Moxi: Wheels Win Over Humanoid Hype
Hello! Today, I've brought this topic to you that's buzzing in the world of AI and robotics!
Everyone's talking about humanoid robots – those impressive two-legged machines from companies like Tesla and Figure.AI, promising a future of intelligent robot servants. But what if I told you that for most real-world applications, especially in critical environments like hospitals, the future might actually be... wheeled?
That's right! We're diving deep into the insights of Vivian Chu, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Diligent Robotics, the brilliant minds behind Moxi, the wheeled robot transforming healthcare. She believes that while humanoid robots have potential, they're still a long way off for common use, and the "wheel form factor" is already proving its immense value.
While the tech world is captivated by advanced bipedal robots, Diligent Robotics, an Austin-based startup founded in 2017, took a different, incredibly pragmatic approach. Their robot, Moxi, is designed specifically for healthcare environments, focusing on augmenting human staff rather than replacing them.
Vivian Chu calls Moxi the "minimum viable humanoid." It's not about carrying out free-flowing dialogue with the latest ChatGPT model; it's about efficiently and reliably performing specific, crucial tasks. And for that, wheels are king.
"I do think that over time, you're going to very quickly see that the wheel form factor — like two arms, a head, and a wheel — is probably going to be a form factor that ends up covering the majority of what you need," Chu explained.
Think about it: hospitals are already designed for accessibility with ramps and automated doors. A wheeled robot is inherently stable, safe, and can easily navigate these spaces. If Moxi needs to power down, you can simply roll it aside. This simple yet profound design choice saves hospitals from needing costly and time-consuming retrofits, which could run into millions of dollars and take years to complete.
Moxi isn't just wheels, of course. It features an arm and a head, each with specific, critical functions:
- The Arm: This is a game-changer. Instead of hospitals having to modify every single door and elevator, Moxi's arm can simply push elevator buttons directly or open doors. This ingenious solution avoids massive infrastructure changes and costs.
- The Head: In environments where people are interacting with robots for the first time, communication is key. Moxi's head allows for "eye contact" and communicates intent. Its main sensor for manipulation is in the head, meaning every time Moxi "looks," it's actively perceiving and communicating its next move. This helps build trust and makes interactions smoother for hospital staff.
These design choices aren't just theoretical; they're driven by real-world needs. Vivian Chu and her team spent countless hours shadowing nurses and staff, clipboards and stopwatches in hand, to identify where robots could truly make a difference. They found that nurses often spend up to 30% of their time on logistical tasks like fetching supplies, leaving less than 30% for direct patient care. Moxi steps in to bridge that gap.
The impact of Moxi in hospitals is nothing short of impressive. With over 90 robots deployed across more than 25 hospitals, Diligent Robotics has facilitated over 1.2 million supply deliveries. This translates to an estimated half a million hours of human time saved!
Imagine a hospital system where Moxi handles all telemetry boxes – those bedside monitors vital for patient monitoring. One of Diligent's hospital partners now sends every single telemetry box across three massive buildings via Moxi, eliminating the need for human staff to run these errands. This frees up staff to focus on what matters most: patient care.
This isn't about replacing people; it's about augmenting them. By automating routine, time-consuming chores, Moxi allows nurses and clinicians to dedicate more precious time to patients, leading to better outcomes and a more efficient healthcare system.
Vivian Chu is clear: while the vision of legged humanoid robots is exciting, their widespread adoption for most tasks is "pretty far, far away." There might be niche applications, like disaster recovery or navigating homes with stairs, but for many industrial and service needs, the wheeled form factor is simply more practical and efficient.
One key area for broader advancement that Chu highlights is battery technology. Moxi currently runs for about 16 hours with smart charging. For more complex robots, especially humanoids with higher power demands, battery life and safety are significant bottlenecks. "I think some of these humanoid companies only have a 90-minute runtime," she noted. Safer, longer-lasting batteries are crucial for the next leap in robotics.
What's next for Diligent Robotics? More dexterity, potentially including a second arm for tasks like assembling case carts or handling more diverse supplies. They're also exploring dialogue capabilities and integrating Moxi directly with hospital records, so patient admissions could automatically trigger robot tasks. The future is about smarter, more integrated, and immensely practical robotics.
We had a chance to ask Vivian Chu some key questions about her journey and Diligent Robotics:
Q1. How did you get into robotics?
A. I grew up in the Bay Area with classic engineering parents. In my senior year at Berkeley, I took my first intro to robotics class, where I got to program a robot. I thought, "Damn it, I want to learn more." So I went to Penn for a master's and then to Georgia Tech for a PhD. That's where I met my cofounder, Andrea Thomaz, who was my PhD advisor. She's a leading world expert on how to put robots and people together. When I met her, we were both at the stage of life where we thought, "Robots are cool. We write our papers about them, we do one lab experiment, and then we just go." But we wanted robots to actually make a difference, like we said in our papers. We decided that the technology was starting to get ready. When Andrea first started our lab, a robot cost half a million dollars. By 2015, 2016, you could build the same robot for $80,000 to $100,00. Even now, the cost has dramatically gone down. That's when we decided to start Diligent.
Q2. Why hospitals?
A. We did about 100 to 150 interviews across the market. Really quickly, we homed in on healthcare. In the early days, we shadowed nurses and staff with clipboards and stopwatches to see where robots could make a difference. Even before COVID, we found that nurses and clinicians spend up to 30% of their time just fetching and gathering supplies, and less than 30% on direct patient care because they're so busy with logistical tasks. Any time returned to a staff member meant better patient outcomes. We saw that and thought, "This is where robots should be. This is how you think about robots augmenting people as opposed to replacing them."
Q3. How did you decide on Moxi's design?
A. When we were fundraising early in 2017, investors would ask us, "Why do you have an arm on your robot?" For us, it was a no-brainer. If you don't, hospitals would have to modify every single door and elevator. Retrofitting a hospital could cost a million dollars and could take a year. With an arm, Moxi can just push the elevator button directly. The head is important too. We're putting robots in a place where people have never interacted with a robot. Things like eye contact, or if I'm looking at my cup, you know I'm going to drink my coffee. A head means the robot can communicate intent. Our main sensor for manipulation is in the head, so every time it looks, it's actively perceiving and communicating intent. As for the wheels, hospitals are ADA-compliant. They have ramps and automated doors. Going with a wheel form factor made sense. It is statistically stable, safe, and perfect for an environment with elevators and ramps. If something happens and you power down, you can just roll the robot to the side.
Q4. How do hospitals measure success with Moxi?
A. Time and steps saved are probably the first basic metrics. One of our hospital systems had teleboxes — these are bedside monitors that monitor a patient's vital signs and have to be sent around constantly. After we installed Moxi, now every single telemetry box in three massive buildings is sent through the robot. There are now zero people who run the boxes. Overall, Moxi has made over 1.2 million deliveries. Based on average distance and tasks, we estimate that staff would've saved around half a million hours of time walking equipment, lab samples, or medication around.
Q5. Do you think humanoid, legged robots are coming soon?
A. Over time, you're going to see that the form factor with a head, two arms, and wheels is probably going to cover the majority of tasks. There is an interesting segment where you do need legs — disaster recovery is one that comes to mind, or homes where you have stairs. It comes down to the workflow. What is the pain point? What can robots be doing 24/7 that truly gives people their time back? It can be very premature to talk about legged robots because the thing that a warehouse needs might not require legs. A legged form factor in homes — I see it pretty far, far away.
Q6. How have investor conversations changed in light of recent focus on bipedal humanoid robots?
A. In the beginning, investors would ask, "Why do you have an arm?" Now they ask, "Why don't you have two arms?" And there are tasks that will require a second arm — that's on our future roadmap. There is some education you have to do with investors — do you go all in on general-purpose, or focus on a specific segment? With all deep tech, you just have to find the right investors who understand the thesis.
Q7. Any broader advancements in robots you're looking out for?
A. Battery technology. Our robots last about 16 hours total with smart charging in between. As we scale compute, power becomes the bottleneck. I think some of these humanoid companies only have a 90-minute runtime. Then there's safety: Hospitals care a lot about the safety of your platform, like whether it could catch on fire. That's what I'd love to see innovation in — safer, longer-lasting batteries.
Q8. What's next for Diligent?
A. More dexterity is part of the future product lines that we're thinking about. Hospitals want us to do more than transport — things like assembling case carts or handling more supplies. Over time, having other form factors like two arms will make sense. Dialogue is also something we're exploring. We're also working on integrating Moxi directly with hospital records. So instead of someone tapping on an app, a patient admission could automatically trigger a task for the robot.
Vivian Chu and Diligent Robotics offer a refreshing perspective in a world often dazzled by futuristic visions. Their success with Moxi demonstrates that sometimes, the most revolutionary advancements come from practical, problem-solving design rather than simply mimicking human form. By focusing on specific pain points and creating a robot that truly augments human capabilities, Moxi is already making a tangible, positive impact in healthcare, proving that sometimes, the smartest robot is the one that knows when to roll.