Robotics breakthroughs tracker

1X says Early Access robots are shipping, with remote staff helping on hard chores

Why it matters: No independent report yet of a NEO in a regular customer's home

Google model watches a video of a person, then coaches a humanoid to 7 straight cornhole shots

Why it matters: Points to robots learning new skills from ordinary video

PI opens its robot models to other companies' robots through a paid API

Why it matters: Robot brains become a service any hardware maker can rent

Wheeled two arm home robot opens preorders at $3,555; 50 units, shipping planned December

Why it matters: Cheapest chore robot you can preorder; you teach it tasks by phone

US agency CISA warns of three flaws, worst rated 9.4 of 10; firmware update fixes them

Why it matters: Shows robot vacuums need security updates like any connected device

Whole body humanoid control; 22 joint hands tie a trash bag and unscrew a bulb

Why it matters: Fine hand skills on real household objects

Stair cleaning version priced at 1,199 euros, with sales from September 2026

Why it matters: First stair climbing robot vacuum with a retail price, Europe only

Hayward, California factory opens with about 10,000 robots a year of capacity

Why it matters: 1X calls it the first US humanoid factory that makes its own parts

Wins the Beijing half marathon in 50:26, faster than the human world record of 57:20

Why it matters: A big jump in walking and balance, though not in chores

Uses an air fryer with no examples and folds laundry on a robot with no laundry data

Why it matters: Skills combine and move between robots without retraining

CPSC recall of about 5,000 pool robots for battery overheating and fire risk

Why it matters: Shows the battery risk as cordless pool robots spread

Robot models with long and short term memory

Why it matters: Memory is needed for chores with many steps

Video shows Figure 03 tidying a living room at human speed with no remote control, per Figure

Why it matters: Most capable home chore demo so far, but not checked by outsiders

One owner's login gave access to live video, audio and maps from about 7,000 vacuums

Why it matters: Largest known exposure of home robot cameras

Raises $935M at about a $5B valuation

Why it matters: A third humanoid maker lands a very large round

Picea completes its purchase of iRobot as the Chapter 11 case ends

Why it matters: Ends 23 years of US ownership for the Roomba maker

Raises about $1.4B at over a $14B valuation, led by SoftBank

Why it matters: Largest single robot AI raise confirmed in this period

Concept vacuum on wheel legs climbs stairs and cleans each step

Why it matters: First wheel leg robot vacuum; still no price or sale date

Production version of electric Atlas shown, with a Google DeepMind AI partnership

Why it matters: The best known humanoid maker pairs with a leading robot AI lab

Figure 03 on Helix 02 unloads and reloads a dishwasher, walking and using both hands

Why it matters: One model now handles walking and handling in a long kitchen task

Robot model learns tasks from video of people doing them

Why it matters: Could make home training data far cheaper to collect

Files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; its Chinese manufacturer Picea agrees to buy it

Why it matters: The Roomba pioneer ends up under Chinese ownership

Open humanoid model weights released that combine walking and hand use

Why it matters: Gives builders a free model for whole body control

Deal to place up to 10,000 NEO robots at EQT companies from 2026 to 2030

Why it matters: Largest announced order plan for NEO

Former safety head sues, saying the robots could fracture a skull; Figure denies it

Why it matters: First major safety whistleblower case against a home humanoid maker

Raises about $600M at about a $5.6B valuation

Why it matters: Investors back a robot software company that makes no hardware

Robot model improves from its own work experience using reinforcement learning

Why it matters: Robots can get better on the job, not only from human examples

Home humanoid preorders open at $20,000 or $499 a month, with US delivery promised for 2026

Why it matters: First chore humanoid sold to consumers with a public price

Third Figure humanoid built for homes, shown doing laundry, dishes and tidying

Why it matters: First big humanoid redesigned for homes; autonomy is a company claim

Robot plans before acting on multi step tasks and moves skills between robot bodies

Why it matters: Planning across steps is what household chores need

AI furry pet goes on sale in the US and UK at $429 after selling out in Japan

Why it matters: A big electronics brand brings a comfort robot to US stores

Raises over $1B at a $39B valuation

Why it matters: Highest value for a humanoid startup in this period

Robot vacuum with tracked legs shown climbing stairs at IFA in Berlin

Why it matters: First robot vacuum shown climbing stairs on its own

Full size walking humanoid launched from $5,900

Why it matters: First humanoid under $10,000, though built for developers, not chores

Robot model that runs on the robot itself with no cloud connection

Why it matters: Working offline helps privacy and speed in the home

Small open robot model trained on community data that runs on consumer hardware

Why it matters: Robot AI no longer needs a data center

Low cost open source robot arm for the LeRobot project

Why it matters: Puts robot learning experiments within a hobby budget

Robot model cleans kitchens and bedrooms in homes it never saw in training

Why it matters: Shows a robot model can handle a new house, per the company

First humanoid half marathon; the best robot takes over 2 hours 40 minutes and many fall

Why it matters: A starting point for measuring how well humanoids walk and run

Open humanoid robot model released at NVIDIA GTC

Why it matters: Gives any humanoid maker a free starting model to build on

Roomba maker warns of substantial doubt that it can keep operating

Why it matters: The company that started robot vacuums says it may not survive

Gemini Robotics and Gemini Robotics-ER robot models announced

Why it matters: Google enters the race to build general robot brains

Helix model runs two humanoids that put away groceries they had never seen

Why it matters: Early sign one model can drive a humanoid through a home task

pi0 robot model released with open weights as openpi

Why it matters: Anyone can now build on a general robot model from a leading lab

Robot vacuum with a folding arm that picks up items under 300 g, like socks

Why it matters: First robot vacuum sold with an arm, so it can tidy as well as clean

Pool robot shown at CES that cleans the floor, walls, waterline and water surface

Why it matters: Pool robots start cleaning every part of the pool, not just the floor