I had a feeling this would be a good show for robots and man did it deliver. CES 2025 showed a range of robots that are actually useful and not just for display.
ROBOROCK
Let’s start with the robot arms race. First we saw Roborock’s Saros Z70, the world’s first mass-produced foldable robotic arm with five-axis on a robo vac. It’s designed to deploy when cleaning previously obstructed areas. It can handle sandals under 300g, elevating the category to a whole new level of home cleaning robotics.
DREAME
Dreame also demoed its latest technology, the Bionic Multi-Joint Robotic Arm, which extends up to 30cm and lifts objects weighing up to 400g. It also had the Z1 Pro Robotic Pool Cleaner and J1 Robotic Pool Cleaner on display – I’m very interested in those devices.
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SWITCHBOT
Then there is SwitchBot and the K20+ Pro. As I described in the video above, its a mothership for all sorts of smart home devices. It’s a robot vacuum and much, much, more.
It not only delivers stuff around the home, it vacuums, stands guard, cleans the air, cools the air, and moves a screen around.
There was a robot arm too but it’s still being developed.
UNITREE
Humanoid robots were especially good. Some were creepy but others were simply amazing. If you look at what UniTree is doing, you’ll be blown away.
While there is a still a long way to go to reach Sci-Fi levels of autonomy, these robots are now ‘affordable’ and move in a life-like way. They can even rebalance after making contact with a rude human.
The G1 Humanoid agent AI avatar starts from US$16,000 but you’ll probably spend more than that, if you can get one.
The most amazing robot is the Unitree Go2-W, a robot dog with extreme abilities. It has wheels instead of feet and that means it can race long like a rally car. Make sure you watch the video above to see how amazing it is.
REALBOTIX
For companionship, you might want to look at the Realbotix range of robots. They are AI enabled robots with ‘realistic’ faces. You can customise the look and what tasks you want the robot to perform.
These are faces you talk to and they start from US$10,000 for an AI enabled bust, going all the way up to US$200,000 for a full bodied robot. These aren’t really mobile robots like the models above but they are AI agnostic, so anyone can develop a realistic interaction with the units.
Realbotix can replicate a historical figure, a celebrity or bring to life our client’s vision for a robot.
In a nutshell, robot makers have nailed the motion, balance and the dexterity needed to take their robots to the next level. What’s needed now is autonomous action in those mechanical bodies linked to very responsive AI.
