We know that Apple has made some effort stepping into the robotics market, what with its much rumoured smart display with a robotic arm. But as it turns out, the bitten fruit brand’s efforts into making robots go much further, as it has recently showcased a prototype that does a lot more.
Revealed via its ELEGNT paper and accompanying video, Apple researchers showed an anthropomorphic lamp robot that looks and acts quite a bit like the Pixar mascot Luxo Jr. The researchers explain that it was meant o be more than just functional, with its expressive design model allowing it to interact more naturally with humans.
But while the lamp robot looks impressive, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo notes that it will be awhile before a proof-of-concept (POC) like that gets translated into something you can buy. On X, Kuo says that “given current progress and typical development cycles, Apple’s robot mass production likely won’t start until 2028 or later”.
Though he does point out that the company is being unusually open about sharing its robotics research in such an early stage. Kuo speculates that this may be used for Apple to attract talent to contribute to the project.
Of course, it’s worth remembering that a POC serves as a testing ground to verify if a project is worth further investment. With that in mind, people should not be holding their breaths for the company to actually make something of it. Kuo reminds us in his post that the cancelled Apple Car was one such POC, with the foldable iPhone also falling under this category.
(Source: Apple, Ming-Chi Kuo / X)
