THEY ARE HERE: THE RISE AND RISE OF AI ROBOTS

YOU can spot them blinking away, triggering awe and curiosity. They enable check-ins at some airline counters, roll across hotel reception areas offering welcome drinks, serve orders at restaurants.

- SHANKKAR AIYAR

They are manning duties in warehouses, factories and logistics hubs. They are deployed at bars, aid doctors in surgery and first responders in triage. They are not yet ubiquitous, but there is no doubt that robots are here.

The buzz is visible in headlines streaming live. Masayoshi Son is making a $1.3-trillion bet under Project Crystal Land alongside TSMC for building robots and AI hubs. Tesla is all set, finally, to unveil its Robotaxi in Austin, Texas. Nvidia and Foxconn are in talks to deploy humanoid robots at the Houston AI server plant. Amazon deploys AI-enabled robot Vulcan at its warehouses and plans to deploy delivery robots as part of a plan to automate $200 billion in logistics costs. A Chinese outfit has unveiled the first robotic hand combining tactile perception with complete motion capabilities. Hexagon launched Aeon, a humanoid designed for autonomy, automated measurement systems and perception.