CES 2025 recap: Noteworthy robots at this yr’s present

CES 2025 didn’t disappoint, with robots of all shapes and sizes designed for various applications. | Credit: The Robot Report

The annual Consumer Electronics Show brings together the latest in technology product announcements. Last week, Las Vegas was once again full of robotics and AI-based systems. While CES 2025 catered primarily to consumer electronics and robotics, we hunted down the commercial robotics products sprinkled throughout the event.

The week started with a demo ride around the Las Vegas strip in an autonomous Zoox robotaxi. Zoox is now in private beta with the service open to local Zoox employees and guests. The 45-minute ride around the Las Vegas Strip was comfortable and uneventful, with the entertainment being watching bystanders and other drivers take pictures of the vehicle.

The Zoox Robotaxi is a bidirectional, four-wheel drive four-seater with no steering wheel or driver. | Credit: Zoox

SiLC shows accuracy and range

SiLC Technologies had a suite at the top of the Westgate, where it privately demonstrated its silicon photonics-based technology. The company is launching a new 3D laser camera later this year called the Eyeonic Trace, targeted at warehouse applications.

The new 3D scanning device can scan a moving conveyor and produce a submillimeter-accurate 3D image of anything coming down it, including boxes, totes, and pouches. From that data, the items can be scanned for quality or volume, such as before palletizing. SiLC said the Eyeonic Trace is its first turnkey, fully integrated offering.

SILC also demonstrated its long-range lidar by resolving a building 9 km (5.5 mi.) away with centimeter accuracy. Last year, the company presented the same technology, only at a 2 km range.

The Eyeonic Trace is a Class 1 Laser Line Scanner capable of accurately dimensioning objects, even from distances up to 10 m (32.8 ft.). | Credit: SiLC Technologies

Eureka Park features international startups

Eureka Park at CES is where young technology companies show off their products. This is the most interesting part of CES every year, and The Robot Report dedicated an entire day to walking the floor at Eureka Park, looking for new and interesting robotics exhibits.

Pollen Robotics demonstrated the latest generation of its Reachy mobile manipulator. This teleoperated platform features one or two arms on a mobile base. Reachy 2 targets research labs as a data-acquisition platform for training AI foundation models.

Reachy is a modular humanoid platform designed for research. | Credit: Pollen Robotics

4D1 introduced what it calls “indoor GPS”, a ceiling-mounted navigation system for automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).

The ceiling-mounted sensors emit ultrasonic waves that are picked up by an inexpensive sensor mounted on the mobile device. The system can also be mounted on tooling to track the operations of human workers.

2023 RoboBusiness Pitchfire winner Glidance was in attendance, demonstrating the latest prototype of its assistive device for people with sight impairments.

The company is planning the pilot production release later this year. I had the opportunity to test this latest generation, and the device has evolved based on feedback from the field trials in 2024.

Glidance demonstrated the latest working prototype of its guidance device for sight-impaired individuals at the 2025 CES event. | Credit: The Robot Report

Sitting down for a chat with ElliQ

The Robot Report had a private showing of the latest ElliQ social robot and a discussion with Intuition Robotics co-founder and CEO Dor Skuler. The company recently launched the ElliQ Caregiver Solution.

The little tabletop robot is engaging and designed to be a companion for elderly individuals. During the meeting, ElliQ remembered elements of our conversation as it learned more about my interests. The device is designed to be interactive and randomly solicits conversation about topics that are relevant to the user.

Users can play games with the robot, be alerted to upcoming events on their calendars, and receive gentle reminders to take their medications. Responsible caregivers can be alerted to healthcare events such as taking medicine or other therapies.

ElliQ can also easily initiate a video call with loved ones via the companion screen. Intuition Robotics said the system enables users to retain agency in their lives.

ElliQ, from Intuition Robotics, is designed to be a social companion for elderly individuals. | Credit: The Robot Report

Humanoid robots scatter across CES 2025

There were plenty of humanoid robots at the show, although it was a scavenger hunt to find several of them. Unitree Robotics had the most popular pure robotics booth on the show floor. The centrally located booth was continually mobbed by attendees and content creators who wanted a selfie with the Unitree G1 and robodogs, which were up on a platform.

Meanwhile, Agility Robotics‘ Digit demonstrated how humanoids can perform real-world tasks with warehousing demonstrations at the Schaeffler and Accenture booths.

Apptronik‘s Apollo was hidden away in the Texas Instruments suite but wowed the crowd with interactive demos. Startup Open Droids showed off both of its mobile manipulators in Eureka Park, including the single-arm R1D1 and the dual-armed R2D3.

Enchanted Tools also had a popular booth on the CES 2025 show floor, with its Mirokai robot charming visitors. The company is preparing to release and sell its pilot generation of robots later this year.

Mobile manipulator developer Cobionix is in the process of obtaining U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its teleoperated system for remote ultrasound imaging. The company had a static display of its robot in Eureka Park.

Big names launch automation at CES 2025

Several familiar brands also demonstrated their innovations in industrial automation. John Deere launched four autonomous systems at the show. Kubota also introduced several new agriculture-related autonomy platforms, including the CES Innovation Award-winning KATR tractor.

Kubota introduced a novel tractor called KATR, and four-wheel steering and adaptive four-corner wheel struts, the autonomous robot can maintain a level platform on any terrain. | Credit: Kubota

OshKosh, a manufacturer of industrial vehicles such as garbage trucks, fire trucks, high lifts, and jetways had one of the more interesting booths at CES 2025. It provided a look at the next generation of refuse collection, fire fighting, and airport tarmac automation.

The highlight of OshKosh’s booth was a new technology demo called HARR-e, an electric AMR designed to collect refuse on-demand from planned communities, freeing homeowners from taking their trash to a central dumpster.

Suzuki has created a new internal division focused on autonomy, and it launched the first generation of a small autonomous platform suitable for sidewalk delivery or other autonomous vehicle applications.

The company offers a complete mobile robot chassis, including the motors, battery, controls and onboard compute. Customers simply need to add a sensor package necessary for the intended application.

Suzuki is actively seeking development partners to build payloads on top of the platform.

The new Suzuki e-mobility platform offers a complete mobile robot chassis. | Credit: The Robot Report

Autonomous racecars provide a thrilling finish

At CES 2025, the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) featured a progressive, tiered competition format designed to allow university teams at varying levels to compete and showcase their AI driver development. Nine teams competed in three race events.

In a display of cutting-edge AI technology, the Autonomous Tiger Racing – Auburn University team claimed victory in the Tier 1 single-car time trials with a blistering fastest lap average of 163.6 mph. The competition was fierce, with the IU Luddy – Indiana University’s team clocking in with a fastest lap average of 158.0 mph and the Caltech Autonomous Systems and Technologies Racer team – California Institute of Technology reaching a lap average of 144.3 mph.

The day culminated with a historic multi-car exhibition race with four autonomous racecars:

UNIMORE Racing from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy
Cavalier Autonomous Racing from the University of Virginia
PoliMOVE-MSU from Politecnico di Milano from Milan, Italy, with Michigan State University and the University of Alabama
KAISTthe Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

They competed in an open-format 20-lap race including five overtakes, demonstrating the evolution of AI’s ability to manage multi-agent, high-speed autonomy. The multi-car race also demonstrated the first use of autonomous push-to-pass, where the AI drivers had to strategically determine when to use the 30-second 25 mph boost during the race.

The dramatic finish to the 20-lap race had UNIMORE overtake KAIST to win by two car lengths at the line.

The most innovative robotics product at CES 2025

The Absolute Magnetics encoder design features an embedded magnetic wire and a novel sensor orientation to deliver < 0.1-degree precision. | Credit: Absolute Magnetics

The most noteworthy robotics discovery at CES 2025 has to go to Absolute Magneticsa Swiss startup that has developed a novel and patented absolute encoder. As boring as it might be to talk about encoders at CES, especially with all of the flashy tech devices elsewhere in the show, absolute encoders can be critical to designing a robotics axis where calibration to a hard stop is not feasible.

The company’s magnet-based absolute encoder has a unique design. The in-booth demo was impressive and promised to deliver accuracy to <0.1 degrees while rejecting stray magnet fields from the motor.

Absolute Magnetics is launching the technology this year and said it can custom design an encoder for specific motor and axis requirements.