The Hottest Embodied-AI Year Yet, Yet Robot Evolution Is Hard to See With the Naked Eye

At the 2026 World Robot Conference, visitors saw familiar scenes: robots grasping cups, folding clothes, entering factories. The real changes hide beyond the spectacle. Global humanoid shipments topped 22,000 in H1 2026, up nearly 300%, but only about a fifth enter smart manufacturing and warehousing, as companies race over generalization and copying abilities.