Allure of human-like machines in healthcare

Humanoid robots have brought new energy and investment into healthcare. Unlike conventional robots, they are designed to look and move like humans. In the clinical context, this human-like form allows them to fit more easily into hospital spaces, clinical workflows and everyday interactions in care settings. They are being promoted as part of the response to workforce shortages, rising care demands and increasing pressure on health systems. However, this also prompts a fundamental question: what does giving robots a human form actually add to care beyond what existing purpose-built machines already provide? A balanced view is needed. There are situations in which human-like morphology may offer real advantages, such as in patient handling, bedside assistance or working with equipment and rooms designed around human reach and posture. At the same time, much of modern healthcare already relies on highly effective purpose-built technologies, from logistics robots and telepresence carts to surgical and rehabilitation systems. These examples show that sensing, machine vision, perception, decision support and safe, predictable behaviour often matter more than physical appearance. Yet, the continued interest in humanoid robots reflects ambitions for versatility, with a single platform potentially performing tasks that would otherwise require multiple specialised systems. That versatility, however, comes at increased technical, safety and cost demands. Since purpose-built machines remain highly effective where tasks are well defined, adoption decisions should be guided by whether the added versatility of humanoid robots justifies these trade-offs in specific clinical contexts.