I’ve worked at the bleeding edge of robotics innovation in the United States for almost my entire professional life. Never before have I seen another country advance so quickly. In the span of the last few years, China has overtaken the U.S. as the leader in the robotics race, especially when it comes to humanoid robots designed to mimic the human body and behavior. Earlier this year China literally raced robots against human counterparts, and they show no sign of slowing down. While AI steals the investment and media spotlight, the competition for humanoid robotics supremacy has been quietly accelerating for 50 years, and we’re now on the cusp of a momentous breakthrough. Mass-produced humanoid robots may reach us within the next 3–5 years, and the market is predicted to grow to $38B within just 10 years. China is poised to capture the lion’s share of this industry: Morgan Stanley found that 56% of robotics companies are already based there. However, this competition isn’t just about market share—it’s about industrial supremacy. Fixed industrial robots now operate with productivity rates estimated to be 10 times that of humans, working almost 24/7 with virtually no errors. In this new era of free-moving humanoid robots, adaptable machines will navigate entire factory floors with equal precision and even higher productivity rates than their fixed (and human) counterparts.

Full opinion : How China is stealing the march in the humanoid robots race and what the U.S. can do to stay ahead.