No, it’s not a cage fight between Elon and Zuck. It’s not even a boxing match between RoboElon and AutoZuck. It is a battle though. A battle for market share.

And the winner is you, the customer. Since Tesla launched their Optimus X, powered by xAI, and Meta announced that their AI was behind Figure 09, competition in the market for general purpose humanoid robots – droids – has simply exploded.

It’s all a question of critical mass, and mass production, which brings down the cost to the end user, just like with electric cars. Droids like Optimus and Figure are a fraction of the price of a new car, and a lot more useful around the house, office, or factory.

With lightweight electric motors and advanced battery technology, these droids can work for hours at even the most boring tasks, and they’re stronger than a human of similar size. In dangerous situations, they’re expendable – to save lives.

But it’s the AI systems originally developed for self-driving cars and chatbots that make Optimus and Figure so easy to work with. They understand natural language, and can learn new tasks. You only have to show them, or send them a link to a ‘how to’ video. For a simple task involving recognizable objects, you only have to ask!

Now the battle is raging to dominate this space, and Tesla and Meta are slashing prices to encourage adoption. Nvidia is happily supplying the chips to keep the droids trained. Google has long ago exited the robotics field when they sold Boston Dynamics to Hyundai, but Apple is rumoured to have a secret project to develop their own iDroid.

Whether it’s a question of affordability or features, there are several models to choose from. You’re certain to find the one that’s right for you.

These are the droids you’ve been looking for.

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Futureworld’s global network of futurists and advisors are constantly on the lookout for emerging technologies that will change the world – again. Technology Intelligence is one of the various lenses we utilize in our outside-in research and insights approach. By identifying technology insights from the edge, we are better positioned to partner with clients to design and create game-changing new business opportunities. For more information, please reach out to Futureworld Research and Insights leader Adam Parsons or the author of this Mindbullet Doug Vining.