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Add The California Post on Google It looks like the stuff of nightmares.
But Beau G., the 40-year-old California Satyress startup founder, sees his chainsaw-wielding “humanoid” robot — which just went viral on X — as a futuristic helper for all mankind.
Those who have witnessed the 7-foot-tall robotic beast on social media (a post by Drone Wars already racked up 10.9 million views and counting) have had decidedly mixed reactions — with panic and humor mostly flooding the zone.
AI generated memes, such as a pic of the “centaur” bot holding a chainsaw in front of flames with the chilling accompanying text, “I’m here to save you” — appears to be a fan favorite.
Many were quick to misgender the bot too, but Beau says the Satyress, for which the clanker company is named, is the female version of the mythical creature — essentially a lady faun. And it’s pronounced see-dar-is, in case you were wondering.
“I think humanoid robots are an inevitability from the tech progress standpoint,” Beau, who chose not to disclose his full last name to protect his day job as an engineer, exclusively told The Post. “The dream of [these] robots are sidekicks that are interesting, fun and useful — and, like a car is today, something that says something about the owner. Not something like a phone, which is pure utility.”
“Aw hell nah,” replied one account to the flame-enhanced pic of the robot.
“Coming to theaters near you,” quipped another.
Beau gave the horned robot the official name of Threehalves, due to its mythical anatomic makeup of being “half human, half goat and half horse.” He says the bot is being created for the ultimate purpose of making common forestry practices safer, using a teleoperation-focused approach, meaning it will be controlled by a human using a joystick, essentially.
“[We want to] make the forestry and line clearing industry a bit safer and you know more effective, I guess you could say. So, same workers. Your bot picks up a chainsaw. You’re doing the same job you already know, but you don’t have to worry about dropping a dead tree limb on yourself,” he told The Post.
Having initially published his Satyress company website for the creation back in 2025, he emphasized that the new, unexpected hit of viral interest in Threehalves has felt “quite interesting.”
“It seems like people quite like it or quite don’t like it, which is great,” he said.
He also shared that he understands that many people are coming to the idea with varying degrees of skepticism, with some questioning if the creation is even real.
While Beau clarified that Threehalves is currently in the prototype stage, he emphasized that the idea is actively becoming a finished, working bot. “I think everyone should assume every humanoid robot is at least somewhat fake until they see it in person…I think it’s good to treat it with skepticism,” he added.
The idea for the safety-aid humanoid came to the tech entrepreneur and engineer, who had grown up tinkering with robots but had largely given up the hobby in adulthood, about four years ago, though its first seeds were planted two years prior.
In 2020, he got involved with tree care after a big storm knocked down some large oaks on his then-new property near the Tahoe National Forest.
In 2022, he found himself noticing the overwhelming amount of contract work that utility giant PG&E was undertaking in order to maintain status quo tree clearance from power lines, which can cause wildfires.
At around the same time, he saw an increasing availability of larger, cheaper actuators (the mechanical part of a device that turns energy into physical movement, and that drives the limbs on a robot), leading to his desire and ability to actively begin working on the project.
For the last year and a half, he has now been working to make Threehalves a functional being, having recently been joined by a fellow engineer friend/new business partner. G. estimated that he’s spent “$150,000 or more” just in parts and equipment” on bringing his satyress to life. Ultimately, his vision for Threehalves — which is still a prototype as of now, without attached, working legs — is for it to improve the lives of forestry workers. By holding and using large chainsaws itself, allowing workers to control and see it with a joystick/camera from a distance (much like certain drones), he hopes to employ Threehalves to make their jobs significantly safer and less stressful.
“I hope to be able to find these win-wins — where the job is more enjoyable for the people doing it, because they’re not breaking their backs or risking their own necks,” said Beau. “They’re making more money [too], because the money is not just going directly into workers’ comp insurance or payouts for that…That’s the world I’m trying to look at.”
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