Reading · Jean Lee @Exaltitude Newsletter

For years, humanoid robots felt like science fiction. Now some of the biggest companies in the world are investing billions to bring physical AI into the real world.

I sat down with Sanjar Atamuradov, founder of Humanola, to discuss why robotics is reaching an inflection point, which jobs are most vulnerable to automation, and what skills engineers need to stay relevant as AI moves beyond software and into physical work.

1. Robotics Is Going Through a Major Shift

For decades, robots relied on hard-coded rules and control systems. Today, advances in AI and neural networks are making robots far more adaptable, allowing them to learn tasks and operate in environments that were previously impossible.

2. The Biggest Bottleneck Is Data

Training robots requires enormous amounts of real-world interaction data. Unlike language models that learn from internet text, robots need physical experience to understand how objects move, interact, and respond to forces.

3. Teleoperation Is Teaching Robots How Humans Work

One of the primary ways robotics companies collect data today is through teleoperation, where humans remotely control robot arms and humanoid robots. Every movement becomes training data that helps robots learn physical tasks.

4. Robots Can’t Simply Learn From YouTube

While many people assume robots can learn from videos online, current robotics systems require much richer data, including camera views, hand movements, joint angles, and sensor information. Physical intelligence is significantly harder than digital intelligence.

5. Humanoid Robots Will Arrive First In Structured Environments

Warehouses, logistics centers, and repetitive industrial workflows are likely to see widespread humanoid robot adoption before homes. Structured environments are far easier for robots to navigate than unpredictable human spaces.

6. Some Jobs Are Much Harder To Automate Than People Think

Jobs involving highly variable environments and physical dexterity, such as plumbers and HVAC technicians, remain extremely challenging for robots. Repetitive tasks in warehouses and assembly lines are much easier targets for automation.

7. AI Still Doesn’t Replace System-Level Thinking

AI coding tools can accelerate implementation, but engineers are still responsible for architecture, debugging, problem solving, and understanding complex systems. The ability to reason about systems remains a key differentiator.

8. Robotics Is One Of The Best Engineering Fields To Enter

As physical AI advances, demand is growing for robotics engineers, software engineers, machine learning engineers, electrical engineers, and specialists who can build and train intelligent robotic systems.

Timestamp

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0:00 Trailer

1:31 Testing the robot’s balance

1:53 How Sanjar got into robotics

2:33 Why humanoid robots are changing now

4:02 When humanoid robots enter daily life

5:01 Why home robots are harder

6:12 What Humanola does

7:13 Why robotics data matters

7:59 What teleoperation means

10:22 Can robots learn from YouTube?

11:24 What skills matter if AI writes code?

13:10 Are robotics engineers safer from AI?

13:49 Jobs robots may replace first

14:52 Jobs robots may create

15:44 Career paths in robotics

16:54 What young engineers misunderstand

About Sanjar

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Sanjar Atamuradov is a robotics entrepreneur and researcher focused on advancing physical intelligence through general-purpose robotics. He is the Founder and CEO of Humanola, a Bay Area startup dedicated to accelerating the development of intelligent robotic systems. Previously, Sanjar conducted humanoid locomotion and manipulation research at the Georgia Institute of Technology and earned a degree in Computer Science from KAIST. His experience spans humanoid and quadruped robotics, autonomous navigation, computer vision, machine learning, control systems, and robotics software, with hands-on expertise developing perception, planning, and locomotion systems across both academic labs and industry startups.

🎙️More on YouTube related to this episode:

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The Robotics Gap: Hype vs Reality

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A practical Guide To Becoming An AI Engineer

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📣✨Connect with me

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💻 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanklee/