Meet your future Robo Butler

#3 of my Tech Predictions for 2023

Imagine a world where your every need is attended to by a robot servant at your beck and call. From making your morning coffee to folding your laundry, these advanced machines could revolutionize the way we live and work. And they are closer to being a reality than most of us think.

2023 could end up being the year of the robot. Shortage of labor has enhanced the build-out of robotics in many different areas. A lot is happening in this area, and it has been under development for a long time.

One of the most interesting projects is the Tesla Humanoid: Optimus. So much technological innovation goes into a project like this. Everything from actuators, data systems, training software, and self-steering AI systems must be built from the ground up. But these components are already being developed in the car division of Tesla, so they have the expertise to make this happen.

Optimus was revealed at Tesla AI Day #2 in October.

Other companies are following suit: Xiaomi launched the prototype of their CyberOne humanoid Robot. At the museum of the Future in Dubai, launched in 2022, you can meet Ameca, created by Engineered Arts in the UK. Sofia, made by Hanson Robotics in Hong Kong, even gave a speech at the UN and was the first to be granted citizenship of a country (Saudi Arabia).

Atlas from Boston Dynamics doing somersaults.

And then there is Boston Dynamics (now owned by Hyundai Motor Group). who built Atlas and Spot. If you haven’t seen their parkour and the dance video, you’re in for quite a surprise. And they keep impressing us with their development. The latest video, released in January 2023, shows Atlas Grabbing and throwing stuff. So, they definitely mean serious business. They are laying the groundwork for future humanoid robots while bringing commercial robots into the market to companies like DHL.

Even though The Tesla Optimus can’t dance and do somersaults like the Boston Dynamics robot Atlas, it might very well be way more interesting because, according to Elon Musk, this one can potentially be mass-produced at an affordable price level. It is expected to land at a price point of around $20.000. But unfortunately, we will have to be patient for at least a few years.

Meanwhile, automated kitchen robots from Miso Robotics are preparing French fries and chicken wings around the world, while service bots from Pudu Robotics are delivering the food to the tables. They have already successfully deployed their robotic solutions in more than 600 cities around the world.

The BellaBot from Pudu Robotics is already working hard in the Food and Beverage Industry around the world.

The potential is huge. The International Federation of Robotics predicts that the global service robot market is expected to reach a size of around $20.2 billion in 2023. The opportunity to aid millions of people with their boring jobs or in their houses might still be a pipe dream for now, but the progress delivered is impressive.

I predict that most of us will meet a commercial Robo Butler for the first time in our life within the next year. We will see lots of innovation, new releases and product roll-outs in the robotic space in 2023.