Robot industry split over that humanoid look

Advanced robots don't necessarily need to look like C3PO from Star Wars or George Jetson's maid Rosie, despite all the hype over humanoids from Wall Street and Big Tech.In fact, some of the biggest skeptics about human-shaped robots come from within the robotics industry itself.Why it matters: Robots are meant to take over dirty, dangerous and dull tasks — not to replace humans, who are still the most sophisticated machines of all.The big picture: Morgan Stanley believes there's a $4.7 trillion market for humanoids like Tesla's Optimus over the next 25 years — most of them in industrial settings, but also as companions or housekeepers for the wealthy. Yes, but: The most productive — and profitable — bots are the ones that can do single tasks cheaply and efficiently."If you look at where robots are really bringing value in a manufacturing environment, it is combining industrial or collaborative robots with mobility," ABB Managing Director Ali Raja tells Axios."I don't see that there are any real practical applications where humanoids are bringing in a lot of value."What they're saying: "The reason we have two legs is because whether Darwin or God or whoever made us, we have to figure out how to traverse an infinite number of things," like climbing a mountain or riding a bike, explains Michael Cicco, president and CEO of Fanuc America Corporation."When you get into the factory, even if it's a million things, it's still a finite number of things that you need to do."Human-shaped robots are over-engineered solutions to most factory chores that could be better solved by putting a robot arm on a wheeled base, he said. The other side: "The thing about humanoids is not that it's a human factor. It's that it's more dynamically stable," counters Melonee Wise, chief product officer at Agility Robotics, which is developing a humanoid robot called Digit.When humans grab something heavy, they can shift their weight for better balance. The same is true for a humanoid, she said. Using a robotic arm on a mobile base to pick up something heavy, "it's like I'm a little teapot and you become very unstable," she said, bending at the waist.The bottom line: General-purpose humanoids are still grappling with technical challenges, and it will years before they can safely roam around factories doing meaningful work.

Comments

World news

Abandoned ‘dead’ city once thriving now a haven for dark tourism

Express

Comments

Similar News

Japan moon landing LIVE: iSpace robot poised to touch down on historic lunar mission

New Disneyland attraction SLAMMED by Walt Disney’s granddaughter who calls mechanical tribute to him a ‘robotic grampa’

Musk reveals when he hopes to launch mission crewed by robots to Mars

Watch: World’s first humanoid robot kickboxing tournament held in China

Humanoid robots fight in Chinese kick-boxing competition

America's manufacturing future still needs foreign robots

Elon Musk showcases ‘biggest product ever’ Tesla Optimus robot doing household chores

Musk plans for billions of humanoid robots, personal R2-D2s and C-3POs

Annual ‘Day of Giving’ hopes to fast-track surgical robotics at Kelowna General Hospital

Love, Death + Robots season 4 release date, cast and what to expect

World news

Abandoned ‘dead’ city once thriving now a haven for dark tourism

Putin bombards Ukraine with huge overnight drone attack as 3 killed and dozens injured

Spain panic as 'over 20,000 people' left major city in 1 year over tourism-linked crisis

Body of Thai hostage has been retrieved in Gaza, Israel defence minister says

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces strike Kharkiv with ‘most powerful’ attack since start of war

Is this the end of the road in the hunt for Madeleine McCann? How the desperate new search unfolded in Portugal

David Attenborough’s 'Ocean' is a brutal, beautiful wakeup call from the sea

How a multibillion dollar defence bank could help Canada increase its military spending

Putin’s secret daughter, 22, ‘working in anti-war art gallery in Paris’ after ‘ditching tyrant’s name’

World’s tallest railway bridge higher than Eiffel Tower opens in India as £200million project hailed as ‘crown jewel’

The world's oldest road is 4,325 years old and even had a pavement

The house engineers have built a motorway around - and it's not the M62

Full list of Europe's 52 'severely endangered' languages - one has just 20 speakers

As Putin ramps up his summer offensive in Ukraine, will he succeed?

Republicans call for an end to Trump-Musk feud: ‘I hope it doesn’t distract us’

Emergency workers search for survivors after aerial attack on Kharkiv kills 3

'They're worried': Liberal MP plans to raise concerns about Modi visit to Carney

Putin unleashes aerial glide bombs in ‘most powerful attack of entire war’ on Kharkiv

CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN: 'Donald Trump's attack dog Marjorie Taylor Greene is furious - with herself'

Tourist, 12, slipped in puddle before falling off cliff to his death, inquest told

Africa's biggest country with white sand beaches and 'barely any tourists'

The huge country where less than 1% speak English but still gets 600k British tourists

So now you know, SNP: indy is not what people care about

Russia pummels Ukraine's second-largest city with 'most powerful drone strike' since start of war

From Pakistan to Spain via the Canaries, smugglers are using longer, more dangerous migration routes

Drought, rising prices and dwindling herds undercut this year's Eid al-Adha in North Africa

Can an American pope apply US-style fundraising and standards to fix troubled Vatican finances?

How the Vatican manages money and where Pope Leo XIV might find more

Putin bombards Ukraine with drone & missile blitz killing at least 3 & injuring 21 after Op Spiderweb ‘revenge’ strikes

Meet Ukraine’s special ops unit wiping out Putin’s war machine from bomber blitz to £3bn bridge… & what they’ll hit next

The dystopian megacity bigger than Scotland where 2,600,000 cameras are always watching

‘I suffered through my GCSEs with heavy periods – it was painful and embarrassing’

Easy ways to make flowers last all summer – and banish aphids without chemicals

My no-fly journey to Morocco was a childhood dream come true

Jack Grealish has just been told how to get back in England squad

Trumpism is a greater danger to Europe than Putin

Science shows variety makes us happier – this is how to break from routine

Pensions tax and capital gains raid likely targets for Reeves

Thomas Frank’s first task at Spurs would be an unenviable one

Marchand scores in double OT, Panthers beat Oilers 5-4 to tie series 1-1

Tourist visits 'world's most dangerous city' and can't believe how beautiful the beach is

Seattle man charged with string of burglaries at the homes of NFL and MLB stars

Five busted in $500K-plus Windsor whisky heist — hunt continues for others

Diplomatic win for UK hosting US-China trade talks

Six ways to help your ADHD child be happy – by a mum who spent 10 years trying

Crystal Palace are the scapegoats for Man City’s rule-bending

How Trump and Musk’s explosive feud could escalate further

Gary Lineker deserves a knighthood over David Beckham

Vance and Trump in ‘outrageous’ and ‘appalling’ bid to subvert EU democracy

NHS app rollout – what it means for your healthcare

Paul Hollywood’s go-to summer bakes, including a mouthwatering sausage plait

‘Austerity doesn’t work’: Why taxes will have to rise, by Labour insiders

The prick of a finger sheds light on medical mystery

Dr Hazel Wallace: ‘I’m a doctor – it still took years to get my PCOS diagnosis’

Southern Alberta museum staff find live grenade in archives

The furniture fraud that hoodwinked the Palace of Versailles

Biggest drone strike hits Ukraine's second city

Schwarzenegger: Hey, stop whining, do something on climate change

Hong Kong Looks for Ways to Win Back Big-Spending Tourists

'Forget Spain, Greece and Italy - this beautiful country should be your next holiday'