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 optimised for the human body the demand for 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 the types of robots currently on the market in the future. Instead, they will complement and expand upon existing technology.”
HUMANOID ADOPTION 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. There is a strong interest in using humanoids in logistics and manufacturing. These machines are seen as tools for enhancing productivity and efficiency rather than as social companions. The focus is more on practical applications and less on integrating robots into daily social life.
China put humanoids in the centre of its national strategy. The government wants to showcase its competences and global competitiveness in this field of technology. There is a strong emphasis on using humanoids in the service sectors, such as customer service. The use in manufacturing to automate production lines and reduce reliance on human labour seems only a second step. 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. Robots are regarded as companions rather than mere tools. Humanoid robots such as Pepper and Palro are designed primarily as social robots and are used in educational settings, commercial stores and elderly care facilities. This reflects the needs of Japan’s ageing society. The focus is on creating robots that can live harmoniously with humans and are accepted as part of society. Leading companies such as Kawasaki are developing humanoid robots as research platforms.
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. The focus is on enhancing safety, efficiency and human capabilities, rather than on replacing human workers. The focus is on human centric design and the social and societal impact of robots. European businesses are more cautious about the use of humanoids to meet the automation needs of the manufacturing and service sectors in the short to medium term.
HUMANOID ROBOTS FOR INDUSTRIAL USE
Humanoid robots are evolving from research prototypes to practical machines that support industrial tasks. They are seen as a promising technology where flexibility is required, typically in environments designed for humans. Pioneered by the automotive industry, applications in warehousing and manufacturing are coming into focus worldwide.
With ongoing pilot projects in manufacturing and logistics, both start-up and established robotics companies find that these environments represent fertile ground for extending the capabilities of humanoid robots. Future applications will range from operating in complex machinery layouts in factories to tight warehouse corridors. They will free up human workers by taking over simple assembly tasks, manual quality testing and handling hazardous materials, as well as working in areas with poor sanitary conditions.
Advanced AI and machine learning such as vision language action models (VLAMs) are enabling humanoids to learn from data, improve decision making, and adapt to new environments, making humanoids more autonomous and capable. Lack of training data can be tackled by virtual learning environments with digital twins in simulation. Imitation learning enables humanoids to learn directly from observing humans. Advances in natural language processing and emotion recognition are making humanoid robots better at understanding and responding to human emotions, improving their utility in service roles.
TRADEOFFS AND LIMITATIONS OF HUMANOIDS
The comparison of humanoid robots with traditional industrial robots highlights important aspects of their limitations. Critics point to the 'form follows function' rule: the human body may not be suited to certain tasks. Traditional industrial robots tend to have fewer joints tailored to a specific task, such as welding or assembly. This results in simpler control schemes that are faster and more reliable than humanoid robots. As a result, industrial robots are likely to remain the backbone of high speed, precision driven manufacturing environments. In industrial production settings, tasks are repetitive and demand millimetre level precision at high speeds. Industrial robots excel here – they perform highly specialised movements quickly and consistently. When the job calls for extreme specialisation, dedicated industrial robots generally outperform their humanoid counterparts.
Compared to the wired, high power solutions available for many traditional industrial robots, battery power is a fundamental challenge for humanoid robots. The battery life is typically only one hour today. It would need to be increased to at least four to five hours of operation with one hour of fast charging, or a runtime of twenty hours.
Finally, while some humanoid robots have mastered mobility and agile movement, and others can handle cognitive and intellectual challenges, none can do both yet. Humanoids so far have not mastered many basic human- like capabilities, serving as general purpose tools. Dedicated purpose humanoids are much closer to deployment.
OUTLOOK
Thanks to their human like dexterity and adaptability, 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.
The position paper ‘Humanoid Robots – Vision and Reality’ by IFR can be downloaded at https://ifr.org/papers/download
The International Federation of Robotics is the voice of the global robotics industry. IFR represents national robot associations, academia, and manufacturers of industrial and service robots from over twenty countries. www.ifr.org Follow IFR on LinkedIn and YouTube
Image source: Neura Robotics