Three robotics experts said humanoid robots need to move beyond flashy demos to performing tasks that are actually useful in the real world at scale.

With stats like that, one can’t help but suspect that the first country to have a million humanoids will be China.

Airbus ordered UBTech’s Walker S2, a full-size humanoid that stands 176 cm tall (5’9"), weighs 70 kg (154 lbs), and walks at about two meters/second (4.5 mph). It has dextrous hands with 11 degrees of freedom and tactile sensors, and can hold 7.5 kg (16.5 lbs) in each hand and 1 kg (2.2 lbs) with each finger.

Humanoid robots have been in development for years, but it may feel like they will never be accessible to regular users. There are a few reasons for that.

On Jan. 22, Louisiana's economic development agency and St. Bernard-based SSE Steel Fabrication announced an agreement with Houston-based tech startup Persona AI to launch a pilot program at SSE to develop humanoid robotics for industrial uses. Greater New Orleans Inc., southeast Louisiana's economic development nonprofit, also is participating.

EPFL's robotic appendage features fingers that bend both ways and is designed to retrieve objects from spaces too hazardous for human hands.