Space Camel
Data-insights & satire on technology, nature, and the future of society
Oy beltalowda! Welcome back.
Today’s Big Question:
Why are companies developing humanoid robots?
The format you can expect in this post:
Da Big Question (see above)
The Context
Additional Context & Commentary
The CEO Vision
The Challenges
The Satire (mandatory)
Let’s do this 🤘
Context:
There have been some great Hollywood movies like iRobot and the Terminator franchise depicting the “joy” and “value” that humanoid-style robots can bring to humanity.
Sarcasm aside, the burgeoning industry has made significant advancements over the past few years. It’s been impressive to see demonstrations of what is possible.
But the revenue numbers for manufacturers have not followed.
This suggests the industry is still nascent and in its research and development phase rather than proven & primed for hyper-growth.
Below are two charts that highlight the current gap between the promise and the current reality in the mass deployment of humanoid robotics.
Data point 1:
Showing the gap in the estimated 2026 number of units sold per company versus the 5-year forward projection. We’ve also included the current price per robot for reference.
Data sources: UBTECH 2025 Annual Results (Mar 2026); Unitree IPO prospectus (Mar 2026); Figure AI (Apr 2026); 1X (Apr 2026); Tesla Q2 2026 update (Jul 2026). 2036 estimates modelled from IDTechEx, BofA Institute, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs Research.
Data point 2:
The majority of the robots being produced today are prototypes built for product demoes, not for use by customers.
Data source: Interact Analysis, Humanoid Robots – 2026 (2026)
Additional Context:
When surveyed, people around the world show a varying degree of discomfort with humanoid robots. As in many things, the context is important and cultural perspective matters.
Data source: Hexagon, Robot Generation study. Fieldwork by Vitreous World, October–November 2025; published June 2026.
This general aversion towards humanoid robots begs the question which we will reiterate →
Why is this there so much time and energy being devoted to building robots that are anatomically similar to humans?
Are manufacturers trying to normalize their integration into society by making them look and act more like us?
Is there a physical advantage for this choice?
Visions of the Future:
To begin to understand “the why”, we turn to statements made from the bold (if not humble) CEO’s behind each project.
We don’t doubt, if they’re right and humanoid robots are adopted en-masse to work everywhere from warehouses as sorting as stacking machines to people’s homes as laundry, cooking, and cleaning automatons - the opportunity set for huge earnings and world-changing outcomes is massive.
But big promises and bold vision do not always lead to big achievement.
When it does though, it can be absolutely transformative.
The Challenges:
There are some significant technical milestones that still need to be overcome before these robots are ready for “the real world”.
They fall into 3 main categories, listed below:
There has been great progress in recent years, but progress does not imply that success is inevitable. Sometimes the last mile is the hardest of them all.
Hand dexterity and the soft-touch required for safe manipulation of small objects → so they won’t snap you and your stuff like a bundle of dry twigs.
Necessary for basic household chores such as folding laundry or whisking a souffle.
Battery efficiency, cost, and weight. No one wants a robot carrying a heavy burden.
The current generation of robots need a recharge every 3-5 hours on average before they crumple over into a inert pile of exotic alloys. That won’t make for a positive customer review.
The edge-case problem. This is the big one and arguably the thing humans aren’t even that good at after 1 million years of trying.
With LLMs, we may accept hallucinations or weird responses once in awhile. With robots, surrounded by unpredictable sometimes irrational people (and some strange pets) we need near-100% certainty that they’ll respond in a reliably safe manner.
If the public isn’t convinced that humanoid robots are safe to be around, they’ll never get past the demo stage.
And this ends our phase 1 exploration of humanoid robots.
Something tells us, this story is just unfolding. Like the 20th century icon Arnold S said, “we’ll be back”.
If you’re a fan of Space Camel, please share.
Future historians and their hard-wired networks of bots will one day admire your foresight 🤖 ❤
socializing with the new colleagues
For those whose intellectual curiosity > apathy + fear, this is your space
See you next time✌
*Disclaimer: We may make mistakes; nothing is guaranteed. such is life.