There are dozens of companies out there building the first wave of mass-produced humanoid robots, with these androids poised to change the way our society works for the better – or so they say.
Intelligence on demand
The founder and CEO of Figure AI, a humanoid robotics company, was speaking with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on stage during the annual Dreamforce event when he made this massive claim.
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Prompted by Benioff, who threw out the question: “We’re not building robots, we’re building a new species?”, Adcock agreed, repeating that idea and suggesting the end goal isn’t simply to make another kind of machine but to bring into existence a new order of intelligence.
This may seem a little far-fetched considering that today’s most advanced humanoid robots are also capable of failing at the tasks they’ve been assigned so spectacularly, whether that’s helping around the house or proving their sporting prowess. But scientists are adamant that with time, the standard of AI embedded into these systems – and their ability to physically understand the world – will improve immeasurably.
Ramping up production
Figure has become known for its glamorous promotional videos showcasing its prototype humanoid robots in tightly controlled settings – mostly in scenarios that you might encounter around the house. These include tidying the bedroom and stacking the dishwasher.
More impressively, the Figure 03 robot took part in a live stream in which it sorted over 100,000 packages without human assistance.
It remains to be seen as to whether the technology is good enough yet to cope in real-world everyday settings, but many companies have signalled they’re initiating mass production of their humanoid robots over 2026 and 2027. Initially, robots are expected to be consigned to industrial settings, but manufacturers insist they want to target domestic use cases too.
