SURF：2026年的机器人技术：去向何方影响几何？（英文版）

Roboticsin2026

Whereisroboticsgoingandwhatdoesitmean?

March2026

ThispublicationislicensedunderaCreativeCommonAttribution4.0International.

Roboticsin2026

10/19

TableofContents

TOC\o"1-2"\h\z\u

Introduction 3

Roboticsisataninflectionpoint 3

StructureandApproach 3

Specialthanks 4

RoboticsinTransition 5

Fromindustrialautomationtoembodiedintelligentsystems 5

HowAIisChangingRobotics 7

Real-timeresponse 7

Beyondindustrialmanufacturing 7

Oversightandthechangingworkplace 8

ThefutureimpactofAI 8

RobotsinSociety 9

Transportation 9

RobotsinHealthcare 10

RoboticsinEducation 11

MaterialChoicesinRobotics 12

RigidMaterialRobotics 12

SoftMaterialsinRobotics 13

BiohybridRobotics 13

ResponsibleRobotics-EthicsandDiscussion 14

AI,society,andmaterials 14

TheWrapUp 16

Bibliography 18

Introduction

ExecutiveSummary

Roboticsin2026hasreachedadefinitiveinflectionpoint,whererapidadvancesinartificialintelligenceandmaterialssciencearerapidlyembeddingthetechnologydeepintothefabricofmodernsociety.Thisevolutionpresentsauniquechallengefortheeducationsector,whichmustnowpreparefuturegenerationstocoexistandcollaboratewithintelligentmachinesinbothclassroomsandtheworkplace.

Thiswhitepaperprovidesarealisticoutlookonhowroboticswillaugmenthumanpotentialwhilealsoexaminingethicalreflections,allwhilemaintainingafocusonhuman-centredvaluessuchasautonomyandjustice.

Roboticsisataninflectionpoint

Thephrase‘ataninflectionpoint’isoftenoverusedwhendescribingemergingfields,butforthefieldofrobotics,itmayverywelltrulyapplyrightnow.RecentandongoingadvancesinAIandmaterialsaretransformingthefieldandexpandingthereachofroboticsfarbeyondtraditionalmanufacturingactivities(Forbes,2025b;RoboDK,2026).

Thetermrobotics,whichhasarichhistorydatingbacktothe1921whenKarelČapekintroducedtheterm‘Robot’inthe

CzechPlay“R.U.R.”(“Rossum’sUniversalRobots”),

isnowadvancingsoquicklythatthesafeandefficientintegrationofthesetechnologiesintobroadersocietymayprovechallenging(Jordan,2019).Thisrapidpaceofadvancementraisesconcernsfortheresearchandeducationcommunities,whomustbothdevelopthetechnologiesandpreparefuturegenerationstocoexistandcollaboratewithrobotsinclassroomsandbeyond.(NatureHumanitiesand

SocialSciencesCommunications,2025)

Astheroboticslandscapeevolves,itbringsbothopportunitiesandrisksthatmustbeaddressedalongsidetechnologicalprogress(Springer,2023;Mestreetal.,2024).Inthiswhitepaper,weexaminethetechnologiesdrivingcurrentandemergingrobotics,highlightspecificusecases,andanalysetheirpresentimpactonsociety.Ourgoalistoclarifywhereroboticsstarted,whereitisgoing,andwhereitmightgonext.

StructureandApproach

Weexaminedthekeyfactorsthatwillinfluencetheadaptationandintegrationofrobotictechnologiesintobroadersociety.WeidentifiedthekeyaspectsastheinfluenceofAIonrobotics,theconsiderationofmodernusecasesasexemplars,newmaterialdevelopmentsforrobotics,andashortethicalreflectionontheimplicationsofrobotictechnologies.

Thiswhitepaper:

Presentsagroundedoverviewandoutlookonthefutureofrobotics.

SummarisesadvancesintheemergenceofAI-poweredroboticsystemsandmaterialsforrobotics.

Highlightswhereroboticsarebeingdeployedtoday,andthelessonsthattheseusecasesofferfortheirdeploymentinotheraspectsofsociety.

Explorestheimplicationsofroboticsonthefutureworkplace.

Specialthanks

Individualsconsultedonthecontentofthiswhitepaperare:

FalkTauber,Groupleaderforbiomimeticsoftrobotics,PlantBiomechanicsGroupandClusterofExcellencelivMatS@FIT-FreiburgCenterforInteractiveMaterialsandBioinspiredTechnologies,UniversityofFreiburg,Germany

LuukvanLaake,Researcher,DynamicsandControlgroup,DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering,EindhovenUniversityofTechnology(TU/e)

JordySenden,KnowledgeValorisationOfficer–Robotics,SectionRobotics,DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering,EindhovenUniversityofTechnology(TU/e)

EvaLeurink,AdvisorTechnologyInnovation–Primary&SecondaryEducation,Kennisnet

RoboticsinTransition:

Fromindustrialautomationtoembodiedintelligentsystems.

“Roboticsisour2026technologyoftheyear.”That’sthefirstsentenceofaneditorial‘Robotreasons’publishedinNatureElectronics(NatureElectronics,2026).So,whydoesNatureElectronicsbackroboticsasthefieldtowatchin2026?

First,theemergenceofadvancedartificialintelligence(AI)platformsingeneralissignificantlyenhancingthecapabilitiesofrobotictechnologies(BostonDynamics,n.d.;Forbes,2025b).Second,thesetechnologiesarebecomingincreasinglyintegratedintoeverydaylife;forinstance,roboticvacuumcleanersandfloor-washingrobotsareincreasinglyfamiliarinmanyhomes(Forbes,2025b).Third,thebroadersocietyisbecomingincreasinglyexposedtotheimplicationsofroboticsforourworld(Forbes,2025a).Newsreportsonrecentconflictsroutinelymentiontheuseofroboticdrones,whilehighly-editedandevenstagedviralvideosfromfactoriesandlaboratoriesshowhumanoidrobotsassemblingcarsorracingthroughobstaclecourses(HumanoidRoboticsTechnology,2026a).

Atthesametime,popularfiction–traditionallyaspaceforspeculativeportrayalsofrobotsthatimplicitlypromotesconjectureonthefutureofrobots–isbeginningtodepicttherealcapabilitiesandlimitationsofcurrentsystems.Forexample,seasononeoftheAppleTV+seriesPluribusshowsdronesdeliveringfoodandcollectingrefuse,withthelatterusecasehighlightingtheshortcomingsoftoday’sdronetechnologies.

Inflectionpoint

Severalacademic,trade,andindustrialpublicationshaveallsharedthesameopiniononrobotictechnologies.Theyarguethatthefieldofrobotictechnologieshasreachedaninflectionpointwhereitwillstarttoflourishandbecomemoredeeplyembeddedinmodernsociety(Forbes,2025b;NLRobotics,2026;RoboDK,2026).ThischangeismainlydrivenbyimprovementsinAIplatforms,whicharepropellingthewidespreademergenceofembodiedAIsystems–thatis,robotsorroboticdevicesthatcanaccuratelymeasuretheirenvironmentandthenmakeautonomousdecisionsthankstoon-boardAIprotocols.

Materialsandlengthscales

NewdevelopmentsinroboticsaredrivennotonlybyadvancesinAI.Inventivenewmaterialsarealsoenablingtheproductionofrobotsofawiderangeofsizesandwithincreasingdegreesoffreedom.Whilemanypeopleprimarilyassociaterobotswiththemanufacturingindustry–wherelargesteeloraluminium-baseddeviceshelpproduceautomobiles,computers,andmedicines–roboticsystemscannowbedesignedtooperateinsidethehumanbody,deliveringdrugswithhighprecisionormonitorphysiologicalconditions(UMCUtrecht,n.d.;Forbes,2024).

Humanoidrobots–designedtomimichumanphysiologyandfunctionwithinenvironmentsbuiltforhumans–arealsoemergingasviablesolutionsacrossmultipleindustries(HumanoidRoboticsTechnology,2026a;UBTECH,n.d.).Forexample,theChinesecompanyEngineAIiscollaboratingwiththecommercialspacecompanyInterstellartosendthehumanoidrobotPM01intospace(CNEVPost,2026;InterestingEngineering,2026).Thismarksasignificantstepforwardinspacerobotics.Untilnow,mostmobilerobotsonplanetarymissionshaveresembledremote-controlledcarsintheformofroversorhavebeenimmobilelanders.Humanoidrobotscouldinsteadbedeployedfirsttoconfronttheunknownbeforehumansvisitanunchartedlocation,andthentoassesshowthesenewenvironmentsaffectahuman’sabilitytoliveandsurvive.

Finally,softandbiohybridmaterialsarepavingthewayforrobotsthatcannavigatecomplexterrainsoractasingestibledevices(Mestreetal.,2024)todelivermedicinesandmonitorinternalbodilyfunctions.Realisingsomeofthesesystemswillrequiretheseamlessintegrationofconventionalelectronicswithnewdeformablematerials.

Impressiveadvancements

ThesteeplearningcurveinAIisgreatlyexpandingwhatispossibleinrobotics.Thecurrentleveloflearningandadaptationinhumanoidrobotsisstriking,asillustratedbyrecentdemonstrationsduringthe2026ChineseNewYearcelebrationsof

robotsperformingmartial

arts

(YouTube,2026).Althoughinitiallyimpressive,itshouldbenotedthatitisnotclearfromthesedemonstrationsiftheyaretruly‘autonomous’.Theymaybeteleoperatedorexposedtostrictchoreographedtraining,which,whenexposedtosomethingunexpectedonstage,coulddeliveraverydifferentpublicperception.

Nonetheless,theseadvancesinagilityandstabilitysignificantlybroadenthedeploymentoptionsforgeneral-purposerobots(BostonDynamics,2026),includinghumanoidand,byextension,robotsofallshapesandforms.Asaresult,thehomeandworkplacewillbetransformedinfundamentalandtask-dependentways,muchliketheimpactthepersonalcomputer(Forbes,2025a)hadonjobsandskillsinthe1980s.

Realisticoutlook

Inthiswhitepaper,wepresentthefoundationsoffuturerobotictechnologiesandofferarealisticoutlookonwherethesetechnologiesarerightnowandhowtheycouldsoonimpactsociety.

Thefieldofrobotics–andevenitsverydefinition–ischangingrapidly,drivenbyadvancesinAI,thedevelopmentofnewmaterials,andtheadaptationofthesetechnologiestooperateinnewworkplacesandenvironments(NatureElectronics,2026;Forbes,2025b).

HowAIisChangingRobotics

InApril2025,ForbespublishedanarticleheraldingtheriseofAI-poweredroboticsanditsimpactonthefutureofwork.Thearticleopensbysurmisingthat“theseintelligentmachinesareautomatingtasks,boostingefficiency,andsparkingdebatesabouttheirimpactonjobs.”(Forbes,

2025a)

Inreality,robotshavebeenautomatingindustrialmanufacturingprocessesandreshapingtheworkplacesincetheearly1960s.Unimate–thefirstindustrialrobot–transportedhotdiecastingsandweldedpartsontoautomobileframes,sparinghumanworkersfrompotentialinjuriesassociatedwithhandlingmaterialsatsuchhightemperatures(Forbes,2025b).

Today,industrialrobotsareanevolving,integralpartofmanufacturingprocessesandworkalongsidehumanworkers(RoboDK,2026;Forbes,2025b).WithrapidadvancesinAIanditsintegrationintorobotics,thewayrobotsoperateinourworkplacesischanging,andconsequentlysoisourworkingrelationshipwiththem.

Real-timeresponse

Traditionalrobotsareprogrammedtoperformspecificactions.Sensorssuchascamerasorrangefinderscanprovidethemwithdatawhichisthenprocessedusingalgorithmstoprovideinformationabouttheirsurroundings,helpingrobotstooperatecorrectlyandsafely(Fadlelseedetal.,(2025).However,theserobotsareonlyas‘intelligent’astheirprogrammingallowsthemtobe.

AI-poweredrobots,bycontrast,canrespondinrealtimeandadapttochangesintheirenvironment,enablingthemtoautonomouslycompletecomplextasks(BostonDynamics,n.d.;Forbes,2025b).Coupledwithever-improvingsensortechnologies,AIispavingthewayforrobotstobecomecentraltoaglobalmanufacturingindustrythatismoreefficient,productive,andsaferforhumancollaborators(Forbes,2025b;NLRobotics,2026).TheserobotsareanexampleofembodiedAI,inwhichintelligenceisembeddedinaphysicalentitythatoperatesinandinteractswiththerealworldratherthanbeingconfinedtoavirtualsetting.

Beyondindustrialmanufacturing

TheimpactofAI-poweredroboticsisalsoevidentinbroadersociety,asdemonstratedinrecentacademicinvestigations.Forexample,researchershavedevelopedanAI-poweredroboticliftingarm,controllableviaaremotejoystick,tohelpelderlyanddisabledpeoplewiththeirshopping(Ghazlet

al.,2021).

Inagriculture,researchershavecreatedanAI-poweredroboticsystemcalledAgriScoutthatcanidentifyandmapthespreadofPotatoVirusY(PVY)infectionsinpotatocrops(AgriScout,2025).ThistypeofsystemmayactasacatalystforthewideradoptionofAI-poweredroboticsinmodernfarming.

AgriScoutimages-Source:

sciencedirect

(Singhetal,2025)

Oversightandthechangingworkplace

RegardlessofthedegreeofadvancementinAI-poweredrobotics,humanoversightoftheiractivitiesislikelytoremainanecessity(Hosseinietal.,2023).Althoughtheserobotsaresettotakeovermanyphysicallydemandingtasksinlogisticsandtransportation,theywillstillrequiresupervisionintermsoftheiractivities,performance,andmaintenance(EuropeanCommission,n.d.).

AnintermediatestepmayinvolvemanyofthecurrentlogisticshumanworkforceteleoperatingAI-poweredrobotsintheshorttermtohelptrainrobotsforfutureautonomousoperation(S.Fadlelseedetal.,(2025).Companiesmustalsosupportworkersintransitioningtonewroleswithintheirorganisations,ratherthansimplyreplacinghumanemployeeswithrobots(Forbes,2025a;Hosseinietal.,2023).

Ultimately,thefutureofAI-poweredroboticsacrossindustrieswilldependontechnologicalprogress,theeasewithwhichthesesystemscanbeintegratedintoexistingworkenvironments,andtheeducationandtrainingprovidedtothecurrentworkforce(Forbes,2025a;NLRobotics,2026)toenableseamlesscollaborationwithroboticcounterparts.

AsignoftheconcertedefforttoachievethisisthepartnershipannouncedinJanuary2026betweenBostonDynamicsandGoogleDeepMind,throughwhichGoogle’sAIsystemswillbeintegratedintoanewfleetofAtlasrobots(BostonDynamics,n.d.).

ThefutureimpactofAI

Non-rigidbodyrobots

Buildingontoday’searlysoftroboticsystems,futurerobotswillincreasinglyuseflexible,AI-optimisedmaterialsthatallowthemtobend,adapt,andsafelyworkalongsidehumans(Mestreetal.,2024,2024;Forbes,2024),whilestillmatchingtheprecisionandstrengthoftoday’srigidmachines.

EmbodiedAI&EdgeAI

Whilemanyrobotscurrentlydependoncloudcomputing,futuresystemswillrunmuchmoreoftheirintelligencelocally,perhapsevensupportedbyadvancementsinbrain-inspiredcomputing(Abdelrahman,2026)andself-learningmaterials,wheremorepowerfulAIchipsandefficientmodelswillenablefasterdecision-making,strongerdatasecurity,andlowerenergyconsumption(Forbes,2025b;BostonDynamics,n.d.).

Autonomousrobots

Aswemovebeyondtoday’spartiallyautonomousmachines,advancesinAItraining,simulation,andsensingwillgraduallyremovemanyofthecurrentlimitationsofrobots(Synopsys,n.d.;Taylor&Francis,2021).Thisprogresswillpavethewayforsafer,fullyautonomousrobotsthatcanoperatereliablyinawiderangeofreal-worldenvironments.However,traininghumanoidrobotsremainsoneofthefield’scorechallenges.Robotsrequirereal-world,real-timedata,andthescarcityofthisdataiscurrentlyakeybottleneck.Toovercomethis,innovationsinsimulation-basedtrainingandteleoperationwillbeessential(Fadlelseedetal.,2025),enablingricher,morescalabledatacollectionandultimatelymovingthefieldforwardtowardrobust,real-worldautonomy.

RobotsinSociety

Nowadays,robotictechnologiesarecriticaltomanymanufacturingindustries,andtheirabilitytooperateinawiderangeofenvironments–includinghazardousones–reducesthelevelofriskfacedbyhumanworkers(RoboDK,2026;Forbes,2025b).Withadvancesinmaterials,roboticdesign,computationalpower,andAI,roboticsarepoisedtodisruptmanymoreaspectsofdailylife(NLRobotics,2026;Forbes,2025b).Inthissection,wehighlightthreeusecasesinmodernsocietywhereroboticswillplayanincreasinglyprominentrole.

Transportation

Formanypeople,thephrase‘autonomous’or‘self-driving’vehiclesbringstomindtheproliferationofdriverlesscars.However,self-drivingbusesandtrucksarealsobecomingpartofourcurrentandfuturepublictransportinfrastructure.(IEEEAccess,2025;EuropeanCommission,n.d.)

Sustainablebus–Source:

InJuly2025,theNetherlands’firstself-drivingshuttlebusbeganoperatingbetweentheMeijerspleinmetrostationinRotterdamandRotterdamTheHagueAirport.(RotterdamStyle,n.d.)Despitetheintroductionofthisservice,RETcontinuestohirehundredsofnewemployeeseachyearinlightofongoingdrivershortages.

Truckplatooning

Anotherindustryheavilyaffectedbydrivershortagesisthehaulageindustry.Accordingtosomeestimates,by2028,therewillbeashortageofmorethan745,000truckdriversacrossmuchofEurope(EuropeanCommission,n.d.).Self-drivingtruckscouldhelpaddressthisshortfall,withtheNetherlandsleadingdevelopmentsintruckplatooning,whichinvolvesasmallconvoyoftruckstravellinginunison.Intruckplatooning,aleadtrucksetstherouteanddrivingpattern,whilethefollowingtrucksmatchitsmovements

(EuropeanCommission,n.d.;Taylor&Francis,2021).

Researchhasshownthatapreferredplatoonformationisthreetruckstravellingataconstantspeedof80km/hwithaninter-truckdistanceof10metres.

Coordinatedmotionandspacingaremaintainedusingdatafromradarand

camerasensorsonthetrucks(Synopsys,n.d.).

Platooning-Source:

Shutterstock

Platooningoffersseveralbenefits,includinglowerCO₂emissions,greaterfuelefficiency,andimprovedtrafficflow,whichcouldhelpreducethefrequencyofmajortrafficjams.However,self-drivingtrucksarestillverymuchinthetestingphase,andseveralresearchorganisationsareexploringwaystoacceleratetheirdevelopment.Akeymilestonefordeploymentisachieving

Level4automation

(Synopsys,n.d.;Taylor&Francis,2021),inwhichavehiclecanoperatewithoutahumandriveronboard.Autonomoustruckscouldoperatecontinuouslywithoutdriverrestbreaks,enablingsignificantlyextendedoperatinghoursandevennear24/7operation.Achievingthisvisionwillrequiremajoradvancesinsensingtechnologies,AI-drivencontrolsystems,andenergyinfrastructure(Forbes,2025b;NLRobotics,2026).

RobotsinHealthcare

Roboticsurgery

Whilenowquitecommon,robot-assistedsurgeryhasimprovedmarkedlyoverthepasttwodecades,transformingnotonlytreatmentsbutalsologistics,procedures,thequalityofcare,andpatientrecoverytimes(UMCUtrecht,n.d.;Forbes,2024).Theseadvanceshavecomewithrisingcosts,whichcanbedifficulttodiscussbecauseiteffectivelyputsapriceonsavinglives.

Forsome,theideaofarobotperformingacomplexoperationonthehumanbodywithsharptoolsstillsoundslikesciencefiction–orevenanightmare.Thisperceptionisgraduallychanging,particularlyasmoreexamplesemergeofrobotsperformingreliably,andinsomecasesbetterthanhumansurgeons,resultinginshorterrecoverytimes,greaterprecision,andimprovedpatientoutcomes(UMCUtrecht,n.d.;Forbes,2024).

Surgeonsareincreasinglyacceptingrobotictechnologiesasameansofenhancingthecaretheyprovidetopatients.Thisgrowingacceptanceishelpingtodrivefurtheradvancesinmedicalrobotics(UMCUtrecht,n.d.).Futureapplicationsofsurgicalrobotsincludeaccuratelytargetingbiopsies,preciselyremovingcanceroustissue,andclosingarteriesfromtheartery.

Althoughtherearestillcomplexlegalandethicalargumentstoresolve,thenextmajorstepswillinvolveuntetheredinterventions–inwhichsmallrobotsmovefreelyinsidethebodyunderthecontrolofexternalmagneticfields–andthebroaderdeploymentofAI-poweredrobotsinsurgery(Forbes,2024).Inaddition,miniaturisedrobotswillbeusedforhigh-precisiondrugdelivery,toreducecollateraldamageduringprocedures,andtoenabletreatmentsinhard-to-reachareassuchasthebrainandcomplexvascularnetworks(UMCUtrecht,n.d.).

“Thefutureofsurgicalroboticsliesintheirintegrationwithotheradvancedmedicaltechnologies.Forinstance,combiningroboticsystemswithadvancedimaging,AI-drivendiagnosticsandreal-timedataanalyticscouldcreateaholisticapproachtosurgery.”

JelleRuurda-gastrointestinalandoncologicalsurgeon,professorofrobot-assistedminimallyinvasivesurgeryatUMCUtrecht-

(UMCUtrecht,n.d.)

Exoskeletonssupportingrehabilitation

Wearableroboticsystems,suchasexoskeletons,areemergingasanimportantcategoryofrobotics,particularlyinhealthcare.Bysupportingoraugmentinghumanphysicalcapabilities,exoskeletonscanbeusedaspartofarehabilitationprogrammeinhealthcareorreducestrainonhumanbodyinphysicallydemandingjobs,suchasconstruction(Forbes,2025b).Overtime,exoskeletonsmayalsobedeployedasperformance-enhancingtechnologies,facilitatingsmootherandmoreefficientbodymovementswhenwalking,climbing,liftingorrunning

(Hypershell,n.d.).

RoboticsinEducation

Typically,ahands-onSTEM(Science,Technology,Engineering,Maths)approachhasbeenadoptedtoembedroboticsineducationalcurricula,withtheintegrationofprogrammablemachinesandactivitiestargetedatdevelopingcritical21st-centuryskills(Luetal,2025).Essentially,robotshavebeenusedasobjectsoflearningtostimulateengineeringandcomputationalthinkingandtotrainfutureengineersinthedesign,building,programmingandmaintenanceofautonomoussystems.However,withtherecentaccelerationofGenerativeAI,LargeLanguageModels(LLMs),andspatialcomputingcapabilities,

robotsnowofferthepromiseofbecomingactiveparticipantsineducation,potentiallyactingastutors,assistants,serviceagents,andevenstudents(Lu,etal,2025;RIE,2026).

Furthermore,theriseofroboticsaspotentialactorsinourfutureworkforcemeanshumansmayalsoneedtoadaptandprepareforafutureofworkplacecollaborationwithrobots.Thisraisesmanyquestions,suchas:‘Whatskillsarerequiredforthesefuturecollaborations?’,‘Howdoweworktogetherwithrobots?’,‘Willtherebesuchathingas‘RobotversusHuman’politics?’,‘Willhumanstraintherobots,orwillrobotstrainthehumans?’,and‘Willrobotstrainrobots?’.

Therobotasastudent

Withafuturewhererobotsareintegratedinoursociety,acrucialquestionneedstobeaddressed:

Howwillrobotsbetrainedatscalewithoutplacinganenormousburdenontraditionaleducationsystems?

Source:GeneratedwithNotebook

NVIDIAIsaacSim

(anopen-sourcereferenceframeworkbuiltonNVIDIAOmniverse–areal-time3Dgraphicscollaborationplatform)seekstotrainrobotsatscalebyprovidingaplatformthatcloselymirrorskeyaspectsofhumaneducation:guidedlearning,repeatedpractice,feedback,andthegradualdevelopmentofskillsinasafeenvironment.

InOmniverse,robots‘learn’byinteractingwithsimulatedworlds,forexample,adigitaltwinofakitchenorstreet,experimentingwithtasks,andrefiningtheirbehaviourbasedonvirtualoutcomes,muchlikestudentssolvingproblemsorconductingexperimentsinaclassroom.Thekeydifferenceisthatrobotsaretrainedentirelyindigitalsimulations,oftenatscalesandspeedsimpossibleforhumans,andwithoutconsciousnessortrueunderstanding.Ontheotherhand,humaneducationdevelopscognitive,emotional,andsocialcapacitiesalongsidetechnicalskills.

Socialrobotsenhancingengagement

The

SURFSocialRobotsinEducation

(2025)reportexamineshowsocialrobotscouldbeintegratedintotertiaryeducation,arguingthattheirphysicalpresenceandAIcapabilitiesmayenhancestudentengagementbeyondscreen-basedtools.

MaterialChoicesinRobotics

Theefficiencyofanyroboticsystemdependsontwokeycomponents:softwareandhardware.Earlier,weexaminedhowadvancesinAIsoftwarearedrivingtheemergenceofAI-controlledrobotics.Here,wefocusonmaterialchoicesforrobotichardware–thephysicalfoundationwithoutwhichrobotscannotexistinthefirstplace(Forbes,2025b;NLRobotics,2026).

RigidMaterialRobotics

ThefirstmobilerobotcapableofvisualisingitsenvironmentandmakingitsowndecisionsaboutwheretomovewasShakey,developedattheStanfordResearchInstitute(SRI)inthe1960s.Itiswidelyrecognisednotonlyasthefirstmobilerobotofitskind,butalsoasoneoftheearliestrobotsconstructedfromrigidmaterials(Jordan,2019).

Sincethen,rigidmaterialssuchassteel,high-strengthplastics,andcarbonfibre-basedcompositeshavebeenusedtobuildrobotsforindustrialapplications,forexample,roboticarmsforvehiclemanufacturing,andforextraterrestrialmissions(RoboDK,2026;NatureElectronics,2026),suchastheCanadarm2ontheInternationalSpaceStation.

Theexteriorofahostroboticsystemsmustbesturdy,lightweight,andeasilymovable.Forrobotsoperatinginextremeenvironments,suchasspace,thematerialsmustalsobeabletowithstandveryhighandlowtemperatures,largeg-forcesduringoperation,andelevatedlevelsofharmfulradiation(NatureElectronics,2026).

ShakeytheRobotintheComputerHistoryMuseum–Source

Wikipedia

Criticalinternalsystemswithinrobotsalsorequireprotection.Powersupplies–suchasthosebasedonlithium-ionorsolid-statebatteries–canbeencapsulatedinlightweightcompositematerialstoimprovesafetyanddurability(Forbes,2025b).

Materialsforrigid‘humanoid’robotics

Forhumanoid,non-stationaryrobots,largepowersuppliesareoftenrequired,whichincreasesoverallmassandcanreduceperformanceefficiency.BostonDynamics,forexample,hasmovedfromhydraulicsystemsintheearlyiterationsofitsAtlasrobottohighlyefficientelectricactuatorsandmotorsinthelatestversion.Thistransitionhasenabledareductioninboththesizeofthepowersupplyandtheoverallenergyconsumption.

Inaddition,thelatestAtlasrobotincorporates3D-printedtitaniumandaluminiumcomponents,makingitlighterandthereforemoreenergyefficientduringoperation(BostonDynamics,n.d.;Humanoid

RoboticsTechnology,2026a).

InlateNovember2025,theChinesefirmUBTECHannouncedithadshippedmorethan1,000unitsofitsWalkerS2humanoidrobot(HumanoidRoboticsTechnology,2026b).TheWalkerS2isaservicerobotdesignedforindustrialmanufacturing,logistics,andwelcomingguestsatexhibitionhalls.Itusesaflexibl