Research Note
Humanoid Demonstration Control Mode Record
A humanoid demo is interpretable only when the audience knows what the robot sensed, decided, and actuated, what a person supplied, how the environment was prepared, and
In this article
Humanoid Demonstration Control Mode Record
A humanoid demo is interpretable only when the audience knows what the robot sensed, decided, and actuated, what a person supplied, how the environment was prepared, and how failures were handled.
Control modes
| Mode | Human contribution | Narrow evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Playback | Motion or output is replayed | Mechanics and repeatability of the stored sequence |
| Scripted routine | Sequence and triggers are predeclared | Execution under expected conditions |
| Perception-based autonomy | System senses and selects within a bounded task | Closed-loop behavior in the declared environment |
| High-level instruction | Human supplies the goal | Planning and execution through the declared interface |
| Teleoperation | Human continuously controls consequential motion or speech | Hardware, communication, and operator interface |
| Remote assistance | Human resolves selected exceptions | Mixed-autonomy operation and escalation |
| Safety intervention | Human can stop or take over | Containment and recovery, not task autonomy |
NIST's ALFUS work treats autonomy as more than one level. Human independence, mission complexity, and environmental difficulty all matter. The archived framework is useful terminology, not current certification for a specific robot.
Control modes can be mixed inside one scene. Walking may be autonomous while speech is remotely supplied. A grasp may be perception-based while a human approves the target. A safety operator may intervene without continuously controlling the task.
For the We, Robot event, the transcript records Dalton's uncertainty about teleoperation reports. Public copy must not assert an event control mode without a named reliable source. The guide can still explain the evidence that should be disclosed.
Sources
Follow the evidence.
- daltonanderson.ghost.io: elon musks big bets starship teslas ai fleetdaltonanderson.ghost.io
- esto.nasa.gov: trlesto.nasa.gov
- ir.tesla.comir.tesla.com
- ir.tesla.com: tsla 20260128 genir.tesla.com
- ir.tesla.com: tsla 20251231 genir.tesla.com
- open.spotify.com: 40qV14aYmmoYMkcQdIO21eopen.spotify.com
- tsapps.nist.gov: get pdftsapps.nist.gov
- daltonanderson.net: elon musks big bets starship teslas ai fleetdaltonanderson.net
- dmv.ca.gov: autonomous vehicles program permit resourcesdmv.ca.gov
- faa.gov: spacex starshipfaa.gov
- faa.gov: activity archivefaa.gov
- nhtsa.gov: voluntary safety self assessmentnhtsa.gov
- nhtsa.gov: standing general order crash reportingnhtsa.gov
- nhtsa.gov: automated vehicles safetynhtsa.gov
- nist.gov: autonomy levels unmannednist.gov
- spacex.com: starship flight 5spacex.com
- tesla.com: we robottesla.com
- tesla.com: AItesla.com
- tesla.com: fsdtesla.com
- youtu.be: c6yeP cvRzwyoutu.be