Ready for Tomorrow #88

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After a short break caused by work overload and some ‘being-a-proud-dad’ moments at home, I am back with fresh news from the world of robotics!

Did you miss me?

Good, because I missed you too ;)

No need to wait.

Things are happening in robotics.

HMND-01 Alpha. A British humanoid built in five months

The British company Humanoid showed the HMND-01 Alpha robot. It was built in record time. From the first sketch to a walking prototype, only five months passed. After assembly, the robot needed just two days to walk on its own.

All the walking training took place in the Nvidia Isaac Sim simulator. The robot went through more than 52 million seconds of training (about 602 days). This helped them skip long real-world tests and build a working model faster.

Alpha is 179 cm tall, has 29 degrees of freedom, can carry 15 kg, and uses a set of cameras and microphones. It can walk, turn, crouch, jump, and stand up after a strong push. For a prototype, it looks stable, though a simulator can sometimes be too kind.

The company talks about industry, logistics, and even future home use, but this sounds more like wishful thinking. A home is chaotic, and a humanoid must deal with details that are hard to predict. If these machines are useful anywhere, it will be on production floors first, doing simple and repeatable tasks.

It is hard not to appreciate the technology and the pace, but the question keeps coming back. Is the human form really the best form for the work we want robots to do? For now, this feels more like an experiment than an answer to real needs.

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Disney brings Olaf to life. A robot that looks straight out of the movie

Disney did something again that feels like a “living animation”. Parks will soon feature a robot Olaf from “Frozen”, one that walks, talks, gestures, and reacts to guests like a real character. This is not a costume or a puppet. It is a full robot that looks more alive than many humanoids designed for work.

The project comes from Walt Disney Imagineering, the Disney division that has mixed art and engineering for decades. They once made animations, then animatronics for their parks, and now they build robots that move and behave like characters from the screen. It is a natural evolution, and it makes sense that Disney would be the one to push this boundary so far.

Olaf was recreated with great detail. From his snow feet, to his eyebrow movements, to the soft “rubber-like” physics we know from the film. AI handles the reactions, and the whole construction is built to look light and funny. It is a robot that does not try to act human. It tries to act like Olaf. That is why it works so well.

And here my feelings are the opposite of how I feel about factory or home humanoids. When it comes to robots for heavy work, I am careful, because the human form often creates more problems than solutions. But in entertainment, it is a different story. Olaf is technology used exactly where it makes sense, because emotions and atmosphere matter more than function.

And I have to admit, I have a soft spot for “Frozen”. Olaf is one of my favourite characters. I just hope I do not say that too loudly at home, because my daughter will drag me to Disneyland ;P

SoftBank and Yaskawa want to bring robots into offices. Physical AI begins its work

In Japan, SoftBank and Yaskawa Electric announced a partnership to create a new generation of robots for office and public spaces. These machines will move through buildings, analyse their surroundings, and perform tasks without constant human supervision.

The project is developed under the name “Physical AI”. SoftBank brings fast data processing and connectivity, and Yaskawa brings its robot-building and motion-control experience. The mix should create robots that better understand what happens around them and react in real time.

The first presentation will take place at IREX 2025 in Tokyo. They will show a robot that moves well in an office, performs different tasks, carries objects, works with building systems, and functions next to people in normal conditions.

This direction is more interesting than placing humanoids everywhere. Here, the robot is a tool, not a human copy. And that makes sense to me. In offices and large buildings, this type of technology can work well, because flexibility and task variety matter most there.

AILOS Robotics develops components that may change robotics

AILOS Robotics, a young company founded at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, presented a new gearbox for robots called the R2poweR gearbox. Its goal is to make robots lighter, smoother, quieter, and safer to work with. The technology is meant for humanoids, cobots, exoskeletons, and prosthetics.

The new mechanism connects high force in joints with low resistance when moving backward. This lets the robot move smoothly and react faster to what is happening around it. It improves comfort and safety, especially in places where robots work near people.

The company secured 3.5 million euros in funding, which will help it enter the market and work with robot manufacturers. It is a sign that this technology may appear in real machines, not only in labs.

And this is what matters in this field. Everyone talks about big humanoids, but real progress happens in components that later go into every type of robot. Lighter and safer drives benefit all robotics, not only machines that mimic people. Good direction.

MenteeBot goes to the warehouse. A humanoid that actually works

Mentee Robotics, founded by one of the creators of Mobileye, showed its MenteeBot V3 doing real warehouse work. In the video, two robots move 32 boxes from eight different stacks and place them on four shelves. The video lasts 18 minutes without cuts, so you can see every step.

The robots work fully on their own. Each box must be analysed. Height, grip, approach, obstacle avoidance. Both robots move in the same space and do not block each other. It looks like normal work, not a staged demo.

MenteeBot is 175 cm tall, has a battery for over three hours of work, and uses a fast swap system. It can lift 25 kg, and its “brain” is based on two Jetson Orin AGX processors, so it makes decisions locally, without the cloud or operators. This matters, because warehouses need fast reactions and predictable behaviour.

The company targets the B2B market: warehouses, logistics, and plants that need repeatable physical work. This robot is not for home use. It is not for cute interactions. It is a tool built for moving boxes, shelves, and goods, for many hours a day.

And this is the key point. MenteeBot shows a direction that makes sense. Robots in warehouses solve a real problem, not the problem of copying a human body. The question is whether this will be the long-term direction, or a transition before new designs appear.

For now, MenteeBot looks promising, but only real warehouses will show if logistics humanoids will stay with us for good.

That is all for this edition of Ready For Tomorrow.

Talk to you soon.

Cheers,
Jacek!