Apple Inc has teams investigating a push into personal robotics, a field with the potential to become one of the company’s ever-shifting “next big things,” people familiar with the situation said.
Engineers at Apple have been exploring a mobile robot that can follow users around their homes, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the skunk-works project is private.
The iPhone maker also has developed an advanced table-top home device that uses robotics to move a display around, they said.
Photo: Reuters
Although the effort is still in the early stages — and it is unclear if the products will ultimately be released — Apple is under growing pressure to find new sources of revenue beyond its iPhones, and the digital content and services it sells.
The company scrapped an electric vehicle (EV) project in February and a push into mixed-reality goggles is expected to take years to become a major moneymaker.
With robotics, the Cupertino, California-based company could gain a bigger foothold in consumers’ homes and capitalize on advances in artificial intelligence (AI).
However, it is not yet clear what approach it might take.
Although the robotic smart display is much further along than the mobile bot, it has been added and removed from the company’s product road map over the years, the people said.
Before the EV project was canceled, Apple told its top executives that the company’s future revolved around three areas: automotive, the home and mixed reality, but now the car is not happening and Apple has already released its first mixed-reality product, the Vision Pro headset.
So the focus has shifted to other future opportunities, including how Apple can better compete in the smart home market.
The table-top robotics project is happening within Apple’s hardware engineering division and its AI and machine-learning group. The idea is to have the display mimic the head movements — such as nodding — of a person on a FaceTime session. It would also have features to precisely lock on to a single person among a crowd during a video call.
However, the company has been concerned about whether consumers would be willing to pay top dollar for such a device.
There have also been technical challenges related to balancing the weight of a robotic motor on a small stand.
The primary obstacle has been disagreement among Apple executives over whether to move forward with the product at all, the people said.
A spokeswoman of Apple declined to comment.
If the work advances, Apple would not be the first tech giant to develop a home robot.
Amazon.com Inc introduced a model called Astro in 2021 that cost US$1,600, but it was slow to offer the device in major quantities and it remains a niche product.
Amazon debuted a more business-focused version of the rolling bot last year designed to work as a security guard, while other companies have also presented the idea of humanoid robots that mimic the size and movements of people.
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