A humanoid robot drew stares in Manhattan this week, and the company behind it says this is only the start. Faraday Future showed off Futurist, an AI-powered humanoid, around an investor conference on Park Avenue, and CBS News New York filmed the reaction. If you wondered when robots would leave the demo stage and turn up near you, this is a small, odd step that way.
People on the street reacted with everything from fear and revulsion to awe. "I think it's very impressive that we have the technology that can do that," said tech worker Matt Johnson.
What Faraday Future is selling
The company pitched a suite of robots, with uses from thermal imaging to home companionship. Executive chairman Jerry Wang named education as the leading use, saying schools, kids and parents are all buying. That is the company's own claim, and CBS reported no independent check of those sales.
Prices run from $299 to $137,900, a spread that suggests very different machines under one brand. In an SEC filing on its September 19 launch of nine new robot configurations, the company listed the Futurist Standard at $89,900 and its industrial FX Aegis Hyper from $137,900, so the Futurist itself sits well above the low end. Faraday Future expects to deliver nearly 2,000 robots in its first full year of business. That is a projection, not shipments, and the report doesn't say when that year starts.
Privacy and jobs
The robot's cameras and voice detection worry some people. Wang's answer: "We're not collecting any of the privacy data. We collect data, and we use this data with users' consent". Those two sentences sit awkwardly together, and the report gives no detail on what is collected or how consent works.
On jobs, Wang said robots will take on tasks in manufacturing and construction. "Sadly, it's going to happen anyway," he said, urging workers to learn to work alongside robots. He also predicted robotic products will outnumber humans in ten years. Those are forecasts from an executive at an investor event, so read them as sales pitch.
What we don't know yet
The report doesn't say whether Futurist was walking on its own or being guided, or which price tier it belongs to. Those details decide whether this is a product or a promotion.
The company's own filing adds weight to the caution. It says Faraday Future may not be able to continue as a going concern, warns that failed financing could lead it to seek bankruptcy protection, and says it relies on Chinese manufacturers for all of its robots, with a possible federal ban on Chinese robotics imports as a risk. The filing says products are available for sale and delivery but gives no unit delivery numbers. All of that matters when weighing a forecast of nearly 2,000 robots.
Watch for Faraday Future's first delivery numbers and a written privacy policy for the cameras and microphones. Would you let a robot with a camera and microphone into your child's classroom?
Sources
Reported by the WattsUpNext desk from the sources linked below. Spot an error? Tell us at corrections@wattsupnext.com.
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