Safety is overlooked to rush to bring humanoid robots to work. As a leading company, from retailers such as Amazon to automakers such as Mercedes and BMW, has announced humanoid pilots for factories and warehouses, so the conversation on workers’ safety is regularly buried under the industry’s overexplo.
One Bay Area Robotics company hopes to correct the tribe.
Painting AI announced that Tuesday will build a development center of Humanoid Safety, a company in -house, which focuses entirely on the topic. Rob Gruendel, a former Amazon Robotics safety engineer that leads the project, has released a plan through a Linkedin post.
The initial factory and warehouse systems are large and heavy, solving safety problems through cages. Subsequent solutions have been converted into technologies, including high -end computer vision, software developed by VEO ROBOTICS and safety vests designed by Amazon.
Amazon’s wearable is designed only for internal use and will not appear outside the transition center. Despite this technology, the company still uses a protective cage for many robots. Meanwhile, Veo Robotics was absorbed by Symbotic in 2024. More recently, Symbotic has taken the reins of Walmart’s robot department.
Although it is worth the ability to integrate adaptability, multipurpose and existing Brownfield warehouses, Humanoid Form Factor introduces new safety issues. After all, one of the main sales points in the category is the ability to work with humans. In the factory and the inside of the warehouse, it is likely to cause injuries by freely large and large metal bodies, such as soft and living colleagues.
Work safety organizations, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), can do a lot of work in terms of automation safety regulations. According to the federal agency, there is no “specific OSHA standard for the robot industry” today. This extensive concern should be solved, but especially regulations for humanoids are especially timely.
Picture AI listens to the difference.
“One of the recent success was to complete the OSHA recognition independent test laboratory and official plan to certify the robot’s battery, functional safety control system and electrical system as an industrial standard.
FETCH founder Melonee Wise has made the core focus of Humanoid Safety, the chief technical officer in 2023, after joining the agility robot.
“If humanoid robots work in this space, safety is not clear.” “(Tesla ‘s) There is no easy stop for optimus. Many (humanoid robots) do not stop, which violates safety standards. It is clear that many companies are not interested. ”
The creation of the center for the development of humanoid safety is an important stage of the journey.
“We often know the mercy of technical experts to determine whether the general population often can be safe for AI control robots. “We want to talk directly with our customers. We will test and communicate the stability of the robot while being fixed. Fixed, stability, stability on the go, human detection, four leg pet detection, safe AI behavior and injuries. We will make a customer’s suggestion on how to test more than 02. ”
The picture plans to post a quarterly update that provides more transparency on the process. The report includes modifications for test procedures and potential risks.
According to Gruendel, “We will summarize success and failure.
Such success and failure can eventually break the gap of safety and prepare for the industry for the next big leap. Bring the robot home.
As more companies try to bring this robot home, humanoid safety standards will be increasingly essential.
