Humanoid robots are expected to appear in more homes and rack up more hours in warehouses and factories in the coming year. The makers of these bipedal bots are betting big on how they'll change the world. But the industry must first overcome several major challenges that stand in the way.
Let's start with safety. Robots like Digit from Agility Robotics, which are capable of performing some work tasks autonomously, are often segregated from human coworkers. Though Agility Robotics says it's working on safe human detection so that these barriers can eventually be removed, the technology isn't there quite yet.
Digit from Agility Robotics is already working shifts in various warehouses, but it is separated from its human coworkers for safety. Agility Robotics
Humanoids designed for the home pose even greater safety challenges, as they navigate an environment that may include children, pets and family heirlooms. They also raise concerns about privacy, surveillance and trust.
Anything with cameras or a microphone that connects to the internet carries some inherent digital risk. Combining those things into a human shape amounts to a weird mix of "surveillance state" heebie-jeebies and the classic "stranger danger."
Speaking of surveillance and strangers, humanoids may not even be able to perform household chores autonomously out of the box. Neo from 1X will need to be teleoperated by an "expert" to start, and the company says the data collected in the homes of early adopters will help train the robots to eventually do the tasks autonomously. This means, at least to start, an unknown person will be controlling the robot in your home.
1X has already started preorders for its Neo home humanoid robot, but early adopters shouldn't expect autonomy. 1X
1X says owners will have the ability to set no-go zones in the house, opt out of data sharing with the company and schedule exactly when teleoperation is to occur. Still, it's unclear how the general public will welcome this technology into their homes.
Not to mention, whether the general public will ever be able to actually afford it. At launch, Neo has a $20,000 price tag, with a future leasing option available for $500 per month.
Lastly, there's the issue of how these humanoid robots, designed to perform tasks humans typically do, will impact the labor market. It's a common refrain that these robots could do work that many humans don't want to do. But what will become of workers who do these jobs for a living if the robots take over?
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