Why Robots Still Can’t Handle the Real World

“The magic is the generality… It’s one system that can do everything.” Robotics looks impressive in demos. But the real world is where things break. In this episode of Automated, Zachary Jackowski of Boston Dynamics explains why robots still struggle outside controlled environments and what it actually takes to deploy them at scale. Most robots today are trained to do one thing well. That does not work in the real world. Zachary breaks down why generalization is the real challenge in robotics, why data diversity matters more than volume, and why training robots in limited environments creates major gaps in performance. Brian and Zachary also discuss why factories come before homes, how companies are solving the data problem step by step, and why complexity increases dramatically the deeper you go into real-world tasks. If you want to understand where robotics is really headed, this is the conversation. KEY MOMENTS (00:00) Boston Dynamics and the shift to commercialization (02:11) Zachary’s path into robotics and Boston Dynamics (04:16) From research to product development (07:19) Research versus commercialization in robotics (08:53) Why early robots are built differently (11:16) Designing better systems through iteration (13:22) Advances in actuator performance (14:36) Safety and robot design decisions (16:11) Why humanoid robots are just the starting point (17:21) Why generalization is the real breakthrough (20:10) The data collection challenge in robotics (21:31) Why data diversity matters more than volume (23:24) Why robots are going to factories first 25:52 Why robots are not ready for homes 31:34 Why complexity increases in real-world robotics Connect with Zachary https://www.linkedin.com/ maxon designs and manufactures precision drive systems that enable reliable, high‑duty‑cycle performance in industrial automation, robotics, and smart manufacturing. https://www.maxongroup.com/ Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [email protected] Find the transcript and more episodes at automated.fm Unlock full access to Automated and explore everything automation. Subscribe today on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.