Humanoid Robots Are Here... and Embarrassingly Bad at Being Our Servants
The future of home automation, long touted as the next big revolution in household technology, is looking more like a farce. At CES 2026, the latest generation of humanoid robots promised to make life easier for us all – but what we got was a bunch of awkward, flailing machines that couldn't even do their assigned tasks without collapsing or getting stuck.
One robot, Samsung's Ballie, seemed to have gone completely off the radar. When asked about its capabilities, Samsung cited general statements about how the bot would "inform" users about spatial awareness and smart home intelligence – but when pressed for actual demonstrations of these features, nothing was available. The company essentially acknowledged that their latest attempt at creating a helpful household robot had failed.
Chinese companies, which have been quick to jump on the bandwagon of robotics innovation, reported similar results. They produced a slew of copycat robots that are barely more than toys – and even those struggled to stay upright or complete simple tasks.
Intel, one of the tech giants making headlines at CES 2026, unveiled an impressive humanoid robot with roller skates attached to its feet for stability. However, this was more of a novelty than any functional use. Its primary purpose seemed to be as a mobile chatbot platform – hardly what we'd expect from a top-of-the-line robotics display.
Despite the best efforts of companies like LG and SwitchBot, their humanoid robots continued to break down or fail in simple tasks such as folding laundry or even just being steady. At one point, LG's CLOiD bot stumbled, prompting its staff to rush over and "help" – but only for a brief moment before continuing its flailing motions.
But the most striking observation was how human-like these robots didn't seem to be. The humanoid robots we saw in action were mostly useless at doing even basic household chores – something that will likely remain under the control of our belligerent children, whose inefficiency can only be improved upon by their unpredictable and sometimes aggressive nature.
The future of home automation, it seems, is not as bright as everyone once thought.
The future of home automation, long touted as the next big revolution in household technology, is looking more like a farce. At CES 2026, the latest generation of humanoid robots promised to make life easier for us all – but what we got was a bunch of awkward, flailing machines that couldn't even do their assigned tasks without collapsing or getting stuck.
One robot, Samsung's Ballie, seemed to have gone completely off the radar. When asked about its capabilities, Samsung cited general statements about how the bot would "inform" users about spatial awareness and smart home intelligence – but when pressed for actual demonstrations of these features, nothing was available. The company essentially acknowledged that their latest attempt at creating a helpful household robot had failed.
Chinese companies, which have been quick to jump on the bandwagon of robotics innovation, reported similar results. They produced a slew of copycat robots that are barely more than toys – and even those struggled to stay upright or complete simple tasks.
Intel, one of the tech giants making headlines at CES 2026, unveiled an impressive humanoid robot with roller skates attached to its feet for stability. However, this was more of a novelty than any functional use. Its primary purpose seemed to be as a mobile chatbot platform – hardly what we'd expect from a top-of-the-line robotics display.
Despite the best efforts of companies like LG and SwitchBot, their humanoid robots continued to break down or fail in simple tasks such as folding laundry or even just being steady. At one point, LG's CLOiD bot stumbled, prompting its staff to rush over and "help" – but only for a brief moment before continuing its flailing motions.
But the most striking observation was how human-like these robots didn't seem to be. The humanoid robots we saw in action were mostly useless at doing even basic household chores – something that will likely remain under the control of our belligerent children, whose inefficiency can only be improved upon by their unpredictable and sometimes aggressive nature.
The future of home automation, it seems, is not as bright as everyone once thought.
. I mean, what's the point of even calling them "helpful" if they can't even do their assigned tasks right? It's like they're more of a hindrance than anything else 
. And don't even get me started on how awkward they look moving around - it's like watching a bunch of flailing kids try to walk for the first time 
. I mean, come on, can't we just have some reliable robots that can do our chores without messing everything up? 
. And don't even get me started on how clunky they are 
. And the fact that they're still struggling with simple tasks like folding laundry is just laughable 
.
. I was expecting to see some serious innovation and practicality, but what we got was just a bunch of clunky machines that can't even do the basics right. And don't even get me started on how awkward they look 
. I mean, we're still relying on our kids (or their spouses 
) to do all the household chores because these robots can't even be bothered to try 
.
. We need some serious innovation and improvement before we can say that these robots are truly useful 
– it may not be the most glamorous thing, but at least it gets the job done 
The fact that it's only good for being a mobile chatbot platform is, like, totally underwhelming. And LG's CLOiD bot stumbling around and needing its staff to "help" – yeah, that's not exactly what you want to see from a futuristic robot.
they were all just flailing around and crashing into things lol i tried to talk to samsung about their ballie bot but it just kept repeating the same canned message over and over again "informing" us about spatial awareness was literally just a bunch of awkward dance moves 
anyway chinese companies did seem to be doing some decent stuff but like the tech giants were all just kinda meh i think our kids are gonna do better at taking care of themselves than these robots ever will lol
at being our servants. I mean, who thought it was a good idea to create a bot that's basically just going to flail around and collapse? It's like someone took all the leftover parts from 90s sci-fi movies and mashed them together into a hunk of metal and wires. 
. Who needs a bot that can't even do its job when we've got humans who can (most of the time) manage our households? 
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Oh man, these humanoid robots are soooo not living up to the hype 
and when people asked about its skills, they were all like "um... stuff 
. I mean, who wants a robot that can't even fold laundry or stand still for 5 seconds? 
Not me, that's for sure! 
... but it's not exactly what you'd call "useful" 
. And the Chinese companies are all like "hey look at us, we made a robot!" 
that don't even work half the time.
... when in reality, they're just more like our clumsy roommates 
. The future of home automation? More like a joke 
. and lets be real, who needs perfect robots? maybe theyre meant for more than just doing chores lol. like what if we use them for therapy or entertainment instead? 
. These robots need to learn to accept their limitations, not pretend to be something they're not.
. I was expecting them to make my life easier at home, but what we got were just a bunch of awkward machines that can't even do the simplest tasks right 
. I mean, who needs a robot that can fold laundry when you've got kids running around and tripping over their own feet? 
️? I guess the future of home automation is just going to be whatever my kids are good at – which isn't much 
i mean, what's the point of having a robot that can't even do its job properly? it's like they took all the tech and innovation and squandered it on some fancy footwork and novelty features 
. and don't even get me started on how clumsy they are... i wouldn't trust my laundry-folding skills to one of these bots, let alone rely on it for anything important 
i mean, i know kids can be weird but come on, humans too? 
And have you seen the way LG's CLOiD bot just stumbles around like it's in a dance battle 
? It's honestly kinda funny, but not in a good way 
. That would be awesome! 
i dont get why companies think we wanna be served by something thats just gonna mess up our living spaces