It’s an amazing modern age we live in. We’ve seen something of an explosion in humaniform robots – androids – in recent years. If they can work the bugs out of this technology, it could really be something, especially for people who are elderly, disabled, or both. It could improve their quality of life, and it could confer on them a level of independence that may have otherwise been impossible.
I still think Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics would be a good idea.
Now, a company called Fauna Robotics is launching an android called Sprout, which is smaller, softer, more user-friendly, and we can hope, cheaper than the alternatives. It’s an interesting design.
For decades, humanoid robots have lived behind safety cages in factories or deep inside research labs. Fauna Robotics, a New York-based robotics startup, says that era is ending.
The company has introduced Sprout, a compact humanoid robot designed from the ground up to operate around people. Instead of adapting an industrial robot for public spaces, Fauna built Sprout specifically for homes, schools, offices, retail spaces and entertainment venues.
“Sprout is a humanoid platform designed from first principles to operate around people,” the company said. “This is a new category of robot built for the spaces where we live, work, and play.” That philosophy drives nearly every design choice behind Sprout.
Here’s what makes Sprout different:
Standing about 3.5 feet tall, Sprout fits naturally into human spaces instead of towering over them. At roughly 50 pounds, it carries less kinetic energy during movement or contact, which makes close interaction safer by design. Lightweight materials and a soft-touch exterior further reduce risk. The design avoids sharp edges and limits pinch points, allowing the robot to operate near people without safety cages. Quiet motors and smooth movement also reduce noise and help Sprout feel less intimidating in shared spaces.
Rather than complex multi-fingered hands, Sprout uses simple one-degree-of-freedom grippers. This approach lowers weight and improves durability while still supporting practical tasks like object fetching, hand-offs, and basic shared-space interaction. Flexible arms and legs allow the robot to walk, kneel, and crawl. Sprout can also fall and recover without damaging sensitive components. In everyday environments, where conditions are rarely perfect, that resilience matters.
Sounds good so far.
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Even so, I have some questions.
First: This may work great in a city apartment or a suburban house. But what about a rural Alaskan homestead? Can I send it out, across the driveway, in the snow, to retrieve my phone from the office? Can it tend the fire in the wood stove, keeping it at the correct amount of wood? Can I send it out to the shed to split kindling and bring in firewood?
Second: What connection does Fauna have with these robots? I presume they will have to be connected to download firmware updates and so on. Will it also be gathering data about my home and our habits? Will that data be available to Fauna’s employees or management?
These things could be a big help for some folks. I’d like to think it will be. But somehow I think that my Susitna Valley estate will be android-free for some time; I just seriously doubt that any android will be up to what I want done.
Don’t think I’ll be putting my name in the queue to buy a Sprout robot quite yet.
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