Companion Humanoid Robot Market Set to Grow as AI Emotion Models Enable Lifelike Interaction

As populations age worldwide and more people live alone, growing demand for care and emotional companionship is pushing robotics beyond traditional industrial manufacturing and into the consumer market. Companion humanoid robots have consequently emerged as a new frontier for technology giants and startups. Equipped with large AI emotion models, the robots can deliver more lifelike interactions and could help ease caregiver shortages and loneliness, potentially becoming a central platform for the smart home of the future.

Research firm TrendForce said in a study released in July 2026 that the output value of companion humanoid robots is projected to reach $1.1 billion in 2030. Leading manufacturers including UBTECH have introduced bionic robots that combine large AI emotion models with on-device inference. As the supply chain shifts from industrial to consumer applications, commercialization of such products is accelerating.