Good morning. Last week’s World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing showcased more than 2,000 robots, one of which beat Usain Bolt’s world record in the 100-meter sprint. Another was able to surpass humans in a 2.88-meter standing high jump. But humanoids that can run and jump aren’t particularly useful to GXO Logistics CEO Patrick Kelleher. For his business, the ideal is one that has the strength to unload a truck, and the dexterity to sort lipstick—as some of the humanoids working in his operations can now do.
The $13.6 billion-a-year global logistics giant is running pilots with five humanoid-robotics providers, and another European pilot is expected later this year. A big focus is on what he calls “single-digit challenges”—getting robot hands to more closely mimic human hands.
“One of the great innovations we participated in this year was working on the ability of humanoid hands to go like this,” Kelleher told me, moving his fingers apart and together in a gesture that reminded me of a Vulcan salute. “This requires multiple flexible joints [and] will be game-changing in terms of what a humanoid can do.”
GXO is working with two kinds of humanoids: bipedals that walk around on two legs, and those that have a wheel and a base. What differentiates humanoids from industrial robots is their degrees of freedom, or ability to mimic the 200-plus movements that the human body is capable of. While a typical industrial robot has four to six movements, humanoids can now have more than 100 degrees of freedom.
Kelleher is not looking to replace the 150,000 people who currently work for him, he says, but rather to supplement them and address an industry-wide challenge. “We have 25% turnover in the warehouse environment … and we can’t find enough labor,” said Kelleher. “Humanoid robotics AI is really about helping our associates do their job better, more productively, and more easily, at higher quality.”
The experiments are turning GXO into a proving ground for a new model of human-machine collaboration: “The warehouse has become a hotbed of technology and innovation. We’re working with our partners on fully autonomous forklifts and humanoids that work where it’s minus 32 degrees, in the freezer,” he told me. “It used to be warehousing and outsourcing was about labor arbitrage, getting people to do a job at lower cost, and it’s really evolved now to become an arbitrage of expertise …. We are the living lab. It’s exciting.”
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com
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The markets
S&P 500 futures are down 0.1% this morning. The last session fell 0.3%. South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.5%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.1%. China’s CSI 300 rose 0.4%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.1%. India’s NIFTY 50 is down 0.4%, while the STOXX Europe 600 is down 0.1% in early trading. WTI Crude jumps to $86/barrel amid new uncertainty in the Iran conflict. Bitcoin is sitting above $78,500.
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Richard Branson double-booked his own job interview. The candidate stuck in traffic with him for 2.5 hours is now Virgin’s CEO by Preston Fore
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Singapore has overhauled its baby bonus scheme. Will it work to boost birth rates this time? by Angelica Ang
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CEO Initiative Insights
“We’re wrapping up a very strong summer across the globe. People are traveling more intentionally, balancing budgets while still prioritizing experiences. Value, flexibility and control continue to be important. We expect these same trends to continue, with consumer near-term travel intent remaining strong.” – Chrissy Taylor, President and CEO, Enterprise Mobility.
This month, we also welcome new members: Maria Black of ADP, Scott Strazik of GE Vernova, Michael J. Wolf of Activate, Kate Johnson of Lumen Technologies, Chieh Huang of Pelgo and Alex Rinke of Celonis.
Today’s edition of CEO Daily is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Nicholas Gordon, and Lee Clifford.
