Robot.com launches R-noid humanoid robot to tackle labor shortages in kitchens and warehouses

Delivery robot startup Robot.com bets its next act on wheeled humanoids for kitchens and warehouses

Robot.com launches R-noid, a wheeled humanoid robot for kitchens and warehouses, powered by Physical Intelligence's AI model. Robot.com, the San Francisco startup formerly known as Kiwibot, is expanding from campus delivery robots into workplace humanoids. The company told Business Insider it will launch R-noid, a humanoid on wheels designed to package orders, load and unload boxes, and prep workstations across food service, logistics, and healthcare facilities. CEO Felipe Chavez said the pivot has been nearly two years in the making. "We already have a foot in the door with our delivery robots," he said, adding that offering manipulation solutions was the natural next step for a company that already has more than 500 robots deployed and has completed over two and a half million tasks. R-noid is not trying to walk. The robot rides on a holonomic wheeled base instead of legs, with dual seven-degree-of-freedom arms and an articulated torso that gives it vertical reach up to nearly two metres. It joins a growing camp of robotics companies betting that wheels beat legs for practical workplace deployment, trading stair-climbing ability for stability, cost, and faster time to market. The dexterity comes from Physical Intelligence, one of the most closely watched AI labs in robotics. According to the company's official announcement, R-noid runs on Physical Intelligence's vision-language-action model, which reads natural-language instructions, observes the scene, and produces the arm and hand movements to carry out tasks. Chavez said the company has been developing custom models with Physical Intelligence since last year. A separate partnership with FieldAI provides the navigation and autonomy layer. The startup has commercially deployed fewer than 40 R-noids across about a dozen customers so far. One disclosed deployment is at Harbor Links Golf Course in New York, where an R-noid helps load food into delivery robots and supports staff with order packing. The company said deployment takes eight to 12 weeks, a process that involves visiting a customer's facility, identifying tasks to automate, and collecting hours of robot data to fine-tune the model before on-site operation begins. Chavez said some tasks require collecting 50 hours of data before a robot is ready to operate independently. Teleoperation and remote support remain key parts of the deployment strategy, with the startup expecting about 70 percent autonomy during initial rollouts. The near-term goal, he said, is not to replace workers but to prepare businesses for robotics and improve worker satisfaction by offloading repetitive physical tasks. The launch comes at five initial categories: restaurant assistant, packer, picker, folder, and host. The broader humanoid market remains turbulent, with more than 150 companies chasing commercialisation and buyer satisfaction rates as low as 23 percent in surveyed enterprise deployments. The startup is positioning R-noid as a practical, task-specific tool rather than a general-purpose humanoid, a distinction that may matter as the industry sorts the commercially viable from the venture-funded spectacle. Founded in 2017 as Kiwibot, the company rebranded in October 2025 and has raised funding from investors including Headline, Sodexo VC, and UC Berkeley SkyDeck Fund. It will showcase R-noid at Automate 2026 in Chicago this week.

US' new humanoid robot can navigate dynamic environments without maps

US-based Robot.com has launched R-Noid, a humanoid robot designed to perform repetitive, labor-intensive tasks across multiple industries. Offered through a Robot-as-a-Service model, the company said the robot can be deployed from initial site assessment to autonomous operation within eight to twelve weeks. The launch includes five solution categories -- Restaurant Assistant, Packer, Picker, Folder, and Host -- targeting persistent labor shortages in sectors such as industrial operations, logistics, healthcare, food services, lodging, and experiential venues. Robot.com said R-Noid is built to improve productivity while addressing workforce challenges. R-Noid is a humanoid robot platform designed for commercial and industrial environments, targeting repetitive tasks across logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, and food service operations. The system combines autonomous mobility, AI-powered manipulation, and human-interaction capabilities on a single hardware and software platform. R-Noid features a dual-arm manipulation system with two 7-degree-of-freedom (DoF) robotic arms capable of handling payloads of up to 4 kilograms each. The robot also incorporates a 4-DoF articulated torso, providing a vertical working range from ground level to 6.2 feet (1.9 meters). This configuration enables the robot to reach shelves, workstations, conveyor lines, packing stations, and storage areas commonly found in industrial facilities. The humanoid stands 5.5 feet (1.7 meters) tall, weighs approximately 90 kilograms, and uses a holonomic mobile base that allows omnidirectional movement in confined and dynamic environments. According to the company, the design enables deployment in spaces originally built for human workers without requiring facility modifications. The platform supports both autonomous operation and VR-based teleoperation. During routine work, R-Noid can perform tasks independently, while remote operators can intervene when the robot encounters unfamiliar situations or edge cases. At launch, the robot can perform 19 deployable tasks across five solution categories: Restaurant Assistant, Packer, Picker, Folder, and Host. Demonstrated applications include assembling cardboard boxes from flat blanks, packing products for shipment, transferring items from conveyor systems, handling plastic parts on production lines, warehouse order picking, kitchen support, and linen folding, reports Street Insider. R-Noid's manipulation capabilities are powered by π0.7, a vision-language-action model developed by Physical Intelligence. The AI system combines visual perception with natural-language understanding, allowing the robot to interpret instructions, analyze its surroundings, and generate arm and hand motions required to complete tasks. The model is designed to adapt to changing object positions, layouts, and workflows without requiring extensive task-specific programming. For autonomy and navigation, Robot.com is collaborating with FieldAI. The robot utilizes FieldAI's Foundation Field Models (FFMs), which serve as a generalized autonomy layer capable of operating across different environments. The company says the models enable robots to function in dynamic real-world settings without relying on pre-mapped infrastructure while maintaining physics-based reasoning to improve reliability and reduce errors. R-Noid is built on NVIDIA's robotics ecosystem, with on-board NVIDIA Jetson computing modules handling perception, planning, and control functions. The company also uses NVIDIA Isaac Sim for simulation, validation, and testing before deployment, allowing robot behaviors to be evaluated in virtual environments before entering production facilities. The robot is powered by a battery system that provides approximately three hours of operation and supports continuous plug-in use for longer deployments. A modular end-effector architecture allows tools and grippers to be swapped for different applications. Robot.com has also incorporated its R-Soul software platform, which includes a front-mounted display, LED-based expression system, conversational interfaces, and customizable personalities. Developed with input from Japanese robotics company Yukai Engineering, the system is designed to communicate robot status, intent, and task progress while supporting branded customer-facing deployments. The company plans to deploy R-Noid through a Robot-as-a-Service model, with deployments progressing from site assessment and data collection to autonomous operation within weeks