Humanoid robots are on the rise, with a slate of companies building several different prototypes. Whether they’re designed to be on the production line or engineered to roam around your house performing various chores, different kinds of machines are on the cusp of mass production.
“The visual appearance of a robot makes a promise about what it can do and how smart it is. It needs to deliver or slightly over deliver on that promise or it will not be accepted.”
Setting expectations
Australian roboticist Brooks remarked on the appearance of robots in the first of his own three laws of robotics, inspired by Isaac Asimov, in a blog post that he self-published.
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The co-founder of robotics company iRobot, which created the Roomba robot vacuum, Brooks explained that the anthropomorphization of humanoid robots – both by engineers and by consumers – could be counterintuitive.
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While the form is necessary to gain pubic acceptance, engineers must deliver on performance and capabilities. Adopting a similar form to that of humans may imply a level of humanlike intelligence or competence in navigating the real world. Should robotics companies fail on that count, people will see straight through the ruse.
Robots of mass production
Brooks’ laws focus on the competency and capabilities of robots and the need for creators to ensure that they are trained, that they’re capable, and that they don’t remove human agency.
Plenty of highly polished demos, recorded promotional videos, and on-stage appearances have done well to highlight the fact that these machines are not ready for prime time – despite impressive capabilities in highly controlled environments. That’s evidenced by a series of ‘robot fails‘ when they’re introduced into real-world settings.
Companies, however, say they’re improving the AI technology powering these machines, as well as the dexterity of appendages. They plan on ramping up production toward the end of this year, with the first machines set to be deployed in commercial settings by 2027.
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