The race is on to build a humanoid robot. At a recent industrial trade fair the G1 humanoid robot built by Chinese firm, Unitree was standing at about 4'3" (130cm) greeting passers by. The G1 is smaller and more affordable than other humanoid robots on the market, and has such a highly fluid range of motion and dexterity that videos of it performing dance numbers and martial arts have gone viral. Unitree is just one of dozens of companies around the world developing robots that have a human form. The potential is huge - for business it promises a workforce that doesn't need holidays or pay rises. It could also be the ultimate domestic appliance. After all, who wouldn't want a machine that could do the laundry and stack the dishwasher. But the technology is still some way off. While robotic arms and mobile robots have been common in factories and warehouses for decades, conditions in those workplaces can be controlled and workers can be kept safe. Introducing a humanoid robot to a less predictable environment, like a restaurant or a home, is a much more difficult problem. To be useful humanoid robots would have to be strong, but that also makes them potentially dangerous - simply falling over at the wrong time could be hazardous. So much work needs to be done on the artificial intelligence that would control such a machine."The AI simply has not yet reached a breakthrough moment". Unitree underlines that advantage - its G1 is cheap (for a robot) with an advertised price of $16,000 (£12,500).
BBQ - What year do you think we will see a humanoid robot as part of the workforce?
