Humanoids are considered to be the next big thing in robotics: China, the world’s largest market for industrial robots, has set out specific targets for its plans to mass-produce humanoids. Meanwhile, tech companies in the US and Europe are announcing significant funding. The vision is to create general-purpose robots based on human motion mechanics. What are the trends, opportunities, and potential limitations of humanoids? The International Federation of Robotics has released a new positioning paper that provides valuable insights.
“Futuristic humanoids working in homes, businesses, and public spaces fuel people’s interest,” says Takayuki Ito, President of the International Federation of Robotics. “Since our environment is optimized for the human body, the idea of a quick, universal helper to maintain manufacturing and services is evident. If and when a mass adoption of humanoids will take place remains uncertain. In any case, humanoids are not expected to replace current robot types in future. Instead, they will complement and expand upon existing technology.”
Humanoids by region
In the United States, tech companies like NVIDIA, Amazon and Tesla are heavily developing advanced AI and robotics technologies. Besides military funding, a lot of private investments support this development and result in a large number of start-ups developing humanoid robots.
China put humanoids in the center of their national strategy. The government wants to showcase its competences and global competitiveness in this field of technology. One key element of the Chinese strategy is to establish a supply chain for key components that is scalable.
Japan has been a pioneer in the development of humanoid robots, with Honda’s Asimo being an early example unveiled in October 2000. The focus is on creating robots that can live harmoniously with humans and are accepted as part of society.
Europe places a strong emphasis on the ethical implications of robotics and AI. Europe has a significant focus on collaborative robots that work alongside humans in industrial settings.
Outlook
Humanoids are well placed to automate complex tasks with which current robots struggle using traditional programming methods. However, mass adoption as universal household helpers may not happen in the near or medium term.
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