I completely agree with you. Our family's first computer ran Windows 3.1. Moving to Windows 95 was a huge revelation about the potential that a computer could unleash.
If a company has a fundamentally good business model, I can just buy the stock and forget about it for years. I wish there were something equivalent for companies with bad business models. You can't just short something and come back ten years later to check the price.
I've been FASCINATED by Automats ever since I watched Bugs Bunny as a child. The idea that you could just walk up, look at what looked good, and buy it seemed indescribably awesome.
I cover thousands of miles a year on my feet. Darn Tough socks live up to the name. I've never put a single hole in them. I've torn up socks from most other brands in a few hundred miles.
I see two different things going on. First, there's some market for humanoid robots, and Hyundai is spending a small amount of its R&D budget exploring the options.
Second, I have to imagine that there are spillover effects for their other robots. Being able to make legs that are nimble is good for the ability to make grabber arms for industrial robots. So even if the humanoid product line goes nowhere, they could end up with better material handlers.
I think we'll start seeing humanoid robots doing boring things in controlled settings within a decade. Imagine that Hyundai built a robot that can empty a Hyundai dishwasher and take out the trash from a Hyundai trash can. I could imagine senior living communities and college dorms using them to go from room to room to keep things tidy.
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