Apple engineers are reportedly working on making personal robots, just weeks after the iPhone-maker abandoned its efforts to develop an autonomous car.
The tech titan has people working on a robot that would follow people around at home and be helpful, according to a Bloomberg report, which cited unnamed people familiar with the situation.
The project was in a nascent stage and it was unclear whether it would lead to a product sold by Apple, the report indicated. Apple did not reply to a request for comment.
The California-based company has been looking for new ways to make money beyond its trendy iPhones and the digital content and services it sells to users.
Apple recently abandoned its ambitions to produce an electric car, according to US media reports, ending a struggling decade-long project.
Apple is said to have transferred employees from the shuttered car division to generative artificial intelligence projects.
The robot project is being overseen by Apple’s hardware engineering division and its AI and machine learning group, Bloomberg reported.
Around the world, major tech companies including Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon are rapidly pursuing the development and deployment of AI products.
Big firms are also known to be working on personal robots, including Amazon and Alphabet, while Sony and LG are also said to be showing interest.
Will robots turn on us?
in 2023 Elon Musk predicted the future with AI would be an "age of abundance" with a "universal high income" instead of a universal basic income but warned of "humanoid robots" that might chase humans.
Musk cautioned that "we should be quite concerned" about humanoid robots that "can follow you anywhere".
The tech billionaire stressed the importance of having a physical off switch.
"A humanoid robot can basically chase you anywhere," he said.
"It's something we should be quite concerned about. If a robot can follow you anywhere, what if they get a software update one day, and they're not so friendly any more?"
AFP