Apple Expands Robotics Team to Develop Home Robotics Devices

Apple is ramping up its hiring efforts for robotics research and engineering to accelerate the development of innovative home robotics devices, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

The company is currently in the early stages of developing a tabletop robot and has ambitions for potentially creating a humanoid model in the future. This exciting robotics work is led by two key teams within Apple: the Home Labs hardware engineering group and Kevin Lynch’s AI special projects team. Interestingly, both teams originated from Apple’s self-driving car unit, which was disbanded last February.

Over the past few weeks, Apple has posted several job listings for robotics specialists. These listings highlight opportunities to work with a small, skilled team of engineers and scientists to create cutting-edge experiences for Apple products.

In addition, last month, Apple’s robotics researchers published a paper and video showcasing a lamp-like robot prototype with lifelike movements. Reminiscent of Pixar’s Luxo Jr., the prototype demonstrated multiple interactions, such as responding to weather inquiries, providing lighting for iPhone photography, sending reminders to drink water, and even dancing to music as a social companion.

While this research provides a glimpse into Apple’s experimentation, Gurman reports that Apple is working on a tabletop robot featuring an “iPad-like display” attached to a robotic arm. Expected to launch by 2027, this device will likely be controlled by Siri and Apple Intelligence, responding to commands like “look at me” during FaceTime calls. Gurman speculates that this tabletop robot could be a higher-end version of Apple’s rumored smart home hub, set to debut this year.