What counts as a “humanoid” robot?
Not every robot arm is a humanoid. The bet is on a general-purpose, roughly human-shaped, two-legged machine that can slot into spaces and tools built for people — versus cheaper, task-specific automation.
“Humanoid robot” has become a catch-all, so it helps to be precise about the bet. The interesting category is a general-purpose, roughly human-shaped, usually two-legged machine designed to operate in spaces and with tools built for people — stairs, shelves, door handles, car assembly lines. The promise is one platform that can be retrained for many jobs instead of a different machine for each task.
That is a much harder and more speculative bet than ordinary automation. A fixed robot arm or a wheeled warehouse bot is cheaper, more reliable and already proven for its narrow job. Humanoids are wagering that general capability and human-shaped versatility will eventually beat task-specific machines across a wide range of work.
Whether that pays off — and when — is exactly what the milestones and funding on this tracker are meant to make legible. Until a humanoid is doing open-ended work reliably and cheaply, the form factor is a promise, not yet a product.