Meta is reportedly forming a new team that will be devoted to developing artificial intelligence-powered humanoid robots.The team will be within the company’s Reality Labs hardware division, Bloomberg reported Friday (Feb. 14), citing unnamed sources. It will be led by Marc Whitten, the former CEO of General Motors’ Cruise self-driving division, and will add about 100 engineers this year.Meta did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.The company plans to work on its own humanoid robot hardware, with a focus on robots that can perform household chores, as well as AI, sensors, and software that could be used by a variety of companies manufacturing and selling robots, according to the report.Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth wrote in an internal memo, per the report: “The core technologies we’ve already invested in and built across Reality Labs and AI are complementary to developing the advancements needed for robotics.”The company is betting that humanoid robots will not be widely available for a couple of years but that they will be a major focus for Meta and the entire tech industry, according to the report.The report came shortly after news of other companies’ efforts in projects involving robots.It was reported Wednesday (Feb. 12) that Apple is exploring humanoid and non-humanoid robots for smart home applications. The products are in the early proof-of-concept stage at Apple and mass production of any potential Apple robots would likely not start any time before 2028.On Feb. 3, it was reported that robots were among several product lines included in a trademark application filed by OpenAI

Listen to this articleEurope is a major center of robotics development and use, according to Humanoid. Source: Adobe Stock. While headlines often spotlight U.S. and Asian companies in the humanoid robotics race, a silent revolution is brewing in the tech hubs of Europe, where cutting-edge startups are making remarkable strides in developing human-like robots. From Norway to Switzerland, innovative European firms are pushing the boundaries of robotics technology, creating machines that can sense, feel, and interact with their environment in increasingly human-like ways