Paris (France) (AFP) – Humanoid robots able to perform tasks from grape harvesting to welcoming visitors were front and centre at France's Vivatech trade fair this week, with European firms looking to fill niches beyond what dominant Chinese giants can offer.
Issued on: 19/06/2026 - 11:08
4 min Reading time
French company Enchanted Tools was showing off its Mirokai, a "social" robot with long orange ears and wide blue eyes.Able to communicate in over 50 languages, prototypes of the Paris-based firm's machine are already out in the wild welcoming people to hospitals and airports, marketing chief Richard Malterre said on a Vivatech stage.The start-up hopes its first mass-produced models will arrive by the end of this year."At least 60 percent of the robot is manufactured in Europe, and we're fighting to keep it that way," Malterre told AFP.But some of the AI robotics know-how is "not necessarily available" in Europe, he said, such as the graphics processors from American chip giant Nvidia that power Mirokai's brain as well as the broader generative AI boom.'Dark factories'When it comes to sheer robotics production capacity, China is unrivalled thanks to companies including Unitree and Agibot.
