The winner ran the half-marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. Kevin Frayer / Stringer via Getty Images On April 19, thousands of athletes ran alongside more than 100 humanoid robots in the 2026 Beijing E-Town Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon. A five-and-a ...

We’ve seen humanoid robots do parkour, yoga, and backflips, but few have done anything, well, useful. One Chinese start-up is hoping to change that. X Square Robot unveiled a new model at an event in Beijing on Tuesday that could be smart enough to help ...

At BMW’s sprawling plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a humanoid robot called Figure 02 has been clocking 10-hour shifts on the assembly line, picking up sheet-metal parts and placing them into fixtures alongside human workers.

Mercedes-Benz has partnered with robotics firm Apptronik to explore using humanoid robots in its manufacturing plants. A Mercedes-Benz executive believes the current technology is too slow and lacks the flexibility required for vehicle production.

BMW has moved from a year-long pilot to a commercial contract for humanoid robots at its Spartanburg EV plant and is introducing a separate model in Germany, while UK contractor Tilbury Douglas has deployed a humanoid robot to automate site documentation.

Chinese startups are churning out more humanoid robots than their U.S. rivals, despite far lower valuations.

Munich-based company RobCo recently unveiled a new industrial humanoid robot at the Hannover Messe trade show in Germany.

Humanoid robots are being trained to carry out maintenance on China’s power grid. Developers say the machines could eventually handle repetitive and hazardous work.