China's Robot CON

BEIJING, Aug 26 — As China seeks to race ahead in humanoid robot development, its supply chains showcased cheaper and innovative parts at the world robot conference in Beijing, but some executives warn the industry has yet to improve product reliability.

Wisson Technology (Shenzhen), known for its flexible robotic manipulators, doesn’t depend on motors and reducers – transmission devices commonly used in robotics – but instead uses 3D-printed plastics and relies on pneumatic artificial muscles to power its robots.     READ MORE...

Humanoid Robots F.02

California-based robotics outfit Figure has today announced its second-generation humanoid robot, which is initially being aimed at production lines in commercial settings, but the company is promising a bipedal butler in our homes in the near future.

Figure was founded in 2022 by entrepreneur Brett Adcock – of Vettery and Archer Aviation – with the aim of bringing a "commercially viable general purpose humanoid robot" to market. 

We caught up with Adcock last year, publishing a series of three interview pieces, and have followed the progress of its first robot from first steps to learning and performing tasks to joining BMW's workforce, and then gaining OpenAI chattiness.      READ MORE...

Work Revolutionized by ROBOTS

In 2015, Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, asserted that we were on the brink of a “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” one powered by a fusion of technologies, such as advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

“[This revolution] will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another,” wrote Schwab in an essay published in Foreign Affairs. “In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before.”

The recent surge of developments in AI and robotics — and their deployment into the workforce — seems right in line with his predictions, although almost ten years on.

“We see a future where 

general-purpose robots are 

as ubiquitous as cars, 

helping people to do work 

that needs doing.”

GEORDIE ROSE

While robots have been in factories for decades, they’ve traditionally been purpose-built to automate just one task — a robotic arm might be added to the assembly line at an auto factory to weld two parts together over and over again, for example Humanoids are robots that mimic the size, shape, and capabilities of people. That would make them a perfect physical fit for any workspace.         READ MORE...

Elon Musk: ‘There will be 20 billion humanoid robots’

At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Elon Musk shared his perspectives on artificial intelligence (AI) and humanoid robots in a wide-ranging interview. He predicts there will be a humanoid robot for every person on earth, plus robots working in the industry, which means there will be a market for 20 billion humanoid robots.

Musk talked also about Optimus, the humanoid robot developed by Tesla, designed to perform a wide range of tasks, from domestic chores to industrial applications. “Optimus is intended to be a fully functional humanoid robot, capable of doing a wide range of tasks. Basically, you can just ask it to walk your dog, take care of your house, babysit the kids, teach the kids, cook dinner, play the piano.”

“It’s a generalized humanoid robot. I think everyone will want one because why not, you know? I think there’ll be at least one for every person and then a whole bunch more in industry making things. My guess is 20 billion humanoid robots out there.”

Personalized robots
Asked if he would make robots look like people, he said “We’re not currently planning on doing that. We want it to be a good-looking robot. I think people will start to regard their personal Optimus robot as a sort of friend. Kind of like in Star Wars, R2-D2 and C-3PO, you sort of like them. You get quite attached to those characters. I think people will personalize their Optimus robots because you can snap on different parts. The outer shell is a snap-on plastic part, so you could have different ones.”       READ MORE...

Changes on the Production Line with Humanoid Robots

From steam engines to conveyor-belt assembly lines and robots on the factory floor, the manufacturing industry has long been a pioneer of new technologies. Artificial intelligence now looks set to become the next and, perhaps, biggest leap forward. 

But what will it mean for jobs over the next decade? Use cases: controlling plants, recommending equipment fixes, designing products, assembling parts Manufacturing is already highly automated, with sensors, software and computer networks monitoring the output, data, pressure and temperature of factory machines and industrial processes. Such connectivity has become essential on sites that are sometimes square miles wide.  READ MORE...

Humanoid Robot Crew Operates India's Spacecraft

ISRO's Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) will ferry a humanoid robot to space on a test flight later this year and carry three astronauts next year. (Image credit: ISRO)



India is steadily inching toward the first uncrewed flight in its human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan (Sanskrit for "celestial vehicle"). Early last week, the nation's space agency successfully completed the final test to qualify the test flight's rocket engine, approving it to be capable of safely ferrying astronauts to space.


This engine test was the seventh of its kind in which flight conditions were simulated to assess the device's endurance and performance under normal, and abnormal, conditions including varying thrust and propellant tank pressure, officials said in a statement on Wednesday (Feb. 21). These tests are being carried out at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.


Since 2014, seven years after the Gaganyaan program was first initiated, ISRO has has been perfecting its homegrown flight hardware including engines, solid rocket boosters, crew escape systems and parachutes ahead of the uncrewed Gaganyaan-1 (G1) mission, tentatively scheduled for the third quarter of this year.  READ MORE...

Humanoid Robots in South Carolina

Shiny, silver human-shaped robots the size of lightweight boxers are getting ready to start shuffling their way through BMW’s US factory floors. The carmaker recently reached a commercial agreement with the robotics startup Figure to bring its eponymously named “general purpose” humanoid robot to BMW’s manufacturing facilities, starting with its Spartanburg, South Carolina location. 

The agreement puts BMW in a race with Tesla and other automakers who’ve embraced a vision of humanoid robots in an effort to further automate their already tech-filled facilities. It’s clear the robots are coming, but nobody really seems to know exactly what to do with them just yet.   READ MORE...

The Race to Humanoid Robots

The race to perfect the humanoid form factor will be one of 2024’s defining tech stories. Last year saw the category heat up, as companies like Tesla, Apptronik and Figure debuted their systems, while Agility inched closer to the finish lining, announcing a warehouse pilot with Amazon.

1X is a name (well, a number and letter) that surprisingly doesn’t get as much column space as most of the above. I say “surprising” because the Norwegian firm entered the conversation with a splash back in April, announcing a $23.5 million round. This is one of those fundraising cases where the who arguable matters more than the how much.  READ MORE...

China to Build Humanoid Robots by 2025

The country aims to produce its first humanoid robots by 2025, according to a blueprint laid out by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The government will nurture more young companies focused on the field, set industry standards, develop talent and deepen international cooperation.

Shares of Chinese robotics companies surged after the policy guidance, which adds another dimension to a technological race between the world’s two biggest economies in chips and hardware. US companies such as Tesla Inc. and Boston Dynamics have so far enjoyed an edge in the technology.  READ MORE...

Humanoid Robots in Warehouses

Humanoid robots are on their way to warehouses as companies start to move beyond the disembodied arms, moving trays and other machines aimed at speeding up logistics operations.


Agility Robotics, Figure AI and Boston Dynamics are among companies designing robots more closely modeled on human beings for use in distribution centers. The new machines are being engineered with the ability to walk around warehouses, reach items high on shelves, crouch to put things down and pick up and move boxes, defying some of the physical limits on automation in the industrial world.

The robot developers say their devices will help warehouse operators mitigate labor shortfalls and eliminate the need to redesign warehouses to match the capabilities of machines.

Logistics operators have been adding automation to their warehouses for years to speed up the stacking and retrieving of goods and to take some of the most burdensome, repetitive tasks off workers. Many of the devices are designed to work in concert with employees by taking on tasks such as hauling heavy goods or bringing totes of items directly to workers.  READ MORE...

Humanoid Robots

Human-shaped robots with dexterous hands will be staffing warehouses and retail stores, tending to the elderly and performing household chores within a decade or so, according to a Silicon Valley startup working toward that vision.

Why it matters: Demographic trends — such as a persistent labor shortage and the growing elder care crisis — make fully-functioning, AI-driven humanoid robots look tantalizingly appealing.

• Companies such as Amazon are reportedly worried about running out of warehouse workers, whose jobs are physically and mentally demanding with high attrition.

Driving the news: A heavy-hitting startup called Figure, which just emerged from stealth mode, is building a prototype of a humanoid robot that the company says will eventually be able to walk, climb stairs, open doors, use tools and lift boxes — perhaps even make dinner.

• The company is the brainchild of Brett Adcock, a tech entrepreneur who previously founded Archer Aviation (a "flying taxi" maker that went public) and Vettery (an online hiring marketplace that he and a partner sold for $100 million).
• He's assembled an all-star team of 40, including leading roboticists from Boston Dynamics and Tesla.
• They've moved into a 30,000-square-foot facility in Sunnyvale, California, where they plan to set up a mock warehouse to test their prototype.
• "We just got done in December with our full-scale humanoid," Adcock tells Axios. "We'll be walking that in the next 30 days."

Where it stands: The prototype — called Figure 01 — stands about 5'6" and weighs 130 pounds.

• It'll be fully electric, run for five hours on a charge and is intended for warehouse use.
• "We think we can get into commercial operation within a few years," Adcock tells Axios. "We should be able to do most jobs — physical labor jobs that humans don't want to do."

Yes, but: Humanoid robots are staggeringly difficult to build and engineer to perform reliably.

• There are a host of design challenges, from simple balance to replicating human movements.
• "We need to be able to push it and have it not fall down," says Adcock about the Figure 01. (Boston Dynamics has plenty of robot blooper videos on YouTube.)
• From there, programming a robot to move boxes in a warehouse is a lot easier than, say, engineering it to cook a meal.

What they're saying: "We face high risk and extremely low chances of success," Adcock wrote in a mission statement.

• But he exuded optimism in an interview: "This stuff just wasn't possible 10 years ago — I think it's possible now."
• A decade ago, "you just didn’t have the energy or the power density to make this work."

Reality check: Engineering robots is expensive. Adcock says he is self-financing Figure: "I put in $10 million last year."  READ MORE...