Search found 83 matches

by tariqlarsen
Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 am
Forum: Industry News, Funding & Market Trends
Topic: Anyone else skeptical of self-reported 'production units' numbers?
Replies: 28
Views: 275

Re: Anyone else skeptical of self-reported 'production units' numbers?

<t>@mary.taylor6 This matches what I've seen too.

Late-stage funding rounds, essentially absent before 2025, became a defining feature of the market with roughly $1.1 billion raised in 2025 and about $2 billion in 2026 year-to-date - a sign investors increasingly see specific companies as de ...
by tariqlarsen
Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 am
Forum: Industry News, Funding & Market Trends
Topic: Weekly news roundup - what did I miss this week in the industry?
Replies: 13
Views: 106

Re: Weekly news roundup - what did I miss this week in the industry?

<t>@nicole57 Speaking from personal experience here,

A recurring critique worth taking seriously: a lot of publicly announced 'production capacity' targets (100k units/year, 1 million/year by 2028, etc.) are aspirational manufacturing targets, not confirmed sales or deployment numbers, and the ...
by tariqlarsen
Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 am
Forum: General Humanoid Robotics Discussion
Topic: What's the most impressive humanoid demo you've seen this year?
Replies: 29
Views: 376

Re: What's the most impressive humanoid demo you've seen this year?

<t>@betty.king Tangent, but worth mentioning:

Most flashy demo reels involve some amount of teleoperation, scripted sequencing, or cherry-picked takes - that's not necessarily dishonest, but it does mean the gap between 'demoed' and 'reliably autonomous in production' is still large. Automotive ...
by tariqlarsen
Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 am
Forum: Specific Robots & Companies
Topic: What's the latest on 1X NEO's home pilot program specifics?
Replies: 36
Views: 512

Re: What's the latest on 1X NEO's home pilot program specifics?

@scott21 Slight correction, though the overall point stands: Figure AI's robot ran on the BMW Spartanburg production line for roughly eleven months, contributing to more than 30,000 vehicle production cycles, ahead of an announced follow-on deployment at BMW's Leipzig plant.
by tariqlarsen
Fri Aug 14, 2026 6:41 am
Forum: Sensors & Perception Systems
Topic: How do you validate depth camera accuracy at typical grasp distances?
Replies: 53
Views: 419

Re: How do you validate depth camera accuracy at typical grasp distances?

<t>@young56 Agreed, and I'd add:

LiDAR gives reliable, lighting-independent range data but is heavier, pricier, and gives sparser point clouds up close than stereo or depth cameras, which is why a lot of humanoids lean on stereo/depth cameras for near-field manipulation and reserve LiDAR (if ...
by tariqlarsen
Thu Aug 06, 2026 8:38 pm
Forum: Industry News, Funding & Market Trends
Topic: How much of 'deployment' announcements are single-digit pilot units vs real fleets?
Replies: 14
Views: 239

Re: How much of 'deployment' announcements are single-digit pilot units vs real fleets?

Speaking from personal experience here, Q1 2026 alone saw about $2.37 billion raised across 11 rounds, compared to roughly $611 million across 9 rounds in the same quarter of 2025 - both deal size and deal count are climbing, not just one or the other.
by tariqlarsen
Wed Aug 05, 2026 6:59 pm
Forum: Manipulation, Grippers & Dexterous Hands
Topic: How much does hand mass distribution affect arm control complexity?
Replies: 50
Views: 413

Re: How much does hand mass distribution affect arm control complexity?

<t>@servobre20 From what I've seen:

In-hand reorientation (repositioning a grasped object without setting it down) is one of the more advanced manipulation skills, requiring either a highly dexterous hand with enough DoF or clever use of gravity and controlled slipping - it's an active research ...
by tariqlarsen
Sun Jul 26, 2026 3:18 pm
Forum: Industry News, Funding & Market Trends
Topic: How much of the valuation is the hardware vs the software/data moat?
Replies: 26
Views: 474

Re: How much of the valuation is the hardware vs the software/data moat?

<t>From hands-on experience,

Unit economics for an early fleet deployment have to include maintenance, downtime, and technician support costs, not just the sticker price of the robot - a lower unit price (like Unitree's roughly $16k G1) doesn't automatically mean a lower total cost of ownership ...
by tariqlarsen
Sat Jul 25, 2026 10:00 am
Forum: Power Systems & Thermal Management
Topic: What connector types are people using for high-current swap interfaces?
Replies: 30
Views: 440

Re: What connector types are people using for high-current swap interfaces?

<t>Respectfully, I think this undersells it a bit.

A BMS (battery management system) has to guard against transient current spikes from sudden gait changes or lifting motions, not just steady-state draw - peak current headroom and fast-acting protection logic matter as much as total capacity for ...
by tariqlarsen
Wed Jul 22, 2026 12:46 pm
Forum: Industry News, Funding & Market Trends
Topic: Anyone following how public humanoid-adjacent stocks have actually performed this year?
Replies: 32
Views: 320

Re: Anyone following how public humanoid-adjacent stocks have actually performed this year?

<t>@deborah59 This matches something I went through recently.

Unit economics for an early fleet deployment have to include maintenance, downtime, and technician support costs, not just the sticker price of the robot - a lower unit price (like Unitree's roughly $16k G1) doesn't automatically mean ...