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The killer feature for humanoid robots is home healthcare. A lot of people don't want to move out of their homes and go to a nursing home, yet they need monitored to ensure they're safe. They may need meal preparation, cleaning, ensuring they're taking their medicine and the ability to call 911.

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Almost none of these problems scream "robots to the rescue". Monitoring: more drop cams. Meal prep: delivery services. Cleaning: sporadic visits by cleaner. Med monitoring: IoT pill boxes. Calling 911: pendant buttons. All these things already exist. Don't get me wrong. I'm bullish on robots -- I've been working in this space for nearly 10 years now. But one has to look very critically at problems and whether robots are indeed the best solution. Homes are still very difficult for robots to navigate, even humanoids.

But why would they have to be humanoid? I don't think I'd ever OK with a humanoid robot in my home (at least not the ones I've seen). They seem creepy and malevolent to me.

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