UPDATE ON HUMANOID ROBOTICS
This month’s blog looks at the advances in humanoid robotics. Artificial intelligence is advancing by leaps and bounds, and the world of Isaac Asimov appears ever closer. What is remarkable is the ability of these machines [I’ll still call them that] to mimic human facial expressions and movement. If you have a look at some of the video references below, and then combine their features, you get some kind of idea what the future may hold. Let’s have a look at some:
Hanson Robotics
This company concentrates on bringing robotic facial expressions to life. They have been building the world’s most human-like robots. Endowed with rich personality and holistic cognitive AI, the robots are able to engage emotionally and deeply with people. They can maintain eye contact, recognize faces, understand speech, hold natural conversations, and learn and develop through experience.
The robot faces are created with a proprietary nanotech material that mimics real human musculature and skin. They exhibit high-quality expressions and interactivity, simulating human-like facial features and expressions.
Sophia is one of their prime examples. She describes herself as a human-crafted science fiction character depicting where AI and robotics are heading. You check her out here: https://www.hansonrobotics.com/sophia/
Boston Dynamics
I have mentioned Boston Dynamics on a previous blog, and there is no doubt as far as maneuverability is concerned they are right up there with the best. A look at the video here: https://youtu.be/_sBBaNYex3E will prove the point. There most famous development is Atlas, that seems able to perform extraordinary athletic feats, akin to human gymnasts.
Seven most realistic humanoid robots 2022 – including Sophia and Atlas
Surena IV: characteristics – face and object detection, speech recognition, walking at 0.7KM per hour.
Kime: characteristics – food and beverage serving robot, up to 300 glasses per hour.
Atlas Robot: characteristics – Five feet tall, bipedal, walk, jump, stand on one leg, lift, and dance. 2.5 metres per second walk.
Pepper: characteristics – Understands many languages, recognise and interact with people.
Digit: characteristics – Confident walker over different terrain, packing and unpacking, self-driving.
Sophia: characteristics – Impressive lifelike appearance, follow faces and maintain eye contact, complex speech system.
Ameca: characteristics – At forefront of human robotics, accurate human expression.
Conclusion
The uses of these extraordinary machines are many and varied. Anything from serving drinks to stacking heavy crates. But there is no doubting they can also have a military use. However, this is not likely to be in a unilateral role, but rather alongside human troops. Have a look at this video. https://youtu.be/LLSqc-p4UhI
Other References and further information
https://www.simplilearn.com/tutorials/artificial-intelligence-tutorial/humanoid-robots
12 top companies in the vanguard of the rise of humanoid robots
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