Brett Adcock, founder of Figure AI, predicted that everyone will own a robot in the future, much like everyone owns a car or phone today.
Interestingly, the robotics company unveiled its second-generation humanoid robot, Figure 02. The company said it is one step closer to its goal of selling production humanoids to industrial users, with the newer design refining every element of the original Figure 01.
The first-generation robot, Figure 01, took its first steps within a year of its development. As technology advances, owning a humanoid could indeed become more cost-effective than employing human workers.
While the initial investment in robotics may be high, the long-term savings in wages, benefits, and training can be substantial. Meanwhile, Figure AI has gotten both investment and a strong partnership deal from OpenAI.
According to a report, Goldman Sachs estimates that the cost of the Figure 01 humanoid is around $30,000 to $150,000 per unit. But, with future production and advanced adoption in factories, it is possible that the cost can come down in the long run.
Interestingly, labour costs at major US automakers like Ford, GM, and Stellantis are approximately $64, though this is expected to rise to $150 per hour. These figures include wages, health care expenses, bonuses, and other benefits. Furthermore, human labour can rake up additional costs, something that cannot happen with a humanoid.
Bengaluru-based Control One shared similar sentiments. The startup has focused on the warehousing sector, where there is a significant labour shortage and a high demand for automation-based solutions, especially in the global market.
“The warehousing market is facing a huge labour crisis. Our system enables one person to manage multiple robots, effectively multiplying their productivity,” said Pranavan S, Control One’s founder and CEO, in an interaction with AIM
However, this shift raises ethical questions about job displacement and the value of human labour. Balancing economic efficiency with social responsibility will be crucial as we navigate this transformation, ensuring that technological progress benefits society as a whole without exacerbating inequality.
Furthermore, Elon Musk recently stated that Tesla aims to produce “genuinely useful” humanoid robots to start operating in its factories next year.
Humanoid Race
Back in August 2021, Tesla introduced a prototype humanoid robot, which Musk believes could help humanity achieve quite ambitious goals. Leading into this, at an event in October 2022, Musk expressed his hope to eventually produce millions of Optimus robots.
Optimus, a Tesla-built humanoid robot, weighs 56 kg, stands at a 170 cm tall, and is priced under $20,000 (€18,000) for mass production.
However, the robot had limited capabilities and Musk stated that he wouldn’t assign it more complex tasks because he “didn’t want it to fall on its face.” He said, “There’s still a lot of work to be done to refine Optimus. I think Optimus is going to be incredible in five or ten years.”
Robot for the House
Bindu Reddy, CEO of Abacus.AI, posted on X, saying that the next trillion dollar company will be the one that ships a mass-market humanoid robot under $30k, capable of handling household chores like laundry, loading the dishwasher and cooking.
While humanoids may be employed in factories and warehouses, a bigger application is probably finding a use case in the household. For instance, Figure’s humanoid can be dubbed as a robot housekeeper that is capable of performing a variety of household chores.
This humanoid robot is designed as a general purpose solution capable of thinking, learning, and interacting with its environment. It is set to support the global supply chain and address labour shortages by performing structured and repetitive tasks.
The robot utilises AI and machine learning algorithms to understand and execute tasks such as cleaning and organising. Equipped with sensors and robotic arms, it can navigate complex home environments, ensuring efficiency and precision.
Interestingly, the company had shared an image of them shipping the humanoid to their first customer, which turned out to be automotive giant BMW.
Similarly, the German robotics company NEURA has unveiled a video of their humanoid robot, 4NE-1. It is one of the first to participate in the early access NVIDIA Humanoid Robot Developer Programme.
Not That Easy
Several users have expressed their views about how owning humanoid robots would be impractical for certain tasks and also very expensive.
Despite the advancements predicted, creating a fully strong robot that matches human intelligence remains extremely costly. Certain aspects of the manufacturing process cannot be easily scaled, and it takes years to develop a single human-like AI. As a result, they are incredibly expensive.
“Robots need to be able to deal with uncertainty if they’re going to be useful to us in the future. They need to be able to deal with unexpected situations and that’s sort of the goal of a general purpose or multi-purpose robot, and that’s just hard,” said Robert Playter, CEO of Boston Dynamics, in an interview with Lex Fridman last year.
Playter emphasised the immense difficulty of advancing robotics. Boston Dynamics, which started developing general-purpose robots in the early 2000s, only introduced its humanoid robot Atlas in 2013. Besides facing challenges in securing investments for robotics, training robots has always been a significant hurdle.
Simpler Robots
While humanoids are the advanced version, simpler home-grown alternative robotic solutions are being developed. For instance, one Indian student has developed an AI-powered machine that completes homework in his handwriting.
The machine, developed by Devadath PR, a robotics and automation engineering undergrad student, has now garnered significant attention, with over 1,000 people inquiring about purchasing it. He built the device using parts from his old 3D printer and is now working on a second prototype.
