10 Most Advanced AI-Powered Robots & What They Can Do 

Artificial intelligence on its own is a potent force, but when combined with robotics, it has the potential to redefine how machines can interact with the world around them. Key innovations in the field are enabling AI-powered robots to perform more and more actions autonomously.

But what is an AI robot exactly? An AI robot is a robot that uses AI to perceive and interact with its environment. While we are a long way from developing fully autonomous robots, a number of providers have begun developing machines that can walk, talk, and express themselves like autonomous human beings.

In fact, the market for humanoid robotics solutions is growing rapidly. According to Precedence Research, the global AI robotics market was valued at $12 billion in 2022 and will reach a value of $83.78 billion by 2032.

Below, we’re going to look at some of the most advanced AI-powered robots in development and what they can do.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. 10 Most Advanced AI-Powered Robots and What They Can Do
3. What is the Future of AI-Powered Robotics?
4. The Bottom Line
5. FAQs

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. 10 Most Advanced AI-Powered Robots and What They Can Do
3. What is the Future of AI-Powered Robotics?
Show Full Guide
4. The Bottom Line
5. FAQs

10 Most Advanced AI-Powered Robots and What They Can Do

10. Sophia

Sophia, unveiled by Hanson Robotics in 2016, is one of the most well-known AI-driven robots in the world. Sophia can talk, talk, and uniquely respond to any situation or interaction with scripted or autonomous AI-generated responses.

Through technologies like symbolic AI, neural networks, machine perception, and conversational natural language processing, Sophia can recognize human faces, emotions, and hand gestures while all roughly “simulating” human evolutionary psychology and emotion.

Since its release, Sophia has attended hundreds of conferences and public events around the world, recently speaking at The Straits Times Education Forum 2024 and at D’Youville University.

It has also become the first global robot citizen and the first robot Innovation Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme.

While press reception to Sophia has been largely positive, it’s worth noting that Meta’s Head of AI, Yann LeCun, has accused Hanson Robotics of exaggerating Sophia’s capabilities in the past.

9. Atlas

Boston Dynamic’s Atlas, released back in July 2013, is one of the oldest examples of artificial intelligence in robots. This robot is renowned for its dynamic and versatile movement capabilities.

Through the use of AI, Atlas can perceive its environment in real-time, jumping and navigating through obstacles with a high level of mobility as if it’s practicing parkour.

The robot was initially developed for the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Robotics Challenge. This competition aimed to accelerate the development of robots that might be able to assist in responding to natural or man-made disasters.

Atlas has a high-power customer battery and hydraulic systems to power its movement, while advanced control algorithms help it plan its movements. The original model was 6’2 and weighed 330 pounds.

In November 2024, Boston Dynamics released some impressive video footage showing Atlas moving engine covers autonomously, demonstrating how the robot can be used to automate processes in real-world automotive and manufacturing environments.

8. Unitree G1

The Unitree G1 is a humanoid robot that was unveiled at ICRA 2024, following the launch of the original Unitree H1 in 2023. The G1 features a running speed of 2 m/s, weighs 35 kg, and has hands that are capable of closely manipulating objects.

According to Unitree, the G12 is also capable of learning via imitation and reinforcement learning, suggesting that it will be able to learn an increasing number of tasks in the future. It has also captured lots of interest due to being one of the “cheapest” humanoid robots on the market, available at $16,000.

Early demos show the G1 is capable of replicating a diverse range of human movements, from standing from a horizontal resting position to standing and walking on two legs and pivoting at the torso. It can also be seen smashing open walnuts, opening a bottle of Coca-Cola, and flipping bread in a frying pan.

7. Figure 02

Figure 02 is a state-of-the-art humanoid robot developed by Figure AI that features a sleek and futuristic design. The robot is 5’6 tall, weighs 70 kg, and can move at 1.2 m/s, handling payloads of 20 kg.

This robot has captured lots of interest due to it being backed by OpenAI, and featuring speech-to-speech reasoning capabilities courtesy of its proprietary AI models.

Potential access to powerful multimodal models like GPT-4o and future releases like the rumored GPT-5 make Figure 02 a must-watch in the future.

While Figure AI hasn’t put forward a confirmed retail price for the Figure 02, CEO Brett Adcock has stated the model could be available for under $20,000, putting the robot in a similar price bracket to the Unitree G1.

6. Tesla Optimus

The Tesla Optimus is one of the most advanced AI robots in the world right now. Optimus was first unveiled by Tesla in 2021 and presented as a robot designed to perform “tasks that are unsafe, repetitive, or boring.”

Tesla’s original design used multiple sensors to perceive its surroundings, navigating its environment through the use of a visual navigation system and a neural network. It is also a library of natural motions that help it to imitate human movement.

The recently announced Gen-2 Optimus features more dexterous hands, faster walking, and a lower overall weight than the previous generation.

Although there is no confirmed release date for the machine, Elon Musk has stated he believes the model will be available at some point in 2026 and will cost between $20,000 and $30,000.

This hasn’t stopped hype from reaching a fever pitch, with a video of the robot shared by Kim Kardashian generating 6.7 million views on X.

As a side note, Tesla has been accused of using employees to remotely control the Optimus during demonstrations at the We, Robot event – so some of the actions seen in certain demos may not be fully autonomous.

5. Forerunner K2

The Kepler Robotics Forerunner K2 is a humanoid robot capable of walking with a powerful load capacity of up to 25 kg. The Forerunner K2 also features highly dexterous hands that are capable of manipulating objects, with demos showing the robot moving trays of items and operating machinery.

The machine also has a cloud-based cognitive model, which has been trained via techniques like reinforcement learning to help it learn how to perform tasks autonomously.

Kepler Robotics has also introduced teleoperation capabilities, meaning that a human user or operator can equip a pair of gloves and remotely teach the robot to perform certain tasks.

Artificial intelligence robots like the Forerunner K2 with high load capacities will help to redefine industries like manufacturing and logistics.

4. Talos

Pal Robotics Talos is a bipedal humanoid robot with the ability to perform physical tasks in industrial environments, including operating power tools. Talos is 175cm tall, weighs 95 kg, can lift objects of up to 6 kg, and features torque-controllable joints with 32 degrees of freedom.

Talos can walk at 3 km/h and uses the ‘ros-control’ framework to enable the robot to solve tasks according to priority. Early demos of the robot show it climbing stairs, navigating uneven terrain, and manipulating small objects like bottles and boxes.

However, Talos is also significantly more expensive than other humanoid robots undergoing development, costing €900,000 (Approx $952,000).

3. Ameca

Ameca is a humanoid robot developed by Engineered Arts, which officially launched at the CES 2022 event in Las Vegas in January 2022. Ameca costs over $133,000 and is capable of replicating natural motion and facial expressions, though it can’t currently walk.

It features a modular design with a binocular eye-mounted camera, which it can use to detect and track faces. This allows it to recognize an individual’s gender, emotion, and age.

The robot’s silicon face also allows the robot to emulate a wide range of human emotions, including contentment, happiness, sadness, disgust, surprise, anger, fear, confusion, thought, joy, sneering, and worry.

At its heart, Ameca is primarily designed as a platform for developing AI around human-robot interactions. For instance, AI and machine learning systems developed in programming languages like Python to create new interaction and behavioral capabilities on Ameca via the Tritium robot operating system.

2. Phoenix

Phoenix is a general-purpose humanoid robot developed by Sanctuary AI. The 7th generation robot was released in April 2024, following the release of the 6th generation in May 2023. The robot can talk and perform basic manual tasks with highly dexterous hands.

Phoenix uses the Carbon AI control system. The robot is currently on its 7th generation model, which offers improved visual acuity and tactile sensing, enhanced uptime, a lower cost of manufacture, miniaturized hydraulics, an increased range of motion in the wrists, hands, and elbows.

An earlier version of Phoenix was used as part of a pilot at a Mark’s retail store in Langley, British Columbia. During the pilot, the robot completed 110 retail-related tasks, including picking, packing, cleaning, labeling, and folding. Tasks can also be automated in as little as 24 hours.

1. RoboThespian

RoboThespian is a humanoid robot developed by Engineered Arts capable of emulating human movement, including automated eye contact and micro facial activities. Users can also create a library of speech, song, and movement routines for RoboThespian to act out (there is also a library of pre-installed content to choose from).

The robot’s design features LCD eye screens, a built-in head camera, LED face, body lighting, a motorized track system, and active legs. It also uses the Tritium operating system, which can be operated or customized through a web browser and programmed in any language.

Users can also interact with RoboThespian via Engineered Arts’ telepresence software, Tin Man, which enables remote control capabilities.

RoboThespian can be purchased for around $90,000. These robots are designed to function as display attractions in public spaces, including trade shows, live panels, theaters, science parks, or TV shows.

What is the Future of AI-Powered Robotics?

While AI and robotics are still quite rudimentary, the high number of bipedal humanoid robots undergoing development suggests that we’re going to see an increasing number of general purpose and industry-specific robotics solutions emerging in the future.

Agus Huerta, SVP of Digital Innovation at Globant told Techopedia:

“As we approach 2025, robotics is set to enter a new era of accessibility and integration. We’re on the brink of a time when robots aren’t just for specialized industries — they will become part of our daily lives, helping to streamline everything from healthcare to construction.

“As robots become more autonomous, they’ll take on increasingly complex tasks, moving beyond simple, repetitive actions to more adaptive and dynamic rules.

“This shift is driven by AI and advances in the creation of simulation environments to train them, which enables robots to learn how to make intelligent and independent decisions and work together across industries in ways that have never been seen before.”

Key innovations in large language models (LLMs) will provide AI technology and robots with new opportunities to come together and enable ever more sophisticated interactions with humans.

Eventually, we could even see AI-generated robots entering the market, with researchers at Northwestern University having already developed an AI that can design robots from scratch.

The Bottom Line

Each of these robots above demonstrates how AI-powered robots are moving from science fiction to reality. It is a very real possibility that we could see humans and robots working side-by-side in the workplace within our lifetime.

Although these solutions have a long way to go, industry leaders like Tesla, Figure, and Boston Dynamics have shown that AI and robots can come together to create innovative solutions.

It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that we may even see robots equipped with artificial general intelligence (AGI) in the future, but for now, we’ll just have to settle with more limited “weak” AI robots.

FAQs