Are humanoid robots safe around kids and pets?

Nobody can yet say a home humanoid is safe around children and pets, because no home humanoid has published independent safety testing for that use. Makers describe soft bodies, weak joints and pinch-free designs, which are sensible claims, but they are the makers’ own claims, and no home humanoid has reached ordinary households in verified numbers. Until one does, treat any humanoid as a supervised machine, not a babysitter.

This guide lays out what each maker actually says, what a 30 to 90 kilogram robot can do if something goes wrong, and simple rules for a house with kids or animals.

What the makers say

1X NEO. 1X’s page lists a soft lattice body with no pinch points and an HIC below 250. HIC is the head injury criterion, a number used in crash testing. NEO weighs 66 pounds, walks at up to 1.4 m/s and can run at up to 6.2 m/s. Its body is rated IP44 (splash proof) and its hands IP68. CEO Bernt Børnich told Road to VR that NEO cannot pick up overly heavy, hot or sharp things, and 1X says owners can limit it from entering parts of the home. See 1X NEO.

Figure 03. Figure’s launch post says multi-density foam covers pinch points and soft textile replaces hard machined parts, and that the battery has multiple protection layers and holds UN38.3 certification. In a TIME interview, CEO Brett Adcock said the robot is not built strong enough to cause physical harm (“You’ll be able to overpower all the robots”), that Figure uses an internal version of Asimov’s laws and tracks about 15 safety areas, and that getting the robot “to be extremely safe in the home long-term is a really hard problem.” Figure 03 is not on sale. See Figure 03.

Sunday Memo. Sunday says you can push Memo’s limbs during a task and it will not resist, that it will not suddenly drop its weight or fall if power is cut, that it has a soft silicone shell with no sharp corners, and that it is designed to be safe around children. It moves at about half a human’s pace for most tasks. Humanoids Daily reported it weighs about 170 pounds. Memo is wheeled and in beta. See Sunday Memo.

Unitree. Unitree’s H2 page says to keep a safe distance from the robot because of its strength, and calls it a civilian robot. The G1 page notes that the humanoid industry is at an early stage. The G1 weighs about 35 kg and the H2 about 70 kg. These are research and demo robots, and the pages contain no child or pet guidance. See Unitree G1 and Unitree H2.

Tesla. On the October 2026 earnings call Musk said the design still needs tweaks to make Optimus safe, reliable and durable. Tesla sells no consumer robot.

Boston Dynamics Atlas. Atlas lists human detection and fenceless guarding, but it weighs about 90 kg, is built for factories and is not a home robot.

What we do not know

• Independent testing. None of the maker pages we reviewed cites a third-party home-safety certification for the robot as a whole. Figure cites UN38.3 for its battery, which covers battery transport and not the robot’s behavior in a house.
• Falls. Walking robots can fall. None of the makers publishes fall rates or what happens if one lands on a child or a dog.
• Pets. We found no pet-specific testing from any maker. Animals react to moving machines in unpredictable ways, and no maker says how its robot detects or avoids one.
• Real homes. Figure’s blind test covered 30 homes where the robot failed about 4 in 10 full tasks. A robot that fails often needs a person nearby.

The remote operator question

If a robot uses remote experts, a stranger may see your children through its cameras. 1X says owners schedule sessions, can set no-go zones and that faces are blurred, but we could not verify its policy. Read the privacy guide before such a robot enters a child’s room.

Rules for a house with kids or pets

1. Supervise. Do not leave a humanoid alone with an infant, a toddler or a pet. Treat it like a power tool left running.
2. Start in an empty room. Run it alone first, with children and animals out, and learn how it moves and falls.
3. Use no-go zones. Block off stairs, children’s rooms and nurseries where the robot allows it.
4. Mind the charger. NEO charges through a cord that snaps onto its hip, and Figure 03 charges on a mat through its feet. Keep cables and charging spots out of reach.
5. Keep hands out of joints. Teach children not to grab, climb or hang on the robot.
6. Know the off switch. Before delivery, learn how to stop the robot instantly.
7. Ask your insurer. We found no maker guidance on household insurance. Ask your homeowner’s insurer how a robot is covered.
8. Choose wheeled or small if safety is the priority. A wheeled robot such as Memo cannot fall the way a walking one can, though it can still pin or tip. This is general reasoning, not a maker claim.

Should you wait?

If children under five or large dogs live in the house, waiting for independent owner reports and published safety data is reasonable. A robot vacuum carries far less risk today. For what these robots can actually do, see what a home humanoid can do.