Startups Race to Develop Humanoid Robots Despite Current Models Being Clumsy and Impractical

AI startups focus on developing human-like robots to cater to labour shortages, with Amazon testing 'human-centric' machinery and firms like Figure AI targeting the multi-task potential of humanoids.

Agility's warehouse robot Digit, described as 'human-centric' rather than a humanoid, is being tested for use in Amazon's warehouses. The robot, essentially a torso and head equipped with cameras and sensors, is seen as a potential solution to labour shortages, despite its experimental nature.
Startups like Figure AI see a high demand for human-like robots, citing demographic changes such as declining birth rates that may result in less available workforce. Although the current prototypes are not market-ready, these companies believe they fill a significant market gap by performing tasks that humans do not want to do.
Figure AI's goal is to create a commercial robot that can perform multiple tasks, similar to how an iPhone operates, with the potential to replace human labour in areas such as retail warehouses.
Tesla also join the race to build humanoids with their Optimus model, although early demonstrations failed to impress experts in the robotics field. However, they are seen to be relatively advanced compared to other tech companies.
The development of human-like robots is considered a learning process by many pioneers in this field, not only in their design and operation, but also in understanding how humans respond to them, and the fundamentals of mobility, dexterity, perception and intelligence.