In a nondescript San Francisco industrial space, the future of land warfare is playing with coloured kids' blocks. The black, shiny faceless Phantom robot, built by two-year-old start-up Foundation Robotics, is engaged in what its co-founder and CEO calls 'free play' – manipulating blocks to collect data.
'We need data from it just interacting with its environment … [and] this is today's menu,' explains Sankaet Pathak, pushing the 80kg steel-covered body around the room to demonstrate stability.
“A humanoid robot plays with blocks as US start-up Foundation Robotics develops Phantom for military use, including warfighting.”
Foundation claims it is the only US company developing humanoid robots for a broad range of defence applications – from supply pickup and reconnaissance to the controversial 'frontline weaponisation' of engaging and neutralising threats. Arming robots could keep human soldiers out of harm's way, Pathak argues, and reduce collateral damage. 'Land-based autonomy can be more precise than striking targets autonomously from the air,' he says.
But the Phantom MK-1, the first-generation model on show, is far from battlefield ready. It lacks a battery, is not dust or waterproof, cannot get back up if it falls, and its hands – still a major robotics challenge – lack strength, dexterity and proper wrists.
A second-generation model, Phantom MK-2, is being built in an off-limits part of the facility. Pathak says it will be element proof, run for about six hours on a large battery, recover from falls, and withstand more force. Better hands are crucial: the robot's next set will move in far more ways, with wrists that help it to fire weapons.
Foundation aims to produce at least 40,000 units a year by the end of 2027, with long-term costs below $20,000 (£15,000) each. Pathak argues China is pursuing similar technology and the West must keep pace.
He envisions hundreds of thousands of AI-driven humanoid robots forming a ground force, matching the growing use of autonomous drones in the skies – and says such a fleet could be a major deterrent to conflict. The company has $24m (£18m) in research contracts with the US military, and two units are currently being tested by the Ukrainian military.