Hasta La Ideas

Cool new humanoid robot design! This one is by startup Apptronik, which was once part of UT Austin’s Human Centered Robotics Lab, so this one might not kill us.

It’s called Apollo, and it’s meant to steal jobs from assist warehouse and factory workers, “eventually extending into construction, oil and gas, electronics production, retail, home delivery, elder care and countless more areas,” Apptronik writes.

The company says it’s “the first commercial humanoid robot that was designed for friendly interaction, mass manufacturability, high payloads and safety.” It does indeed look friendlier than the robot rabble we’ve been seeing lately. I like its flat white face, and hope it’s made of dry-erase material so you can scrawl obscene sketches or draw your own nose and mouth on it.

In actuality, its face is an e-ink display, allowing you to literally read its lips.

Would also be fun if the chest screen can play Space Invaders, with the ‘bot compelled to stop whatever it’s doing and remain in place for as long as you want to play.

Something I really dig, that we haven’t seen in those other ‘bots, is that it’s got a red “Off” button on its back. I was thinking I’d like to see it on its forehead or chest, but it makes more sense on the back—that way it can’t see you coming and defend itself.

As punishment, its legs can be removed and replaced with a plinth that you bolt to the floor. It will think twice before attempting to organize another revolt.

Conversely, you can reward sufficiently subservient models by gifting them a wheeled platform. Insist the other, legged robots refer to him as the “centaur” of your operation.

Did you know? When you fire a robot, you give it a cardboard box. It has to take itself apart and put all the pieces inside the box.

The company says the robot will be commercially available in 2025.