Humanoid Robot Guide: What Exists, What Ships and What It Costs

A humanoid robot copies the basic layout of a human body. The idea is simple: our homes, shops and factories are built for people, so a robot with legs, arms and hands can in theory use the same stairs, shelves and tools. Most use cameras and depth sensors to see, AI software to decide what to do, and electric motors in each joint to move. Engineers count joints as degrees of freedom: more means more flexible movement.

Hands remain the hardest part. Musk himself has called robot hands "shockingly difficult" (Teslarati, October 2026), and many demos still rely on a human operator steering the robot remotely, known as teleoperation.

• Factories and warehouses: moving totes and parts. Agility's Digit moved over 100,000 totes at a GXO site in Georgia (reported June 2026). BMW said in June 2026 that Figure 03 would begin parts work at its Spartanburg plant.
• Research and education: Unitree's robots are widely used by labs to develop new skills.
• Homes: early. 1X NEO is designed for tidying and laundry, but relies partly on remote operators for tasks it has not learned, and confirmed home deliveries had not been reported as of early October 2026.

From about $4,900 for a Unitree R1 Air to over $100,000 for advanced developer models. Home robot NEO is $20,000 or $499 a month. Industrial humanoids are usually leased: a June 2026 SEC filing assumed $8,500 a month per Agility Digit. See full prices in our buy humanoid robot guide. For budget options, see our list of affordable humanoid robots, and for sterling prices including VAT, our UK buying guide.

Toyota is moving into humanoid robots on two fronts.

• Walden Robotics. A spin-out from the Toyota Research Institute, launched in July 2026 with $300 million of funding at a $1.1 billion valuation. Toyota and Deviation Capital led the round, with Nvidia, Boeing and Samsung Ventures also investing. Its robots have a humanoid upper body on wheels rather than legs, which makes them easier to stop safely around people. One has worked eight-hour shifts at a Toyota plant in North America since February 2026, loading parts, cleaning machines and preparing parts for assembly.
• CUE7. Toyota's basketball-shooting robot, shown in April 2026. It balances on two wheels and uses AI vision to aim, but it is a research showcase, not a product.

Neither is for sale to the public. Walden sells to factories and warehouses, and has not published prices. For businesses this is one to watch alongside Agility Digit, Figure and Boston Dynamics Atlas.

• Buy a humanoid robot: prices and delivery status
• Affordable humanoid robots: the cheapest you can buy
• Humanoid robots in the UK: what you can buy and hire
• Humanoid robot companies: status tracker
• Chinese humanoid robots compared
• 1X NEO review: price, specs and delivery status
• Unitree G1 review and Unitree R1 review
• Figure 03: price, specs and real status
• Humanoid robots for the home: what is real in 2026
• Tesla Optimus: release date, price and facts
• Home robots you can buy today
• Robot dogs, from toys to Unitree Go2
• Service robots for business

A full-size humanoid can weigh 60 to 70 kg. Treat it like power equipment: keep children and pets away during operation unless the maker says otherwise. Ask whether the robot sends video to the cloud or lets remote staff see your home. And treat launch videos with care: check whether a task was done autonomously or remotely controlled, and whether the product has a delivery date.