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Realbotix aims to make its robots as human as possible, and at CES 2026 I had the opportunity to interview them — including a new robot named David.
last yearMy video on Realbotix was the most viewed video I produced at CES. The company’s humanoid robots stand in place on a moving stand that also houses their battery. Not a bad way to hide potential battery bulges and robot malfunctions.
These robots are not designed to go upstairs or walk around. They are supposed to stand still and talk to people. Maybe from behind the concierge desk, or maybe at the information booth giving instructions, or maybe in a group home escorting people.
As someone who stands there and talks for a living, I was a bit dismayed, especially after asking the bot to deliver the end of the video.
The new robot man from Realbotix David.
Trying to imitate human form, emotion and facial movements inevitably meant that Realbotix had to charge straight through Uncanny Valley, a term used to describe the point where something looks human, but not quite, creating a profound feeling of unease.
In my opinion, Realbotix still has a long way to go before the company achieves the reality illusion it says it’s chasing. However, I will say that there were times during the interview when the robot appeared to be looking at me, and that felt very strange.
Realbotix is developing a vision system that can follow people around them. However, that wasn’t present in the robots I was interviewing, so those moments of eye contact were just an “optical illusion,” according to Realbotix CEO Andrew Kegel.
To watch my interview with Realbotix robots (and the company’s CEO), watch the video in this article.