A new video reveals that Apple is working on a dancing table robot.
"It's a dancing Siri!"
New information has emerged about Apple's development of a desktop robot, thanks to a post on the company's Machine Learning Research site. According to a summary of a study conducted by a research team at Apple, this robot has been designed to have expressive movements that make it more appealing compared to a conventional robot. A video accompanies this research.
In the video, a researcher is seen completing tasks with two types of robots: one labeled "Expressive" and the other "Functional." The former turns out to be much more entertaining. Both models are desk lamps mounted on an articulated arm, featuring functionalities that include an LED, camera, speaker, and projector. These robots react to gestures and voice commands, having a voice reminiscent of Siri. One of them exhibits a notable personality.
When the researcher plays music, the "Expressive" lamp begins to dance; when asked about the weather, it peeks out the window; while working on a complicated project, it follows their movements to provide useful lighting; and when reminded to drink water, it nudges a cup toward them. When told that it cannot join them on a walk, it lowers its head in a simulation of sadness.
On the other hand, the Functional model, which appears next to it performing the same tasks, remains stationary unless it needs to move to fulfill a function. This experiment effectively demonstrates how adding human-like features to an object can make it more familiar and functional.
Several sources have indicated that Apple is working on more smart home devices, including a smart display and a desktop robot. Both could function as a personal assistant with Siri, a device for video calls via FaceTime, and a smart home control center. According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, this robotic device could be launched in 2026 or 2027 and is estimated to cost around $1,000.
Although Apple is not developing this specific Pixar-style lamp design for our homes, it is challenging to imagine how a lamp-robot without a screen could fulfill all these functions, although the video shows that the robot includes a projector at one point. Nevertheless, this project, led by Yuhan Hu, Peide Huang, Mouli Sivapurapu, and Jian Zhang, aims to demonstrate that a robot must be expressive to encourage interaction with users.
At the end of the video, it is hard not to feel drawn to the lamp; it seems very friendly and appears to be more functional than any smart speaker at home.
