Meta and Fourier already developed one humanoid prototype called Max that stands about 5 feet tall and has speakers built into its chest, a face that can mimic human expressions and five-fingered hands that can pick up small objects. Max can recognize a voice, interpret a hand gesture and signal that it is listening or thinking, according to the report.
The companies are now working on a humanoid prototype called Max 2 that will have hands with better manipulation skills, a projector to display visual content and sensors that will help it walk up and down steps, per the report.
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The prototypes are meant to help Meta develop a robot it could eventually sell, though no launch target has been set, the report said.
With the potential consumer robots, Meta hopes to capitalize on the success of its artificial intelligence agent, Muse, according to the report.
This initiative comes at a time when there are a growing number of restrictions on companies doing business with Chinese firms, per the report.
A spokesperson for Meta said in the report: “We face the same realities as the rest of the industry when it comes to sourcing components that are not readily available domestically. However, this effort with Fourier is focused on internal research and experimentation, and we have no plans to sell these units.”
PYMNTS reported in May that Meta acquired Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI), a startup developing AI models for general-purpose, humanoid robots.
When announcing the acquisition in a social media post, ARI Co-Founder Xiaolong Wang shared a link to a Bloomberg article that said ARI was working on technology that enables robots to understand human behaviors in dynamic environments.
It was reported in March that investors were showing increased interest in companies working on AI models for the physical world. The report pointed to humanoid robotics startup Skild AI reaching a valuation of more than $14 billion at that time.
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