If Jane Jetson lived in 2025, she might feel like she was in an old episode of her own family. The year ended with the feeling that the world had fast-tracked a few decades in an attempt to reach the imaginary 2062 created by the drawing. Of course, we’re still a long way from seeing cars flying over skyscrapers, or a Rosie within reach in the laundry room. But in many laboratories, and even in some homes, the boundaries between fiction and reality have made a bold leap.
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Speaking of Rosie, a robot for domestic work has already been invented, although it is still in the testing phase. After years of promise, 2025 brought onto the scene machines that walk, talk, lift boxes and arrange dishes almost like animated characters.
THE Figure 03from the Californian startup Figure AI, has become a symbol of this advance: a home assistant capable of organizing objects, operating washing machines and even folding clothes under remote monitoring. Time magazine even named it among the top robotic inventions of the year. The 03 has hands with touch sensors and cameras in the palms, as well as an improved battery, but it still has flaws, which are expected to be fixed in 2026.
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See below, O GLOBO has grouped other “Jetsons” technologies that will see the light of day in 2025:
There are other robots similar to Rosie that were not created to perform household chores, but are very human-like. In July, the Chinese company Unitree presented the R1a humanoid with 26 joints sold for around R$32,000, considered low in the segment. He walks, runs, responds by voice and has become the gateway for those who want to live this future at home.
A few months later, XPeng revealed the IRONits second generation model, equipped with bionic muscles and sensors that allow more delicate movements. The company is already talking about mass production for 2026.
The American 1X Technologies, for its part, has come closer to entering the world of the Jetsons: this year, it opened pre-sales of the Neoa humanoid robot measuring 1.67 m and 30 kg, focused on the domestic environment. With enough strength to lift 68 kg, it is capable of vacuuming, organizing shelves and talking to the user to learn household routines. This should only become part of routine for Americans in 2026 and, for the rest of the world, in 2027.
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We are not yet active in air traffic in the same way as in the series, but one technology in the automotive world has become stronger in 2025: self-driving cars, which can be divided into autonomous driving systems. Level 3 (L3)which always require the presence of the driver, and Level 4 (L4)who do everything themselves in designated areas.
At L3 level. BMW and Mercedes have advanced their technologies Personal Pilot And Driving driverfreeing up stretches of hands-free driving on European and North American highways. Volvo promised these features in the EX90and Chinese brands such as BYD and Xpeng have expanded access to the so-called “autopilot” in models of different price ranges. Volkswagen also remained firm on the Standalone ID.Buzz for commercial use.
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THE Level 4 (L4) it remains limited to specific fleets, such as self-driving taxi services operated by companies like Waymo.
What about flying cars? The year 2025 saw two important milestones in this area: in January, the XB-1 Supersonic Boom made its first flight above the speed of sound in the Mojave Desert. The company works in Openingits future commercial aircraft, which should begin testing in 2026 and enter service around 2029.
In October, NASA launched the X-59, aircraft created in partnership with Lockheed Martin to reduce the sonic boom to a less annoying “thud”. The objective is to convince regulators that supersonic flights will, in the future, be able to fly over cities without disturbing those on the ground.
Just like in the program, the massive integration of artificial intelligence has transformed domestic environments into small intelligent centers. The year was marked by facial recognition locks, cameras that differentiate between a neighbor and a stranger, water meters that warn of leaks and systems that adjust energy consumption based on solar input, to automate daily life.
With the expansion of 5G and Wi-Fi 6 and 7, devices began to communicate with each other more smoothly. THE Alexa with generative AIlaunched in 2025, has gained autonomy to offer lighting, air conditioning and routine settings without waiting for an explicit command. Integrated systems, supported by the growing adoption of the universal protocol Mattermade it possible to seamlessly connect lamps, locks, vacuum cleaners, TVs and refrigerators from different manufacturers.
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