Robots at Home: Are Teleoperated Humanoids Really as Scary as They Seem?

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Connor Jewiss

5 min read

Humanoid robots have officially arrived... sort of. Companies are wheeling out sleek prototypes with human-like limbs, while cooing PR departments promise a future where your home is co-managed by a machine that never gets tired or complains about doing the dishes and other chores. InteractionLabs is pushing this even further. Its robot is essentially the long-lost cousin of Pixar's lamp Luxo Jr. -- complete with blinking eyes, bashful movements and personality oozing from its interactive voice. The startup even brought on a Toy Story animator to help nail the vibe.

This concept isn't new; Apple's first Macintosh said "Hello" when it booted up -- a simple touch that made the machine feel personable, friendly and alive. ## The future looks awkward

We're standing on the edge of a new chapter in domestic tech. The days of spending thousands of dollars and taking up floor space on multiple specialized home robots (like robot vacuums) are numbered.

Humanoid robots are coming, but not as all-knowing, self-driving household gods. They're arriving awkwardly, cautiously, part-human, part-machine and fully imperfect.