Humanoid Daily

John Koetsier

Humanoid robot news: all the top stories, updated every single weekday.

  1. Oct 15

    You can now vibe code a robot: Standard Bots CEO Evan Beard

    What if you could program an industrial robot just by talking to it? That's what Standard Bots is making possible with a new generation of AI-powered robot training tools. In this episode of Humanoid (almost) Daily, I talk with Evan Beard, co-founder and CEO of Standard Bots, about making industrial robots as easy to use as an iPhone ... and why he believes this could help bring about the ChatGPT moment for physical AI. Standard Bots is announcing three new capabilities that dramatically simplify robot deployment and training: - Agent: Vibe code your robot using natural language. Tell it what you want to automate, and AI helps build the program. - Locate: Train computer vision models to recognize and locate objects in seconds, without expensive custom engineering. - Inspect: Working with Roboflow, train AI models to identify defects, scratches, and other quality issues. We also discuss Showpath, a beta capability that allows robots to learn new tasks from just a few demonstrations. Evan explains why traditional industrial automation is so expensive and brittle, why most robots still require specialized engineers to program them, and how AI could make automation accessible to smaller businesses. The bigger vision? Building the Anthropic of the physical world — and making robots intelligent enough to adapt when real-world conditions change. In this conversation: - Why deploying industrial robots traditionally costs so much - How natural-language programming changes robot automation - Training robot vision models in seconds instead of weeks - Teaching robots new tasks through demonstrations - Why flexible AI-powered automation could deliver better ROI - The possibility of a ChatGPT moment for robotics About Standard Bots: https://standardbots.com More humanoid robotics and physical AI news: https://humanoidmegahub.com Subscribe for conversations with the people building the future of robotics, AI, and automation. #robotics #PhysicalAI #ArtificialIntelligence #StandardBots #RobotTraining #Automation #VibeCoding

  2. Oct 13

    The future of humanoid robots isn't JUST human: Haomiao Huang, Matter Venture Partners

    The future of humanoid robots might not look human at all. In fact, the "humanoid robots" of the future could have wheels instead of legs, four arms instead of two, or even look more like spiders than people. That's the provocative argument from Haomiao Huang, founding partner of Matter Venture Partners, which just raised a $450 million fund to invest in robotics, physical AI, semiconductors, and other deep technologies. His perspective: "Humanoid is a state of mind, not a specific type of robot." What matters isn't whether a robot walks on two legs or looks like a person. It's whether that robot can perform multiple tasks, manipulate objects, navigate human environments, and adapt to new situations without being completely reprogrammed. In other words, the real revolution isn't humanoid robots. It's general-purpose robots. In this episode of Humanoid (almost) Daily, we explore why Huang believes we're entering a golden age of robotics, what's still holding the industry back, and what the next generation of robots might look like. We discuss: - Why humanoid robots don't actually need to look human - How general-purpose robots could transform manufacturing, logistics, and eventually our homes - Why today's humanoids resemble the clunky wearable computers of the 1980s - Whether robot manufacturers are scaling before finding product-market fit - Why AI models, compute, and demand are converging to accelerate robotics - The hardware and training-data bottlenecks still holding robots back - Why robots like Dexterity's Mech and Path Robotics' welding systems might represent the near-term future - Where Matter Venture Partners is investing its $450 million - Why the most capable robots of the future might resemble spiders more than humans And we get Huang's predictions for what robotics will look like in five to ten years. 00:00 – The golden age of robotics 00:17 – Meet Haomiao Huang: The $450M physical AI fund 00:55 – If AI eats the world, hardware is its teeth 02:05 – Why physical AI is replacing the metaverse hype 03:49 – Bringing AI agents into the physical world 05:44 – Three forces creating the robotics boom 08:22 – Humanoid is a state of mind, not a robot shape 11:40 – Are humanoids scaling before product-market fit? 12:59 – Why robot reliability still isn't good enough 15:11 – Will we need humanoid-safe products? 16:01 – Hardware, AI, data: What's the biggest bottleneck? 16:39 – Why advanced robotics training data is scarce 17:24 – Today's robots are like early personal computers 20:40 – Why robot makers are building custom hardware 22:19 – Robotics, geopolitics, and military applications 24:07 – Where Matter will invest $450 million 26:24 – Predicting humanoid robots in 2031 27:25 – General-purpose industrial robots will scale first 28:31 – Why the ultimate robot might look like a spider 30:03 – Figure, 1X, and the race toward useful home robots 32:06 – Final thoughts

  3. Oct 2

    General Robotics: AI agents for vastly faster robot training

    What if deploying a new robot didn't take weeks or months ... but hours? Ashish Kapoor, founder and CEO of General Robotics and former head of Microsoft's Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group, joins Humanoid Daily to explain why robotics still has a massive research-to-deployment gap. And he shares how AI agents could help close it. General Robotics is building GRID, a unified robotics platform designed to bring together robots, simulation, AI models, training, deployment and engineering tools in one place where AI agents can work across the entire stack. We talk about: • Cutting robot onboarding from a month to as little as 2 hours • Using AI agents to engineer and deploy robotic systems • Why robotics is much harder than agentic software development • Creating custom robot simulators in minutes • Why future enterprise robot fleets will include multiple OEMs and form factors • The three layers of robot training • Why foundation models could reshape the robot-data race • Why post-training may ultimately capture much of the value in robotics Kapoor's big thesis: robotics doesn't just need better AI models. It needs a new engineering architecture that can actually get those models onto real robots in the real world. 00:00 The robotics deployment problem 02:15 Auto Engineering: virtual robot engineers 04:20 Why AI agents are harder in robotics 06:35 What General Robotics built with GRID 09:40 AI-generated robot simulations 11:40 Onboarding almost any robot 14:05 The future of mixed robot fleets 16:15 Where General Robotics fits in the stack 19:10 Why robotics needs a different startup playbook 22:05 The three layers of robot training 25:05 Will foundation models change the robot data race? 28:10 Where the value in robotics will be captured 30:00 Closing thoughts

  4. Sep 26

    Humanoids + humans: Agility Robotics CEO on new Digit 5

    Agility Robotics is launching Digit 5, its newest humanoid robot. Digit 5 is designed to work in close proximity with humans without the physical safety barriers that have traditionally separated robots from workers. In this episode of Humanoid Daily, we chat with Agility Robotics CEO Peggy Johnson. She explains what has changed with Digit 5, including a 50-pound payload capacity, faster charging, improved vision and human detection, swappable end effectors, and the ability to move between multiple tasks inside logistics and manufacturing facilities. We also dig into one of the biggest challenges facing humanoid robotics: safety. Peggy explains how Agility is working with ANSI and ISO standards, how Digit detects and reacts to nearby humans, and why removing safety cages could unlock much broader deployment of humanoid robots. We discuss where humanoids fit alongside traditional automation and autonomous mobile robots, why Agility chose legs instead of wheels, what the company has learned from more than 65,000 hours of real-world robot operation, and how customers including major logistics and manufacturing companies are helping shape Digit’s development. Peggy also shares how Agility trains new robotic skills using a combination of real-world operational data, simulation tools such as NVIDIA Isaac Sim, and learning from demonstration. Plus, we talk about the increasingly competitive humanoid robotics market, Agility Robotics’ U.S.-based manufacturing strategy, RoboFab, and what Digit 5 could be capable of a year from now compared with day one. Topics include: • Digit 5 and human-robot collaboration• Humanoid robot safety• 50-pound payload capacity• Fast charging and multi-shift operation• Robotics standards and regulation• Legs versus wheels• Warehouse and manufacturing automation• Agility Robotics’ RoboFab• Physical AI and robot training• NVIDIA Isaac Sim• Learning from demonstration• The growing humanoid robotics market 00:00 Digit 5 can now work around humans 00:32 Introducing Agility Robotics’ Digit 5 01:17 50-pound payloads and longer operating time 02:03 Fast charging vs. swappable batteries 03:02 Why Digit can move differently than humans 04:03 The growing industrial labor gap 05:01 Breaking the humanoid safety barrier 05:41 How Digit detects nearby humans 06:18 Building safety standards for humanoid robots 07:05 When Digit 5 will begin deploying 07:30 How fast should a humanoid robot walk? 08:02 What happens when a human gets too close? 09:04 Why Agility is taking a cautious approach 10:03 Swappable grippers and robotic end effectors 11:05 Using the existing robotics ecosystem 11:42 Where humanoid robotics is today 13:00 Moving from one task to end-to-end workflows 14:17 The factory of the future 15:30 Humanoids vs. wheeled robots 16:41 Why legs make sense for Digit 17:36 Connecting Digit with other automation 18:03 The exploding humanoid robotics market 18:42 Agility’s real-world advantage 19:17 What Agility has learned from customers 20:28 How U.S. policy affects Agility Robotics 21:05 RoboFab and Agility’s U.S. operations 22:04 Expanding Digit 5 into Europe 23:00 How Digit 5 will gain new skills 23:39 The race to train humanoid robots 24:31 Real data, simulation and Isaac Sim 25:02 Learning from demonstration 25:48 Final thoughts

  5. Sep 18

    RobotStrategy CEO: humanoid robots a $10 trillion industry

    Humanoid robots could become one of the largest technology markets in history, potentially worth tens of trillions of dollars. In this episode of Humanoid Daily, I talk with Andrew Kang, CEO of Robostrategy, about the rapidly accelerating humanoid robotics industry, the companies he thinks are best positioned to win, and why the market could explode over the next few years. We dig into Tesla Optimus, Figure AI, Apptronik, Agility Robotics, Unitree, Agibot, 1X, Genesis AI, Neura, Humanoid AI, and other emerging robotics players in the US, Europe, and China. We also explore the picks-and-shovels opportunity behind humanoid robots: actuators, motors, components, AI systems, and the infrastructure required to manufacture robots at massive scale. Plus: why Chinese robotics companies have helped accelerate the entire industry, what new FCC restrictions could mean for US robotics companies, and why Andrew believes millions of humanoid robots could be operating in the world before 2030. Topics include: • The massive jump in humanoid robotics valuations • Tesla Optimus vs Figure AI vs Apptronik • Why not every humanoid robotics company will survive • The most promising robotics companies in the US • Europe’s emerging humanoid robotics ecosystem • The opportunity in actuators, motors, and robotics components • US vs China in humanoid robotics • The impact of FCC restrictions on Chinese robots • Low-cost humanoid robots and developer platforms • Why Unitree helped accelerate robotics research • How large the humanoid robotics market could become • When millions of humanoid robots could arrive • What the robotics adoption curve could look like If humanoid robotics follows anything close to the trajectory of AI, GPUs, smartphones, or autonomous vehicles, the next few years could be extraordinary. Subscribe for more conversations about AI, robotics, emerging technology, and the companies building the future. Chapters 00:00 Humanoid robotics could be worth tens of trillions 00:27 Meet Andrew King and Robostrategy 01:08 The robotics IPO and valuation boom 02:11 Is Agility Robotics undervalued? 04:48 The US humanoid companies most likely to win 06:12 Tesla Optimus vs Figure AI and Apptronik 09:07 The most interesting European robotics companies 10:03 Picks and shovels: where to invest beyond robot makers 14:37 The actuator opportunity in humanoid robotics 15:43 FCC restrictions and the US-China robotics battle 17:32 The rise of ultra-cheap humanoid robots 20:38 The Chinese humanoid robotics companies to watch 22:40 How big could the humanoid robotics market become? 24:49 When humanoid robots become material to the economy 26:24 Could robotics adoption follow the GPU boom? 27:39 Final thoughts

  6. Sep 8

    The next billion-dollar home robot might not be a humanoid

    Are humanoid robots really the future of the home, or are we looking at consumer robotics the wrong way? In this episode of Humanoid Daily, John Koetsier talks with Amber Atherton, serial entrepreneur and investor at Patron, about why the next wave of home robotics may look less like a humanoid assistant and more like a collection of highly specialized, beautifully designed devices that each take ownership of a specific part of everyday life. That could mean robots for skincare, hairstyling, gardening, cleaning, wardrobe management, or dozens of other repetitive household rituals. Amber argues that consumer adoption often happens through specialization rather than generalization. Instead of one robot that does everything, she sees an opportunity for what she calls “enchanted objects”: intelligent devices that quietly automate specific routines and eventually disappear into everyday life. John and Amber also discuss why Roomba remains such an important example in consumer robotics, how AI foundation models are changing robot development, why falling costs for motors, sensors, batteries, and compute matter, and what price consumers might actually pay for useful household robots. They also debate whether humanoids will eventually dominate, how manufacturing and supply chains could shape the market, the importance of hardware ecosystems and recurring revenue, and whether the future operating system for physical AI will be controlled by companies like Google DeepMind, NVIDIA, or an entirely new generation of startups. Finally, they imagine what the average home could look like by 2036, and why the biggest robotics companies of the future may not look like robotics companies at all. Topics include: • Humanoid robots vs. specialized robots• Consumer robotics and embodied AI• Robots for skincare and hairstyling• The future of household automation• Why Roomba succeeded• AI foundation models for robotics• Robotics manufacturing and supply chains• Pricing home robots• Hardware subscriptions and app ecosystems• Physical AI and robot training data• Google DeepMind, NVIDIA, 1X, Figure, and Apptronik• What the smart home could look like in 2036 Chapters: 00:00 Robots for skincare, hair, and household rituals 00:19 Meet Amber Atherton 01:16 What chore should robots eliminate first? 02:48 The overlooked opportunities in consumer robotics 04:15 Specialized robots vs. humanoids 06:23 Why technology both consolidates and specializes 07:40 Could robotic hands braid your hair? 08:10 Why home robots may not need humanoid bodies 10:10 The kitchen proves specialization can win 12:02 Why Roomba is still the consumer robotics benchmark 12:24 Why consumer robotics could take off now 14:06 AI is dramatically accelerating hardware development 15:04 Manufacturing, China, and the future of U.S. robotics 16:44 Could regulation actually favor humanoid robots? 18:01 What price will consumers pay for a home robot? 19:38 What would a skincare robot be worth? 21:50 The business model for consumer robotics 22:29 What investors are getting wrong about humanoids 24:09 Building the ecosystem for home robotics 25:00 What will the average home look like in 2036? 26:25 Who will own the operating system for physical AI? 27:12 The opportunity in robot training data 28:21 Final thoughts

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Humanoid robot news: all the top stories, updated every single weekday.

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