Explore what happens when AI moves beyond the screen.
What would you want a robot to help with? An everyday chore, a repetitive workplace task, a difficult inspection, or something people cannot safely reach?
WhatAI’s Robotics hub is a starting point for exploring the machines, ideas and technology behind those possibilities. Get familiar with different types of robots, understand the role AI plays, and consider what a system would need to do to become useful in a real setting.
Whether you are curious about humanoids, exploring automation for a business, or learning how to build something yourself, start with the task and the environment. Look at the capabilities alongside the practical questions: control, reliability, safety, cost and the people involved.
Discover what is being built. Understand what has been demonstrated. Explore what could come next.
Where should you start? Learn the basics below, explore a type of robotics that interests you, or join the community to discuss a project, development or question.
How AI and Robotics Work Together
Robotics brings together hardware and software to carry out physical actions. AI can help a robotic system interpret information from sensors, recognise objects, plan a task or respond to changes in its surroundings. You may see this discussed as physical AI or embodied AI. Robotics and AI are not interchangeable. A robot does not have to use AI, and adding an AI model does not automatically make a machine capable of working independently in every situation. Understanding a system means looking at its hardware, software, operating conditions and level of human control together.
Cameras and other sensors provide information about the surroundings. Perception systems help interpret that information, such as identifying an object, estimating its position or detecting an obstacle.
Planning connects a goal to a sequence of actions. For a mobile robot, this can include working out where to move; for a robotic arm, it can involve choosing how to approach and handle an object.
Picking something up involves more than recognising it. Grasping, positioning and controlling movement bring the robot’s physical design and control systems into the task.
Some robotics models connect visual information and language instructions to physical actions. The important question is how accurately the complete system carries out the instruction, including when the situation changes.
Explore Different Types of Robotics
Start with the job and the setting, rather than the appearance of the machine. What needs to move, what needs to be handled, and who will work alongside it? Use these categories to explore different approaches and the questions worth asking about each.
Explore robots designed around a human-like body and the tasks that shape their development. Consider where that form could be useful, such as reaching into workspaces or handling objects designed for people. Then look at the specific capability being demonstrated. A human-like shape is not, by itself, evidence of general-purpose ability.
Explore robotic arms, mobile systems and automation for moving goods, handling materials, assembly and inspection. Start with a particular process: what needs to happen, how consistently, and under which conditions? Look at how a system would fit the existing operation, including the setup, staff involvement, maintenance and changes needed around it.
Explore machines designed to move through roads, airspace, fields and other environments. Focus on the conditions a system is intended to handle, rather than treating “autonomous” as a complete explanation. Ask where it can operate, what supervision is involved, and what happens when weather, obstacles or connectivity complicate the task.
Explore how robotic systems support healthcare, while keeping their intended use and the clinician’s role clear. Robot-assisted surgery should not be confused with a machine independently deciding on and performing treatment. Look for evidence about the specific system and procedure, the training involved, and the limits of the claims being made.
Start with the everyday task: cleaning a space, moving an item, helping a customer or assisting with a routine. Consider what using the robot would involve beyond its headline feature. How much preparation, supervision and maintenance would you need to provide? Explore whether the system would genuinely reduce the work in the setting you have in mind.
What Makes a Robot Useful in Practice?
Start with a clear task and a realistic setting. Before deciding that a robot is a good fit, ask what completing the whole job would involve, including the preparation, interruptions and support around it.
Look for repeated results, not just a successful attempt. What happens when an object slips, an obstacle appears or the task cannot be completed? Ask how the system detects a problem and whether it can recover or needs help.
Find out which parts of the task the robot performs independently. Does a person prepare the environment, approve actions, control movements remotely or step in when something goes wrong? Include that involvement when assessing the result.
Check operating time for the actual task, rather than relying on an isolated battery figure. Consider charging, battery changes, workload and any other interruptions that would affect how long the system remains useful.
Look beyond the advertised hardware price. Ask what is included and what you would still need to pay for, such as installation, software, accessories, training, servicing or repairs. Consider who would support the system after purchase.
Ask how the robot would operate around the people, objects and spaces involved. Look for clearly defined operating limits, appropriate safeguards and a way to stop or intervene. Consider whether a simpler approach would meet the same need.
What Does a Robotics Demonstration Actually Show?
When watching a robot complete a task, separate the result you can see from the conclusions you are being asked to draw.
Start with the task itself. Was the robot shown completing the whole job or one part of it? Was the environment prepared? Is the footage continuous, edited or sped up? Does the explanation identify any remote control, human assistance or retries?
Then consider the evidence beyond that example. Are there repeated trials, documented limitations or reports from people using the system in the intended setting? Is it a research project, a pilot or a product available to customers?
Missing information does not prove that a demonstration is misleading. It does mean there are questions left unanswered.
Humanoid Robotics
Explore robots designed around a human-like body and the tasks that shape their development. Consider where that form could be useful, such as reaching into workspaces or handling objects designed for people. Then look at the specific capability being demonstrated. A human-like shape is not, by itself, evidence of general-purpose ability.
Industrial Robotics & Automation
Explore robotic arms, mobile systems and automation for moving goods, handling materials, assembly and inspection. Start with a particular process: what needs to happen, how consistently, and under which conditions? Look at how a system would fit the existing operation, including the setup, staff involvement, maintenance and changes needed around it.
Autonomous Vehicles, Drones & Mobility
Explore machines designed to move through roads, airspace, fields and other environments. Focus on the conditions a system is intended to handle, rather than treating “autonomous” as a complete explanation. Ask where it can operate, what supervision is involved, and what happens when weather, obstacles or connectivity complicate the task.
Major Robotics Companies
Follow dated, sourced coverage of robotics companies and evaluate each system by its task, operating conditions, human involvement and evidence.
AI Vision, Navigation & Planning in Robotics
Explore how sensing, planning and control work together, and assess the complete system rather than one model or component in isolation.
Robotics Questions, Projects and Experiences
What would you like to understand, build or see a robot do? Join the conversation about robot platforms, physical AI, practical applications and the challenges of working with hardware. Share a development that caught your attention, ask about an unfamiliar concept, or explain something you learned from a project. Hands-on experience is valuable, but you do not need to own a robot to contribute. A thoughtful question, a useful source or a different perspective can help move a discussion forward. When sharing a result, explain the task, equipment, conditions and human involvement. When sharing someone else’s claim, include the source and distinguish what was shown from your interpretation.
Keep Exploring Physical AI
Follow the part of robotics that interests you most. Read further into an application, learn about the AI models behind a capability, or explore the bigger questions about robots in homes, workplaces and shared spaces. Bring what you discover back to the conversation. What looks useful? What needs more evidence? What would you approach differently? Ask. Share. Read. Watch and Learn for free with WhatAI.
Join the Robotics Discussion →