One fall Friday last year, as I was leaving the MIT mosque after prayer, I encountered this unusual procession. A humanoid robot leading a small team of people, marching off campus to a destination unknown. I was was testing out a roll of Adox Color Mission that day, so when I saw this scene, of course, what could I do but shoot! Thankfully, the 50 Planar has a decent zone focusing range, and Color Mission is a 200 speed film, so I was able to just snap it without having to think too hard.
Since I took this picture, the pace of robotics has accelerated even more rapidly. Just in the past few months, one was inducted as a Buddhist monk in Korea, and in the material realm, BMW started piloting humanoids in manufacturing. Even my wife & I benefit from robotics at home, with an all-in-one robotic cleaner that costs less than a camera CLA.
If you want to own a Unitree G1 robot like the robot in this photo & Gabi the monk, it is a tidy sum more, at $13,500. Certainly, its features are very impressive, almost a thing of science fiction compared to even 5 years ago. With robots developing in lockstep with generative AI, I wonder, what will this space look like in 5 more years?
For now though, I think I will just enjoy my robot vacuum cleaner.
Taken on a Contax 167MT, with a 50/1.4 Planar T* lens and Adox Color Mission 200 film.
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Walter Reumkens on Life 2.0 – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 30/10/2026
Let’s hope your wife doesn’t get even more into robots. Otherwise, there won’t be any room left for photography kit. :-)))