US robot makers hope to beat China in humanoid race. Tariffs could affect their ambitions

By MATT O BRIEN AP Mechanism Writer BOSTON AP Tariffs weren t on the agenda of this week s Robotics Summit where thousands of tech industry workers mingled with humanoid and other robot varieties and talked about how to build and sell a new generation of increasingly autonomous machines Not on the official agenda at least Jump up to the microphones noted keynote speaker Aaron Saunders chief hardware officer of Boston Dynamics inviting a standing-room-only crowd to ask him questions And I m the CTO so don t ask me about tariffs The crowd laughed and complied But as they streamed onto the show floor at Boston s convention center greeted by a remote-controlled humanoid made by Chinese company Unitree it was hard to ignore the shadow of President Donald Trump s far-reaching global tariffs and retaliatory measures from Trump s biggest target China Tariffs are the No topic that we re discussing in the hallways and at the water cooler with people that I ve known for a long time mentioned event organizer Steve Crowe chair of the annual Robotics Summit Expo I think it s definitely top of mind because there s so much uncertainty about what is going to come Convention guests watch as a Boston Dynamics robot is demontrated at the Robotics Summit Expo Wednesday April in Boston AP Photo Charles Krupa A human-like Unitree robot right passes out company brochures to convention guest with a dog-like Unitree robot at its side at the Robotics Summit Expo Wednesday April in Boston AP Photo Charles Krupa Unitree company representative talks with a convention guest at the company s product booth at the Robotics Summit Expo Wednesday April in Boston AP Photo Charles Krupa Steve Crowe of the Robotics Summit Expo gestures during an interview on the convention floor Wednesday April in Boston AP Photo Charles Krupa Al Makke Director of Engineering at Schaeffler Group USA gestures during an interview at the Robotics Summit Expo Wednesday April in Boston AP Photo Charles Krupa Pras Velagapudi left chief mechanism officer at Oregon-based Agility Robotics listens during an interview at the Robotics Summit Expo Wednesday April in Boston AP Photo Charles Krupa Casper van Eersel center a representative of IMSystems a Netherlands-based company which makes robot components talks with convention guests at the Robotics Summit Expo Wednesday April in Boston AP Photo Charles Krupa A human-like Unitree robot is surrounded by convention guests while passing out company brochures at the Robotics Summit Expo Wednesday April in Boston AP Photo Charles Krupa A dog-like Unitree robot performs during a demonstration as a human-like Unitree robot passes out company brochures to convention guest at the Robotics Summit Expo Wednesday April in Boston AP Photo Charles Krupa Show Caption of Convention guests watch as a Boston Dynamics robot is demontrated at the Robotics Summit Expo Wednesday April in Boston AP Photo Charles Krupa Expand That concern is rooted in a robot s complex anatomy of motors and actuators to move their limbs computers to power their artificial intelligence and sensing devices to help them react to their surroundings Sensors semiconductors batteries and rare earth magnets are among the array of components the greater part sensitive to global business disputes Tesla CEO and billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk warned investors last week that China s countermeasures restricting shipments of rare earth magnets will delay Tesla s growth of its Optimus humanoid robots At the summit on Wednesday and Thursday specific humanoid makers were looking at a likely bright side to the geopolitical shifts as American businesses look harder for domestic supplies of parts and the evolution of U S -based robots that can automate factories and warehouses It s added specific inconveniences to our own supply chain But it s also opened up opportunities mentioned Pras Velagapudi chief mechanism officer at Oregon-based Agility Robotics in an interview The company is starting to deploy its humanoid robot called Digit at a U S plant run by German manufacturer Schaeffler a maker of ball bearings and other components key to the auto industry Al Makke a director of engineering for Schaeffler s chassis systems commented tariffs could push plenty of companies toward onshoring production of a variety of items in the U S And if that does happen then local companies have to deal with high labor costs and a shortage of labor and so automation gets pushed further Makke noted And one of those faces of automation is humanoids Majority of of the big industrial robots employed in the U S are used to help make cars and are imported from countries such as Japan Germany or South Korea Automakers in the U S installed more robots in their plants than a year before according to new figures from the International Federation of Robotics a exchange group For now humanoids are still a niche but one that invites intense curiosity in part thanks to popular science fiction Saunders of Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics presented an update Wednesday on the evolution of its Atlas humanoid robot but didn t bring a physical prototype instead showing off a more familiar pack of its four-legged Spot robots contained in a pen on the show floor Related Articles Trump says it s Biden s market system but businesses and economists beg to differ Apple posts stronger-than-expected Q results says majority of US iPhones sold will come from India Amazon posts solid first quarter earnings progress but outlook is tempered by tariff uncertainty Massachusetts millionaire s tax stirs argument on whether state has gained or lost wealth Hot property Pool just one highlight of Dedham home The sole humanoid at the conference was Unitree s G Marketed for and remote-controlled by an employee standing nearby the robot fluidly shook hands waved back at people and walked around the show floor but it won t be moving totes or working in a factory anytime soon Its main customers outside China are academic researchers and various social media influencers and Trump s current tariffs totaling on China would raise its cost to American buyers to roughly disclosed Tony Yang a Unitree vice president of business rise who manages its North American sales Nevertheless Unitree s strategy to rapidly develop its hardware and program is a long-term one It s still a very narrow realm but I think there s still a huge possible realm on the industry side like for manufacturing and factory and even home use Yang revealed At a full pickleball court on the show floor specific conference attendees took a break to grab a racket and swing at balls tossed by a wheeled robot Urged to describe what s inside the Tennibot robot its maker also had tariffs on the mind Injection molded parts rivets screws nuts wheels motors batteries commented Haitham Eletrabi co-founder and CEO of Tennibot based in Auburn Alabama The supply chain gets very complex We get parts from all over the world Tariffs are adding a lot of uncertainty It s not just the U S -China bargain rivalry that was weighing on certain attendees Francesca Torsiello of the recruitment firm Adapt Talent noted she s also hearing more wariness from Canadian robotics and engineering candidates about taking jobs in the U S amid a tense political atmosphere In the past people in Canada detected it attractive to come and work for U S companies right now they re being very hesitant Torsiello announced AP video journalist Rodrique Ngowi contributed to this record