What is left after the robots?
Minerals, energy and waste: the environmental questions we should ask humanoid manufacturers.
A concern that deserves data
Manufacturing a humanoid robot requires materials and energy. When the equipment stops working or is no longer useful, a concrete question arises: who collects it, and what can be recovered? My concern is that innovation may advance without sufficient plans for maintenance and the end of a product's life.
What we know and what we still need to know
The impacts of mineral supply chains and the problems of electronic waste are documented. But these data do not allow us to calculate the footprint of all humanoids. I do not have my own measurements or a representative inventory of manufacturers. A study by Bassam and colleagues demonstrates a life cycle assessment methodology using a service humanoid model; it does not provide a universal result for the sector.
Assessing the whole task
A fair comparison needs to consider manufacturing, electricity, maintenance, battery replacement, relevant external computing and disposal. It also needs to compare solutions that deliver the same service with similar safety and quality. A useful robot does not, for that reason alone, have a demonstrated environmental advantage.
What I advocate
I advocate transparency about materials, energy use, lifespan, parts and software support. I want the application of European rules to be clarified and any proportionate additional measures to be studied. Repair, reuse and material recovery should be planned from the design stage.
I brought this concern together in a documentary contribution addressed to the European Commission, with 14 references and requests for assessment. The document has not yet been submitted.
Download the contribution (PDF in Portuguese)Sources for this article
- Bassam and colleagues · Life cycle assessment using a humanoid model
- International Energy Agency · Sustainable and Responsible Critical Mineral Supply Chains
- European Commission · Assessment of electronic waste rules in 2025
Accessed on 7 October 2026. The data and dates refer to the publications listed. Personal proposals are identified in the text.