China wants to place humanoid robots in homes to fry eggs, do laundry, and make beds, but a test with 100 households shows that the elderly, children, pets, and fragile objects may be the biggest obstacle in the new AI race.

The humanoid robots are leaving technology fairs and trying to enter the most unpredictable environment possible: people’s homes. In China, the startup GigaAI presented the SeeLight S1, a domestic model capable of appearing in videos frying eggs, chopping vegetables, making beds, and doing laundry. The promise is to transform repetitive tasks into automated routines, but the challenge is much greater than placing a machine on an industrial line. Inside a home, there are children, elderly people, pets, misplaced furniture, fragile objects, and unexpected situations that require more than balance and precise movements.

China wants to place humanoid robots in homes to fry eggs, do laundry, and make beds, but a test with 100 households shows that the elderly, children, pets, and fragile objects may be the biggest obstacle in the new AI race.. The humanoid robots are leaving technology fairs and trying to enter the most unpredictable environment possible: people’s homes. In China, the startup GigaAI presented the SeeLight S1, a domestic model capable of appearing in videos frying eggs, chopping vegetables, making beds, and doing laundry. The promise is to transform repetitive tasks into automated routines, but the challenge is much greater than placing a machine on an industrial line. Inside a home, there are children, elderly people, pets, misplaced furniture, fragile objects, and unexpected situations that require more than balance and precise movements....