A wheeled robot may beat humanoids into your home - Fox News

Hello Robot presents Stretch 4 as calibrated, portable and deployable. However, its technical sheet also says it is currently intended for research, development and laboratory use. Researchers and enterprise customers can buy it now. The company also plans home pilot deployments. That real-home testing is important. A staged demo can look great online. A hallway with a rug, a laundry basket and a dog is a much better test.

HUMANOID ROBOTS ARE GETTING SMALLER, SAFER AND CLOSER

Why this wheeled home robot skips legs

Humanoid robots get plenty of attention because they look familiar. They also make it easy to imagine a machine moving through your home like a person. However, legs add risk and complexity. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A new wheeled robot could help people at home before many humanoid robots are ready for everyday use. That is the big idea behind Hello Robot's Stretch 4. While many companies are developing human-shaped robots that walk, balance and try to act like us, Stretch 4 takes a different route. It rolls.

That may sound less exciting at first. However, inside a real home, wheels may make more sense than legs. Homes have rugs, cords, pets, narrow hallways, tight corners and furniture that always seems to get in the way.

A robot that can move carefully through that mess and reach for useful objects could become more helpful than one that looks impressive in a social media video.

HOME ROBOT AUTOMATES HOUSEHOLD CHORES LIKE ROSIE FROM 'THE JETSONS' Stretch 4 will not win a robot beauty contest. It will not walk through your house like a person. It will not look like the humanoid robots taking over social media feeds. Yet it may be closer to what you actually need. Hello Robot seems focused on a more grounded goal: build a robot that can help safely inside real homes. That may sound less exciting than a humanoid helper. However, it could mean far more to someone who needs daily help. And if Stretch 4 proves itself in homes, humanoid robot companies may have to answer a tougher question.

Would you rather have a robot that looks human or one that can safely help you at home? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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