Here's a simple line of code: email.send("Hello world")
In just a few characters, you've instructed a computer to perform an incredibly complex series of actions. Your message will be formatted, encrypted, routed through multiple servers, checked for spam, and delivered to the recipient's inbox. You don't need to understand any of this complexity. You just need to know what you want to happen.
Now imagine typing: kitchen.prepareDinner(style="Italian", guests=4)
This isn't science fiction. It's the vision of Jim Fan, NVIDIA's Director of AI and a leading researcher in embodied AI, for what he calls the physical API—a future where commanding robots becomes as simple as commanding software. And if his vision plays out, it will transform not just how we think about automation, but how entire industries operate.
An API (Application Programming Interface) is like a universal remote control for software. Just as you don't need to understand television broadcast signals to change channels, APIs let programs communicate without understanding each other's inner workings.
Consider what happens when you buy something online. Your click triggers a cascade of API calls: the shopping cart talks to the payment processor, which talks to your bank, which talks to fraud detection systems, which talk back to the merchant. Each system speaks its own internal language, but APIs provide a common interface for communication.
This abstraction—hiding complexity behind simple commands—is what made the modern internet possible. Without APIs, every website would need to build its own payment system, its own mapping service, its own authentication. Instead, developers simply plug into existing services with a few lines of code.
The magic is in what computer scientists call abstraction. You specify the "what" (send this email, process this payment) while the API handles the "how" (all the messy technical details). This separation revolutionized software development. Now, Jim Fan argues, it's coming for the physical world.
Today, programming a robot to perform even simple tasks requires enormous complexity. Want a robot to pick up a coffee cup? You need to specify:
It's equivalent to having to manually program the movement of every electron to send an email. No wonder robotics has remained limited to highly controlled environments like factories, where every variable can be predicted and programmed.
This complexity creates a massive barrier. Even companies that could benefit from robotics often can't justify the engineering resources required. Each new task needs custom programming. Each new environment needs careful calibration. The result: robots remain specialists, not generalists.
In his presentation on the physical Turing test, Jim Fan proposes something radical: a physical API that would let us control robots using simple commands, just like we control software today. Instead of programming every motor movement and sensor reading, we'd use intuitive instructions that describe what we want done, not how to do it.
Fan envisions a world where interacting with robots becomes as straightforward as using any modern app. Instead of complex robotics code, imagine simple, intuitive commands:
conferenceRoom.setup(layout="theater", capacity=200)
restaurant.cleanTable(table=5, sanitize=true)
warehouse.retrieveItem(sku="ABC123", urgent=true)
The robot figures out HOW to accomplish these tasks. You just specify WHAT you want done. Physical actions become as simple as calling a function in code.
This would fundamentally change who can use robotics. Today, you need robotics engineers. Tomorrow, you might just need someone who can describe what they want in simple terms.
Fan envisions a world where physical tasks are abstracted into simple commands, just like software tasks are today. The complexity doesn't disappear—it gets hidden behind an interface that anyone can use.
Imagine a master chef spends months training robots on their signature techniques. Every knife angle, every timing nuance, every subtle adjustment based on ingredient variations—all captured and encoded.
That expertise could then become available as a service. Any compatible robot, anywhere in the world, might execute:
kitchen.prepareSignatureDish(chef="Julia_Child", course="main", dietary="vegetarian")
In this scenario, expertise wouldn't be limited by geography or the availability of skilled workers. A Michelin-star technique could theoretically be available in a small-town restaurant. A master carpenter's joinery methods could be downloaded by construction robots worldwide.
For associations, this represents a distant but intriguing possibility. Many associations exist to preserve and transmit professional expertise. What if, someday, that expertise could be captured as physical APIs? It's worth considering how certification programs might evolve if passing meant your techniques could become part of a global skill library. Or how continuing education might literally update the capabilities of your industry's automation.
While these may not be immediate concerns, understanding these possibilities helps associations think strategically about how they capture and share professional knowledge today.
The ultimate goal of physical APIs isn't to have impressive robots that make us say "wow." It's to have physical tasks happen so seamlessly we don't even notice—though this level of integration is likely decades away.
Just as we don't think about email servers when we hit send, Fan envisions a future where we won't think about robots when physical work gets done. He calls this "ambient intelligence"—automation so well integrated into our environment that it becomes invisible. Your meeting room would just be ready when you arrive. Restaurant tables would simply be clean. Warehouse orders would appear without visible intervention.
This invisibility is crucial for widespread adoption. The most successful technologies are the ones that disappear into the background. We don't marvel at electricity anymore; we just flip switches. Physical APIs aim to eventually make robotic assistance equally unremarkable—though reaching that level of seamless integration will take considerable time and development.
Looking ahead, physical APIs could transform business models as dramatically as cloud computing transformed IT. Consider the potential progression:
Today's Model:
Tomorrow's Potential API Model:
Imagine a home healthcare service where robotic assistants arrive to help with daily tasks—lifting patients, monitoring vital signs, preparing medications, assisting with mobility. No need to purchase expensive medical robots. No training caregivers on complex equipment. No maintenance headaches. Just subscribe to the level of assistance needed, and the service handles the rest.
This mirrors what happened with cloud computing. Companies stopped buying servers and started buying computing power. Perhaps physical API world could let companies stop buying robots and start buying completed physical tasks.
While physical APIs aren't ready for mainstream deployment, they represent a trend associations should monitor. When this technology matures, associations could play important roles.
Imagine a future where physical operations are defined as simple commands:
exhibit.setup(vendorCount=50, style="modern", accessibility=true)
certification.administerTest(candidates=30, room="AuditA", accommodations=["extra_time", "large_print"])
conference.transformSpace(from="plenary", to="breakout_sessions", time="15_minutes")
Beyond using these APIs, associations could play a crucial role in defining them. Every industry has standard physical processes. Who better to define the standard APIs for those processes than the associations that represent those industries?
This is a standards-setting opportunity. Just as associations often create industry standards for safety or quality, they could create standards for physical automation. What parameters should a "restaurant.prepareFood()" API accept? What safety checks should a "construction.pourFoundation()" API include?
There's also a certification angle. As physical APIs proliferate, someone needs to verify they perform as advertised. Associations could certify that physical APIs meet industry standards, much like they currently certify professionals.
We're in the early stages of a long transition. The old world of manual physical labor and custom automation still dominates, and will for years to come. But signs of the physical API future are beginning to emerge.
Current examples are limited but instructive:
These are primitive compared to Fan's vision, but they show the direction we're heading. The expansion will likely take time, following a familiar pattern: specialized applications first, then general use cases, finally ubiquitous deployment. We saw this with computers (mainframes → PCs → smartphones) and we'll likely see it with physical APIs (factories → businesses → homes).
For associations, this isn't about immediate action. It's about awareness and preparation. Understanding this trend now positions you to help members when it becomes relevant to their work. This might eventually mean:
Software ate the world by making information programmable. Any data, any process, any communication could be reduced to code and manipulated at will. Physical APIs promise to do the same for the material world—eventually.
When physical tasks become as easy to program as software, entire industries will transform. Construction could become a matter of defining specifications, not managing labor. Hospitality might focus on designing experiences while routine physical tasks handle themselves. Healthcare could concentrate on patient interaction while automation handles routine physical care.
For associations, this isn't an immediate concern but a horizon to watch. The convergence of AI, robotics, and simulation technology makes this future increasingly plausible, though the timeline remains uncertain.
The future isn't about robots taking over tomorrow—it's about physical work gradually becoming as flexible and programmable as software. The associations that track this trend thoughtfully, without rushing to premature conclusions, will be best positioned to serve their members when transformation arrives.
For now, add physical APIs to your technology watch list. Understand the concept. Follow the developments. And be ready to act when the future shifts from vision to reality.