The iconic “robot” dance has been dazzling onlookers since (apparently) the 1920s, but modern robots can do more than boogie.
2025 is already bringing superstrong robot fingers, robot joggers, more robot delivery men, and, well, robot dancers.
The state of robotics
Today’s hotshot bots are hopefully a far cry from the smoke and mirrors Tesla showed off last year.
- Those remote-controlled robots seem closer to the “vending machine” side of things.
China is eager to show off its impressive automatons:
- This week, handkerchief-twirling humanoid robots performed with human folk dancers in a Lunar New Year celebration.
- In April, Beijing will host a humans vs. robots half-marathon in which bipedal mecha-runners from 20+ companies will compete with 12k+ humans.
But who needs legs?
Already popular (or tolerated) in some cities, wheeled robots and delivery drones are becoming more common.
- Grubhub will partner with robotics company Avride to bring 100 bots to Ohio State University’s campus, per Engadget.
- Grubhub says it has made hundreds of thousands of robot deliveries on college campuses since 2021.
Showcasing the wide spectrum of robot capabilities, Korean engineers have replicated the smashing powers of mantis shrimp with a flexible robot finger.
- The shrimp’s secret is a latch-like muscle that stores a mighty wallop of potential energy in its club-like claw, per Ars Technica.
- Using the same principles, the team created a stretchy device that can crawl, jump, grab things, and charge up a shrimp-like punch.
- They also applied the tech to a sort of robot turtle with tentacles that sounds terrifying.
What’s the practical use for this? Well, knowing how robotics companies are making their money, probably some sort of tentacle-armed waiter.