Now, some humanoid robots can already communicate with us verbally and through body language. Some humanoid robots can even understand the subtext and emotions contained in human words. But are humanoid robots being developed just to make a machine companion that can chat with us? What exactly do humanoid robots do?
For the above questions, Piaopiao, a freelance writer with a master's degree in neurocognition from Aarhus University in Denmark and a former editor-in-chief of popular science media, will answer us one by one.
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Boston Dynamics announced the retirement of the “hydraulic” humanoid robot Atlas on the front foot, and released the electric version of Atlas on the back foot. The new version of Atlas's head does not look like a human's, and the way it folds its legs backwards and then stands up is even more shocking to Elon Musk and other people. Boston Dynamics said that the new version of Atlas is stronger, more dexterous, and more agile, similar in appearance to humans, but is not limited to the human range of motion.
In fact, one of the core issues in the debate about humanoid robots is that making machines into humanoids actually has a lot of inconveniences, and may even significantly reduce the work efficiency of the machines. If the role of machines is to serve humans, then why must we develop highly simulated humanoid robots?
Scientists who support the development of humanoid robots believe that for humans, the biggest role of humanoid robots is to help us better understand ourselves, whether it is our bodies or our brains.
1. Humanity itself is a miracle of nature
Many R&D personnel have this feeling: In many cases, humans do not realize that they have “superpowers” that other species do not possess.
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To give the simplest example, humans can support their bodies with their legs and walk upright. When we need robots to run and explore, the simplest way is to design them with four legs so that they can stand stably no matter what the situation.
When scientists try to develop a robot that walks on two legs, training the robot to master balance becomes a very time-consuming and laborious task, even more difficult than teaching a human baby to walk.
Only then will we realize that walking on two legs is such a complex and delicate ability that requires the coordination of the human brain, muscles, bones, nerves, senses, etc. to constantly process and calibrate the interaction between our limbs and the ground. Only changes in force allow us to maintain balance in various postures and perform complex movements.
2. Human beings need a partner of equal strength.
In addition, according to many people's imagination, robots can also become our housekeepers, colleagues, and assistants. We need robots to assist us in our work, study, and life.
For example, we may go in and out with a robot, so the robot must have the average height of a human being so that it will not hit the door frame; if we want the robot to sense danger for us, then the robot needs to have a perceptual ability that is equal to or even exceeds that of humans.
Faced with a puddle that we can step over by lifting our feet, a humanoid robot can easily step over it like us, but a robot like a sweeping robot cannot do this. Therefore, in some scenarios, a robot with a body similar to ours is necessary for humans.
In addition to the body, scientists also hope that the appearance of humanoid robots will also look like humans. Because an ideal robot companion should have certain social skills and be able to understand and express emotions during communication with people.
At present, many non-humanoid robots already have similar capabilities – of course, they may still only have an electronic face, but they already have rich expressions, tones, etc. These robots can play an important role in accompanying autistic patients and elderly people living alone, significantly improving the happiness of these people.
However, in human social activities, not only expressions and language are needed, but also the assistance of body language. If you want robots to produce body language that is easy for humans to understand, of course they need to have human-like limbs.
3. Obstacles to the development of humanoid robots
At present, humanoid robots that are highly similar to humans have begun to take shape. So what’s the future of humanoid robots? What other obstacles and challenges will scientists encounter in future research and development?
What R&D personnel need to pay most attention to are technical issues. In terms of simulating human beings to collect and process information, the most advanced humanoid robots at this stage such as Ameca, Figure01, and Atlas still have a long way to go: human senses are very complex, so in order for robots to have human perception capabilities, vision must be integrated , smell, taste, hearing, touch, etc. are all integrated into the robot's sensing system; in terms of processing information, current AI also needs to be further improved in learning and decision-making.
Secondly, such a complex robot requires sufficient power to move freely. Connecting an external power supply will limit the activities of the humanoid robot, and using the battery will cause insufficient battery life. Therefore, humanoid robots require lighter and more powerful batteries. Similarly, to make humanoid robots close to humans, other new materials are needed, such as artificial skin, artificial bones, bionic muscles, etc. In the future, this may require scientists from many fields to work together.
Finally, there is the controversy over humanoid robots. If one day, humanoid robots are so close to humans that we cannot tell whether we are facing a similar species or a robot, will humanoid robots harm humans? In addition, will human beings’ current living, working and learning patterns be disrupted? For example, we may no longer need human companions but live with robots.
Scientists can't argue about this, but what is certain is that humans will not stop exploring themselves and the world. This is exactly what robots do not have, no matter how close they are to humans.