Part 7/11:
He emphasizes that AI model improvements are crucial, particularly in reliability and understanding of the environment. The hardware must also reach a certain maturity: scalable, reliable actuators, energy-efficient power systems, and cost-effective manufacturing are bottlenecks yet to be entirely solved.
Challenges in Hardware: Reliability, Costs, and Mechanical Complexity
A significant portion of the discussion focused on hardware challenges, especially for humanoid robots. Assarabis notes that actuators—the motors and motors associated with moving limbs—are the primary bottleneck. They need to meet stringent standards of:
Reliability (near-perfect uptime over years)
Precision
Cost-efficiency (to enable affordable robots for widespread adoption)