Did You Miss the News About Robots?
Other than the occasional news story about a new humanoid robot release, or a K9 robot equipped with a flame thrower as a PR stunt, the coming wave of robots plays second fiddle to the stream of news about generative AI. But the two are deeply linked. Advances in large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, have accelerated robots' ability to perceive, reason, and act in the real world, bringing embodied AI into the spotlight.
A hot dog
Since the chess-playing Mechanical Turk (powered by a human hidden inside) of the 1770s, people have speculated about when robots would start beating us at our own games. Today, it’s no longer a question of if robots will reshape our world, but how soon this transformation will take hold.
The Mechanical Turk was a fraud
Advances in embodied AI are accelerating at an unprecedented rate, and robots will rapidly become an integral part of our lives—both in businesses and homes. According to ARK Investment Management, humanoid robots alone could generate a $24 trillion market opportunity, split equally between household and manufacturing robotics. The potential economic impact is massive, and the next decade will witness an explosion in robotic adoption, driven by a simple truth: robots will become better, cheaper, faster, and safer than their human counterparts in many settings and industries.
How Embodied AI Will Change Our Lives
Robots are already performing tasks that once required human workers. In manufacturing, warehouses, healthcare, and logistics, they are taking on physical roles that are too dangerous, repetitive, or time-consuming for humans to handle efficiently. This shift is especially critical in industries facing labour shortages.
Japan and Automation in Logistics
In Japan, for example, new regulations on truck drivers’ working hours are set to take effect in 2024, which could disrupt supply chains and create workforce shortages. Automation is expected to fill the gap.
Simple robots are already common in the Japanese service sector
According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), automating logistics could save up to 25% of truck drivers’ working time by automating processes like cargo loading and unloading. Robots will not only address labour shortages but also improve working conditions and efficiency. I was in Japan earlier this year and was served coffee and food by more than one robot, including robots a the Dawn Robot Cafe that were operated by remote workers who could not leave their homes, or even beds, due to various health reasons.
Global Robot Rollout
Globally, we are seeing service robots increasingly used for transportation and logistics, particularly in countries like China, which aims for a mass rollout of humanoid robots by 2025. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Tesla has announced that its humanoid robot—Optimus—will be deployed internally in 2024, with the goal of full-scale production by 2026.
These robots will handle repetitive, dangerous, or tedious tasks, and Elon Musk envisions a future where robots like Optimus become as common as cars, working across industries like healthcare, logistics, and warehousing.
Robots in U.S. Manufacturing
ARK estimates that U.S. manufacturing alone could operate with approximately 5.9 million robots, producing the same output as the nearly 12 million human workers today.
Ark estimates
As the cost of robots continues to drop, this shift will radically alter the economics of production, potentially reducing labour costs by more than half while maintaining current levels of productivity.
The Human Element: How Will Workers Adapt?
The rise of robots presents both opportunities and challenges for the human workforce. While robots will take over many manual and repetitive tasks, they will also create new roles requiring human oversight, creativity, and problem-solving. Workers will need to adapt by acquiring skills in robot maintenance, AI programming, and systems integration—fields that are rapidly growing but still in their early stages.
Real-World Examples of Human-Robot Collaboration
For example, during a recent test at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg, the humanoid Figure 02 robot, developed by California’s Figure AI, was used to handle ergonomically difficult tasks. The robot inserted sheet metal parts into fixtures, allowing human workers to avoid physically demanding and awkward tasks. The success of this test highlights how robots and humans can collaborate to optimise production efficiency and worker safety.
As companies like Tesla and BMW continue to deploy robots, workers will need to focus on skills that robots can’t easily replicate—creativity, strategic thinking, and the emotional intelligence necessary for tasks like leadership and customer interaction.
Better, Cheaper, Faster, and Safer?
Why are robots gaining such widespread adoption? Here’s why businesses are embracing robots across industries:
Better: Robots already perform tasks with greater precision and consistency than humans. In industries like healthcare and manufacturing, robots are handling high-risk, complex tasks with fewer errors and greater reliability. Robots like Tesla’s Optimus are being tested to replace human workers in manufacturing, enhancing efficiency while reducing fatigue and injury.
Cheaper: The cost of robotics technology is falling rapidly. Humanoid robots, once costing hundreds of thousands, now cost as little as $16,000, with leasing options making them even more accessible. Robots don’t require salaries, healthcare, or pensions, making them a financially sound investment over the long term. ARK projects that at a price of $16,000, a humanoid robot would need to deliver just a 5% productivity boost relative to human workers to be economically viable.
Faster: Robots can work around the clock without breaks, significantly increasing productivity. Whether it’s robots in Japanese logistics automating loading and unloading processes or Figure AI robots in car manufacturing, their capacity to operate 24/7 reduces production times and speeds up workflows.
Safer: Robots are being deployed in industries where safety is critical, taking over dangerous or physically demanding roles. For instance, in BMW’s plants, robots like Figure 02 are performing tasks that reduce the risk of injury for human workers, improving overall workplace safety.
RaaS: A New Model for Robotics Deployment
Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) is revolutionising the deployment of robots across industries. RaaS involves not just software, but also physical hardware, form factor selection, and a comprehensive range of services—including financing, support, maintenance, training, and insurance. Here’s why RaaS is transforming industries:
Flexible Financing: RaaS enables businesses to lease robots rather than purchase them outright, lowering the barrier to entry. With manageable monthly fees, companies can scale their robotic workforce in response to market demand without large upfront costs. Compare the cost of robot financing to that of a cheap car, resulting in monthly costs of a few hundred pounds for the hardware alone.
Hardware and Form Factor Selection: RaaS providers offer a range of robots designed for different tasks and environments. Businesses can choose from humanoid robots for manufacturing, mobile robots for logistics, or service robots for hospitality and healthcare. This flexibility ensures that companies can deploy the right robots for their specific needs.
Comprehensive Support: RaaS packages come with technical support, maintenance, and regular upgrades, ensuring that robots stay operational and up to date with the latest technology. This also includes integration support to seamlessly incorporate robots into existing business systems.
AI Integration: RaaS robots can be equipped with both generalist and specialist AI models that are continuously updated. Figure AI has used ChatGPT’s vision and language capabilities in demonstrations. Whether it’s assisting in surgery, improving logistics, care for the elderly, or handling customer service, RaaS robots can perform a wide range of functions.
Insurance and Risk Management: RaaS providers also cover insurance, reducing financial risk for businesses. This includes insurance against malfunctions or accidents, ensuring that companies can adopt robots without worrying about liability.
RaaS is particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which can now access advanced robotics without needing the same financial resources as larger corporations. This levels the playing field and allows SMEs to compete in an increasingly automated world.
The Implications of Robot Adoption
As robots become more prevalent, there are important ethical questions to consider. Will the widespread adoption of robots lead to mass job displacement? How will society handle the transition as robots take over roles traditionally performed by humans?
Addressing Displacement and Regulation
For example, as humanoid robots take on more responsibilities in factories, what happens to the human workers they replace? While robots can eliminate dangerous or tedious tasks, there is still a need for policies that ensure displaced workers are retrained and redeployed into new roles that leverage their skills in different ways.
Moreover, as robots become more autonomous, questions about accountability will arise. Who is responsible if a robot malfunctions or makes a mistake that causes harm? Regulations around the ethical use of robots will need to evolve rapidly as their role in society expands.
The Future of Work: Robots and Humans Side by Side
As robots take on more tasks, the role of human workers will evolve. Robots are already showing their value in reducing dangerous, repetitive, and physically demanding work, allowing humans to focus on roles that require creativity, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence. We are heading towards a future where humans will work alongside robots, managing systems, designing workflows, and applying our unique strengths in ways that complement robotic efficiency.
With artificial general intelligence (AGI) on the horizon, robots could soon be designing other robots—optimising their own capabilities far beyond what we can envision today. We could see a world where robots dominate industries like construction and logistics, performing jobs that would be too dangerous for humans. In such a world, humans may no longer be insurable in high-risk occupations, leaving robots to take on those roles with greater precision and safety.
Key Takeaways
Scale of Impact: Humanoid robots alone could represent a $24 trillion market opportunity (Ark), transforming household and industrial sectors.
Robots in the Workforce: The integration of robots into industries like manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare is accelerating, with companies like Tesla and BMW already testing and deploying robots that will replace dangerous and repetitive tasks.
RaaS Revolution: Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) is evolving to make robotics more accessible to businesses, especially SMEs, by offering flexible financing, hardware selection, and comprehensive support, including AI model integration and insurance.
Human Adaptation: While robots take over manual tasks, new jobs in robot maintenance, AI programming, and systems integration will emerge, requiring workers to upskill and shift to roles requiring creativity, strategy, and emotional intelligence.
Ethical and Regulatory Considerations: The rapid rise of robots brings complex questions about job displacement, liability, and the need for new regulations to govern the ethical use of autonomous machines.
How will your business or industry leverage robotics to stay ahead, and what steps are you taking today to ensure you reamin relevant in an increasingly automated world?
Thanks for reading.