BOSTON — This week’s Robotics Summit in Boston buzzed with excitement as tech industry professionals congregated alongside various humanoid robots to discuss advancements in autonomous technology, but one topic that wasn’t officially on the table was tariffs. However, it soon became clear that trade tensions were very much on everyone’s minds.
During the keynote speech, Boston Dynamics’ Chief Technology Officer Aaron Saunders was upfront about avoiding tariff discussions, humorously advising the packed audience to ask him anything except trade tariffs. Nonetheless, as summit attendees explored the event’s exhibits at Boston’s convention center, they couldn’t ignore the impact of President Donald Trump’s extensive global tariffs, particularly those affecting trade with China.
According to Steve Crowe, chair of the Robotics Summit & Expo, the looming shadow of tariffs sparked numerous conversations in informal settings throughout the event. The complexity of building robots, which requires various components like sensors, semiconductors, and rare earth magnets, makes the robotics sector especially vulnerable to international trade disputes.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently highlighted potential delays in developing its Optimus humanoid robots due to China’s restriction on rare earth magnet shipments. This sentiment echoed at the summit, with industry insiders like Pras Velagapudi, CTO of Agility Robotics, noting both challenges and new opportunities for sourcing components locally.
Velagapudi’s company is deploying its humanoid robot Digit at a U.S. plant run by Schaeffler, a German manufacturer. Al Makke from Schaeffler suggested that tariffs might spur companies to bring production back to the U.S., driving up automation due to the high cost and shortage of local labor.
Currently, the majority of industrial robots in the U.S. assist car manufacturing and are primarily imported from countries like Japan, Germany, and South Korea. However, data from the International Federation of Robotics shows a 9.6% increase in robot installations within U.S. auto plants over the past year.
Humanoid robots, though still a niche segment, captivated the summit’s attendees. Boston Dynamics did not showcase their Atlas humanoid but highlighted their four-legged Spot robots. Another intriguing exhibit was Unitree’s G1 humanoid, controlled remotely to perform simple gestures—a robot with limited industrial applicability for now.
Unitree’s Vice President Tony Yang shared that high tariffs on Chinese goods would inflate the G1’s cost significantly in the U.S., although the company’s focus remains on long-term market evolution. Yang expressed optimism for the expanding use of humanoids in both industrial and domestic settings.
Elsewhere at the conference, participants enjoyed recreational activities with Tennibot, a robot designed for sports like pickleball. Co-founder Haitham Eletrabi emphasized the tangled web of the global supply chain and how tariffs add to the uncertainty surrounding component sourcing and production.
The geopolitical climate, exacerbated by the U.S.-China trade tensions, is also affecting the job market. Francesca Torsiello from Adapt Talent observed growing hesitation from Canadian professionals about pursuing work in the U.S. due to the current political landscape.