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Humanoid robots It’s officially arrived… sort of. Companies are manufacturing sleek, expensive prototypes with human-like limbs, while PR departments promise a future where your home is co-managed by a machine that never gets tired or complains about washing and doing the dishes. Other business.
But for now, most of these Android assistants are still just puppets, controlled in real time by human operators. It’s called remote operation, and it causes all kinds of discomfort.
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Robots are here
The Neo robot stands tall while folding laundry.
Take the 1X’s Neo, for example. He’s wrapped in fabric and moves with calculated caution, looking the part. But the big reveal? There is someone controlling it on the other end.
online critics – Including famous technology reviewer MKBHD — They’re quick to point out that this essentially turns your robot into a rolling surveillance unit with a stranger at the helm, watching your life unfold through a 1080p stream.
To be fair, this sounds rather alarming. Nobody likes the idea of letting an unknown joystick jockey peek into their living room.
But here’s the twist: This fear may be misplaced. Because even though the setup seems new, it’s actually just a digital spin on something we already do.
Why are we holding back, and why might we be wrong about it?
In the demo, Figure 02 folds towels at a rate of approximately 22 seconds per towel.
It’s really instinctive. Someone who sees your space, even indirectly, feels intimate, vulnerable, and invaded.
Zoom out for a second. We actually invite people into our homes for functions. Cleaners, carers, plumbers and dog walkers. Even delivery drivers For some of us. They get to see the clutter, clutter, and weird fridge magnets inside our homes.
A robot has less strength than a human. Think about your Robot vacuum. It has software-defined zones and a power button that you can control. If something strange happens, you can just unplug it.
A job for humans after all
CNET’s Jesse Orrall tried to make my fold setup as similar as possible to the one used in the figure (see above).
There’s also a surprising upside to this: remote automation can create jobs.
I talked to Dave Brownpresident and CEO of Hays Americas, says this new class of remote robotic operators is on the way.
“These roles are coming, but they are in their early stages and will require significant cultural and societal changes as robots actually occupy our space, as opposed to computer-based AI,” says Hayes.
Remote operation is already here in other forms: Remote drone pilotsAnd remote forklift drivers and even remote warehouse managers who monitor robotic fleets.
There is an elephant in the room. He could Amnesty International Eventually replace these human operators? maybe. But Brown is measured on that too.
“As robots become more intelligent, they can eventually perform tasks that people direct without them controlling them,” he says.
However, this is a matter of when, not if. The “when” could be some time.
Importantly, even temporary job categories can help mitigate the blow of technological disruption. It’s fewer robots versus humans, and more humans guiding the robots. Full autonomy does not come as quickly as some would like to think.
Just ask Tesla. Despite having access to millions of miles of driving data every day, the automaker Complete self-driving software It’s taken years to get to the point where “autonomous driving” no longer seems like a generous euphemism. We’re at a point where it’s incredibly impressive — He drove me the whole way to San Francisco — but so far, it requires human supervision.
“Look, mom, there’s no hand!” With Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system, you won’t even need to touch the steering wheel anymore. But it still requires human supervision.
Home robots collect much less data from a much smaller number of users than Tesla. This means less runtime and significantly more diverse environments. Let’s not pretend that your Lego-filled hallway is much different than anyone else’s. This means slower training, longer development cycles, and a more difficult path to true independence.
So when robotics companies say autonomy is “just around the corner,” take it with a grain of salt. Historically, autonomous driving has never arrived on time, making remote operation not just a crutch, but the primary operating model for the foreseeable future.
AI-controlled humanoid robots are on the horizon, and I’m excited to see them arrive. But they are a little further away than we might like to think. This makes human operators not a bug in the system, but part of the plan.
If he’s going to live with you, he better be friendly
Loaded with fabric, soft, gentle and friendly. At least that’s the idea. For some, there is still something strange threatening this humanoid robot.
Autonomy and employment are not the only obstacles. There’s another human factor to consider: how these robots make us feel. When I talked to Julian EjdenbaumCTO at InteractionLabs, emphasized the importance of bots being well-suited to mass adoption. Design matters – because if you want people to let a robot into their homes, it better not look like something Black mirror.
Take 1X’s Neo again. His all-fabric body was chosen to look soft, cute and friendly. However, for some, it still evokes something in the uncanny valley – that strange mental space where things seem very human, but not enough to be comfortable.
InteractionLabs is pushing this further. Its robot is basically Pixar’s long-lost Lamp cousin, Luxo Jr. – Complete with blinking eyes, shy movements, and personality oozing from his interactive voice. The startup even brought in a Toy Story animator to help nail the atmosphere.
This home robot looks like a Pixar lamp. It’s cute and cool, but more importantly, it could be an important step in getting humans to embrace robots.
This concept is not new. The first Macintosh from Apple It said “hello” when turned on – a simple touch that made the device look sleek, friendly and lively.
“Not all robots need to look like a toy,” he says. Chris PaxtonHead of Artificial Intelligence at Agility Robotics. “Friendliness is important, but it is relative and hard to hit.”
When it comes to humans, design is not just decoration, it is part of strategy. While some companies are overcoming the big challenge of autonomy, others may be able to pave the way for human adoption. After all, hundreds of thousands of consumers won’t be paying $20,000 for a humanoid robot — whether remotely operated or not — any time soon.
The future looks awkward
We stand on the verge of a new chapter in local technology. The days of spending thousands of dollars and taking up floor space on numerous specialized home robots (eg Robot vacuums) numbered.
Humanoid robots are coming, but not as self-driving, all-knowing household gods. They arrive in a strange, wary way, part human, part machine, and completely imperfect.
Remote operation may seem like a half-step towards full independence, but it is a crucial step. It could provide humans with job opportunities in a world where there is growing concern that artificial intelligence will take jobs. It could give companies time to develop their own autonomous AI systems. It could also give us a way to slowly adapt to the machines living among us.
At the same time, the design makes these machines look less strange and reminds us that new technology doesn’t have to be cold and clinical. He can blink and say “hello,” and if he trips and breaks a light bulb but apologizes and makes a joke, you might forgive him instead of getting rid of him.
This is not the path to the future that people imagine, it is slower, more chaotic, and more humane. Along this path, teleoperation and design will not only make robots do their jobs. It will make them welcome.