My mental images of robots include the friendly Rosey the Robot of Jetsons fame, R2-D2 and C3PO from Star Wars, and the various cyborgs from the terrifying Terminator franchise. There’s a huge range between a dutiful, flipping maid, a helpful but sometimes hapless droid, and a cyborg that will either kill you or try to help you escape another robot that will kill you CNET writers who visited the big tech show CES 2025 in Las Vegas encountered a lot of robots — though thankfully, none of them were killers.
Check this out: Sorry, no ‘Best Robots’ at CES this year
CNET’s Jesse Orrall said he didn’t feel ready to crown any of the CES robots as the best at the show.
“Some look like science fiction, some look like toys, and some are made to look almost human,” Orrall said.
Read more: These are the official CES 2025 winners, awarded by CNET Group
Humanoid robots
The Unitree G1 robot was CNET’s Jesse Orrall’s pick for the most entertaining humanoid robot at CES 2025.
The Unitree G1 was the most fun of all the robots Orrall saw at CES.
“It was the only humanoid robot at CES that I got a chance to check out,” he said. “The controller itself felt very natural and familiar, like the video game controllers I grew up with. And the experience of controlling it felt like testing a really cool car that I would probably never be able to handle.”
Check this out: Practice with the Unitree G1 humanoid robot
Other humanoid robots, including Apptronix Apollo and Digit from Agility Robotics, showed off their skills in controlled environments, or without letting reporters get their pesky hands.
Another humanoid robot at CES 2025 was the Apptronix Apollo.
“Autonomy is a huge milestone for robotics developers,” Orrall said, noting that it will make their products more attractive to businesses that want robots to work with minimal supervision and input.
Agility Robotics calls their robot Digit, which is a very Jetsons name.
But because of the chaotic nature of the sprawling CES event, this focus on autonomy meant those robots were separate from the public, more like a piece of art in a museum than a tangible tool.
For Orrall, remote-controlled robots are more accessible. Comparing it to some self-driving cars without a steering wheel, he said: “I don’t know about you, but I still want the steering wheel. I still want a human to be able to step in and take control when needed. “
His experience using the controller to drive the Unitree G1 robot made him feel like the robot was an extension of human ability.
Social robots
Another group of robots that Orrall saw at CES were what he would call social robots. These look more like human, Terminator cyborgs and less like metal structures from early sci-fi. (Sorry, Rosey from The Jetsons.)
Check this out: Making robots look and feel more human
Aria from Realbotix, who looks like a Swedish supermodel, is one such social bot.
Aria from Realbotix is one of the classes of robots that look more like people than metal structures.
“Realbotix is on a mission to make their robots as human-like as possible,” Orrall said. This includes a skin-like cover, motors in the face to create expressions, and a vision system that can lock on and track nearby people and objects.
“What really struck me on my visit to Realbotix was their idea of putting RFID tags inside the silicon cheeks, so when you remove one robot’s face and put another on, the hardware and software will recognize that specific face and will adjust the AI’s movements and Personality to match,” Orrall said.
He compared that technique to how smartphones and computers can run different operating systems and applications and be customized to suit different tastes.
Robots as toys
Some robots Orrall saw at CES strayed from the uncanny valley of human-looking robots and industrial metal looks, making them look like stuffed animals or toys.
TCL Ai Me, pronounced “Amy”, is a concept for a robot companion.
One of them, still a concept right now, is the TCL Ai Me (pronounced “Amy”) robot concept, which rolls around in a little chair, kind of like Baby Yoda in his flying stroller. A head-mounted camera can record video and can use AI to answer questions.
Check this out: TCL Ai Mi Companion Bot is just a baby that follows you around
These robotics companies hope that the cool factor will make their robots attractive.
“Overall, my impression is that the robotics industry, particularly humanoid robotics, is still maturing,” Orrall said. So that “first point in the robotics category” is still up for grabs, he said, and he can’t crown the best robot of CES.
This is probably a good thing. If what I learned from the gleefully outdated sci-fi movies still holds, the robots who didn’t win might get some kind of revenge.
CES 2025: The best product overall, plus 28 more must-see devices (and counting)
See all photos
