The most important news and breakthroughs in robotics this week
Click here to see a side-by-side comparison of Tesla’s and
Figure’s humanoid robots running across the lab. Image Source: Interesting Engineering
1. The era of slow, lumbering humanoids is officially over: Tesla just dropped viral footage of its Optimus robot jogging eerily like a human, with dramatically improved balance and gait control. Robotics startup Figure AI clapped back with a video of its own, teasing the extraordinary speed and agility of its 03 humanoid. Both videos instantly blew up on social media, shattering the industry benchmark and igniting a debate on who did it better. Here’s an “apples to apples” comparison so you can judge for yourself.
2. The White House is going all-in on robotics: According to Politico, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is meeting with industry CEOs about a potential executive order next year. Discussions center around tax incentives and federal funding for robotics companies, strengthening supply chains, and implementing trade policies targeting Chinese subsidies and IP practices. It’s an attempt by the US to close the gap with China, which operates 2M industrial robots to America’s 440K, according to data by the IFR.
3. UK firm Humanoid’s new robot walks 48 hours after assembly: Talk about being a fast learner. The HMND 01 Alpha robot has shattered development timelines, reportedly reaching stable walking in just 48 hours after final assembly. The company used Nvidia’s Isaac Sim model to train the robot using more than 52.5M seconds of locomotion data in two days, compressing what would’ve been more than 19 months of conventional training. You can watch the record-breaking feat here.
via Superhuman