00:00A $5 billion startup is putting humanoid robots to work in Texas.
00:04Their facility, Robot Park, shows off the uncanny promise of these machines.
00:08This is Aptronic, an Austin-based company whose investors include Google, Mercedes-Benz,
00:13and John Deere.
00:14At Robot Park, the machines pick up toys from shelves and put them into bins, or load items
00:18into conveyor belts.
00:20Each physical move they make is logged.
00:22But as impressive as Robot Park is, it's also a demonstration that the robot-powered
00:27future that it previews is not quite here yet.
00:29The company says its robots can operate autonomously.
00:32On the day I visited, though, all the robots I saw were being steered by human pilots who
00:36wore virtual reality headsets and sensor-covered suits.
00:39The main utility of these C-3PO-like machines is not yet to move stuff around, but just
00:44to generate data to create AI systems that, theoretically, could allow robots to handle
00:50real jobs in industrial, healthcare, and retail settings at some point in the future.
00:54Jeff Cardenas, the CEO of Aptronic, isn't trying to hide this.
00:58On our tour, he didn't give in to the hype that's been built up around humanoid robotics
01:02lately.
01:02But he's also a true believer.
01:04In the long term, he says, the optimism is warranted.
01:07He compared humanoid robots today to personal computers in the 1980s.
01:11Good for only limited tasks, but also powerful enough to show where this might all be headed.
01:15That's great.
01:15I know this idea, but I hope that's good.
01:16I know this idea.
01:16I think about it.
Comments