Introduction to Humanoid Robots
Humanoid robots have long been a topic of interest in the tech world. With the commercial boom in artificial intelligence, the development of humanoid robots has gained significant traction. According to Modar Alaoui, founder of the Humanoids Summit, many researchers believe that humanoids or some other kind of physical embodiment of AI are “going to become the norm.”
The Current State of Humanoid Robots
The humanoid space has a very, very big hill to climb, said Cosima du Pasquier, co-founder of Haptica Robotics. There’s a lot of research that still needs to be solved. Despite the challenges, companies like Disney are making significant strides in the field. Disney’s contribution to the field, a walking robotic version of “Frozen” character Olaf, will be roaming on its own through Disneyland theme parks in Hong Kong and Paris early next year.
The Role of AI in Humanoid Robots
The same technical advances that made AI chatbots so good at language have played a role in teaching robots how to get better at performing tasks. Paired with computer vision, robots powered by “visual-language” models are trained to learn about their surroundings. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with robots and could lead to the development of more advanced humanoid robots.
The Future of Humanoid Robots
While we are still far from having truly humanlike robots, the progress being made in the field is significant. According to McKinsey & Company, about 50 companies around the world have raised at least $100 million to develop humanoids, led by about 20 in China and 15 in North America. China is leading in part due to government incentives for component production and robot adoption and a mandate last year “to have a humanoid ecosystem established by 2025,” said McKinsey partner Ani Kelkar.
In conclusion, humanoid robots are an exciting and rapidly evolving field. While there are still many challenges to overcome, the potential benefits of these robots are significant. As the technology continues to advance, we can expect to see more advanced humanoid robots that are capable of performing a wide range of tasks.