What is humanoid robotics and why should it matter to you?
A humanoid robot is a robot that resembles and acts like a human, having been engineered to imitate interaction, movement, and even facial expressions. They are designed for functional purposes to interact with human tools and environments. This follows logically from the fact that, in a world built largely by humans for humans, a robot that can seamlessly interact with its surroundings would be a powerful tool.
Recent breakthroughs in machine vision combined with the power of generative AI and a decrease in price are accelerating the pace of innovation and adoption, with generative AI enhancing the training and learning phase for these robots.
Such breakthroughs are driven by four key factors:
- Price: the cost of essential components has dropped significantly. While a year ago the cost of manufacturing a humanoid robot was in the range of £40,000 to £190,000 per robot, that range has dropped and narrowed to between £22,000 and £115,000 (a 40% decrease at the top marker).
- The proliferation of AI: the integration of generative AI into neural networks has allowed robots to adapt to different scenarios ‘on the fly’. This gives robots greater autonomy to operate without direct human oversight.
- The renewed attention on imitation learning: imitation learning is a technique where robots are taught through mimicking via virtual reality or teleoperation (remote operation). This technique allows researchers to extend the principles of AI into movement in an intuitive manner.
- Increase of data sets: Generative AI offers a solution to limited data sets by creating vast amounts of high-quality synthetic data that can be used to train a robot’s neural network.
While these factors have led to a rapid increase in development and innovation, there are still barriers to mass adoption. Development costs remain a challenge, as prolonged development still requires substantial investment, even with the decreasing prices of components.
Humanoid robots also have high energy demands, requiring vast amounts of power and advanced energy management to operate efficiently. Current battery life, which averages around five hours, is insufficient for continued operation. Effective human-robot interaction is also a challenge, particularly in terms of natural language processing and intuitive command interpretation. Furthermore, as humanoid robots become more integrated into society, legal and ethical considerations are becoming important, with concerns surrounding liability, privacy, and the potential displacement of human workers.
Is mass adoption around the corner? The question of whether humanoid robots will soon see mass adoption is hotly debated. Many industry experts predict that these robots will initially be adopted in industries characterised by boring, repetitive, or dangerous tasks, before expanding significantly across all sectors. According to Goldman Sachs, the market for humanoid robots is expected to reach $38 billion by 2035. As researchers and engineers continue to make rapid breakthroughs, it seems only a matter of time before humanoid robots become commonplace.
Alongside technological advancements, robust legislation will be necessary to safeguard against potential issues such as liability, privacy breaches, and job displacement.