The release of Tesla Optimus humanoid robots took the world by storm. These robots can do laundry, the dishes, clean up around the house, and in some cases, can look after your kids. This excitement and hype around these robots are leading silicon valley companies to invest heavily in these robots.
Tech Companies to Invest in Humanoid Robots
Initially the major companies investing in these robots were Amazon, Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Tesla. Now, however, Meta and Apple are each funding their own human robot ventures. If these companies are successful, it it likely that humanoid robots could be in the homes of friends and family.
Robots are not new. They have been depicted in movies and shows for quite a while. Now, however, it seems that those movies scenes are turning into reality. Amazon released an Astro bot for home monitoring. Other companies place robots in manufacturing roles, and some companies medical roles.
Humanoid robots, however, are quite new. The large tech companies investing in them plan to have them perform tasks with hands that can grip objects without damaging whatever the humanoid robot is holding. Humanoid robots could do household chores for households, but could have a bigger impact for businesses.
What will these robots be able to do?
When it comes to business, humanoid robots could help when labor shortages arise, help with caring for the elderly, as well as help with anything that would risk human lives. Chad Jenkins, robotics professor at University of Michigan, said “We have such a huge need for labor, for taking care of our aging and disabled populations. It really is such a huge cost to provide that care, and we can’t provide it to everybody.”
Jenkins also said that “Taking care of our aging and disabled populations will provide such a huge benefit to society through improving quality of life, improving our productivity, and robots provide a great way to be able to do that.”
A future where labor shortages can be solved and taking care of aged parents sounds great. Some question how realistic this image is. It looks like it will take time for these humanoid robots to learn how to accomplish more advanced tasks. In addition to how realistic it is, safety could also be an issue
Potential Risks
Training the robots won’t be an easy task because if the robot does something wrong, it could put others at risk. Ye Zhao, assistant professor at Georgia Tech, said “If a humanoid robot falls down at home, one thing is the cost to repair, the other is the safety of the humans in the home…The reliability of humanoid robots still needs a lot of work.”
Pulit Agrawal, associate professor at MIT also chimed in. He said “There isn’t a humanoid hardware that you can buy and say it’s reliable. That simply doesn’t exist today.” While it’s true that safety humanoid robots aren’t available yet, promoters of the robots are confident that one day Agrawal’s statement will no longer be true. When that does happen, costs could be more than $50,000.
While there are certainly risks associated with these robots, there’s no doubt that it’s both exciting and potentially concerning to think about what the future could hold.
Featured Image Credit: Alex Knight; Pexels: Thank You!
