Morgan Stanley Sees Public Perception As A Key Hurdle For Humanoid Robots

Morgan Stanley has tempered its near-term optimism on humanoid robots, saying the industry’s biggest challenge may extend beyond technology to public acceptance, even as it maintains its forecast for Chinese shipments this year.

Morgan Stanley Takes A More Cautious View

Morgan Stanley has repeatedly raised its forecast for China’s humanoid robot shipments in 2026, increasing it from 14,000 units in January to 28,000 and later to 50,000. However, in a note published on Tuesday, the bank said large-scale adoption may depend not only on technological progress but also on how humanoid robots are perceived by the public.

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Public Acceptance Could Shape Adoption

The bank said humanoid robots are often presented as direct replacements for workers rather than as tools for hazardous, repetitive or labour-constrained tasks. According to the analysts, public acceptance could become as important as technical performance because the way robots are positioned may influence both policymakers and adoption by businesses.

Morgan Stanley also said investors, including the bank itself, may have underestimated the extent to which humanoid robots could complement rather than replace human workers. The analysts pointed to potential benefits including easing labour shortages, improving the economics of new manufacturing facilities and creating demand for maintenance, operations and other supporting roles.

Investors Shift Focus To Commercial Returns

The bank said investors are becoming less focused on demonstration videos and prototypes and are placing greater emphasis on measurable returns on investment. While commercial adoption is expanding, Morgan Stanley described it as both “early” and “narrow,” suggesting the next stage of growth will depend on proving productivity gains in real-world applications.

U.S. Restrictions Add Pressure

Morgan Stanley said geopolitical developments could also weigh on the sector. On Tuesday, the Trump administration banned imports of new Chinese humanoid and quadruped robots, citing national security concerns. According to the bank, the restrictions could increase research and development costs because low-cost Chinese humanoid robots are widely used in the United States for model development and testing.

Despite the additional challenges, Morgan Stanley maintained its forecast of 50,000 Chinese humanoid robot shipments by the end of 2026.

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Ring Makes New Encryption Standard Default For Cloud-Based Features

by News Editor

August 27, 2026

Amazon’s smart home division Ring is introducing a new encryption standard that will become the default for video protection and user controls, while allowing the company to offer more cloud-based features.

The standard, called TAKE, or “Throw Away the Key Encryption,” is designed to balance privacy with features that can be limited by end-to-end encryption, including video search, descriptions and access for trusted users.

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Temporary Keys Support Cloud Features

Under TAKE, Ring uses rotating encryption keys that are temporarily stored in the cloud and accessible only when needed to provide features activated by users. Once a request is completed, the company says the relevant keys will be deleted within 24 hours.

The system allows Ring to temporarily decrypt and process videos for cloud services such as Smart Alerts, which can notify users when people, vehicles or packages appear in a camera’s view. The company said in a blog post that the encryption key is deleted after the feature has been used.

Amazon’s technical white paper says TAKE was developed using Messaging Layer Security, an open messaging standard created by the Internet Engineering Task Force.

Users Can Still Choose End-To-End Encryption

TAKE will begin rolling out to customers in September and will become the default worldwide. Ring users will still be able to manually select end-to-end encryption instead.

The new system also includes several options for recovering encryption keys. Users who lose access to their device can authenticate by standing near their Ring cameras, while passphrases, cloud backups, another approved device or passkeys can provide alternative recovery methods.

Ring said the approach is intended to preserve access to cloud features without requiring users to give up control of their video encryption keys.

Privacy Concerns Remain

The announcement comes after months of scrutiny over Ring’s use of facial recognition. Its Familiar Faces feature can identify people appearing in camera footage.

In June, a class-action lawsuit accused Amazon of storing images of people passing by Ring cameras without their consent. The introduction of TAKE therefore comes as Ring faces continued questions over how its cameras process and protect personal data.

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