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The robots are coming 🤖

November 04, 2025 / 01:15

This episode discusses a humanoid robot designed for household chores, featuring insights from Joanna Stern's demo experience. Key topics include the robot's capabilities, such as watering plants, vacuuming, and doing laundry.

The conversation highlights the robot's design, which includes camera sensors for eyes and microphones for ears. The hosts express excitement about the robot's potential to automate daily tasks, making life easier for homeowners.

However, the discussion also addresses concerns about the robot's actual functionality, as demonstrated by Joanna Stern, who revealed that the robot's actions were controlled remotely rather than being fully autonomous.

The hosts emphasize the gap between the marketed vision of a fully autonomous robot and the current reality, noting that many consumers may be misled by the promotional material.

Overall, the episode critiques the hype surrounding the technology while acknowledging its innovative aspects.

TLDR

A humanoid robot for chores is showcased, but concerns arise about its actual autonomy versus marketing hype.

Episode

1:15
00:00:00
So, this robot, it's a 5'6, 66-lb humanoid robot. It has a pair of eyes on the front, which are camera sensors. It
00:00:06
has ears on the sides, which are microphones. It has little lights where the ears would be. It waters your
00:00:10
plants. It vacuums the floor. It takes the laundry out. It folds it. It puts stuff away. It does the dishes. It
00:00:16
cleans the toilet. It just lives at home doing your chores. And then when it's done, after the 4 hour battery life is
00:00:22
up, it walks back over to the charger, plugs itself in, and docks. That is a very cool idea. That being said, I also
00:00:30
watched a Joanna Stern video and she got a demo in person of this robot. So, they
00:00:35
brought it to her. 100% of the things that were happening in her demo time were teley operated, operated by a guy
00:00:43
in another room with a VR headset and controllers. They're selling the dream. I think that the fully working, fully
00:00:50
autonomous robot where you leave home in the morning and you come back at night and everything is done and cleaned up
00:00:56
for you every day. you never have to empty a dishwasher or do laundry ever again. That dream is awesome and I think
00:01:04
a lot of people are buying that dream and I have no problem with the price of that dream. The problem I have is the
00:01:11
thing that they're selling is far from that

Episode Highlights

  • The Humanoid Robot
    A humanoid robot that can do chores like vacuuming and laundry, but is not fully autonomous.
    “It just lives at home doing your chores.”
    @ 00m 16s
    November 04, 2025
  • The Reality of Demos
    Demos of the robot are controlled remotely, raising questions about its true capabilities.
    “100% of the things that were happening in her demo time were tele-operated.”
    @ 00m 38s
    November 04, 2025
  • The Dream vs. Reality
    While the idea of a fully autonomous robot is appealing, it remains unfulfilled.
    “The problem I have is the thing that they're selling is far from that.”
    @ 01m 11s
    November 04, 2025

Episode Quotes

  • The dream is awesome, but it's far from reality.
    The robots are coming 🤖

Key Moments

  • Robot Capabilities00:16
  • Demo Reality00:38
  • Dream vs. Reality01:11