Meta Teaches Robots To Do Housework, as the Race for Humanoid Robotics Heats up Between the US and China

• Meta has launched a new program to research humanoid robots in the home.
• China plans to embed humanoid robots into its industrial sector by 2027.
• Is the U.S. beating China in humanoid robotics?

Meta recently unveiled PARTNR, a new research program specifically designed to examine technology for integrating robots into homes.

PARTNR reportedly emerges as the most extensive benchmark in its category, encompassing 100,000 natural language tasks, spread across 60 houses and involving 5,819 unique objects.

“Our benchmark consists of 100,000 tasks, including household chores such as cleaning up dishes and toys,” Meta said in a blog post. “The potential for innovation and development in the field of human-robot collaboration is vast.”

The announcement comes as competition between the U.S. and China in humanoid robotics development is intensifying alongside the growth of AI and other technologies.

U.S. vs China

In the U.S., humanoid robotics has been creeping up as a key focus point of the technology industry.

In November, Tesla boss Elon Musk said he believed everyone would have at least one of his company’s upcoming humanoid robots in their homes.

Tesla’s Optimus, which stands at approximately 5 feet 8 inches (172 cm) and weighs 125 pounds (56.6 kg), has been designed to help with mundane house chores.

But Musk says they will eventually be able to become much more, such as picking up children from school for parents or becoming personal bodyguards.

Optimus, which utilizes Nvidia’s technology, plans to commence limited production of its Optimus humanoid robot in late 2025, with broader production anticipated by 2026.

On Feb. 3, Brett Adcock, founder of AI robotics company Figure AI, announced that the company had signed its second commercial partner, further advancing its goal of deploying 100,000 robots over the next four years.

Although not confirming the name of the partner, Adcock said it was “one of the biggest U.S. companies.”

The Tesla Optimus rival is focused on developing robots for the home and for commercial use, such as warehouses and deployment centers.

China’s Push in Humanoid Robotics

In January, China’s Unitree Robotics unveiled the H1 humanoid robots during the Spring Festival Gala. They performed an impressive display, with 16 of them dancing to Chinese folk dance alongside humans.

The show, which caught international attention, was a clear message to the rest of the world that China was taking its robotic developments seriously.

In 2023, China revealed its strategy to embed humanoid robots into its domestic industrial sector by 2027.

The rivalry is further underscored by China’s announcement of the world’s first human-versus-robot half-marathon, scheduled for Beijing this April.

This event will feature bipedal robots from 20 tech firms competing against 12,000 human runners, aiming to showcase China’s artificial intelligence and robotics advancements.

Future of Automation

According to a 2023 study, almost 40% of the time humans spend on chores could be automated within the decade , with tasks such as ironing and washing up being top of the list.

The University of Oxford and Japan’s Ochanomizu University study found that four out of ten hours of chores will be automated, while 28% of care work is also predicted to be completed by machines.

“Our research suggests, on average, around 39% of our time spent on domestic work can be automated in the next 10 years,” Dr Lulu Shi, researcher with the Oxford Internet Institute, said.

“The degree of automation varies substantially across different types of work,” Shi added. “Yet 44% of housework, including cooking, cleaning, and shopping, is expected to be automatable.”

The study claimed that humans could have up to 60% more free time for leisure activities.