Mark Cuban still isn't a fan of human-like robots in the house: 'Would you rather have a Roomba or a humanoid that pushes around a vacuum cleaner?'

In a separate post that same day, Cuban noted the limitations of humanoids. “You won’t see humanoids with a washboard and a tub of water offered as an alternative to a washer or dryer,” he wrote.

Humanoids may be an “unnecessarily complex and expensive solution”

Technology experts say Cuban has a point.

“Even though exciting, with the current state of technology, it’s hard not to agree with Cuban’s argument,” Mihaela Becheru, a partner at Digital Trust Advisors, told Moneywise.

Yet humanoid robots are having a major pop culture moment, driven partly by the public’s fascination with science fiction and partly by the PR hype that companies such as Tesla, with its Optimus robot, have brought to the category, Becheru noted. “Even though impractical, there is something inherently compelling about seeing AI take human form,” she said.

From an engineering and economic standpoint, Becheru said that using a sophisticated humanoid robot for basic household chores is currently an unnecessarily complex and expensive solution. “Humanoid robots are still very costly to manufacture, difficult to coordinate, and hard to operate safely in highly unpredictable household environments,” she added.

Having worked with innovators across robotics, drones and AI, Becheru said she’s seen enormous interest in household bots from investors, media and consumers. “But for many practical applications today, a combination of IoT, specialized robotics and automated appliances can perform specific tasks more efficiently and at a fraction of the cost,” she noted.

The bot-building sector takes a decidedly different view from Cuban

Industry executives say the future likely isn’t one robot form replacing every other robot.

“We believe it’s shared intelligence operating across multiple forms, with the right physical platform matched to the right task,” Jerry Wang, global executive chairman at robotics manufacturer Faraday Future, told Moneywise.

Wang also believes a humanoid has an important long-term advantage because much of the world has been designed for humans. “A sufficiently capable humanoid can potentially use the same tools, navigate the same spaces and perform a wide range of tasks without requiring the environment to be completely redesigned,” he noted. “Our approach is to develop a common intelligence layer that can support multiple forms and capabilities, rather than assuming that a single hardware form is optimal for every job.”

Cuban predicts homes will eventually be redesigned around robots, much as kitchens and laundry rooms evolved around refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines. Wang believes humanoids already fit into these spaces.

“We think one of the advantages of humanoid robotics is precisely that homes and workplaces are already designed around the human form,” he said. “Doors, countertops, tools, stairs and many everyday objects were built for people, so the ultimate goal should be for increasingly capable humanoids to adapt to human environments rather than requiring consumers to rebuild their homes around robots.”

Wang believes that, in the future, consumers can expect to see more robot-friendly homes and spaces built with bots in mind. “You’ll see charging stations in garages for EVs and there may be docking stations for robots and better connectivity and better passageways for them to get around,” Wang said.

It’s still early in the household bot development market

Tech experts say a consumer-oriented humanoid robot belongs more in the early-adopter or luxury technology budget than in the household-appliance budget.