Ready For Tomorrow #84

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Hey, it’s Jacek, and this is Ready for Tomorrow,
your weekly look at what’s shaping the world of robotics and automation.

This week we’ve got two stories from the Chinese giant Unitree,
a new low-cost humanoid that could bring robots into our homes,
Amazon’s latest warehouse system,
and a record-breaking milestone from Locus Robotics,
which just passed 6 billion picked items worldwide.

Let’s dive in.

Unitree H2: The Sci-Fi Humanoid That Just Became Real

The new Unitree H2 is a humanoid robot that looks like it came straight out of a science fiction movie, but this time it’s real. It stands almost 1.8 meters tall, weighs 70 kilograms, and moves so smoothly that you sometimes forget it’s a machine. Its titanium and aluminum body is lightweight yet extremely durable, and the bionic head with facial expressions makes it look surprisingly human.

Compared to the previous H1 model, the new H2 has more joints, meaning more points where it can bend and move. It’s as if someone added more muscles and tendons, giving it smoother, more balanced motion. Engineers have also redesigned its “spine,” so it can maintain balance better and react faster when something goes wrong.

Experts say the H2 is a step toward humanoids that not only follow commands but can truly collaborate with humans - in laboratories, at universities, and maybe one day in ordinary homes.

The price? Around 30,000 dollars.

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Unitree’s Humanoid Robots Take the Stage in Beijing Theater

Unitree has entered the theater, literally. During the 100th performance of Tiangong Kaiwu at the Tianqiao Art Center in Beijing, two humanoid robots dressed in traditional Chinese costumes appeared on stage alongside human dancers. They bowed, performed synchronized movements, and even executed flips and kung fu elements, earning a standing ovation from the audience.

Tiangong Kaiwu is a modern tribute to the 17th century encyclopedia of inventions written by Song Yingxing in 1637. The performance blends ancient craftsmanship, the sounds of work, and dance with new technology, now including robots.

What makes this moment special is that for the first time, humanoid robots have become part of cultural storytelling, not just a lab demo or trade show act. It is a test of whether audiences can accept robots as full-fledged performers capable of rhythm, emotion, and live collaboration with humans.

Yes, it is still a show. But if we are looking for signs of the times, from national galas to dance theaters, China is gradually normalizing humanoid robots in mainstream culture, paving the way for more practical performances in the future.

Amazon Introduces Blue Jay, a New Warehouse Robot That Might Redefine Human Work

Amazon has unveiled Blue Jay, its newest warehouse robot designed to supposedly support workers by taking over repetitive and physically demanding tasks. In reality, it is a powerful integrated system of multiple robotic arms that replaces three previous workstations, handling picking, placing, and consolidating operations all in one location.

Blue Jay is currently being tested in a warehouse in South Carolina, where it already manages up to 75 percent of all products. It moves like a perfectly synchronized juggler, precise, fast, and remarkably consistent. Amazon says that with the help of digital twin technology, it managed to reduce the system’s development time to just one year.

Officially, Blue Jay is meant to relieve workers and improve safety. But looking at the broader picture, the story may be more complex. Amazon already employs over one million robots, and internal documents suggest that by 2033, the company could “save” over 600,000 jobs through automation.

New facilities such as the one in Shreveport are already operating with 25 percent fewer employees, and more sites are expected to follow. Amazon continues to claim that technology helps people, but in practice, Blue Jay could mark the beginning of an era where robots do not just assist humans, they replace them.

What we see today in South Carolina, a few robotic arms with suction cups, might be the first act in the massive transformation of physical workplaces.

Noetix Robotics Launches Bumi, the Most Affordable Humanoid Yet

Noetix Robotics has done something no one expected. It has brought humanoid robots to ordinary homes. Their new creation, Bumi, stands less than one meter tall, weighs twelve kilograms, and costs around 1,400 dollars. That is not a typo. It is the most affordable humanoid on the market.

Bumi can walk, dance, respond to voice commands, and can be programmed through a simple drag-and-drop interface. You do not need a robotics degree to teach it basic movements. The company says it is the first humanoid made for everyday people, ideal for learning, play, and even classroom use.

It feels like the beginning of a new era where a home robot costs as much as a decent laptop. But let’s stay realistic. It is not yet a helper that makes your coffee. For now, it is a small, friendly experiment that shows humanoids are finally stepping down from research labs and into our living rooms.

Locus Robotics Breaks Record with 6 Billion Picked Items

Locus Robotics has crossed an impressive milestone of 6 billion picked items. Meaning individual products retrieved by robots from shelves during order fulfillment. This does not refer to the final parcels shipped to customers, but to each single product that goes into those parcels.

For example, if a customer orders 3 mugs and 2 notebooks, the robot picks 5 items from different locations in the warehouse. Only afterward are these products packed together into one shipment.

What makes this milestone even more remarkable is that the last billion items were processed in just 24 weeks, marking the fastest growth rate in the company’s history.

Locus Robotics develops autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that work alongside warehouse employees, reducing the distance they need to walk and speeding up the picking process. The LocusONE system is now deployed in over 350 warehouses worldwide, serving more than 150 customers across retail, 3PL logistics, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors.

In 2025, Locus reports a 30–40 percent year-over-year increase, reaching throughput rates of up to 300 units per second, or roughly 45 million picks per week, with peak season volumes expected to hit 60 million.

This milestone shows that AMR robots are becoming an essential part of modern logistics and e-commerce.

That’s it for this week’s edition of Ready for Tomorrow.

From humanoids learning to dance, to warehouse bots breaking records.
It’s clear the robotic future isn’t coming.

It’s already here.

If you enjoyed this issue, share it with someone who’s as curious about the future as you are.
And as always - stay curious, stay bold…

and stay ready for tomorrow.