Singapore firms explore humanoid robots to ease worker crunch

SINGAPORE – It may be years before robots like Star Wars’ C-3PO become regular co-workers in Singapore, but recent videos of robots able to dance and perform somersaults have sparked business interest in putting these autonomous machines to work.

Spurred by manpower shortages and advances in artificial intelligence that have expanded the range of tasks machines can perform, more businesses are exploring whether robots can be deployed to augment their workforce amid worker shortages.

These range from two-legged humanoids, or robots designed to resemble humans, to quadrupeds that take after dogs, as well as robots on wheels.

Singapore-based AI and robotics firm dConstruct Robotics is seeing the interest first-hand.

Its chief executive Chinn Lim said: “Many of the clients and prospective clients who approach us are from industries facing manpower constraints, particularly in roles that require on-site work in rugged environments and exposure to the elements.

“These roles often also demand a high level of technical precision.”

With interest on the rise, market research firm Forrester expects more businesses to launch trials over the next two years through 2028.

In its 2025 global survey, 69 per cent of decision-makers said they were adopting or planning to adopt humanoid robots. Respondents also reported that when robots were used in repetitive, tedious and time-consuming workflows, they cut processing errors by 40 per cent and labour costs by 20 per cent.

Forrester’s principal analyst Charlie Dai said that in Singapore, banks, public healthcare operators, transport operators and large facility managers are studying their deployment, alongside logistics providers and advanced manufacturers.

A local example is Dexie, a social humanoid robot developed by SingHealth Community Hospitals and their partners to support cognitive stimulation in patients with dementia. 

Mr Dai said: “Singapore sits in the early-pragmatic adopter tier globally: behind China and Japan in scale, but ahead of many Western markets in real-world pilots.

“Adoption is relatively fast due to strong public-sector sponsorship and regulatory openness, but slower at scale because of high costs, risk aversion and limited domestic manufacturing depth.”

Enterprise adoption received a boost in November 2025, when the Infocomm Media Development Authority launched the Autonomous Mobile Robots x Digital Leaders initiative.

The three-year programme aims to help 500 digitally mature enterprises adopt autonomous robots, with the agency co-funding half of integration and interoperability costs.

While advances in robots’ dexterity have impressed many over the past two years, the technology is still not mature enough for most pilot projects to move into full deployment.

“While tasks such as using a screwdriver to fasten a small 2cm screw may seem simple for a human worker, replicating that level of fine motor control consistently in a robot remains technically complex,” said dConstruct’s Mr Lim.

For humanoid robots, moving on two limbs is mechanically difficult and energy-intensive, and their larger number of robot joints increases cost, maintenance and reliability considerations, he added.

Mr Tung Meng Fai, executive director of Singapore’s National Robotics Programme (NRP), said that although costs are falling fast, these robots remain sizeable investments.

“It’s not like buying a laptop or tablet... you also require engineers or technicians to maintain the robots,” he said.

NRP, which is hosted under national research agency A*STAR, is working with the wider ecosystem to help businesses keep pace with the technology’s developments, including through events such as the robotics supply chain workshop that it plans to hold later in 2026.

“We need to work with the ecosystem to help enterprises understand the developments happening around the world, understand the technology and at the same time, help them to stay grounded,” Mr Tung said.

With AI and robotic solutions becoming more accessible, he urged companies to take a holistic approach to the tasks they want to automate. In cleaning, for example, robot cleaners could be complemented by AI-powered cameras.

“Sometimes you try to solve only that particular issue... you may be missing the larger picture and the optimisation from the system,” he said.

For small or medium-sized enterprises, which make up 99 per cent of firms here, NRP is supporting outreach through trade associations such as the Singapore Business Federation or AutomationSG, which companies can tap for knowledge and resources.

“There are companies that offer robot maintenance, and you just basically pay as a service,” Mr Tung said, referring to robot-as-a-service models that can lower upfront costs.

He urged employers to focus on solving operational pain points rather than replacing workers.

Designing robots to take over unpleasant tasks such as toilet cleaning would be better received by cleaners than trying to replace them entirely, which would also be more costly and technically more complex.

“If you want to design a robot that can do a lot of things, it’s going to cost you a lot,” he said.

Mr Dai said organisations should be prepared for upfront cost surges. “Return on investment improves only when robots replace variability and fatigue, not when they attempt to replace whole jobs prematurely,” he said.

For companies still sitting on the fence, Mr Lim warned that waiting too long carries its own risks. Prolonged delays can entrench resistance to change within organisations and widen the skills gap, making it harder to pivot once the technology matures.

“Our advice is to start small. Companies do not need to commit to large-scale deployments immediately – they can begin with a proof of concept to familiarise their teams with the technology and understand how it can fit into their operations,” he said.