French Exoskeletry company Wandercraft runs to humanoid robots

After drawing worldwide attention on the 2024 Olympic Games, where the exoskelete helped a parapegical man, Wandercraft in Paris is now shifting his focus from portable robotics to fully autonomous humanoid robots.

The new Humanoid robot from Wandercraft, Calvin 40 – so called because it was reportedly built in just 40 days – is already being tested on factory floors. As Wandercraft CEO explained Matthieu Masselin, the rapid construction of Calvin 40 was made possible by re -use technology from the exoskeletics of the company.

“You see all these humanoid robots everywhere – Tesla, Figure AI, companies in China – and for us it is the same technology that we have developed for the past 10 years,” Masselin said Decrypt In an interview. “It felt so natural to us.”

Masselin said that the company was also able to produce Calvin 40 so quickly, partly because it left the main and hand characteristics that were usually found in humanoid robots, such as Tesla’s Optimus or Figure AI’s Figure 02.

“We are not focused on adding a head, because it does not help with navigation, the same thing goes, hands are very vulnerable,” he said. “We believe that we have a humanoid robot that can wear the heaviest charge.”

Instead of hands, Calvin 40 uses, poorly grabbing with flat circular panels to pick up boxes and crates.

Masselin said the head and hands were also omitted to avoid the creepy valley effect, an inconvenience that people feel in interaction with robots that almost – but not completely – seem human.

“Expressive manipulation is important in houses or certain situations, but in our case a simpler design is just as effective,” he said.

Humanoid robots have risen in popularity in recent years. According to a report of February 2024 from Goldman Sachs, it is expected that the global market for humanoid robots will reach $ 38 billion in 2035, driven by progress in AI and automation.

Although some humanoid robot developers have focused on social interaction or personal help, Masselin said that Wandercraft’s design choices emphasize physical labor in spaces that are built for people.

“There are so many environments for the human form that it is difficult to meet all the needs without imitating it,” he said, adding that the company collaborates with partners to implement Calvin 40 in “dangerous” or hard to staff tasks.

“One of the biggest distinctions of our technology is that it was originally designed – and is still used – to develop an exoskeleton, a robot that wears a person up to 220 pounds,” said Masselin. “That means that the technology must tackle that type of charge.

According to Wandercraft, Calvin can do 40 loads of up to 40 kilograms, or about 88 pounds – almost twice as much as comparable robots such as Tesla’s Optimus or Figure AI’s Figure 02, which are assessed to wear around 45 pounds.

“No other humanoid robots can wear so much with a large margin – great because they concentrate so much on their hands,” said Masselin.

According to Wandercraft, the Calvin 40 is currently being tested by the French multinational car manufacturer Renault Group, but he refused to offer a prize for the robots.

By reusing nuclear technology from his exoskelettes, Masselin believes that Wandercraft can skip the experimental phase and concentrate on the use of robots in industrial environments.

“We work together with our partners to understand their needs – where they have tasks that are too difficult, too dangerous or difficult to rent,” he said. “The question is: can we offer a safer solution for dangerous jobs, so that employees can concentrate on quality and craftsmanship? That is the strategy.”

Published by Andrew Hayward