Sanctuary Cognitive Systems Corp., better known as Sanctuary AI, has unveiled an incredibly humanlike and supposedly very capable general purpose robot called Phoenix that’s being billed as the first robot worker prototype.

Announced today, Phoenix is a humanoid robot that runs on Sanctuary AI’s Carbon AI control system, which provides it with human-like intelligence and the ability to perform a wide range of labor-intensive tasks.

The startup says it’s aiming to fix gaps in the labor market by employing robots to do manual work instead of humans. Already, the company has demonstrated the ability of its machines to accomplish hundreds of different tasks in various industries.

“We designed Phoenix to be the most sensor-rich and physically capable humanoid ever built and to enable Carbon’s rapidly growing intelligence to perform the broadest set of work tasks possible,” said Geordie Rose, co-founder and chief executive of Sanctuary AI. “We see a future where general-purpose robots are as ubiquitous as cars, helping people to do work that needs doing, in cases where there simply aren’t enough people to do that work.”

Phoenix stands at 170 centimeters tall and weighs 70.3 kilograms, and can walk at a top speed of 4.8 kilometers per hour. It can lift a maximum payload of 25 kilograms, the company says. Its humanoid form is complemented by some extremely dexterous robotic hands that boast 20 degrees of freedom of movement, enabling it to manipulate objects in the same way as a human hand. The hands incorporate proprietary haptic technology that enables the robot to “feel” as humans do. It even looks good, with its aesthetic design making it appear very much to be something straight out of a “Star Wars” or “RoboCop” movie.

As capable as Phoenix is, what really makes it stand out is its cognitive abilities, Sanctuary AI says. The robot is equipped with a comprehensive cognitive architecture and software that’s been designed specifically for humanoids.

The company says it has integrated this system with modern artificial intelligence, including generative AI models such as OpenAI LP’s ChatGPT. That enables it to understand natural language commands and perform actions based on what it’s told to do, similar to how a human employee would follow verbal instructions.

The company explained that Phoenix’s cognitive architecture encompasses reasoning, task and motion, ensuring full transparency and accountability with its decision-making process. It incorporates symbolic and logical reasoning and employs advanced large language models that provide broad general knowledge, plus domain specific integrations.

The robot can exhibit both agency and goal-seeking behavior, relying on deep learning and reinforcement learning techniques. Deep learning refers to artificial neural networks with multiple layers that can extract patterns from data, while reinforcement learning allows the robot to learn optimal strategies for performing different tasks through trial and error.

Phoenix also supports “human-in-the-loop” supervision, fleet management and remote operation, ensuring humans can effectively control multiple robots.

Phoenix is Sanctuary AI’s sixth-generation robot, and it follows in the footsteps of its fifth-generation model that underwent a successful pilot deployment at one of Canadian Tire Corp.’s stores in Vancouver. During that trial, the robot completed more than 110 different tasks, amounting to 40% of the various tasks that employees at the store typically perform.

Sanctuary AI envisions its general-purpose robots performing a variety of roles, filling gaps in the human labor market. It plans to rent out its robots under a “labor-as-a-service” model, with customers paying negotiated rates for the work they perform, rather than invest in one themselves. So there would be no upfront costs involved.

The company believes Phoenix is ready to perform numerous kinds of jobs, such as cleaning, restocking shelves, operating checkouts, unloading trucks and acting as sales guides in stores.

Analyst Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. said Sanctuary AI’s robots have a lot of potential to fill a gap in the labor market over the long-term, especially in developing countries where birth rates are in decline. “In many countries, the labor market gap can only be addressed by immigration or automation,” he explained. “So it’s good to see Sanctuary AI making real progress with a possible solution. It’ll be interesting to see how its robots perform in real-life deployments.”

Sanctuary AI said it will be cautious with its rollout of Phoenix, starting with customers based near its headquarters in Vancouver before eventually penetrating other markets.

Images: Sanctuary AI