William Duckitt, Stellenbosch University

Robots have been around for a while. Some of the most popular ones are zooming around floors right now, collecting dust and debris. In agriculture, there are already autonomous robots harvesting fruit while unmanned tractors monitor fields. Mines are also investing in robotic help (like Boston Dynamic’s robodog, Spot) to do safety inspections and surveying. But then, there are the lifelike machines we see on-screen. Humanoid robots that (more often than not) are trying to take over the world.

In reality, machines capable of emulating human actions are being fast-tracked. According to Vantage Market Research, it’s estimated that the global humanoid robot market will be worth $9.8bn by 2028. Companies like Humanoid (a UK-based startup) are on a mission to develop commercially scalable and safe humanoid robots. They’ve already debuted HMD 01, a labour automation unit for the industrial sector. Optimus, a general-purpose humanoid built by Tesla, can walk bipedally, pick up objects, sort items by colour and safely navigate around people. Tesla has demonstrated Optimus performing practical tasks like carrying packages, unloading groceries and watering plants.