It's time to deploy robots even though the tech isn't finished: quadrupeds beat humanoids in factories
paigeinsf · x · 2026-09-11
After two years of deployments with robotics OEMs, the author keeps seeing the same pattern: customers ask to bring humanoids into factories for inspection, patrol and light sorting after watching demo videos, but a quadruped with autonomous navigation and the right vision system is the more ready, reliable and cost-justifiable answer. Humanoids look more capable, yet remain far from doing the job reliably at a reasonable cost.
Skild AI recently reported crossing $100 million in ARR ten months after its first product, showing real commercial traction. The article's thesis: the technology isn't finished, but the right move now is deploying proven form factors to real-world scenarios.
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