories are converted to robot production lines, this could open up a variety of strategic opportunities, including local manufacturing and exports to neighboring countries. However, this advantage is not unique to Tesla; Hyundai Motor Group's affiliate Boston Dynamics, with its strong manufacturing capabilities, shares this potential.

In the most recently released video, Optimus walks smoothly around a factory, avoiding people and machinery. It uses its hands to move small batteries into boxes and interacts with people, handing over items. When its battery runs low, it autonomously finds the nearest charging station, recharges, and resumes work. Tesla began small-scale mass production of Optimus this year. In the second half of the year, the company plans to ramp up production to several thousand units and strategically deploy them in logistics centers and electric vehicle manufacturing sites. From 2026, the goal is full-scale mass production and commercialization. The initial challenge is to lower the sales price to $20,000 (about 28 million won) per unit.

The humanoid robot "Walker S2" from Chinese company Ubtech is autonomously replacing its recharged battery. Ubtech YouTube

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With a high proportion of manufacturing in its national economy, China is fully committed to humanoids. Of the 236 humanoid-related companies worldwide, Chinese companies account for 140, representing a dominant 59%. Of the 51 humanoid robot models unveiled last year, 35 were made by Chinese firms. With manufacturing as its core industry, China has a strong focus on robotics and automation, and its hardware technology for robots is unrivaled. In contrast, the United States has focused on developing software that enables robots to move autonomously. However, as China has recently concentrated on AI technology development, it is now expected to stand out in the humanoid field as well.

Ubtech is the leading humanoid company in China in terms of commercialization. The company has already supplied its humanoid robot 'Walker S' to production lines at Chinese factories of various automakers, including BYD, Nio, Geely Auto, BAIC Motor, and Volkswagen. It is considered to have secured the largest number of clients among global humanoid companies. The first version, 'Walker S1,' was priced at $70,000 (about 9.6 million won), and recently, a low-cost model called 'Tiangong Walker' was introduced at half the price.

The technological prowess of Walker S is also considerable. In videos, the robot is seen picking up small stickers and attaching them to car bodies, and when lifting heavy boxes, two robots grab each end and cooperate as collaborative robots. The video of 'Walker S2,' released a month ago, is even more impressive. When the robot's battery runs out during work, it walks to a battery station, reaches behind to remove the battery mounted on its back, and inserts a fully charged battery from the station-all by itself. This technology maximizes work efficiency by reducing charging wait times.