I was in the warehouse aisle today when I saw it.
An elderly man in a wheelchair was trying to reach a 24-pack of water on the top shelf.
His wife was on tiptoes, still 18 inches short.
Then a Boston Dynamics Stretch (the warehouse version of Digit) rolled up silently, extended its arm 14 feet, gently grabbed the water, lowered it into their cart, and said in the softest voice:
“Anything else I can reach for you today?”
The man looked up, eyes wet, and just said “thank you” like he’d been waiting his whole life for someone to say that.
His wife patted the robot’s arm and whispered “God bless you.”
I stood there holding my dumb phone like an idiot, tears streaming behind my sunglasses in the middle of Costco.
The robot didn’t need applause.
It just rolled away to help the next person.
This is what the future actually feels like.
Not flying cars.
Just not having to struggle alone anymore.
(If you saw this too, I hope you cried as hard as I did.)