A robot hand wiping some egg off its fingers with a towel is the most bizarrely human thing you'll see a robot do all week, and it's just the beginning

• Genesis AI robot hands handle frontier tasks
• They can make eggs and solve a Rubik's Cube
• The training is done, in part, via low-cost, wearable gloves

If there's a single hurdle preventing humanoid robots from entering our homes and workplaces, it might be "frontier tasks". These are complex, multi-step tasks like operating as a lab assistant, solving a Rubik's Cube, or making a delicious smoothie or omelet. They're the kind of things most humans can do without thinking, but for robots and AI, it's darn near impossible to match your average lab tech or short-order cook at these skills.

Today, though, I watched a robot casually wipe some egg yolk off its fingers as it prepped some lightly scrambled eggs. It was such a normal thing to do in the course of successfully cooking a meal that, for a second, I ...