Quadrupeds are working industrial sites, robot pets are testing demand and bio-inspired machines are leaving the lab for open water. The Humanoid Group helps buyers compare, plan and deploy them.
What moved in animal robotics this year.
23,000+ pre-orders and waitlist sign-ups for Tombot's Jennie robot puppy (The Next Web, 2026)
50,000 quadruped robots a year: Unitree's capacity after its Wuxi expansion (Jiemian, 2025)
<1 sec for MIT's puffin-inspired robot to burst from water into flight (NPR, 2026)
Robot.com unveils R-dog, a four-legged delivery robot, as a concept for 2027
· Launch
Robot.com introduced R-dog, a quadruped built to complete deliveries over stairs, curbs and uneven ground where wheeled robots stop, and to carry two video screens for advertising. It is a concept for now, with commercial deployments scheduled for 2027. It runs on the company's REMI fleet platform.
Why it matters: Legs are moving from inspection into delivery, so stairs and thresholds are no longer only a wheeled-robot problem. Treat a 2027 concept as a roadmap item, and ask any maker for pilot dates and a price.
MIT builds a puffin-inspired robot that flies, swims and launches from water
· Research
A paper in Science from Raphael Zufferey's lab at MIT describes a flapping robot inspired by diving seabirds such as the Atlantic puffin. With a wingspan just under three feet and a weight of about half a pound, it flies, swims and bursts from the water into the air in under a second.
Why it matters: Bio-inspired designs keep producing machines that cross boundaries wheels and rotors cannot, such as water to air. For buyers it hints at where survey and inspection robots may go, though this is still a research prototype.
Sony to end sales of its aibo robot dog in Japan once stock runs out
· Milestone
Sony announced on June 25 that it will stop selling the ERS-1000 aibo in Japan when remaining stock is gone. The current model launched in 2018. Sony says it will keep supporting owners with tech support, replacement parts and cloud plans that store the robot's memories.
Why it matters: A pet robot is a long relationship with a company, not a one-off purchase. Before buying one, check how long parts, repairs and cloud services are promised, and what happens if the product line ends.
Service robots— International Federation of Robotics. IFR definition of service robots, with pointers to its annual World Robotics statistics on service robot sales.
Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011— Office for Product Safety and Standards (GOV.UK). Guidance on the duties of toy manufacturers, importers and distributors selling in Great Britain.