although i think a traditional robot (arm or autonomous vehicle style) would still be better for almost all agricultural and industrial purposes, humanoid robots do have some advantages. they can cross almost any kind of difficult terrain, they can use tools, infrastructure, and other equipment that are designed for human use without any modification, and they can essentially perform any task that a human could perform. additionally the human size and form factor can result in a relatively lightweight 'machine' that might be necessary for tasks in places with a weight limit (such as bridges, scaffolding, unstable terrain, etc.) If you can only have 1 kind of robot (either due to weight concerns like on a space or sea craft, or to simplify logistics by only building 1 kind of robot) you basically need it to be humanoid for it to be of any use outside of a single specialized industrial task. instead of needing a different robot arm or a different vehicle or a refit in a workshop for every task, you can have the 1 humanoid robot perform any task you need (albeit perhaps slower and less efficiently than a specialized design) by having it simply pick up the appropriate tools. the only real criticism i have of most sci fi humanoid robots is that the arms and legs are never a quick-replace interchangeable design. we design tires to be easy to repair and replace, we should design robot limbs that are multifunction (able to be used as an arm or a leg interchangeably) and quick to replace as well. also robots with limbs expected to work outside of clean factories should have 'clothes' or fabric covers to protect their joints and other sensitive parts from dust, water, etc.
although i think a traditional robot (arm or autonomous vehicle style) would still be better for almost all agricultural and industrial purposes, humanoid robots do have some advantages. they can cross almost any kind of difficult terrain, they can use tools, infrastructure, and other equipment that are designed for human use without any modification, and they can essentially perform any task that a human could perform. additionally the human size and form factor can result in a relatively lightweight 'machine' that might be necessary for tasks in places with a weight limit (such as bridges, scaffolding, unstable terrain, etc.) If you can only have 1 kind of robot (either due to weight concerns like on a space or sea craft, or to simplify logistics by only building 1 kind of robot) you basically need it to be humanoid for it to be of any use outside of a single specialized industrial task. instead of needing a different robot arm or a different vehicle or a refit in a workshop for every task, you can have the 1 humanoid robot perform any task you need (albeit perhaps slower and less efficiently than a specialized design) by having it simply pick up the appropriate tools. the only real criticism i have of most sci fi humanoid robots is that the arms and legs are never a quick-replace interchangeable design. we design tires to be easy to repair and replace, we should design robot limbs that are multifunction (able to be used as an arm or a leg interchangeably) and quick to replace as well. also robots with limbs expected to work outside of clean factories should have 'clothes' or fabric covers to protect their joints and other sensitive parts from dust, water, etc.