From Brains to Batteries, How Long Until There’s a Humanoid In Your Home?

When ‘I, Robot’ first hit cinemas in 2004, most of us thought humanoid robots belonged firmly in the realm of sci-fi. It was the age of flip phones and MSN Messenger, when the idea of a walking, talking robot in your living room felt as distant as flying cars. Yet two decades later, it’s starting to look less like a movie plot and more like a matter of time.

Today, AI models like Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini are household names. Self-driving technology is advancing fast and in restaurants, airports, and shops worldwide, robot assistants and cleaners are already taking on basic tasks. Which leaves one question: how long until you have a humanoid in your home?

Into the uncanny valley

Humanoid robots are being announced left, right, and centre. In 2022, Elon Musk unveiled Tesla’s Optimus robot. More recently, Chinese company Xpeng revealed a humanoid so lifelike and fluid in its movements that it had to be cut open on stage to prove there wasn’t a person inside. And in Palo Alto, startup 1X has gone viral after its new Neo robot went up for pre-order, meaning you can technically buy one already.

But don’t start clearing space in your living room just yet. Despite the hype, a lot needs to happen on both the brain and the battery side before these robots can move beyond staged demos and truly deliver on their promises.

Not as clever as you might think

While large language models are thriving, the leap to a truly capable humanoid robot is massive. Homes are unpredictable places, full of quirks no robot has ever been trained on. The first thing a humanoid would need to do is recognise every object around it, then figure out how to use them. Not everyone has the same vacuum cleaner, coffee machine, or fridge. If you’ve ever wanted to feel smarter than AI, this is your moment. Something as simple as opening a new jar or figuring out how to turn on your oven is far trickier than it sounds for a robot.

And that’s before they even begin to understand how all those objects interact. That takes an enormous amount of training data. Take Tesla’s self-driving feature which was rolled out gradually, trained on millions of hours of real-world driving data, with human drivers acting as built-in safety nets. Roads might seem complex, but they’re actually highly structured. Traffic lights follow rules, lanes are marked, and most behaviour is predictable. Homes are a different story. No two are the same, objects can vary wildly, and layouts shift constantly. A robot trained in one household could walk straight into a wall in another.

That’s why robots like those from 1X, even though available for pre-order, are still a long way from being truly autonomous. They can handle a few basic tasks alone, but most actions are still controlled remotely by human operators. It sounds futuristic until you realise your “AI-powered” housekeeper might actually just be a human steering it around with a joystick. Slightly creepy, and definitely not the kind of science fiction we were promised.

And it’s not an isolated case. Amazon Fresh’s so-called checkout-free stores were later revealed to rely on hundreds of workers in India monitoring video feeds to confirm what customers picked up. Meta’s smart glasses launch was another example, a public spectacle that promised the future but delivered little more than an awkward failed demo (worth a watch if you need a laugh). And now, with humanoid robots going up for pre-order long before they’re truly capable, it’s clear the tech world just can’t resist a premature release. Maybe it’s time some of these companies took a note from Grand Theft Auto and wait until things are actually ready before releasing them.

Battery life matters

I might be revealing my age here, but quite frankly there’s nothing more irritating than when you’ve just started vacuuming the house and it cuts out halfway through. Now imagine the same thing happens with your humanoid robot. According to McKinsey, most humanoids still run for only two to four hours on a single charge, which isn’t great if your goal is to never lift a finger again. Who knows when you’ll decide to have a midnight snack and want the dishes put away, you certainly don’t want to wake up to the evidence.

That’s why sustained uptime is so important for humanoid robots to succeed, and why advances in battery technology are critical. Without longer runtimes, the dream of a reliable, always-on household robot simply falls apart.

Xpeng, for instance, is investing heavily in solid-state batteries to power its humanoid line. These batteries promise higher energy density, improved safety, and faster charging compared to today’s lithium-ion cells. In theory, that means smaller, lighter batteries that store more energy, allowing robots to operate for longer periods without overheating or wearing out. The challenge is that solid-state batteries are still mostly confined to the research lab rather than large-scale production, so it could be years before they appear in everyday devices.

UBTECH, one of the more established names in humanoid robotics, has taken a different approach. The company recently showcased a model capable of swapping its own batteries, paving the way for modular systems where robots can refuel themselves without human help. That kind of self-maintenance could be essential in the future, especially for robots working in environments where manual charging is not practical.

And then there is Nyobolt, whose ultra-fast charging technology is transforming the robotics and humanoids space by enabling continuous operation through smart charging during brief operational stops like loading and unloading. Nyobolt’s NWO anode technology combines high C-rate charging capability with safety, energy density, and long cycle life – attributes that traditional lithium-ion batteries struggle to deliver simultaneously. With low internal resistance that minimises heat generation, electrode materials optimized for rapid lithium-ion intercalation, and exceptional cycle stability, Nyobolt technology allows robots to run multiple shifts without extended charging breaks. This technology’s higher energy density compared to alternatives like LTO or supercapacitors also enables smaller, more cost-effective battery systems, effectively removing the traditional charging bottleneck from automated fleet operations.

So, how long will it really take?

Goldman Sachs predicts the global market for humanoid robots could reach $38 billion by 2035, meaning they’re not just a passing trend. With that level of investment, improvements in mobility, dexterity, and autonomy are almost guaranteed. But it won’t happen overnight. Many experts believe the real turning point will come in the late 2030s, once the technology becomes more reliable and the world grows comfortable with machines working alongside people in everyday life.

Until then, we’ll likely keep seeing the same pattern: big promises, flashy demos, and gradual progress behind the scenes. The revolution might take longer than expected, but when it arrives it could become one of the most transformative shifts of the century.