When robots begin to mirror us
Humanoid robots are evolving into social actors. How are design, trust and open-source reshaping our relationship with machines?
Humanoid robots have long been a staple of science fiction. One hundred years ago, Thea von Harbou featured the Maschinenmensch (machine-human) in her novel Metropolis, which was famously adapted into a film by Fritz Lang. Half a century later, this robot inspired C-3PO’s initial design.
Nowadays, fiction is becoming reality. And that brings challenges for both sides, humans and machines alike. Relationship status: It’s complicated.
For most of their history, robots have been hidden in plain sight. They have lived inside factories and warehouses, carrying out repetitive, often dangerous tasks with speed and endurance. They were anonymous, practical, and profoundly utilitarian.
But now, something remarkable is happening. Robots are emerging from the industrial shadows and entering everyday life – our hospitals, our offices, our schools, even our homes. And as they do, the expectations we place on them shift dramatically. It’s no longer enough for a robot to be precise, strong, and reliable. We want them to be present.
At NEXT25, this transition will come into focus in a conversation with Jérôme Monceaux – creator of the humanoid robot Mirokaï and previously the visionary behind Nao and Pepper – and Jens Fabrowsky of Neura Robotics. They will raise a profound question: What does it mean when robots begin to mirror human presence? And what kind of relationship do we want with machines that are no longer just tools, but potential companions?
From tools to companions
When industrial robots weld, screw, or lift, we don’t ask them to smile. We don’t care if their movements are graceful or if they seem aware of us. Their only responsibility is to perform their task safely and consistently.
Social robots, by contrast, face an entirely different challenge. They have to earn trust, acceptance, even affection. In a hospital ward, a care home, or a classroom, it’s not enough for a robot to simply deliver functionality. People respond to its presence, its appearance, its gestures.
That is why designers like Monceaux talk about “enchantment” as a central design principle. His Paris-based startup Enchanted Tools has created Mirokaï, a humanoid with a child-like, animal-inspired character. With big expressive eyes, soft gestures, and a sense of narrative charm, Mirokaï is not simply a tool – it is a presence designed to reduce anxiety, loneliness, and alienation.
In this sense, social robots invert the industrial paradigm. Functionality is still necessary, but emotion becomes the differentiator.
The human space around robots
If Enchanted Tools approaches robotics from the angle of empathy, Neura Robotics emphasises awareness. Their humanoids, such as MAiRA and 4NE-1, are equipped with advanced sensors that detect not just objects, but people – and, crucially, the space around those people.
When someone approaches, the robot slows down. Step closer, and it slows further. Enter a protective zone, and it halts altogether. This mirrors an unspoken rule of human interaction: we constantly adjust our movements based on proximity, respecting personal space.
This is not storytelling. It’s not designed to charm in the way Mirokaï does. Instead, it builds trust through predictability. The machine acknowledges your presence and behaves as a considerate partner.
Hugging Face: robotics as a commons
And then there’s Hugging Face – the unlikely entrant in the robotics race. Known as the poster child for open-source AI, Hugging Face recently acquired Pollen Robotics and launched the Reachy Mini, a desk-sized humanoid priced at just $299.
Reachy Mini isn’t a polished assistant with a fixed purpose. It’s an invitation. It ships with open-source designs, Python programmability, and direct integration into Hugging Face’s AI Hub – a platform of 1.7 million models and hundreds of thousands of datasets.
In other words: anyone can extend, remix, or repurpose it.
The balancing act: functionality and emotion
Taken together, these three approaches highlight a crucial tension in robotics today: the balance between functionality and emotional connection.
Enchanted Tools puts emotion at the centre, designing robots that comfort and delight, with functionality wrapped inside character and story.
Neura Robotics emphasises industrial-grade function and safety, yet inevitably mirrors human presence through motion and spatial awareness.
Hugging Face foregrounds openness and creativity, making robots accessible platforms for experimentation rather than polished products.
Each path reflects a different vision of how humans and robots might coexist. Yet all three point toward the same horizon: robots as more than tools.
Why emotional connection matters
Sceptics often dismiss emotional robotics as superficial. Why bother giving a robot a friendly face or fluid gestures? Isn’t that just cosmetic design layered on top of hardware and software?
But humans are wired for stories. We see intention in movement and emotion in expression. If we ignore this fact, robots will always seem alien to us. However, if we embrace it, robots can become part of our world.
In healthcare, this matters enormously. Patients respond better to care when they feel seen and comforted. In education, children engage more deeply with tools that spark their imagination. Even in industry, workers collaborate more effectively with machines they trust and understand.
Emotional connection is not an afterthought. It is a force multiplier for adoption, engagement, and effectiveness.
Beyond the uncanny valley
Of course, there are risks. Push too far toward human likeness, and robots tumble into the uncanny valley – that unsettling territory where they look almost human, but not quite. Trust evaporates, and instead of comfort, we feel discomfort.
This is why the design choices of companies like Enchanted Tools are so interesting. By leaning into a character that is clearly not human – part fox, part child, part fantasy creature – Mirokaï avoids the uncanny valley altogether. It invites empathy without triggering unease.
Similarly, Neura Robotics doesn’t try to disguise its machines as humans. They remain visibly robotic, but they behave in ways that signal human-like awareness. The trust comes not from appearance but from motion and respect.
And Hugging Face, by going small and open-source, sidesteps the valley entirely. Their robots are platforms, not illusions – more creative kits than social stand-ins.
The strategic horizon
So, where is all this heading?
In healthcare and elder care, robots like Mirokaï may become vital companions, alleviating loneliness and supporting overworked staff.
In industry, Neura’s humanoids could redefine collaboration, enabling factories and warehouses where humans and robots share space seamlessly.
In education, research, and creativity, Hugging Face’s open platforms could seed a new generation of roboticists and applications we haven’t yet imagined.
The strategic stakes are high. Whoever defines the norms of human–robot interaction today will shape how society accepts or resists these machines tomorrow. If we don’t get the interaction right, people won’t accept robots – no matter how powerful the technology is. Presence matters as much as performance.
When robots mirror us
The phrase “mirror human presence” sounds technical, but it points to something profound. The more robots reflect our own behaviours – adjusting their movements to ours, echoing our gestures, responding to our voices – the more we begin to see them as social actors rather than tools.
This raises hard questions. If a robot comforts us, is that manipulation? If it mirrors us too well, does it blur the line between human and machine in ways that unsettle identity? And if it doesn’t mirror us enough, do we simply reject it?
These are not technical challenges alone. They are cultural, ethical, and philosophical. Which is precisely why conferences like NEXT put them on stage: because the way we design robots today will reverberate through the fabric of tomorrow’s society.
Beyond utility
Robots are crossing a threshold. They are no longer hidden in factories. They are entering our everyday spaces, and with them comes a new responsibility: to design not just for utility, but for presence.
Mirokaï reminds us that emotion can be central to design, and that enchantment is a powerful form of functionality.
Neura Robotics shows that trust and safety are themselves emotional currencies, built through respectful, human-aware behaviour.
Hugging Face demonstrates that openness and community can shape not just software, but embodied machines.
The lesson is clear: the future of robotics is not just about what robots can do. It is about how robots make us feel.
And as they begin to mirror us more closely – in movement, in awareness, in presence – the question is no longer whether we will accept them. It is how much of ourselves we are willing to see reflected in them.
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First published at nextconf.eu. Picture by Enchanted Tools