The article also mentions the potential for Apple to repurpose technologies developed for self-driving cars for home robots. However, it notes that Apple has not yet committed to any specific home robot projects. The company has assigned Apple Home executives Matt Costello and Brian Lynch to the hardware side of potential projects, with SVP of Machine Learning and AI Strategy John Giannandrea involved on the AI side. The article suggests that Apple could develop a product similar to Amazon's Astro home robot, but warns that such a project would need to overcome the high costs and limited functionality that have hampered Astro's success.
Key takeaways:
- Apple is reportedly exploring the notoriously difficult path of home robots, following the failure of its electric vehicle ambitions and the mixed success of its mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro.
- The only successful home robot to date has been the robot vacuum, with iRobot's Roomba leading the industry for the past two decades.
- Home robot functionality is severely hampered by form factor, with the prevalent hockey puck design limiting the tasks the robots can perform. Mobile manipulators, which are more complex, could potentially perform more tasks but are currently prohibitively expensive.
- Apple has not yet committed to the robotic smart screen or mobile robot that are rumored to be in development, but has put key executives in charge of the hardware and AI aspects of the project.